School me: Honda Superhawk

[loudbeard]

VTR1000, not the CB77.

Best I can tell is its a 1000 cc twin that isn't a pig. Seems like an interesting candidate for a cafe build.

I can't seem to decide on what I want for a street bike these days, so I've determined I need to just get something cheap, make it cool, and ride it. If I don't like, rinse, repeat. If I do like it, rinse, repeat.

What's to know? What's to look for? Seems like a lot of decent bikes out there for the $2-3k range.

[AimlessMoto]

Having a buddy who rides the ba-jesus out of his, and having ridden it.... it's basically Honda naked V-twin RC51 superbike... slightly de-tuned.

It's punchy, loud, pulls the wheel up in 3rd, can do amazing rolling burnouts like you've never seen....

Stock suspension is pretty good, brakes are alright.

Look for signs of abuse, wear and tear... they're pretty bulletproof.

Why the VTR? Just because it's different?

[PhilB]

It's a cool bike. It wishes it was a Ducati.

The only downside of those that I am aware of is that they get crappy fuel mileage, like 25 to 30 mpg.

PhilB

[backinthesaddle]

Big carbs small tank on the first models anyway. Friend has a nice one for sale. He tracks it with TTD quite often.

[RandyO]

It's a cool bike. It wishes it was a Ducati.

The only downside of those that I am aware of is that they get crappy fuel mileage, like 25 to 30 mpg.

PhilB

yep

[number9]

In Australia they were called the Firestorm, which I think is a cooler name than Superhawk.

HTH.

[b0xmonkey]

Fun bikes. Motor feels pretty weak in stock form. Add exhaust, jets and air filter and it becomes 2X the fun.

[Chippertheripper]

I've always been told they're big, heavy, wallowing pigs.
So for a street bike, that kind of sounds ideal.

[Drewski]

If you do look at/get one, check for manual CCTs, the stock ones have the reputation for letting go. My '98 gets 90 - 105 miles per tank depending on temp/season/etc.... Torque galore and it is a lot of fun to ride, seating position isn't really too aggressive unlike the RC51. Good luck if you decide to go this route.

[SwiftTone]

If it's anything like the rc51, the side mount radiators suck and will cook you alive. Also the radiators may not be cafeish.

[duganc1717]

I would go with a Suzuki TL1000s before the Honda Super hawk, I found the Super hawk extremely anything, but entertaining!

[loudbeard]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm really not a fan in stock form, but there are some pretty sweet examples of cafe bikes and fighters I really dig. Buying season is coming up soon, I'll see if I can find something to work on in the basement over the winter.

[Falko]

My good friend had one at the same time I had my Falco. We would trade off occasionally. Couple things I noticed between the two bikes, the Honda engine seemed peakier and not as smooth. It may have had slight more power but it may have felt that way because of the power delivery, never really drove it hard. The frame and suspension on the Honda felt softer and not as solid. Sorry, all I can compare it to is my bike at the time.

[nt650hawk]

Best KEY BANGS that can even be heard miles away thru an entire realm of Animals.......

[Stoneman]

I wasn't overly impressed with mine and ended up trading it for a TL-R. Solid Honda build, well thought out and all that. But I never found any 'WOW!' factor with it. I think it only lasted half a year for me or some shit. It was a pig on gas, and I didn't like how the frame felt when cornering hard. It was just how it felt to me, it didn't bother a lot of people. It just didn't...do it for me...

[02redhawk]

If you're spending $3k I'd imagine the forks were resprung and the shock replaced already (closer to $2k if not done). Aftermarket shocks are hard to come by for the vtr as the market was pretty small. Switching to the manual cct is easy, cheap and should be done as a chain failure means game over. Fun weekend projects.

Nobody is going to confuse the big vtwin's handling with a supersport but it feels like it carries its weight low. They are more on the tour of sport-tour. Keeping that in mind the engine is all day fun and most people who had one miss it once they sold it.

As for the radiators I didn't have a problem with excess heat. Check superhawkforum to see where others have replaced the 2 side units with a single undertail mount.

Have fun with your project.

[Garrett]

Best KEY BANGS that can even be heard miles away thru an entire realm of Animals.......

Is that a cocaine joke?

I've ridden a friends Superhawk. I like it. Torque, bark, sporty with out being too taxing on the upper body. I know I'll never exceed the grip of the tires on the street so it handled fine for me.