Hawk or SV?

[seth399]

I dunno, personally I think "Dangerous Dan K" and the 600 class go hand in hand

No but my crappy 2cents, I would say just get an sv. Hawks are dope but I think you will spend more time/money/etc dialing it in

[Kurlon]

Why not just LWSS your EX500?

Start with a 93 or earlier. Upgrade to 17 inch wheels.

Rip the airbox and carbs off, you're pre 94, you don't have to worry about staying stock there. A pair of big'ol flatslides will do the job nicely when breathing through a couple velocity stacks.

Again, you're pre 94, so drop the engine... cams, oversize valves, port the head within an inch of it's life. Bore the sucker out too, 600cc is easily achieved with reports of 80+ if done right. Honking loud exhaust, and you're done there.

Send the forks out to MEI-INC to have cartridges installed, have Peter Kates build a shock and then dial the whole package in. (Note, you'll get an earful for putting cartridges in 37mm flimsy fliers...)

Tada, a LWSS bike that is still the EX you know and love but will give you a fighting chance HP wise outside of LRRS.

If you can afford this, I've got a 110hp + aircooled Duc 800 project on the back of another napkin, not to mention my SV squashing GS500 build plan... Did I mention my LRRS legal ULSB 748 plan?

Now that the sillyness is out of the way, you have two options.
1) Race what you want. This is club racing, right? Get the bike you want, till you're an expert it's 99.9% rider anyways, and even after rider still plays a huge part of it.
2) Race to win. Pick a class, build a bike to the max based on the rules and go to it tiger.

[Doc]

I wanna hear the 748 plan. PM me.

[OreoGaborio]

Why not just LWSS your EX500?

The words "Polish" and "Turd" come to mind

[a13x]

Quick sticky the thread! Doc's making a ton of sense!!

[OreoGaborio]

DOC, YOO KAN DO EEEET!

[Pittenger5]

Quick sticky the thread! Doc's making a ton of sense!!

AND ITS 66 DEGREES IN DECEMBER!
ITS 2012 2 years early!

[Kurlon]

The words "Polish" and "Turd" come to mind

Heh, did you read the rest of my post, after that part... this isn't just polishing, we're talking full on turd sculpture!

[nt650hawk]

The words "Polish" and "Turd" come to mind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rax27_ZIVM&feature=player_embedded

[Doc]

Quick sticky the thread! Doc's making a ton of sense!!

DOC, YOO KAN DO EEEET!

AND ITS 66 DEGREES IN DECEMBER!
ITS 2012 2 years early!

No way!! Where? Quote it! :

[OreoGaborio]

Oh noooooo, you sawk agaaaaaain!

[OreoGaborio]

Heh, did you read the rest of my post, after that part... this isn't just polishing, we're talking full on turd sculpture!

Haha, word... And a spectactular turd sculputre it would be

[PPS26]

[QUOTE=Doc;831212]Granted I think it is easier to get those times outta an SV,(and I question just how SS those SV's are...) The Lap Record on a Hawk at Loudon is 1:17.2 What is it on a SS SV?QUOTE]
I dont know if its a "record" but todd babcock did a 1:15.9 in a practice on his ss sv, and him and rick during a race did 1:16.1s on their ss svs, During a mwpt race rick did a 1:16.7 on a 100& stock motor sv goes to show hp isnt needed, i did a 1:20 flat on the same bike i have a while to go haha, but the sv is an allaround good bike that can be competative at any ccs event

[Punjistick]

I'm with Kurlon. Pick the class you want to race in the most and then build a bike to suit it. Either way hurry up and get out of P-twins so I can win a couple!

["Dangerous" Dan K]

You're SOL Alex... Ptwins is the class I want to run @ LRRS. I am thinking a second bike for on the road in the off season. From all the input in this thread I wonder if the best solution may just be to stay on the EX even on the road. We're talking a race a month or so in the off season, I won't know the tracks and will likely get my ass kicked regardless of the bike, so maybe I should just stay on the bike I want to be competitive on @ LRRS for the seat time. I do plan on getting out of Novice this season though, so you'll be free to take your wins as you want them. You'd better hope Don bumps too though, that guy is freaking fast. It's actually one of my goals to beat him before I bump, but if he bumps before I can I'll just keep chasing him in AM. Leading 7 laps and getting passed on the last... ouch!

edit: option 2, courtesy of Kurlon, is to build a 2nd EX. Something for Sunday's race and on the road. Hm... pass the turd polish please? I really, really like this turd...

[CEO]

Gino... your hawk is not an underdog... it's a built beast that is more than competitive in its class


Dan, buy an SV.

It's common and easy to get parts for. A lot of people seem to like to overcomplicate racing by getting some odd bike or doing some exotic motorwork... just buy the bike and ride the shit out of it IMHO, concentrate on your riding. Maybe they like to do that because they then have a built-in excuse, though...

[jcbell1007]

Put my vote in for a hawk.

just because I like mine.

[Trouble]

+1

And because this thread was making me sad to be a Hawk owner

And because I figure if there are enough people racing Hawks then they may keep the class limited longer. Not that I've raced yet but I'm half planning to this year.

I bought my Hawk with the prospect of racing it and I wanted to be in a class with a fairly limited number of participants so it wouldn't be quite so much of a mad house when I began. If I had racing experience already I might be more inclined to buy an SV for all of the above mentioned reasons. The Hawk is a fun bike and it's been a great bike to learn the track on. That and I love all the comments it gets in the garages. Parts aren't hard to come by but I get the feeling it truly is a dying breed.

[Pittenger5]

I love Hawks too. If you were gonna run it at Loudon sure its a great bike. But his point is to use it everywhere EXCEPT Loudon, which makes it a bad idea

[Kurlon]

A lot of people seem to like to overcomplicate racing by getting some odd bike or doing some exotic motorwork...

LIES!

[SVRACER01]

I disagree with Oxx though. Same rider on a SS SV or an ULSB Hawk I bet would put down comparable lap times. Or we could look at the Fast guys in those classes at Loudon:
SS SV 1:17's to low 1:20's
ULSB Hawks, 1:18's low 1:20's
Granted I think it is easier to get those times outta an SV,(and I question just how SS those SV's are...) The Lap Record on a Hawk at Loudon is 1:17.2 What is it on a SS SV?

how can you say you disagree when you just affirmed what i said?
OK..maybe i should say that a SS SV will OUTrun most ULSB hawks
a SS SV will run with most ULSB hawk any day. and its true. there may be a few hawks that will outrun a SS SV but 16s on a stock SV isnt unheard of. 14s on a SB SV and now that rick has a dyno at his disposal...12s..11s?

[Doc]

I love Hawks too. If you were gonna run it at Loudon sure its a great bike. But his point is to use it everywhere EXCEPT Loudon, which makes it a bad idea

Have you ridden one yet?

Don't get discouraged about your Hawks. They are great little bikes and you will love putting bigger bikes to shame in the corners.

Gino's Bike is not much more built than the other Hawks at Loudon. Give the man some credit.

[Doc]

how can you say you disagree when you just affirmed what i said?
OK..maybe i should say that a SS SV will OUTrun most ULSB hawks
a SS SV will run with most ULSB hawk any day. and its true. there may be a few hawks that will outrun a SS SV but 16s on a stock SV isnt unheard of. 14s on a SB SV and now that rick has a dyno at his disposal...12s..11s?

Part of the challege I guess. I wouldn't mind Stock SV's in ULSB. Just keep the SB SV's out for a couple more years please.

[jcbell1007]

even with my suspension the way it was earlier this year, I still had a phenominal time on my hawk at Loudon. I too bought it with intentions to race and I'm looking for the april race weekend to be my first.

that being said, I know I won't be the fastest, or the best, or the prettiest bike out there, but god damn it, i'm still gonna have fun and I hope to learn enough to become competitive.

If I ever do move up, I think i've settled on a tard, but who knows, thats a long ways away.

/end thread hijack

[nt650hawk]

Gino... your hawk is not an underdog... it's a built beast that is more than competitive in its class

Built to the rules. Every one else can do the same.

HELL IT'S VINTAGE according to the date on the bike...

70Hp is Less than the Duc 800's 80-85 out there.
70 Hp is more than a Tard at 55-60 hp but gives up about 100#. That this is approximately 12.5 HP, If you go by the 8 lb=1 hp vague rule plus that corning ability.