'83 Nighthawk CB550SC tank interchange?

[620dark]

Hi folks,

We have an '83 CB550SC Honda Nighthawk that runs like a champ, needs almost no maintenance, and looks like every other "broke back" Honda from the '80s We can't sell the thing even though it would be a great first bike or even a great daily driver. I rode the thing 120 miles a day regularly 30/70 street/highway with no issues.

It looks like swapping the tank with something more '70s Honda (and some Superbike bars and a better seat) would greatly improve the aesthetic appeal of the bike. It doesn't help that the stock tank has a nice dent in it either! Has anyone done something like this? I'm not that worried about the rear mount of the tank, but I am worried about where the tank sits on the front rubber mounts, as that would be harder to correct.

Any thoughts? Anyone done this before?

Here's a bad picture of it to give you an idea of what it looks like now:

 

[dragonrider]

Did you ever find your answer? I have a friend looking to do the same thing. I can not see why it wouldn't work.

 

[620dark]

I kind of got involved in other projects (see my sig), so the poor Nighthawk has sat as it is. The darn thing runs like a top, it's just not great to look at.

I suspect you may need to relocate the tank mount rubbers at the front of the bike, so a welder might help there. Keep us posted with what you come up with!

 

[Trash Works]

Not sure if I am heading the right direction but this is where I am at with a '83 550. Started out as a father son project, but the son had different "artistic" ideas of what he wanted a bike to look like. This is where we were when we parted ways. You can see where he is headed with the CR500 next to it.

 

[Trash Works]

I was going for the bobber idea. He wanted to go more Cafe' racer with a bit of old school/retro. I wanted a low down cheap bad boy ride. I wanted to use what was available to me on hand, & not spend a ton of money.

 

[Trash Works]

Then I saw what he was going for. So I took my own rendering of it & this is what direction I am heading.

 

[clem]

This is my 550sc with an early CA200 tank on it. Wasn't much work to make it fit.

 

[620dark]

Wow, good inspirational pictures!