March 2016 Bike of the Month

[FromMaine]

Back in June of 1989 I got off the ship I was working on after 2 1/2 years overseas and flew back to Maine. The next morning I headed to town to sort out the last of my mail that they were holding, stop by the bank to check my account and swing by the town office to register my CX500.

The town center consists of 2 blocks along Rt. 1, so it was hard not to notice the big shinny silver bike parked just down from the Town Office. I wandered over thinking it was a CBX1000 as the fairing and saddlebags were the same, but soon realized this was no inline 6. The engine was different, in fact I had never seen one like it before, it had a shaft drive like my CX, and the chrome engine guard was a work of art. It was of course a V65 Sabre all kitted out, but this meant nothing to me as I had never even heard of a Sabre at that point. The bike was sporting a Quebec plate, and although I kinda kept an eye out for the owner so I could ask him some questions, he was gone by the time I finished my business. Although I knew nothing about the Sabre I knew deep down that I would own one should the opportunity ever arise.

Fast forward to 2007, and I finally bought one after all those years and in 2011 I rode it cross country with my daughter from Maine to Calf, to Washington state and back again. It is a great bike and I will never sell it.

Sooooooooo..............when I see an original owner post a pic of his pristine V65 Sabre with fairing and saddlebags, March's BOTM became obvious.



Congratulations JJS in Madison, your 85 V65 Sabre is March 2016's Bike of the Month.

A link to the post in the Gallery section.

http://v4hondabbs.com/index.php?topic=69038.0

[MB_ED]

congrats!!!

[zarticus]

Great choice Mike !!. JSS, Don't sell it  :beer:

[Malm]

Beautiful....

[Stretch]

 :thumb :thumb :thumb

A nicer Sabre you won't find anywhere.

[TarHeelV4Rider]

Very fine example of a Big Sabre! Congrats!!  :beer:

[John Hilmer]

Michael & All,

I'm particularly impressed with Micheal's lead in as he has presented it.

Michael has so much depth of experience on our chosen bikes I stand in awe.

I'm also impressed with the machine and HOW it has been maintained, kudos to JJS.

I've replied in the other thread about value and how I would submit it for auction if JJS wants to sell it.

What bothers me for JJS about this, is that the machine in this condition now is probably at the low point of it's value which I think will ramp up in a short time.

The above is just my perspective.

The award is as it should be as I see it, and Michael has chosen well again as I see it.

I'm so glad that we have Michael doing this for us.

John

[Miecul]

She's a beauty JJS, congratulations.

[OregonMike]

Looks great :beer:

[klopperg]

Excellent choice Michael, congrats to JJS  :beer:

[The Dutchy]

Magnificent looking Sabre. Great choice Michael.

I always wondered if the Hondaline fairing for the Sabre came of a CB900F2 (which I believe wasn't sold in the US).



The lines look the same, however, on the side near the airbox there seems to be an extra air scoop. Is that part of the fairing, or a loose part that fits the airbox?

Congrats JJS.  :thumb

[motorhead1977]

Excellent!!!  tenof10 And oh such a nice bike to ride!

[Magoo]

Beautiful bike!

[Magna Lover]

Sure is and I am happy to report that it is all mine.  Jack (JJS) did an incredible job maintaining this bike in pristine condition.  "Meticulous" greatly underestimates his commitment to the bike.  It was also a pleasure doing the transaction with Jack and he has been very helpful since it arrived.  I know it was difficult for him to let it go but assured him it would be well taken care of and, at some later point, I would ensure it went to another caring enthusiast.

Once he sent me a lot more pictures and I spoke to him, I had to have it. 

[Stretch]

You'll be changing your name soon.

The Sabre is a very good bike. It does nothing perfect but everything very good. You'll get used to people walking past your fine example to look at some abused, rusty, dirty magna. Some things will never change. You'll get used to stopping every 125 miles so the magnas can refuel.

FYI - you can use gauges from the old goldwings to put into your faring. Other than the clock they are pretty cheap. I have a volt meter and an altimeter in mine. The clock and fuel gauge are redundant on a sabre.

Congrats and Enjoy your sabre. It is a very good looking bike.

Edit:This picture shows the dash of my faring. The gauge you can't see well is the altimeter.

[Magna Lover]

Thanks Stretch.  I assume you are referring to putting gauges in the openings that are in the fairing above the instrument cluster.  If so, I'd be interested in seeing how yours turned out.  Right now there are covers over those openings and the look is fairly clean.  I thought they might be there to accommodate speakers but that's not something I would do.

So far I like the ride but am planning on doing some improvements including progressive springs in the front and perhaps even a Daugherty upgrades monoshock. The suspension bounces around quite a bit and I think this could improve the bike considerably.

I may change my name to 1980's V65.

[Malm]

Beautiful for sure....

[kdf9511]

You'll be changing your name soon.

There is nothing wrong with his name....I like it.... ;D

[Magna Lover]

Stretch - nice layout there. I'm sure I'll be looking at something similar - voltmeter for sure. Perhaps oil pressure gauge or powerlet in the other.  Thanks for sharing.

[wtroll]

Damn - that thing shines more than my Magna!

Congrats!

[NAVMAV]

Always wanted one. Beautiful bike. Congrats.