19superchicken98

Are these bikes reliable and any good?

has aftermarket exhaust, new paint job, aftermarket smoked tail lights, new smoked wind screen, K&n filters, aftermarket seargent sport seat, new shinko tires.

BUT has 36k miles =/ I'm would be trading him my 2003 drz400s 10k miles and its 100% reliable, just dont want to make a mistake
Here are some pics.

7moore7

Very reliable with a couple of 100$ fixes. The CCT's are known to fail and are a must replace with some OEM ones or some manual ones. Pro's and cons to each, you can look that up if you decide to buy!

And the R/R has a tendency to go out, can be replaced with a better unit from a different bike. Plenty of info on that as well.

Other than that, there are quite a few bikes 80K plus on their clock, I've got 30k on mine and it doesn't show any signs of slowing down. Great, Honda reliable, and very fun on the street.

K&N filter isn't necessarily good on this bike (usually they run better with OEM), and a painted bike is suspect of an accident so make sure to inspect the cases, forks, and where the front fairing attaches to the frame for signs of damage.

Wicky

Greetings

I could be biased, but they are very reliable bikes as long as basic maintenance and servicing is regularly carried out. The only failings that can be easily sorted by preventative replacement is with the automatic CCTs failing (replace with manual CCTs) and the early unfinned R/R cooking itself (replace with later finned version/or mosfets type)

Other than that put air in the tires, oil in the sump and plenty of gas in the tank...

comedo

+1 to 7moore7
Feel the steering stops on the frame. If it's been down hard, they won't be the same. The mileage is inconsequential if the bike has been maintained properly.

19superchicken98

he said the manual CCT has been replaced, so would it be a good trade? I drive to work an hour everyday and I just want it to be reliable and comfortable

7moore7

That "aftermarket" exhaust is DanMoto... light, cheap, Chinese stuff. I have it on mine and like it, but it's loud and not exactly considered a premium (another indication that the bike's been down and rashed up the exhaust). Looks like the smoked taillight was just painted with auto store stuff. What's your DRZ look like?

They're good bikes. That one in particular? Hard to tell looking at some pixels. Should you trade? Absolpositvilutely without a doubt. I'd trade a Mustang Cobra for one. Said some guy on the internet...

NHSH

If the CCT's are replaced with manuals, all you have to make sure is now that the R/R is swapped with the MOSFET type and you should have a very reliable machine, we have members that approaching 100K miles with no significant issues, just regular maintenance.
Look up on the search bar for info' about CCT's R/R and more, that way you can recognize yourself if he did what he said was done on the bike, we got it all covered with pictures and very detailed write ups.
Good Luck

19superchicken98

so you honestly think I should trade?
and here is my drz

19superchicken98

What is R/R

Wicky

From the blurry phone? pic the rear looks OEM

If they've been replaced with manuals they should look something like this:

www.vtr1000.org • View topic - Kreiger, APE and Bazza CCT's



i.e. with a protruding adjuster bolt, unless the owner just replaced the front one as that is the one more prone to fail, or he did a stopper mod.

Wicky

Regulator/Rectifier - on right on the subframe beneath the plastics



If it looks like this - replace ASAP

19superchicken98

So I should be looking to a protuding bolt, from where? I know alot about bikes but this is a whole new chapter for me

7moore7

I probably wasn't helping...

What I was trying to say was, I don't know if you should trade or not. It's hard to tell over the internet. Why do you not like the DRZ? Why do you like it? Why are you looking at a Superhawk? Just because the trade is there (and why does he want to trade)? Impulse trades are not always in favor of the person who doesn't know what they're getting.

To re-iterate your first questions... yes it is reliable, great, very fun bike with a cult-like following. You replace the two things and it's good to go, even at 36k miles. To be honest, I wouldn't let whether or not it has them replaced already determine if you get the bike. Either they're broken already or not. Replace asap when you get the bike.

Gorgeous pic of the 'zuki by the way. Where is that?

7moore7

Here:

Wicky

Rear CCT indicated in pink - and the front one is in the 'V' pointing up, underneath the airbox, 'neath tank. Just about visible through the frame, past a hose.

Wicky

Spooky!

19superchicken98

I'm getting rid of the drz cause I used to ride alot in the woods, no longer do, now she is just my comuter and kinda uncomfortable for long distances.
I took the picture in new smyrna beach florida

JakeT

You should be able to see it on the back of the rear cylinder next to the rear shock. It will either look like



or like the picture shown earlier by Wicky. Some are red anodized. If that has been done it should offer you years of trouble free service. Out of curiosity whats the bluebook on your drz?

7moore7

Well it'll be much nicer on the highway, the sergent seat is a very nice bonus as well. These are classified as "sport-tourer" bikes, so meant to be ridden to the twisties and then eat them up. People track them and people take long trips in them. I commute in mine. Gas tank is small, so you'll be filling up often, but you're probably used to that with your current bike anyway.

19superchicken98

2.5 in excellent cond. which is what I paid for it

19superchicken98

Awesome 1998 VTR1000F Superhawk - $3500 (Flagler Beach)

Wicky

Converting the price into UK equivalent = approx. £2200 which is very dear for a non-standard '98 - £1500 ($2400) IMHO would be a fairer price. Though you are doing swapsies.

yamahadm250

i`ll trade you my superhawk for the drz.i had knee surgery and its hard to ride my superhawk now.it`s a 99 hawk,30,000 miles ,manual ccts,yamaha rectifier,has 2007 cbr1000rr front forks,yoshimura slip ons and new paint.i still have the o.e forks.the bike was painted because it fell off my jack and busted the fairings and the one i bought were the wrong color.i`m in charleston sc

19superchicken98

bring it down to fl and you got a deal lol, I don't own a car or truck, I just bike it

JakeT

Might not be a bad trade then. Seems pretty fair considering sargent seat, mccts, might have to put in a new r/r eventually. I'm not too familiar with the drz but because its a 400 and the hawk is a 1000 you might get longer life with the hawk than say the drz. I could be very wrong though.

Tsperez

I'm new to the Super Hawk but I'll give you my opinion anyway.
My points recap what others have already told you.
It's hard to judge a bike by photos alone. Heck it's hard to judge it by looking and riding the bike!

The best mod on the bike is the seat. The rest of the stuff is minor and like 7Moore7 said don't base your decision on the fact if it has manual CCTs or not. If it doesn't - install them yourself (that's what I'm planning on my new to me SH). But a good aftermarket seat... now that's a few bucks and a welcomed change especially for you on your daily commute. I don't like the cheap cans and always suspect a paint job. I like OEM over K&N but that's me. You don't want to muc with these carbs unless you know what you are doing. How does it run? Check idle cold & hot. Hold steady at 3,000 rpm. Is it steady or hunts? But all that does not really tell you how it will behave under load.

Btw, I've ridden both of these bikes. You are in for a surprise if you haven't ridden a SH yet. Everything on the SH is better for your commute expect mileage and tank capacity. And based on your age, the riding position may be a little too aggressive for your daily ride. IMO on the DRZ you are happy to get there... on the SH you are surprised that you are there (and the fun is over). My short trips on the SH always seem to be too short. (disclaimer - I use another bike for tours). Yes, it's a sport tourer with 80% sport (my other sport tourer is 20% sport!).

I am not about to say what the bike is worth without knowing the bike but I recently did a lot of research on the 1998 since I was looking at one for a friend and I also purchased one myself. I think the lowest price I was saw was about $2,200 and the highest was $4,500 but a better, more average spread was $2,400 to $3,500 with an average of just under $3,000.
**** I think the above information might be worthless **** LOL!

Anyway... look at the bike and ask yourself "what do I need to do to it to ride it starting tomorrow?". Think maintenance, registration, tires, replacement parts (if any), and part of maintenance but not easy to do are valve adjustment and carb sync. Add that to your final cost.

It's a Honda so mileage is not really an issue and a ridden bike is always better than one that has been sitting for a while. This is assuming that it was well maintained of course. Disclaimer - I selected mine because it was rather low miles but it was used regularly by an "adult" rider.

And remember... if you get it and hate it or dislike it... you can always sell it. There are guys here that would be happy to take it off your hands.

tsp
My Blog: Motorcycle Touring

captainchaos

Not trying to **** on the guys sale but $3500 is WAY too much for that bike. I just bought a '98 with 22k miles for $1000. Granted it hadn't run in probably a couple years but I swapped on a rebuilt set of carbs and a little mostly free tlc and it's honestly the best running superhawk I've ever owned. Previous to that I bought a MINT black '99 with 8k miles and a corbin seat (which I sold for another couple hundred bucks) about a year or so ago for $2100. They're out there don't rush to buy the first thing you see. Otherwise the two bikes are worth around the same (your's is worth slightly more). But again your's looks cleaner and more original and for me that counts for alot. The bodywork on these bikes is very expensive and flat black paint jobs do look cool but I sure wouldn't pay top dollar for one...

captainchaos

Aren't these better bikes for the $?

1998 Honda VTR 1000 SuperHawk - $3000 (Vero Beach)

http://daytona.craigslist.org/mcy/3533842193.html

Really loving that second one...I'll bet he'd jump for joy if you gave him 3k

zxbud