I've owned 12 of these bikes and roadraced them for 5 years while I was a Honda mechanic in the late 70's
In its day they were as reliable as anything made, and even today they are very smooth running engines. Today however, every bearing, gasket and seal is 30 years old now and best left to a real enthusiast who loves to tinker. Assume you will have to rebuild the carbs and probably replace the ignition coils soon. The head gasket o-rings are most certainly weeping oil by now.
They also had points, non o-ring chains, old technology suspension and many other reasons why it will need more TLC than a newer bike. Leave it to the classic bike lovers and get an SV, or if you like Honda, get an NT650 Hawk which is like the SV.
Both of these bikes have very long life engines, better handling and you can still find parts for them at your local dealer.
In its day they were as reliable as anything made, and even today they are very smooth running engines. Today however, every bearing, gasket and seal is 30 years old now and best left to a real enthusiast who loves to tinker. Assume you will have to rebuild the carbs and probably replace the ignition coils soon. The head gasket o-rings are most certainly weeping oil by now.
They also had points, non o-ring chains, old technology suspension and many other reasons why it will need more TLC than a newer bike. Leave it to the classic bike lovers and get an SV, or if you like Honda, get an NT650 Hawk which is like the SV.
Both of these bikes have very long life engines, better handling and you can still find parts for them at your local dealer.