About a year ago I installed a product called SOS Priority Lights on my 93 Nighthawk. What Priority Lights do is convert the rear turn signals to full time running lights, making you much more visible to motorists behind you during the day or night. At night, I can see the road lit up with orange light behind me in my mirrors. In addition, when the brakes are applied, the turn signals flash rapidly for one and a half seconds, then go to full bright. It does not affect the brake light in any way. I can increase the duration of flashing by lightly applying and releasing the brakes every second or so as I come up to a stop. This is a wonderful safety improvement, and I have definitely noticed that drivers don't come up so close behind me since the installation.

This unit is connected to the rear turn signals, and needs 12v to operate. It is solid state, so there is no mechanical relay clicking away. Following the wiring diagram in the Honda shop manual, installation was fairly straightforward. I did deviate from the instructions by soldering the connections, instead of using the supplied clamp on connectors, which simply pierce the jacket of the wires. I mounted the unit with its double-sided foam tape in the tool tray under the seat, and just placed the toolkit in the storage area in the tail. It fit under both my stock Honda seat, and recently purchased Corbin seat. I did wonder about the life of the bulbs in the rear signals, as they are on all the time now, but they have lasted over a year without failure.

I did have a problem initially with the unit I purchased. After installation it seemed to be working great. On occasion, when I would put on my turn signal and hit the brakes, the front signal would flash very rapidly, and the rear would not come on at all. This would happen about every fourth or fifth time I would signal and brake. Needless to say, that was very dangerous, and I called the manufacturer to look for a solution. I spoke with a man, who I think was the designer of the product, and he had never heard of the problem. He thought about it and called me back and said he was building me a custom unit to try. He said the electrical system of the Nighthawk must be noisy, and he would work in something to filter out the noise. Well, it came in a few days, and it has worked great ever since. Not a single malfunction. He definitely made me a happy customer. I do not know if they have made any changes to the unit to avoid this problem for others. I would be interested to read about any experiences with it.

There are other makers of similar products, and I have no knowledge of them. I would definitely recommend this product to anyone who rides. I haven't seen a more effective means of increasing a riders visibility to others on the road.

As far as visibility in front of a rider, I can recommend Moto Lights, which are in the advertising section of the motorcycle mags. My dad bought them for his Nighthawk, and they are constructed of high quality materials. They mount to the fork legs, and the switch can be placed just about anywhere. They are also extremely bright, blinding oncoming traffic if they are not aimed slightly down towards the road. Even in the day, they are visible from a very long distance. Also, they don't seem to strain the battery, as it always turns over strong. Traffic really seems to take notice of them, and they might even keep a few cars from pulling out in front of us.

Britton Cain

• Honda-For the 90's Nighthawk's, Honda is the only choice. I know they make one for the 750's.. It's a nice one, combining a backrest with the luggage rack. It's chrome, with a small leatherette bag incorporated into the rear of the backrest portion. Honda says it's only rated for 6 pounds. Ha Ha. It sure looks stronger than that. I had at least 20 lbs. on that sucker during my recent trip. One word of warning. It's not a simple "just bolt it on" installation. You'll have to cut some of your rear plastic fairing away on both sides to provide clearance for the mounting, drill to enlarge a couple of holes, and you'll need a tap and die set if you aren't careful with your drilling (don't even ask me about that one!) Also, pay particular attention to the warning about routing the cables & wires, or you will have to take it apart and do it over again! Honda also makes a backrest for the 250 Nighthawk.
• Other Mfg-I am unaware of any other manufacturers that make a Luggage Rack for the Nighthawk 250 or 750.

• Honda- I am ignorant as far as which models Honda supported, but more than likely they sold these for all models except the 82 & 82 750. I have seen photo's of Nighthawk 650's and 750's with luggage racks, and luggage rack/back rest combinations, but am unsure of the manufacturer. Help me out here with your knowledge.
• Other Mfg-KG made a backrest & luggage rack combo with a sliding adjustable back rest, and a stand-alone luggage rack for 80's bikes. They are no longer in business, so salvage yards are your best hope for one of these.
• Here's an unlikely source -
  • I found a used BMW luggage rack at a Motorcycle Surplus shop and it fit my '83 650 just fine. It is made of high-grade aluminum and is MUCH lighter than the usual racks you see. I now have a trunk mounted on top of it and it makes a great commuter bike
  • Mike Hewitt

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  Engine Protection Bars
  These are sometimes called crash bars, but if you're in a real crash, they ain't gonna do shit for you or your bike. The real purpose is to protect your engine covers from damage should you drop your bike! That is possible, you know! Not a lot of choices, though. It's either Honda or nothing, for any year Nighthawk.
  

  Honda

  The picture on the left will be a good example of how camera perspective can fool you. Those "crash bars" look huge, almost big enough to stick your feet on and cruise, don't they? In real life they are only 7" tall, and stick out a little less than 1" from the engine! That's enough to do what they were designed to do, but you aren't going to cruise down the highway with your feet resting on them.

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  Highway Pegs

J.C. Whitney sells a set which will bolt on to the Nighthawk 750 Engine Protection Bars. They fold up when not in use, and run $ 15.00.

I just installed a pair on my 95 -750 made by "Hap Jones", model # 03984, and they fit well and install easily and snugly. They were designed for 1" crash protection bars, so they fit the Nighthawk perfectly. They cost $14.99 at my local Independant motorcycle shop. Hap Jones makes another style with more chrome for $19.99--the package states they will fit crash bars from 1 to 1-1/4" in diameter -- don't buy them. They don't tighten enough to work on the Nighthawk 1" bars. You will strip the cheap bolt long before they're tight enough. Trust me on this. Even though they look nicer they do not work on the Nighthawk's bars.

 This is a "must have" item if you are going to be doing any touring. After a few high mileage days, your right wrist is going to get tired and sore. A throttle lock will run you any where from 25 to 50 bucks installed. One manufacturer is "Vanda", who makes a unit with all chrome pieces! Mine is all black plastic, and it's called a VistaCruise, maded by S.O.S. I believe it runs about 22.95 and is available at Motorcycle Accessory Warehouse.

After market handle bars are available that will fit any Nighthawk. If you go with any that are much taller or pulled back than the stock bars, you'll have to reroute or even replace your clutch cable and brake hose to allow them to fit.

Another solution from is to install Handlebar risers, which give you about 1" rise and 1" more pullback. GenMar makes them. The model for the ST1100 works just fine on the 90's 750 Nighthawk, and you don't need to modify any cables or hoses! Thanks to Gene McLoud for the info.

RandyO Update: 8-18-99

I just installed the GenMar risers on my 95 750. I really like the added height and pullback. More of a relaxed standard seating position. Easier on the neck and upper back for those of use over 40. Here's a few tips for you if you're contemplating ordering a set for your bike:

1. They're available in brushed aluminum or anodized black. Make sure you specify which when ordering.

2. Prior to pulling off the caps and removing the handlebar, the riser bolts should be loosened a couple of turns. If this isn't done the riser just turns with the bolt without the handlebars holding them in place.

3. The stock rubber bushings should be placed back in their original positions.

4. Insure that that handlebars are lined up and remain straight while performing final tightening on the bottom riser bolts.

You can change your Nighthawk's character with a different sprocket and chain. If you want to make it quicker at the expense of fuel mileage, go with a 1 tooth smaller (14) counter-sprocket, or a 1 or 2 tooth larger rear sprocket.

To lower your highway RPM's and increase gas mileage, install either a 1 tooth larger (16) countersprocket, or a 1 or 2 tooth smaller rear sprocket. I installed a 16 tooth countersprocket (that's the one in front) on my 95 750. You can read about the modification and the results. I've corresponded with another owner who's interested in making his quicker, and is planning to up his rear sprocket from 38 to 42 teeth. I'll let you all know if I hear anything else about his project.