4-3-2-WON
 

See the review here: http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Articl...ID=1373&Page=1
http://photos.motorcycle-usa.com/Web/04_432_main.jpg

Does that make 2nd place the 1st loser???

Good article though.

Re: 4-3-2-WON
 

Kinda confirms my thoughts that the Speed Triple is one bad ass motorcycle, and a worthy possible successor to my Super Hawk.

It's nice to see the old bike get any kind of recognition. It seems to be forgotten by everyone because of the RC51 and all the 4 cyl liter bikes.

Jeff
redsuperhawk

Re: 4-3-2-WON
 

Have you guys seen the '05 S3? Many people think it's great. The fact that the engine's displacement was increased to 1050cc is good I think; but I really don't like how it looks...or how any Triumph looks for that matter. What's up with the '05 S3 have twin, undertail exhaust? It's a 3 cylinder bike and just seems silly and very copycat-like to me.

Re: 4-3-2-WON
 

I guess it was not such a bad article, but come on, the VTR is basically unchanged in the last 8 years? and they are comparing it to these new bikes?

How about you take the 1997 Kawasaki Zephyr 1100 <-link and compare it to the VTR, not the new wiz bang Z1000, that would be fair.

Yes the Honda VTR1000F needs an update, and it will need one soon as the EU emission laws will push it to be cut from the line up, or supplied with EFI. The Honda touring off-road ugly Varadero has had EFI for years.....But what do I know, Honda does as Honda does, I mean they let Rossi get away.... :twisted: so who knows who is running the show anymore!!

I've basically turned my VTR into what they say the VTR should be come, well minus the EFI and larger fuel tank, but the fuel range has become a not issue as I went back to stock and now often go an easy 180 Km before the RLOD, which in Japan is more than far enough.

Well I thought I would just chime in here.

Cheers!

Re: 4-3-2-WON
 

Well it looks like they just had the Hawk available for the test since a SV naked was not around .

The Hawk simply does not fit in the category that the other two are in ... so screw em and what they think :lol:

I believe someday pristine Hawks with lower miles will be sought after by many . I think some people will want the rawness " is that a word ?lol " of a carbed twin instead of the sewing machines the future will bring speaking of , man those Z-1000's will honk it on with some motor work .

I have road the Busa's , ZX-12R's and one stroked 12R but never ever ever road and had fun like the Z-1000 we built . It's a wild child for sure with right at 160 to the rear it does not fear many bikes needless to say .

Thanks for the link . I'll take and love n cherish the Hawk for what it is and let the burden of the number one rod bearing failures rest on the Trumpet owners :)

Re: 4-3-2-WON
 

ok...couple of things here. the FEELING of accelaration? hmmmmm...tell my friends when i blow them away at sstop lights that what they are seeing is a feeling. outdated design? anyone remember when the lambo countach came out? mid seventies..then late eighties, with the same design? dont change what works. plus i like the fact i own a bike i dont see too much on the street. i know people who have had to change tailights just to find their bike outside the local hole in the wall cause everyone rides an R-1. anyway......

Re: 4-3-2-WON
 

I see the continual cycle of "comparo" reviews that tend to lump the VTR into groups with unlikely competitors as being a good sign.

It shows that the VTR does not fit comfortably within a category, is in a category of its own (as the favorable reviews often point-out). After all, is there another "sport twin" out there that might boast of being the "world's funnest low-maintenance all-arounder?" Sure, the SV1000S is a flash ride, but I wouldn't want to ride one of those rascals for more than 100 miles-or-so: the rider position of the SV1000S is too aggresive to carry these creaky bones too far in comfort. ;)

Re: 4-3-2-WON
 

Wow, nice comparison of the 3 bikes. I am going to mirror what the others here and in the press have said...the VTR does indeed accelerate in a very deceptive way.

You definitely feel it pulling hard, but once your body reaches a constant 'g'' force that the VTR provides ('cause it's not peaky) you tend to "relax" a bit and it doesn't feel like it's pulling all that hard anymore... because it's so linear.

A quick glance down at the speedo reminds you that you are, in fact accelerating HARD and you better back off or get a big ticket!

Cheers,
B. Light

Re: 4-3-2-WON
 

Great article! thanks for posting it and letting us know about it! I must say, however, that even though the Speed Tripple won, it looks pretty homosexual. I'm pretty sure no one owns this bike because it reeks of KY Jelly styling. An owner of the S3 probably also owns a Vespa clone.

Re: 4-3-2-WON
 

I agree as well. I keep finding myself looking down at the bike to see why it's not pulling, and when I look back at the road ahead of me I see only sky. The same on the freeway, I never feel like I can "get out of anyone's way", but a glance at the little needle shows 75-80-85-90-95 faster than the old heart's beating. A fun ride to be sure.

Yeah...I'm used to the high revving of an R6....waiting for the power to "turn on" but I find myself kinda surprised everytime I get in the saddle that I don't have to wait like I had to previously...

But curtailing on what everybody said...it's funny how tey're comparing our "dated" bikes to bikes that are so modernized it rediculous. And funny thing is...we still came in second....

Re: 4-3-2-WON
 

I'm sorry....but the Kawasaki doesn't even count cause it is so #$&@ UGLY!

Re: 4-3-2-WON
 

Lots of differing opinions here. I think all three bikes are very good looking. The Speed Triple sure isn't pretty, but it's one bad ass looking bike. Same goes with the Z1000. The Super Hawk unfortunately is the most dated (and boring) looking of the bunch. But just because it looks boring doesn't mean it is. I've had seven years of good times on my Super Hawk.

Jeff

Dated? Boring? Maybe to some. I love it.
Too me it is like the Dated and Boring '69 Boss 429 Cougar :wink:
Not the pretest or fastest but it will definitely make your balls tingle.

A little ball tingling every now and then never hurt anyone, I think...

Speaking as a recent Superhawk owner and former Ducati owner, there is an enormous amount of pleasure in riding a bike where you don't need to be going all that fast to feel like you're getting a lot out of it. Overall rideability and lots of low-end torque really mean a lot in the real world. A current R6/Gixx/CBR 600 that would destroy Superduperhawk in a straightline would be totally non-interesting to me.

Superhawk vs Speed Triple
 

The local Triumph dealer had an open house yesterday and I took a demo ride on a Speed Triple. We got to open it up in a few places and I got the front wheel off the ground a couple of times. (they said we get one wheelie)

The Superhawk is far more refined (typical Honda) than the Speed Triple.

The upright riding position of the Triple is comfortable around town and the stock seat is better than the Superhawk. But on the highway you catch a bunch of wind on the Triple (why spoil the looks with a windshield?) and the suspension on the Triple is harsh compared to the Superhawk. So except for the suspension pretty equal comfort wise around town and the Superhawk is superior on the road.

Handling is good on the Triple. It feels very compact and easy to flick around. It is a fun bike to ride. So handling wise equal I would say if you leave out the suspension action.

Shifting is no comparision. The Superhawk feels like butter compared to the Speed Triple. The Speed Triple shifts very positively with a longer throw (I never missed a gear) but makes a loud clunk every time you shift.

Acceleration. The bikes both run smoothly and about equal below 4000. The Superhawk makes a lot more power 4500-7000. The Speed Triple is very entertaining above 7000 and makes a great, really cool sound. 7000 is about where the front wheel starts coming up on the Speed Triple compared to about 4500 on the Superhawk. The Speed Triple did not feel any stronger on top than the Superhawk and I think the Superhawk would walk away from the Speed Triple on top. So they both sound really cool and both are fun to ride.

Bottom line. The Speed Triple would make a great hooligan bike around town but since I can only have one and it's too bad I can't have both the Superhawk is far more refined and really in a class above the Speed Triple. I'm glad I bought the Superhawk since the Speed Triple was the other bike I considered when I bought the Superhawk.

I rode a new 06 Speed Triple with the 1050 engine and the dual undertail exhaust.

over the summer I went to a triumph demo near chicago. I was hoping to get to ride a 675 daytona, but they had been signed out since the day before. I had my choice between a 06 sprint ST or a rocket. well I'm not much for 2wheeled trucks so I picked the sprint. same motor as the speed triple. it was very smooth and even though its heavier than the hawk, It felt nimble enough. around town it was smooth and had good acceleration but it didn't equal the "hold on to your ass" feeling that the superhawk gives. the only thing I didn't like about it was that when taking corners at moderate speeds, the front end tended to drift wide. I don't know if its just something you accept when riding a sport tourer or not. this was my first. but I'll tell you, when I got back on the hawk and headed home, the sensation was: ahhhh that's better. nothing like riding a brand new sport bike (even a sport tourer) and coming away happier with your 8 year old hawk than you were before you rode it.

Honda really screwed th pooch by letting go of Rossi' (sorry, I am replying to one of the first posts)...They have Hayden (and the world championship that he won on his Honda), and Padrosa (who we think is an idiot because he torpedoed Hayden, and almost ruined the Championship) who is going to be one of the most talented racers ever (my opinion, but we will see soon enough). Rossi is great, but Honda hasn't lost anything yet!

I have had both bikes Speed Triple & Z1000
 

I have had both of those bikes. The speed triple was supposed to be a good handling bike. But compared to the Z1000 it handled like a dog. Hard to push into the corners and not flickable for being a no faired bike. Nice looking bike with the single side swing are and the boobs for head lights but not a good handling bike to say the least. Thats my expeirence.

Recently I picked up a 98 Super Hawk here in KC. It has been 10 yrs since I have owned a bike but I have ridden many that belong to friends...F4, CBR900RR, V-Max, ZX7's all kinds.

The Hawk was bought on a cold day and I wasn't able to even test ride. It ran, it looked straight, the title was clean and the price was right. The transaction was completed and we pushed the bike up the ramps into the back of the my truck.

The following weekend I headed down to northern Arkansas for a weekend of mountain biking and VTR test riding. It was chilly but I was excited so I headed out.

WOW! That's all I can say. In all my years of riding I have never felt a bike that rolled power on from 3K on. All the v-fours and inline fours just don't have that roll on from low RPM's.

The front end seems to get light as as soon as you get on the throttle. Then just when you think you can relax the tach hits 7500 rpm and her comes the front end clawing for the sky.

Color me impressed. And the red color just screams Ferrari of motorcycle.

Looking forward to new tires, brake pad, rotors and front springs. The front end diving under hard braking was a trait I didn't like at all.

later,

max

paging somefearinhere
 

somefearinhere:

Start a thread and introduce yourself properly. We won't bite to hard.

Also remember a thread is useless without pics.

Welcome to the dysfunctional family.

Dysfunctional? Hey!

Oh, that's right nevermind. Welcome to the dysfunctional family.

I'm pretty stoked the Superhawk aqcuitted itself so well against newer bikes. In a parallel story, 3 guys at my office bought motorcycles so (peer pressure is great) I did too. One of the other bikes is a new Street Triple that the guys were ga-gah over. And then... I rolled in my 9 year old, new to me Superhawk. Everybody loves the thing, its the new favorite in the parking lot. :shock: The half-faired, half sport/half street look was years ahead of its time. The big V-twin with Vance & Hines S4 Ti's makes my friend's Street Triple sound like a moped... what a second... I can't even hear it over my bike! Anyway the 'Hawk wasn't even on my list of bikes but now I'm so stoked I have it. Once I firm up the suspension I think I'm going to put many, many happy miles on the thing.

And if Honda really "Tuonos" the 'Hawk - EFI, higher end suspension, a bit more range... I think I'd buy it.

I had a Triumph Sprint ST 955i before the Buell M2, which is the bike I just traded away for the Superhawk.

I hated the Triumph. Granted, the ST is a big old tank compared to the S3, but I found the engine uninspiring and the handling pretty iffy. I had an old Trident 900 a long, long time ago and I LOVED that power plant, but they dulled the triple in some ways by giving it more on top and less in the middle.

The Sprint just didn't feel special in any way; I'd rather have an old FJ1200.

As an aside: A friend let me borrow all his motorcycle mags (including Brit mags) and I’ve been pouring over them looking for SH content. The VTR does pretty well with anything in its day. My favorite story – and one that’s a little more even than the “4-3-2” story, IMHO – compares the VTR to the first-gen Daytona 955 and VFR800. It wins that comparison, BTW ;)

I could scan and post some of these, if the moderators don’t mind. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, though…

Randy

lol interesting how that article mentiones all the bikes that i'm imediatelly intereted in buying if something happened to my VTR.

SV1K, Z1K and S3 (although i'd go for the 1050)

Hey Mamisano.
Myself Glennwaugh I read your post and the problem is that
when i blow them away at stop lights that what they are seeing is a feeling. outdated design dont change what works. plus i like the fact i own a bike i don't see too much on the street.
Thanks.

bud i ride with has a z1000 and hawk chews it up 100% in every catagory, even top speed