Ok, im going to look at this bike for the second time this weekend. If all goes well, its coming home with me, in time for spring. I wanted to know what you guys think of the deal. It is a 98, it has 19000 miles on it, and had D&D pipes on it. The carbs have been re jetted properly, it started right up and ran great on a cold day. I work with the seller, and i have known him for years, so i trust him to tell me anything wrong with the bike.
After reading another post, i am kinda worried about the cct's, if they were to be going bad, how difficult/expensive is that to fix. Should i be worried at all?
Given the info that i have, do you think that $3200 is a good price?
Thanks in advance,
Brew

 

Yeh thats a great price. I bought my 99' with 1200 miles on it for $3500.

 

Well IMHO the cct thing is blown way out of proportion. While there have been a couple of failures, it doesn't happen all that often. Hell I didn't replace the cct's in my '98 until I hit 70k miles. So I wouldn't worry about it. If you feel the need to change them, it is really not that big of a deal to swap them out. Some opt for the manual units but I just replaced mine with the standard auto units and it only takes a couple of hours to do. Of course YMMV.

 

Some may totally disagree with me on this, but...

I don't think the VTR is a good first bike. I have ridden for years, and coming from an R6 to a VTR, the amount of torque that the hawk had really surprised me....to the point that it kinda scared me...not like i didnt want to ride the bike scared, but it is, to me,a deceptive kind of power delivery, and it was veeeery different than what I was used to at the time. i was worried i would get myself into trouble in the course of being a dumb ***...and i probably would have a couple times if i were not to have had experience....experience gained from riding smaller bikes when i first started.....

don't get me wrong, the hawk is a very rider friendly, manageable, well-mannered bike, nowhere near the performance of some of racer replicas floating around out there... but when you decide to get stupid (as most first time riders do....DEFINITELY me included) it will oblige your stupid input relatively fast. i love my VTR and i will always sing their praises, but you do really stupid **** when first learning how to ride. for that matter, sometimes you do really stupid **** when you have ridden for a long time.

i guess if you feel comfortable on bikes and have ridden dirt for a while or you are a very conservative rider (or feel that you would be), maybe it would be ok, but as a starter bike, im not so sure.
Sorry, i don't mean to sound like your dad or mom or anything, just dont know if it would be the safest thing....just seen too many accidents with beginner riders trying to ride something that has too much power for them to manage, and i dont like seeing people get hurt.

that's my .02.... and you know what they say about opinions...

 

+1 to Condor

This is my 4th bike and I am still suprised by the amount of power the SuperHawk has from a standstill. My last bike was a 05 Kawasaki Z750 with power commander, K&N filter and gutted stock exhaust. It put out 106 rwhp on the dyno. That's probably pretty close to my superhawk which is jetted with cf muzzy cans. The power delivery is completely differnt. On my Z750 if you gunned it from a stand still or jerked the throttle you'd live to talk about it. My Superhawk on the other hand, I feel as though the bike might flip over. Torque is a great thing but must be used carefully. If you are careful and take the MSF courses you should be okay. I've done both basic and advanced courses and now I'm working on taking the instructor course. They are fun and you learn a ton of stuff that will keep you alive. Either way it's your decision, the group here is like a book of knowledge.
Good luck whatever you choose.
Oh yeah, price seems good. I'm pretty cheap so I always try to go lower. That's just me though.

 

I disagree slightly. I think it's a good bike for a beginner, but so is every other bike ever made. It's true our bikes have the power to get you in trouble, but the same could be said for any replica racer 600 and above.

I always tell people they should buy the bike they are going to want to have for a while. Learning from scratch is learning from scratch, doesn't matter what it's on. Take your time and don't ride with idiots, if your friends like to talk about doing wheelies in traffic, or if they ride in wife beaters, don't ride with them. Those are what we call "organ donors".

Most important thing is, have fun and enjoy it. It's an addiction no matter what you are riding.

 

This is NOT the bike you want for a first bike! You will get into trouble way to fast, and end up hurting yourself / other people.

Take a MSF course, buy a smaller displacement bike, then move up from there.

Edit: buy something that is widely available and parts are easy to come by.

 

I can go either way on this issue... I come from the land of high hp four wheel cars, I was always a maniac in a car, so I was scared to commit to a bike (maybe a sign of growing maturity acknowledging this?) . I am the most well behaved rider of all my friends, rarely break speed limits, no lifting of front or rear wheels so on and so forth. I will admit, the hawk IS alot of bike for starting. However, if you can respect the machine and know what it's capable of, and have the self discipline to not out-ride your abilities I think it's feasible to ride starting out. Take the MSF course, and take it slow!

 

+1

Besides R/R failures, there is nothing else fundamentally wrong with this great bike so that's all you see making it falsely seem like it's an "epidemic". You have a MUCH great chance of the R/R being bad than you do with the CCT. The good news is they are both easy fixes.

 

For a first bike, I would get something smaller. I have only been riding since July, and I started on a Kawasaki 500. Excellent bike, still love it. I am upgrading soon to a VTR, and this is still a HUGE jump for me. Is is possible that you will be fine on it, yes it is POSSIBLE. But dirt is nothing like street.
+1 for the MSF (motorcycle safety course)

 

I agree with the majority of posters so far. Not the best choice for a first bike. If you decide to go with it, respect the throttle for your first several months. There is no way you can resist the temptation to reach redline as the rush is addictive. Ride with people that won't egg you on past your limits.
That being said, I paid $3500 for a 2000 w/ 5,500 mi. in excellent condition.

 

I may have misled everyone with my post. This is my first bike, but i have done some riding on my friends 929rr in the past. I know it is alot of bike, and im worried a bit about that, but the price is right i think. So i plan on picking it up, riding it, and if i feel it is to much ill just sell it for a 600 or something. I do appreciate the comments and honesty though. I have already gotten on a waiting list for a motorcycle safety course, but its going to be awhile. Until then, im just going to ride around the neighborhood and to work i think.

 

Brew, you should be just fine as long as you ride it like your invisible and try to keep a cage in front of you while you learn like a blocking fullback for a tailback

Good luck bro & you'll love the torque!

 

Define "some riding" for us, you borrowed it 2 afternoons for a 10 min ride? Have you taken the MSF course yet? Are you considering the MSF course?

Do you ride in gear? Do you consider riding gear flip flops and a t-shirt?

 

First off i just want to say this is a great site for info and feedback. I got my hawk about two months ago and it is my first bike and i love it. I think if you respect it just like any other motor vehicle you should be fine.

 

I have probably put 300 miles on it, and i was riding with some very experienced riders who have taught me alot. I realize that it is not that much experience but it is some. I do plan on riding in full gear. I have a leather riding jacket, im going to order a Simpson helmet soon, as well as some gloves (what kind do you guys suggest?). As for pants and boots, i wasnt planning on getting anything special, just heavy jeans and probably my work shoes to start with, but im open to suggestions. I do plan on taking a motorcycle safety course, but the only ones available are while im at work, and i cant take 3 days off for it, so im going to be searching for a weekend one, maybe a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday thing.

 

Sounds like a good plan bro and that's how we all started off! Good luck to ya

 

Brew

Here is some friendly advice:

Get some good quality gear, this does not allways mean lots of $. On that note, those scorpion helmets are sure nice.

For gear check out newenough.com, they have some great deals. (I have no affiliation with newenough or scorpion)

The MSF course should be manditory for all riders. Taking the course will teach you a lot. Talk to the motorcycle shops in your area, they know when the course is put on.

When you ride, dress for the crash. Its not a matter of if your going to crash. You will go down, so be prepared for it.

Ride Safe.

 

+1 on newenough.com

 

You can also check out ebay or craigs list for used gear. There are always squids who buy all the best stuff and have to sell it to pay off the bike they totaled with 500 miles on it.

 

i got my 98 for 3k. though the one your looking at is probably in better physical condition.

 

I took it one step further as a teenager and added airplanes to the mix. Some of my friends actually crashed their Dad's planes - I didn't.

At every other type of wheeled transportation, I have a 100% success rate. Knowing what you're riding has a great deal to do with your successful return.

Knowing how powerful this new demon is takes some testing. It's at this point or some point in the proccess where there is a break down.

This results in the problems the others suggest.

Be extremely careful of what you got!

 

I guess I'm in the minority on the 'first bike" issue. I think a SS600, let alone a 1000cc bike is insane as a first bike.

I learned to ride on a friend's 65cc Benelli. My first bike was a Yamaha DT175 which I road (a lot) for 4 months before I bought a Yamaha 500cc twin. At first, that 500cc twin scared the **** out of me. I wouldn't pass a law about it, 'cause I'm not a big fan of laws anyhow, but I think anybody who goes for a first bike over 500ccs is crazy.

 

Brew, Is this your "real" First bike, As in have you road dirt bikes at all? And if so what size's Because when I first got on the SuperHawk It wasn't too powerful... But then again I ride a CRF450R on a weekend basis. If you have road dirt bikes before, Be warned this does have alot more power and can wheelie easily.

Heres some advice, Don't Go over 4K RPMs even if some jack@ss is tailgating you, Learn how the cluck works on the bike, As in So how far you can let it out without gas to get going. And take the MSF Course in your area... If you live in the U.S. it teachs you how ride a bike on 250's, and if you pass gives your your motorcycle license.


Thats about all the advice I can give at 12AM...

(hehe and zx-14 is a hell of a lot harder to ride as a first bike! I road it as my 5th bike u gotta love that power, but my SuperHawk Is one of the best for me )

 

that's an excellent question 'cause in my opinion, anybody with extensive experience on a full power dirt bike can buy any street bike they want and with half a brain and some common sense, do fine. My above comments about "first bike" are really about somebody buying their first bike.

My biased opinion is that the best "first bike" is a dirt/dual purpose bike.

 

Brew

Congrats on wanting to get involved in this wonderful sport.

But I think a 1000cc sportbike is not a good choice for learning the basic skills you will need for surviving on two wheels.

Better to buy a 500cc beater. Think of all the beautiful (and expensive) bodywork that will get scraped up when your bright & shiney superbike tips over or (shudder) you fall off. It's a basic law of physics.....your first bike WILL fall over.

The MSF course is a good idea.

Buy the gear. Then wear it.

Get your head screwed on straight......read 'The Pace' by Nick Einitschchchc(?).

And always remember two things; first - to most other drivers out there, you are invisible and second - Yes, they ARE out to get you.

Enjoy your ride, what ever you end up with.

Geoff in Almonte
99VTR for sale

 

I just read this again and it is always worth another read...

The Pace - by Nick Ienatsch

http://www.canyonstrafers.com/events/the_pace.htm