Pulled the trigger
 

I'm the proud owner of a 2004 Black SuperHawk. Bought it last night. It's been sitting on the showroom at Heart of Dixie Harley Davidson since April. Needless to say, the battery is hammered. I'm letting them try to charge it overnight and plan to pick it up this afternoon. When I get it home I get a pic up...well yall know what it looks like. It's bone stock with 11,000 miles.

Confession: This is my first sport bike :eek:

Congrats on you first sportbike. BE CAREFULL!!!!! Kind of crazy for a first bike but it happens everyday. Make sure you wear full gear.

What were you riding before? The 'hawk was my first sportbike as well, but I'd been on a '76 KZ and a '00 V-Star 650 for significant miles before coming over to the dark side. Welcome by the way...

The Superhawk isn't actually all that bad as a first sportbike, since the power is very linear. 600 supersports are probably worse since they now have more peak horsepower, but it's made way up in the stratosphere instead of across the board like the 'hawk. All that said, be careful with it, and have fun!

Glad to have you aboard. Can't wait to see the bike.

Congrats on your new bike. I'm jealous! You got a gas gauge and a clock. Enjoy and be careful!

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the purchase.

Congrats & yes be careful

I see many mods in ur future

Thanks all...Yes I'll be careful...closest past ride was a Gen 1 FZ1. It had some zoom but I dont think it had the bottom the SuperHawk will prove to have. I had dropped a tooth on the front and the front end was very floatable but the power delivery was extremely smooth with a little boost at 8300RPM. I'm thinking the SuperHawk will be like flipping on an intense light(can you say mousetrap) first thing in the AM

The superhawk is very easy to ride and has the most linear power delivery of any bike I've ridden. Like everyone has said, be careful (because it's your first sportbike) but you'll be fine as long you are.

Edit: I just re-read the long list of bikes in your post, you're obviously not a n00b. You'll be fine, enjoy.

Feel sorry for the poor sap who traded down to a Harley, must be mid-life crisis time....

welcome!
pics, we need pics!
get slip ons and let the music play!

Making the move to cruisers often is less about mid life than getting past the mid life crisis and being comfortable with yourself and who you are.
Many of us ;) Find that we just don't push that hard anymore. That the handling capabilities of a comfortable cruiser are sufficient for how we ride. And the whack of a single pin crank twin is hypnotic.

I straddle the line, bought my VTR last year. :)

But I could have a Harley too....... Or the new Star 950...

I test rode quite a few cruisers in the past two years and found that they offered nothing that the VTR (or standards) did not offer. They were heavier, more uncomfortable, offered inferior handling and braking, and much less power (in every rpm register; the crap about arm-stretching torque is a fable trust me). In short, they were inferior motorcycles from every possible objective measure. On the other hand, a bike like the Bandit 1250 is as close to the ultimate do-it-all streetbike as you can find (and it doesn't need to be ridden at ten-tenths to be enjoyed). I never understood the cruiser thing and, having ridden a fair number of them of late, understand it even less.... I can only see one reason to buy a cruiser, for posing and that just isn't my thing.

my buddy went to rcmp training in regina sk. he stored his volusia 800 here and in return told me to ride it. i did. quite a bit. it is different and i found relaxing was part of it. my major gripe was the pounding my back took. the myth of cruisers being comfortable is far from reality. i get quite a chuckle when cruiser riders comment on my gix or vtr "must be SOOO uncomfortable!!!"

i look at the goldwings and st1300s and notice their weight distribution between feet/bum/hands. my guess is that the bandit has a good weight distribution too.

back to aka yamadog - where are the pics of the new bike??? hahahaha

Welcome, you will enjoy it. The VTR was my first sport bike as well (previous was a Shadow) and I found it very easy to ride as long as you take it easy at first. Enjoy your new ride and keep it shiny side up

I agree...that being said, the 01 VTR I purchased about 6 weeks ago was my first sportbike purchase. I rode dirt bikes as a kid and about 10 years ago got a sport touring bike. Really like those because of the versatility. I wanted a companion to those that was a bit lighter and more nimble. Craigslist had the VTR and I immediately liked the look of the bike. After my short test ride, I wanted the bike. I've never been big on chrome coz ya gotta keep it shiny all the time and I would much rather be riding than taking a cotton swab/toothbrush or whatever needs to be used to keep my bike "shiny". My Concours is an excellent sport touring bike and has plenty of power for what is needed. That being said...I think my stock VTR is an excellent bike for its intended purpose.WELCOME to this forum. :) I've been here for not too long and have been reading a lot of the posts these knowledgable folks share. There is excellent information here and if you can't find it via the search function, just ask and someone will answer.tyronne

New VTR owner
 

Like you, just bought a Super Hawk. After a 30 year sabbatical, thought I wanted a sport-touring bike. Got a little apprehensive about all that weight and expense after so long not riding. Saw a Super Hawk in a local dealer's add and loved the looks. Researched the bike on internet and learned about it's relatively light weight and linear power curve. I've been thinking I want to change the ergos a bit (bars back and up, higher screen and better seat), but really need to ride it to know what I've got and how it feels. Can't wait to ride it, but we're still well iced in and expecting another foot of snow tomorrow. Got a great deal on a leather jacket fron Newenough.com last week. I'll post a photo when I can get it out of the shed and take a decent one. Bring yours up to New England and I'll show you some nice roads!

Congrats and welcome. I'm sure you'll be fine if you had an FZ1, that bike's not exactly a slouch ;)

Well the first ride was exciting. I was nervous but after 50 miles or so I started to get comfortable. I kept all the rubber on the ground and never cracked the throttle past 3/4. I need some seat time to really evaluate it. It has little in common with any bike I've owned in the past.

I'm going to jump right in to making a few changes. The suspension does not have enough rebound dampening and may be a little soft. I'll research the carb/exhaust combination. The riding position was fine which surprised me... being such an old guy.

I'll get the pics up tomorrow:cheers:

The riding position of the VTR will take the weight off your wrists at freeway speeds. That's the advantage over a cruiser, where you are pulling yourself up to the bars at speed. Not too comfortable around town though.

The best thing I did was to buy a Sargent seat. It makes a BIG difference in comfort.

Congrats on the purchase... you'll be more than satisfied. You're a lucky man having a VTR1000F & a K1200LT in the garage. I sold my K1200LT last year, but not before a very nice 3k mile PCH trip. What a great bike, it totally changed my opinion on BMW motorcycles!

+1 on the sargent seat!

Congrats on the new bike.

I noticed the Operating Temp varied widely. 185deg F-215 deg F. It was a cool day in the mid 50's. It acted like a thermostat stuck partially closed. Both fans come on while in traffic...no surprise here. At constant speed...50 to 90 mph temp ranged from 185 to 214 degrees F. This normal? or shpold I start trouble shooting?