New to SHF
02-15-2016, 03:29 PM
#1
Frozen & Awaiting Summer
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 38
New to SHF
Hello to all from MN!
I've been a "lurker" here for a while until I needed a couple of things for my 'hawk, then signed up. Been a great experience so far - switched from a Corbin to a Sargent seat (thank you tbartley!) and hopefully getting a lower Sharkskinz fairing over the next couple of weeks.
Thankfully, I've successfully used the "search" feature on this site to determine what OIL and TIRES I should use (not telling anyone what I chose in order to prevent flamewars), so those newbie questions are definitely out of the way....
I thoroughly appreciate the plethora of information available on this site. I'm the Googling type and this site kept coming up first in the results whenever I had a question. Nice work to all that have contributed!
So anyway, I have a 2003 Superhawk in a lovely blue with minimal mods: Twin Brothers full exhaust, T-Rex sliders, raised bars, flush front blinkers, and (now) a Sargent seat. Oh, and a little duct tape underneath a small crack in the fairing.
I look forward to continuing to absorb content and contribute wherever I can in a friendly way (unlike the neighboring gif).
I've attached a few photos. I look forward to getting a color-matched lower fairing. Next step after that is getting rid of that fender. The Corbin seat that you see in the pictures will go up for sale at some point for a couple hundred bucks. It's a great seat in good condition, just too hard for me.
I've been a "lurker" here for a while until I needed a couple of things for my 'hawk, then signed up. Been a great experience so far - switched from a Corbin to a Sargent seat (thank you tbartley!) and hopefully getting a lower Sharkskinz fairing over the next couple of weeks.
Thankfully, I've successfully used the "search" feature on this site to determine what OIL and TIRES I should use (not telling anyone what I chose in order to prevent flamewars), so those newbie questions are definitely out of the way....
I thoroughly appreciate the plethora of information available on this site. I'm the Googling type and this site kept coming up first in the results whenever I had a question. Nice work to all that have contributed!
So anyway, I have a 2003 Superhawk in a lovely blue with minimal mods: Twin Brothers full exhaust, T-Rex sliders, raised bars, flush front blinkers, and (now) a Sargent seat. Oh, and a little duct tape underneath a small crack in the fairing.
I look forward to continuing to absorb content and contribute wherever I can in a friendly way (unlike the neighboring gif).
I've attached a few photos. I look forward to getting a color-matched lower fairing. Next step after that is getting rid of that fender. The Corbin seat that you see in the pictures will go up for sale at some point for a couple hundred bucks. It's a great seat in good condition, just too hard for me.
02-16-2016, 04:42 PM
#7
Frozen & Awaiting Summer
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 38
My Story
It all started for me when I hopped on an older friend's 600cc "scooter" with auto transmission in 2004. After a punched throttle combined with a few near misses of the mailbox, parked car, and my friend, I decided that the thrill was definitely for me. However, through some encouragement from my almost-run-over friend, I decided that I might need to enhance my skills a bit before hitting the road.
Insurance discount? Learn on a small 125cc motorcycle? Yes! Considering my track record so far, a motorcycle safety course with those perks seemed like a great idea, so I signed up that same year. Surprisingly, I did quite well, and despite diving off of a motorcycle while performing a practice U-turn, I passed the final test and was ready for adventure!
Jumping right in with both feet, I decided I needed a sportbike, not some automatic "scooter" like my friend had. I was 20 and single, what better way to pick up a date than on a sportbike, right?
So that fall, after some hunting, I found someone with a "modified" semi-crashed '91 Katana 600. The owner said something about carb work (whatever that meant) and electrical issues, but no problem, right? Never mind the fact that it, umm, didn't run. I smiled at the missing windscreen and cracked up yellow fairings, drooled over the full Yosh pipes, yelped with excitement at the worn out tires, and fanatically stared at the tach that went to 11k and the speedo next to it. SOLD! What a great deal, right??
With the help of a friend that actually knew what carbs were and was already making fun of me for my ignorance, we wheeled it into my apartment building, down the hallway, and into the living room on a plastic pad and we got to work... (Yes, I'm serious).
All winter long we worked on that '91 Katana.
New fairings not color matched? check.
Windscreen? check.
Polished Yoshimura pipe? check.
No idea how to work on carbs? quadruple check.
New tires? Nope. Ran out of money trying to fix the carbs after disintegrating all the rubber diaphragms with the wrong cleaning chemical...
Spring came, and we (that friend that was still reluctantly helping me) rolled the black and yellow Katana into the parking lot and tried to start it.
...Didn't start.
Battery charged? Not really.
Old gas? yup, is that bad?
How did we start it? Well, by rolling it down a large hill, of course!
Anyway, for the sake of those that are still reading my story, I learned alot that year, mostly of what NOT to do when riding and working on a motorcycle. I lovingly nicknamed it my "Rumblebee," rode it for a few more years and had a blast. Eventually, I sold it to that reluctant friend to let him have a turn (I think that it still runs!) I got married, got into a working career, had a bunch of beautiful children, and always wished for another motorcycle.
Enter in Superhawk in Spring of 2015 through a very dear friend that didn't ride anymore!
I was immediately hooked and ecstatic to be riding again!
My favorite part? That V-Twin rumble with the Two Brothers exhaust!
So that's my story - I hope you enjoyed it!
--SuperSprint
Last edited by SuperSprint; 02-16-2016 at 04:50 PM.
02-16-2016, 05:43 PM
#10
Frozen & Awaiting Summer
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 38
Heh - forgot what atgatt meant so I had to look it up. (Should've remembered that from motorcycle safety training). Most of the time. I have a hard time wearing a helmet if I'm cruising to the gas station down the street (tsk tsk), but definitely wear a riding jacket, gloves, pants, and shoes/boots.
I'm not that flip flops and tank top guy.
I'm not that flip flops and tank top guy.
02-16-2016, 05:52 PM
#13
Frozen & Awaiting Summer
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 38
You got that right! I remember the first time a couple of my co-workers came out during lunch to see it in the parking garage next to our office tower. Fired 'er up and watched their jaws drop. Love the rumble of a v-twin!
02-17-2016, 05:37 AM
#15
Frozen & Awaiting Summer
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 38
I'll take a stab at it: OCMD: Obsessive Compulsive Motorcycle Disorder?
By the way, I like your upside down picture in Australia - good humor. The better question is, which side of the world is right side up?
02-17-2016, 11:20 AM
#16
Senior Member
SuperBike
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: New South Wales Australia
Posts: 1,544
Almost,
Modding disease, before you know it you will be continually changing things on your bike.
Spending countless hours and $$$ , chasing elusive parts , all the while thinking of what you can do next to make it the perfect bike for you!
Modding disease, before you know it you will be continually changing things on your bike.
Spending countless hours and $$$ , chasing elusive parts , all the while thinking of what you can do next to make it the perfect bike for you!
02-17-2016, 11:28 AM
#17
Thread Killer
SuperBike
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Geneseo, IL
Posts: 2,017
02-17-2016, 09:36 PM
#21
Senior Member
SuperBike
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: South of Live Free or Die & North of Family Guy
Posts: 1,456
02-18-2016, 10:52 AM
#22
Frozen & Awaiting Summer
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 38
02-18-2016, 10:55 AM
#23
Frozen & Awaiting Summer
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 38
02-18-2016, 10:57 AM
#24
Frozen & Awaiting Summer
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 38
02-19-2016, 01:50 PM
#25
Retired- but not tired!
SuperBike
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 1,478
02-19-2016, 03:05 PM
#26
Administrator
MotoGP
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Kempner, TX
Posts: 4,402
Hello to all from MN!
I've been a "lurker" here for a while until I needed a couple of things for my 'hawk, then signed up. Been a great experience so far - switched from a Corbin to a Sargent seat (thank you tbartley!) and hopefully getting a lower Sharkskinz fairing over the next couple of weeks.
Thankfully, I've successfully used the "search" feature on this site to determine what OIL and TIRES I should use (not telling anyone what I chose in order to prevent flamewars), so those newbie questions are definitely out of the way....
I thoroughly appreciate the plethora of information available on this site. I'm the Googling type and this site kept coming up first in the results whenever I had a question. Nice work to all that have contributed!
So anyway, I have a 2003 Superhawk in a lovely blue with minimal mods: Twin Brothers full exhaust, T-Rex sliders, raised bars, flush front blinkers, and (now) a Sargent seat. Oh, and a little duct tape underneath a small crack in the fairing.
I look forward to continuing to absorb content and contribute wherever I can in a friendly way (unlike the neighboring gif).
I've attached a few photos. I look forward to getting a color-matched lower fairing. Next step after that is getting rid of that fender. The Corbin seat that you see in the pictures will go up for sale at some point for a couple hundred bucks. It's a great seat in good condition, just too hard for me.
I've been a "lurker" here for a while until I needed a couple of things for my 'hawk, then signed up. Been a great experience so far - switched from a Corbin to a Sargent seat (thank you tbartley!) and hopefully getting a lower Sharkskinz fairing over the next couple of weeks.
Thankfully, I've successfully used the "search" feature on this site to determine what OIL and TIRES I should use (not telling anyone what I chose in order to prevent flamewars), so those newbie questions are definitely out of the way....
I thoroughly appreciate the plethora of information available on this site. I'm the Googling type and this site kept coming up first in the results whenever I had a question. Nice work to all that have contributed!
So anyway, I have a 2003 Superhawk in a lovely blue with minimal mods: Twin Brothers full exhaust, T-Rex sliders, raised bars, flush front blinkers, and (now) a Sargent seat. Oh, and a little duct tape underneath a small crack in the fairing.
I look forward to continuing to absorb content and contribute wherever I can in a friendly way (unlike the neighboring gif).
I've attached a few photos. I look forward to getting a color-matched lower fairing. Next step after that is getting rid of that fender. The Corbin seat that you see in the pictures will go up for sale at some point for a couple hundred bucks. It's a great seat in good condition, just too hard for me.
A new guy question of what size tires fit my bike may be a bit of an unneeded question that can be answered in seconds without starting a thread.
But IMHO... asking the groups what tire they last purchased, how much, where and why that tire, feed back after use... will gain the new guy info he can not get from a search of years old threads.
Yes you will get some that will insist THEY KNOW, and the only tire that can be run on a SH is the XYZ brand/MDL or Your KILL YOUR SELF... lol
But take it all in stride, read all the responses and then pick one to try.
So again, welcome.. watch your wallet.... MODitis is a common affliction here.
02-19-2016, 08:14 PM
#27
Frozen & Awaiting Summer
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 38
Nice bike and welcome ....Tires and oil change as manufacturers develop new products, old ones are dropped from a line up.
A new guy question of what size tires fit my bike may be a bit of an unneeded question that can be answered in seconds without starting a thread.
But IMHO... asking the groups what tire they last purchased, how much, where and why that tire, feed back after use... will gain the new guy info he can not get from a search of years old threads.
Yes you will get some that will insist THEY KNOW, and the only tire that can be run on a SH is the XYZ brand/MDL or Your KILL YOUR SELF... lol
But take it all in stride, read all the responses and then pick one to try.
So again, welcome.. watch your wallet.... MODitis is a common affliction here.
A new guy question of what size tires fit my bike may be a bit of an unneeded question that can be answered in seconds without starting a thread.
But IMHO... asking the groups what tire they last purchased, how much, where and why that tire, feed back after use... will gain the new guy info he can not get from a search of years old threads.
Yes you will get some that will insist THEY KNOW, and the only tire that can be run on a SH is the XYZ brand/MDL or Your KILL YOUR SELF... lol
But take it all in stride, read all the responses and then pick one to try.
So again, welcome.. watch your wallet.... MODitis is a common affliction here.
So I'll just make sure that I ask @VTR1000F first if it's a question about oil or tires, right??
02-20-2016, 04:03 AM
#30
Administrator
MotoGP
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Kempner, TX
Posts: 4,402
Heh - forgot what atgatt meant so I had to look it up. (Should've remembered that from motorcycle safety training). Most of the time. I have a hard time wearing a helmet if I'm cruising to the gas station down the street (tsk tsk), but definitely wear a riding jacket, gloves, pants, and shoes/boots.
I'm not that flip flops and tank top guy.
I'm not that flip flops and tank top guy.
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...nemy-us-33709/
So now that you remember ATGATT from class.. Do the numbers 67% and 37% ring any bells?
And yes I am standing on a soap box while typing this
, Im also a MSF rider coach
