4 Legendary Honda Motorcycles From The ’80s You Can Still Appreciate Today

The ’80s was a transformative decade for the international renown of Honda as a motorcycle brand and, more broadly, a racing powerhouse. The decade opened with the introduction of the Honda Tact in 1980, and while it’s a motor scooter rather than a motorcycle in a technical sense, it highlighted something very important: the Japanese giant was looking to expand into all sectors of the two-wheeled market. That very year, Japan was the biggest auto manufacturer in the world, and Honda’s expansion would be a critical part of that. It was quite fast during this decade, too: In 1981, Honda Manufacturing Nigeria began operations, following its incorporation in 1979. Before the decade was out, the brand would also begin manufacturing motorcycles in India (1985) and Mexico (1988) too.
In 1982, the Honda Racing Corporation was established, which underscored the fact that motorcycle racing would be a big priority for the company going forward. All of this makes plain that the ’80s started with a statement of intent from the company: This would be an enormous decade for Honda motorcycles. In 1984, the brand marked 50 million motorcycles manufactured around the world. In 2025, that number became 500 million, which demonstrates that Honda has barely removed its foot from the gas ever since in that regard.
Nonetheless, a lot of enthusiasts have a special place in their hearts for Honda’s motorcycle output from the ’80s, which includes some world-renowned models and some particularly valuable collector’s items. Here are some of the most acclaimed bikes the company made during this crucial period, and how enthusiasts can still appreciate them today. Honda has made some very successful motorcycles, and some of them date back to this very special era for the company.
With any piece of technology, whether it’s a tablet or a motorcycle, it’s a tremendous boon to be the very first to incorporate something new. That’s how you turn heads and ultimately make sales. In the case of 1982s VF750 Sabre, the headline feature was something very special: Its V4 engine. It was the first model to incorporate Honda’s new V4, and indeed the very first production model ever to boast a liquid-cooled one. This 750cc powertrain was particularly innovative in its double-camshaft setup and the implementation of the Overdrive gear. The VF750 Sabre and its counterpart, the Magna, shared this engine. This fact, needless to say, had some important implications for the models’ performance, along with other technical additions.
The Sabre and Magna weren’t just a case of showing off an elaborate and powerful new engine, though. According to Honda,