Dads Superhawk
 

Years ago some kids tried to steal my dads Hawk and failed. He woke up and caught them in the middle of loading it up, shot a couple rounds and they ended up scampering off like the roaches they are. Unfortunately when they did the bike toppled out of their truck and banged it up pretty good. My dad started putting it back together but just didn't have enough time for it. It sat and sat and sat. Seat crumbled away, plastics faded to a pale red, grass stretched up in to the frame. All its former glory had withered away. It was a sad, sad sight. I've been telling myself for a while now that I'd take over and finish it up for him but just never made the move until last weekend. Cleaned her up a bit and started diggin in to her. I pulled the carbs and I'm giving them a good soak. I'm planning to pick up a few new gaskets and such for it then hopefully have the carbs back together this coming weekend. After that I plan on plugs, oil, coolant, battery, hoses, chain, and probably send the forks off to be rebuilt. Oh and debating on trying to clean the tank or just buy a clean used one.

Anyways I'm here looking for a little guidance. I dont have a lot of experience working on bikes and definitely not a bike that's been sitting for a few years. After the obvious things to freshen up I'm not too sure what else I should look in to replacing before trying to crank her up. Or maybe some stuff I might as well upgrade while I have her opened up.
Also maybe some leads on good websites to source parts? Right now I'm looking at hondapartshouse.com and they seem to have good prices for oe stuff.

I'm going to start digging through old posts on here for answers but any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

Good luck to you on the rebuild. It's a good forum here with good info and seemingly little drama! As far as parts go, I've had good luck using partzilla.com for some other bikes. Prices seem to be the best out there on average, and things ship in a reasonable amount of time.

As far as other maintenance items, the brake and clutch fluid should surely get a flush. And plan on some new tires... old ones, no matter how much tread is left, is a sure fire ticket towards a second rebuild.

That'll be quite a project if it has been left outdoors exposed to sun & rain.

New or decent conditiion second-hand tank if the old one has rusted. Keep an eye on eBay

Also look at replacing cam chain tensioners with aftermarket Manual tensioners, along with upgrading the Regulator / rectifier if unfinned with an upgraded later finned version or ideally a mosfet.

This will be a handy reference > VTR1000F Honda Service Manual OCR.pdf

MotoTex,
Welcome to the forum!
I think it may be helpful if you could post some good photos, or point us to some photos of your project. The photos would help other members analyze the degree of work needed and let you know what to do first or next. Then, when and if you do finish, you will have some great "before" pics to contrast with the "after' pics.
Anything can be rebuilt and be put back to new condition. But unless it really has sentimental value, (or you find that you love to do this kind of work) may not be worth your time. It sounds like the bike does have sentimental value, so don't let me discourage you. Post some pics!

I'll second Partzilla: OEM Motorcycle Parts, ATV Parts, Marine Parts My entire bike was rebuilt (seals, bearings, etc.) with parts from partzilla. They usually have the best price and they ship pretty fast as well.

Like what was posted already, new tires, go through the carbs, cooling system, new battery, and make sure no rodents have chewed through any wires. You may need new vacuum lines as well.

Make sure your petcock works as well. It is vacuum operated and has a diaphram inside of it and when there is a vacuum (engine running) the petcock lets fuel flow. Make sure there isn't a hole in the rubber diaphram.

And post pictures!

EDIT: Regarding your fuel tank, if you are concerned with rust on the inside, I believe this is the best stuff on the market right now.
http://www.caswellplating.com/epoxy-...nk-sealer.html

My guess is that in addition to the sun damage, you may have some corrosion issues in electrical connectors, and speaking from experience you can spend a lot of time chasing carburation issues when what you really have is something electrical. I'd suggest that you pull every connector apart, clean off any corrosion then apply some dielectric grease before reassembly.

Thanks Wicky for that manual link! That'll definitely come in handy.
Appreciate all the other replies too! Tires will definitely get replaced but for now I want to just to see if I can get her started. I switched over to Partzilla for the stuff i need and it seems cheaper. Plus free shipping if i hit 150 so I'll probably hold off a bit and just try to order in bulk from them.
Wiring seemed to be okay but i didn't look that closely to it. I'll definitely give it a run through to double check since it has been left outside all this time. A few of the hoses are dried up and cracking some so that will be on the list. Contemplating just grabbing some general fuel hoses and cutting to size since the oem stuff can be a bit pricey but I'm still debating on that. Properly sized oem stuff will certainly save me some headache for a few pennies more.

This project isnt really one that I'm rushing to finish. Just kind of a filler project when I get bored. Keeps me busy haha. But the sooner the better. I'm sure my pops would be thrilled to see her run again. Thinking about stripping it down and making it into a street fighter kind of look since most of the plastics are trashed unless I find an awesome deal on some new ones.


Anyways here are some photos. Kinda wish I would have snapped some before cleaning it up and stripping parts so I'd have a better "before" photo but oh well. This is how she currently sits. Probably move her in to the shed this weekend just so i can have light to work on since it gets dark so early plus keeps her out of the rain and such.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/6/5609/3...165ad16d_h.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5541/3...3dc3fb65_h.jpg

Get some cylinder oil down both jugs asap, change the oil/filter out (you'll do it again later too), put in some fresh plugs, drain the tank and refill with fresh gas, get a new battery, spritz her with starting fluid and make her spit fire. Getting her running again is the best thing to do right away. You can completely rebuild the carbs later, treat the tank with POR-15, go through the entire wiring loom one connector at a time, drain/flush all fluids, check the brakes, etc. I would not recommend riding her until you've checked all these things and take a good look at the tires too. These bikes are pretty tough and once you get things cleaned up and sorted you'll be surprised how well the bike will respond to some TLC. If you're not an experienced rider take your time getting in the saddle and go easy with throttle for a while. These are powerful machines, especially from low rpms.

Good on you for rebirthing the old girl .

While your at it remove the swing arm and rear shock and regrease all the swinger and linkage bearings. While your at it check the steering stem bearings as well when you remove the forks.

Also replace the sprockets when you do the chain .

Swap out the front brake hoses for some braided ones as they are sure to be sun damaged and brittle after so much exposure to the elements.

Good luck and keep the pictures coming !

One more thing,

Get rid of the P.A.I.R system .

Do a search on here you will find all the info you need.

what a nice gesture for you to do for your father. he will be proud of you.
i wish i could offer mechanical advise but encouragement is all i have to bring to the party. good luck and hopefully all goes smooth.

once the mechanical side of things gets completed maybe you could paint those fairings you mentioned are so faded. get a pro to do it or even just a rattle can would spruce em up nicer than they are now.