I think I want This 1982 Honda V45 Sabre

this bike just gets me
http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/mcy/2563545022.html

I just emailed him, think I might buy it tonight if it's what he says it is

 

Be aware of one "caveat" in regard to that motor: the cylinders are cast as part of the block which kind of makes it unrepairable under certain circumstances.

 

Looks pretty close to what you now have:

Early 80's
Low mileage
4 cylinder
needs battery (looked at additional photos. Charger on bike
Carbs will need gone through etc.

Loren

 

COMPRESSION TEST much more critical...

 

Rode it, bought it : ) it is FAST, every little gadget works like it was 1982 all over again. The lap timer is great, small casio watch-like buttons on the left control to start/stop the timer. Digital fuel and temp (bars), the hard side cases come off and get carried like breif cases with rubber feet on the bottom. I love everything about this beast, didn't want to get off it. Oh well, she's in my garage now, insurance coming tomorrow. Did I mention it's FAST?

 

Looks like a great find! Friend of mine had a V-65 Sabre, back in the day. That thing was brutal! Almost as bad as the V-Max he replaced it with...

Didn't those V-motors have camshaft issues, early on? I know I'd heard that from a few sources and recall a few clanky ones riding around...

 

Don't know but thanks for the heads up. Guess I'm about to Learn

 

Found this with a quick search. Maybe not as dire as I'd thought, but a good idea to keep an eye on it...

 

i bought an 83 V45 Sabre new. Rode it with no problems until i sold it in the early 90's for 1100.00 Honestly should never let it go. It was geared different than my friends interceptor of the same year and i could whip him from light to light all the time. BUT... his handled much better than my Sabre. Fun bikes ahead of their time! Ahh the memories

 

Thanks maximumx, I do faintly remember now the guy I met in OH last month at that Huge vintage bike swap meet told me about that problem with his Mint V65, and that he thought the mod/upgrade kit wasn't worth it. And now I remember thinking, 'wow this guy is Crazy, I would defintely do that'. Well folks, we just figured out what my first project on my new old bike is I'm a happy wrencher for sure

 

so I was banned from the honda V4 forum cause I used a free email address (gmail - my main one) instead of one I pay for from a Internet Service Provider, but yet they give tips on how to do stuff to save money. Sheesh

 

just bought the oil kit, excited. Have the insurance card, going to DMV in 1 hour

 

I like your atitude, if you sit on the fence, you just get splinters in the ass.

 

Yup, congrats on the pickup and moving quickly to be sure that the cams get proper oiling. I've worked on far too many Honda V4's that could have been saved by a little extra work early on. Did you get the kit that connects to the drain plug of the one that taps separately? Either is good so don't worry that you got the "wrong" kit.

I had two V45's and one V65 as part of my earlier collection rendition before I decided to move to mostly all two strokes....very nice, powerful engines....carb banks take some ingenuity to re-install but it sounds like you won't be needing to go there for a while anyway.

Enjoy!!

jeff

 

Thanks Jeff. The carbs are on the bench! lol

it had the Slightest hesitation around 5k only. while in there I found the pistons were slightly sticking, one mixture screw was missing, and one had no O-ring. expecting the parts on my doorstep today. Also, the 3 mixture screws remaining were all set to 4.5, so I know a proper tune wasn't done. I will be honest, for a minute there I thought I was getting away w/ out doing this LOL. and oh, all the floats were set to the wrong height

 

LOL...well, your nothing if not thurough!!! I was surprised to read that you had pulled them since you had mentioned, more then once how well it ran.
Better hang on when it's complete!!!


If you have trouble re-installing the carbs, tuck the rears in first, but just part-way then you can use a come-along routed around the front bank and back behind the engine and pull in the fronts.....go back and search the V4 or Sabre forums for more ideas. I've been lucky on most sets by "lubing" both the carb throats and the boots with that green bottle of armor-all copy...what's it called...formula 2000 or something...does wonders on rubber...then pop them in (rear first) with a well and carefully placed 3/4" x 4' rod as a lever.

jeff

 

a come-along?! are you serious?! so the early XJ's are a walk in the park compared to this? O jeeze

 

Yeah, I'm serious but like anything else, it's all in the technique you use. The forums have different ways....I nearly choked when I heard "come-along" many years back....I didn't have one so I used a rag covered horseshoe (the game) goal post and levered them on for a friend. No scratches or dents! Kinda makes you wonder how they did it at the factory.

The engine is really nice though...good, smooth, solid power from 1300 rpm....

When I bought my turbo last November I read the threads in this forum till the middle of Dec when I finally got around to picking up my bike and bringing it home....and I was prepared for the worst but hoping for the best....my trusty shovel handle came out of the corner to help me reinstall them....piece of cake doing it that way.

Have a great w/e!!

jeff

 

thanks Jeff. Well I got them on last night. It was interesting, I was able to slide the rack through to the otherside completeley and a Really Big friend helped me seat them. We basically 'hung' on the top of the airbox (cover was still off) until the wiggleing gave in, used axle grease inside each manifold boot, no tools needed. Bike runs mint, syncronization, a completely different story. hardest task I've ever seen on a motorcycle. I'm not even getting into it, but it's running flawlessly. my slight hesitation at 5k was due to sticky pistons. putting on the Huge fuel filter now, it's so damn ugly

 

Great!! Smart move getting the "Big Friend"!! Yeah, the filter might be ugly but you're SO better off with it.

Enjoy,

jeff