BUYING A 2000 SUPERHAWK - NEED ADVICE!
 

Welcome to the Forum first off!

What specific parts of the bike should I be checking; and for what reason?

With only 7k miles I dont think there should be many things wrong. I would try and look for obvious things, I know you say you dont know anything on the Superhawks, but I would guess you know a lil about hondas with as many as you have owned. So just make sure things sound good, look good and ride well.

What specific questions should I be asking?

I would ask about maintnence (oil changes, chain lubed, etc.....) Also you might not get an
honest answer, but ask if its ever been laid down, even the slightest bit.

What are the known quirks with these bikes?

I really have not had any problems with my SuperHawk and it approaching 20k miles. Just change the oil, tires, and ride it! So you may need someone else to answer that.

What further upgrades would you recommend?

Looks like it has the seat and exhaust already, I personally would look at getting the lower fairing your already interested in. I have not ordered mine yet, but I would shoot for the Sharkskinz one as it seems people like that one and I think it looks about the best I have seen....http://www.sharkskinz.com/shopexd.asp?id=1129

I hope that helps a little. Good luck, and hope you enjoy your hawk as much as I do if ya get it!

What's he asking? Around here I see them from 2K to about 4300. Sounds nice. The only known issues were the r/r on pre 2000 versions and the cct. Both easy fixes and well documented on here. Get it! No dissapointment gaurantee is offered by most forum members:D

I'd be interested to hear of some of your previous bikes. You should definitely get the Hawk although I am biased. If your into 200+ mi rides, it might not be right for you if your used to the cruiser riding position. I got a set of Heli bar risers right away and they helped a little. If your used to any of the sport bikes, the SH will be a bit more upright and take some weight off those wrists.
As stated above, the cam chain tensioners fail as do the regulator/rectifier. If you have any mechanical knowledge, there are how-to's on this forum to walk you through the fixes. The first upgrade I recommend is exhaust. The sound of the V-twin uncorked is sweet bliss! The seat is another area in need of attention (imo) especially if you do 2-up. My wife hates the passenger seat. It's hard. After a 3 hour ride yesterday, my bum was finished.
I bought my yellow '00 w/ a little under 7K for $3500. It was in VERY clean condition.

just listen to it run and see if you hear any odd rattles...as the Shawk has huge carbs, you'll get some noise from those but that's normal.

on a test ride, take it up through the RPM range and feel/listen for any misses (i think around 5k rpm is a typical miss if it's not jetted properly)

otherwise, all else is mentioned above....enjoy it

chin fairing

Sharkskinz.com....

i bought a yellow 2000 'hawk earlier this summer and with much higher mileage than the one you are looking at. so far i have almost now complaints. heed the advice of the people that have already posted...listen for noises and know that at some point (depending on how much you ride it/how long you keep it) you will probably end up having to replace the CCT as well as the RR. it is an absurdly fun bike, plus it's yellow...which we all know is the fastest color.

good luck with the prospective purchase and welcome to the forum, there are a lot of very motorcycle savvy people here. if you have any issues, chances are they have been covered on a previous thread.

As already said the only "problem" area's of the bike are the RR and CCT's

If you weigh more than 180lbs (some say as light as 140 actually) many people recommend getting the forks reworked with racetech springs. I am around 200lbs and haven't with no complaints but I don't track day my bike.

on the lower fairing you could also check out powerbronze, j/ google it, go to www.shoplakehillmotors.com, they are parts unlimited, tucker rocky, and western powersports dealer plus a whole lot of smaller suppliers, they give discount to online purchases

CCT is cam chain tensioner. R/R is regulator/rectifier (charging system), evidently a non-issue 2000 on.

I'm 62, 155# with Sargent seat and stock bars. 23k miles on my '05, bought new. No problems.

Enjoy the TORQUE! :draggin:

welcome, i am new to super hawks also. my only advice. buy it, you won't be disappointed.

2001 on, 2000 (like mine) still has the R/R issue, and even the newer ones can have the issue, just less likely

What you want to do is get APE manual CCT's installed, and the R/R from a Yamaha R1/R6 of similar vintage.