COMMERCIAL: 1988 Honda Pacific Coast Motorcycle

[2007tacoma]

that actually is a really nice looking bike, even here in 2011, it could pass as a newer bike

[axelberry1]

I own 2 1989 PC's.

1 has 71,700 miles and the other has 9,000.

I can not wear them both out so 1 is for sale.

[HandsOfHumanity]

I bought a 1989 with only 18,000 miles on it last year. Yes, its a bit of a pain to service (I do it) but it is an AWESOME bike. I get some weird looks on the road, but crowds of people with tons of questions when I'm stopped. Nobody believes its a 22 year old bike. It's comfortable, quick and relatively maintenance free. I just bought a sidecar and color matched it for the bike. It should be very cool when I hook it up in a couple of weeks. It's definitely a keeper.

[Tabstarbelle]

@EatTheWeeds I think it's a great bike. I'm not a driver, but a rider and it's by far the most comfortable bike I've been on and I've been fortunate; I've been on many. Honda's injustice? Not continuing this line. Gold Wing and Aspencade are nice but far too much 'machine' for me. The Magna/Shadow, etc are very nice also, but still the typical motorcycle styling. The PC was different and I like it! If I could talk my friend into selling his...it would be in my garage tomorrow !

[EatTheWeeds]

The PC800 is the best engineered motorcycle ever made.

[SR71BBFLYER]

I had a leftover '90 model bought new in '92. Put about 30 thousand miles on it in 4 yrs. The best do it all bike I ever owned.

[baunit]

I have one in Argentina, the 1994 model.

[pman1018]

This cool commercial is a clear indication of what California (The Pacific Coast; not to be confused w/ the bike) looks like.

[jetskingerik]

wow deselms likes to talk, talk about a human encyclopedia. and what a cheesy comercial! neet bike though. if i could get one cheep mabey i would get one, how much do these go for?

[nomaddamon2]

Father has one its a sweet bike

[robayd]

That bike is so sweet. I wish I could have one.

[seyfarth]

I had one of those. The 1988 model in white featured here. Great bike. Super quiet and reliable. Sort of the Accord of motorcycles. No "real" biker would have been caught dead on one. It was meant to sell to yuppies. Still great, though. The only problem was all the body work. Servicing the bike required removal of all kinds of panels that had to be removed, and replaced in an exact sequence. Like a puzzle. I sold mine after my wife nagged me to pare down the motorcycle colection.

[seyfarth]

I was expecting Gordon Gecko to show up anytime.

[DesElms]

The motorcycle in the video is a 1989, not a 1988, "Honda Pacific Coast," model number "PC800". The video may have been made in '88 because, as with automobiles, the sales season for any given model year always starts in the autumn of the previous year; and, of course, Honda would have wanted to begin promoting during the previous summer. So, I'm guessing that the video was made in the Spring of '88, and Honda began showing it sometime that summer. However, the bike's model year was '89.

[feetupbob]

I was in a Honda commercial in 1985/86 for the V45/65 magna (I don't remember). It only ran in canada but was filmed in the Nevada desert outside Reno. I'm looking for a copy of that spot. Any help?????

[pman1018]

DesElms, that's very interesting info! I couldn't find info on this bike ANYWHERE else! Thanks!

[DesElms]

The PC800's extremely rugged and virtually maintenance-free engine was an 800 cc v-twin... a modified version of the 800 cc engine that was in the Honda Shadow of those days. Because it was a twin, it vibrated a tiny bit at idle, but smoothed-out to the point that it could barely be either heard or felt once the bike was moving. It was, in fact, an extraordinarily smooth riding machine.

[DesElms]

Though, from behind, some thought the PC800 looked a bit like an oversized scooter of some kind, it was, indeed, a full-sized and full-performing motorcycle... a sport tourer. In fact, from the front, it looked similar to the Honda ST-1100, which, at the time, was the only other sport-tourer of roughly the same genre as the PC800. The only other Honda bike in the same league was the larger, full-dresser Gold Wing.

[DesElms]

The PC800 was the result of a Honda experiment wherein engineers from the motorcycle and the automotive divisions collaborated to see what they could design. The result was a highly stylized motorcycle with sweeping lines that made it look almost like it had been sculpted from a block of clay. Everything was covered in fiberglass, so no engine or frame parts were visible. Even the handlebars were encased in gray plastic. The instrument cluster looked more like an automotive dashboard.

[rodb47]

Sorry dude. There is no fiberglass. It's all plastic.

[DesElms]

It was made for only two or three years starting in '89, then discontinued. Then Honda started making it again for a few years through, I believe, 1998. Only around 13,000 were made in all, across all model years... so they're relatively rare. The first 1989 model year's color was "Pearl White Metallic", as shown in the video. The 1990 model was "Candy Glory Red" (also a metallic color). All other US model years were flat colors... usually black or red.

[DesElms]

The most interesting/unique feature of the bike -- the one that seemed to attract the most attention -- was the "clamshell" trunk lid. Its difficult to discern in the video, but the passenger seat was atop the trunklid, which hinged near the back of the driver's seat, and opened-up like an automotive trunklid. Inside the completely-enclosed trunk was enough room for a couple of helmets, two small, gymbag-sized duffles, an owner's manual and other paperwork, and a small tool pouch.

[DesElms]

The PC800 was more than enough motorcycle for long trips. It was very comfortable and could cruse all day long at 80 mph without breaking a sweat. Of course, with only an 800 cc engine, and all that fiberglass, it wasn't exactly a "crotch rocket"; but it held its own and never let the rider down when passing or hill-climbing. Over the years, I rode the two '89s that I once owned through all but three US states; and made several two- or three-week-long odysseys from coast to coast... and back.

[DesElms]

Today, the PC800 enjoys an almost cult-like following among its owners. There are used bikes from each model year still available and for sale in the paper or at a dealer. There is a group of PC800 owners on Yahoo Groups, if anyone's interested in learning more. If you dig around the group you'll find that one of its members maintains a web page with PC800s for sale, and another page with all kinds of parts information. Honda still sells parts for, and its dealers will still repair, PC800s.

[aguyinback]

Yes, I have a red-over-silver 1990 PC800 and I love it!