Good Evening out there. Quick background. After a good year and a half of looking for a decent, unmolested Super Hawk I believe I have finally found a winner. I have been riding since I was a kid on Suzook RMs back in the late '70s and I last owned a street bike in '97 which was my '86 Gixxer 750 that I originally bought new in '86.
I have continued riding other folks different bikes through the years so I am still mostly on my game riding both on dirt and the street. I want a large displacement Japanese V-Twin. I have been checking out Suzook TLs and SVs but I always preferred the Super Hawk for its look, reputation and the Duck resemblance especially in red or yellow is a nice plus. The SH I am fancying and on the verge of buying is a '02 with about 10K miles, second owner, exceptionally clean, good rubber front and back (Miches), all stock except for a HID headlight kit, integrated rear taillight/turn signals, a custom lower belly valance, the original owner's manual, a Honda Factory Repair Manual and what appears to me to be extra front and rear calipers from a RC51 as the current owner got them in a box when he bought the bike from the PO and he is not sure of their origin.
I have trolled this website for a while to attain info so I can be empowered to know what to look for while eyeballing used SHs.
Before I pull the trigger is their any solid advice that can be dispensed to me. I have never bought a 12 year old anything that is powered by an internal combustion motor. I am handy, mechanically knowledgeable and have decent wrench turning skills but not advanced like most of you out there most likely are.
Lastly and on a funny note, is that little headlight above the main headlight supposed to be on, I could not find a switch or button anywhere and the present owner didn't know either.
Sorry for the long read but thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions.

 

Welcome to the club! You will find solid advice throughout these forums (search is your friend!)

I would not be too concerned about the age of the bike. Sounds like the previous owner actually rode it! These are well-built machines (IMHO) and should last a long time with routine care-and-feeding. I would try to get as much maintenance information from the current owner as possible.

I bought my 'unmolested' 03 SH in August 2010 with 2250 miles on the clock. I am the second owner. Bike was 7 years old at that point, and the original owner did not do much riding...less than the bike you are looking at!

No worries! Check and/or replace fluids, brakes, drive chain/sprockets, tires...the usual stuff. Assuming that the bike is running well, check the carb balance and idle.

Forums will identify some potentially problematic issues including R/R and CCT.

Yes. I think that the technical term is 'position light' and it will always stay on.

Good luck and enjoy the ride!

 

I thought it was referred to as a parking light. Either way it probably just needs a small light bulb replaced.it is not very bright so I just put a colored bulb in it to match the paint.