anyone ever had a Rebel 450?

[Musick17]

one of my friends dad has a Honda Rebel 450 that he'll sell me for 700 bucks.

getting 45 miles a gallon is cheap riding through the summer.

anyone ever had one that can tell me anything to watch out for or what good and bad about it?

 

[Shawn_248]

I've ridden a rebel 250 and I have a kawasaki eliminator 125. Believe it or not, my 125 is a lot more peppy and more comfortable for my 6'3 ass to ride on. I've never heard of the rebel 450. I know hondas are good reliable bikes. Don't think you're gona win any races with it, but it be nice for cruisin around on

 

[TheTopher]

The 450s weren't around for very long, I guess customers were either buying the rebel 250 or stepping up to something bigger than a rebel. I was looking at buying one a while back and everything I read said that people seemed to be pretty happy with them. I'd say go for it, at least where I live that's a hell of a deal. You're lucky to find a running rebel 250 for under a grand, regardless of age. Let alone a 450.

 

[Ranger97XL]

I might get my license this summer, and a Rebel is what I've been looking for, I've only heard good things. My dad swears by hondas, only other bike he would get is an Indian

 

[fastpakr]

Bringing this back from the dead... Did you end up buying the 450? Great bike, but parts are occasionally hard to chase down. Jack at RebelCatalog.com is your friend - never seen a business with better customer service.

 

[mentalbreakdown00]

They made the 450 rebel for 2 yrs. I have had one, loved it, but just got so darned old I got tired of working on it.

 

[mad hatter]

ditto on Jack!

 

[fastpakr]

Bringing this back from the dead... Did you end up buying the 450? Great bike, but parts are occasionally hard to chase down. Jack at RebelCatalog.com is your friend - never seen a business with better customer service.

Disregard my comment about parts being hard to find. I communicated with Jack yesterday and he indicated that he now has a source for all major items other than the fuel tank.

All that said, if you're looking for something very similar to the Rebel 450 but a bit newer, look no further than the Vulcan 500. Similar weight, similar parallel twin engine, styling, etc. In production until 2009, so parts are unlikely to be a problem for a very long time. Extremely reliable and easy to work on. The engine is a slightly modified version of the Ninja 500 (less aggressive cam, mostly) and makes about 50hp. With it's lower weight and high output, performance numbers are closer to the typical 750-1100cc cruiser range.