Sold the Hawk....farewell dudes.
 

Well,

I sold her. I am on to an Aprilia...looking for one this week.
This is one excellent forum.
Thanks for all the great info gentlemen.

-Matt

Well....glad you were able to sell it quickly. I really appreciate your recommendations for our stay on the west coast and your offer to take the hawk out for a "spin". The drive down from Monterey was stunning. We decided to stay in the Pismo Beach area. I have to ask though, have you ever driven that road in the VTR? I was thinking you would need to carry a couple containers of gas!:eek: Very remote refueling options. While watching the seals I heard a big twin coming, when I saw the bike it was an RC51. They have worse range than we do!

Good luck w/ your next bike. If you do get an Aprilia, post up some pics so we can see it. Cheers!

I assume you are talking about highway 1, and that is an Amazing road between cambria and carmel. There are gas stations in cambria, gorda, and big sur so there are plenty of gas stations, its just pricey. I live in Grover Beach (next door to Pismo) if you need any tips or recommendations let me know, and enjoy the 70 degree weather!

Haha...there are gas stops on Big Sur HWY 1 -but you need to plan for that route.
Just in case you can carry a 1 liter MSR aluminum fuel bottle ( made for camping) filled with gas to extend your range about 8 miles if you fall short.

So I go on Craigslist tonight and I see beat up sports bikes....and I do mean BEAT UP.

1) This one says a "few scrapes"...ha! The entire upper in broken in half and the tail cowl is grinded to a pulp.
2006 Honda CBR 1000RR

2) Next one says "Minor body damage from being tipped over, but never in an accident". Are you kidding me? BOTH sides have serious rash. What the hell do you call that? ( see attached photos).
Kawasaki ZX 10 2007

This just goes to show that some people are full of shit when they try to sell you something. I think I will be sticking to the forums to try to find a bike....especially a sport bike. Squids have a tendency to wreck those things and never do maintenance also.

I also like the phase- "Adult ridden". What the hell does that mean? It was never ridden by children? Or another one- " dropped lightly." So I guess they put some soft carpet under it when they dumped it? Or..."never down but dropped in garage"....yeah right.

Personally the ZX-10 in my example #2 above has to be my favorite.
Look at how jacked up those fairings are.

My favorite part of the Aprilia ad was how he said he poured money into it, but doesn't list any upgrades haha.

And those zx fairings are not only scratched but cracked! But those mustang decals probably added 10 hp

Personally the ZX-10 in my example #2 above has to be my favorite.
Look at how jacked up those fairings are.
Attached Thumbnailshttps://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...udes-kawi1-jpg https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...udes-kawi2-jpg

__________________
Yeah, I like the mustang emblem on the fairing...
Will Never, never see me riding a Cowasocki......

You'll see. You'll be back. I sold my hawk months ago and kept my Aprilia. I'm on the SH forum every day. And now I think the guy I sold it to would consider selling it back. Gotta clean out the garage today.....

Actually I have my eye on a 2003 RC51 sp2 also.
I would rather pay extra for the Aprilia as it has upgraded stuff but you know what they say...."If the deal is right"...

Congratulations on selling the Hawk in this market. I think you will like the Aprilia once you find one. The AFi forum is a really great source of knowledge just like here. Hang in there, your find a good Ape. They are slow sellers just like our Superhawks. I owned many many bikes, and like another poster said your be back. Superhawks tend to do that to you. It may take a few years, but it will happen. I looked for three years to find my most recent Hawk. Although to be honest I have a friend that wants me to buy his 2003 Aprilia Tuono Racing. Hey! maybe you could buy my Hawk? so I can get his Aprilia... Just joking... Good luck on the bike search "Hawkless"

Thanks.

My Hawk went for $3450 and I kept the new ballistic battery.
The thing is- it had only 10k miles and not a scratch on it (mint) with $1800 in upgrades.

I thought it was a steal personally. What bike can you buy for that little money? I thought I'd sell it in a couple days...but no.

Love these ads...
Here's another one..."Was laid down gently by my friend, first time rider, only cosmetic damage."
2006 ZX6R 636

Oh okay I get it... So just before he goes down is he thinking:
a) " I better set this down gently"
b) " Oh shit, I don't want to get hurt."

I don't know about you but I would be thinking choice b.

Damn that's a great price. You should have held off until spring to sell it for more cash, but congrats on selling it in this market.

Because every owner of a supersport bike would freely let a friend use it for their first attempt at riding? That's a guy you want to buy a bike from...

Another favorite of mine is "dropped by previous owner", mainly because a) it seems like tons of used bikes have this in their descriptions. b) I don't believe it 90% of the time and c) My bike has a crack from being knocked over in a parking lot when.. wait for it.. the previous owner had it.

Yeah, what is it about blaming it on a "previous owner" or "friend" that some people think will make it seem not so bad? If it was dropped it was dropped. End of story.

Another one:

"never been down,never raced,some scuff marks on frame"
2003 Yamaha R6

Hmm...how do you "scuff up a frame" if the bike has never gone down?

Opening beer bottles!

Duh... ;)

aprilia 1
:-)

aprilia 2

Well....it's really hard to find a MINT sport bike.
I've been blatantly lied to -regarding the condition of these machines.

I've looked around and usually they have "hidden issues".

No wonder the Hawk went to the first buyer that saw it.

Yea that sucks!

O well. How about a really nice 2005 Superhawk with full Ohlins front and rear? make me an offer!

Ok. how about this Tuono? its a racing so its quite special.
Aprilia Tuono
or
Ducati St4s, 2003

I also think you sold your Hawk to cheap. Your bike looked sweet.

2003 Ducati with 24k miles for $6k?...no way!

The Tuono? Nope. I need racier. I found a pristine RSV1000 2008 that I may get.

Some local alternatives to the aprilia

http://slo.craigslist.org/mcy/2804697273.html

http://slo.craigslist.org/mcy/2801307825.html

Good God that Daytona is gorgeous

BOUGHT A BIKE TODAY
 

I pulled the trigger today...No...not an Aprilia yet....but for $4k?.. I couldn't say no to this deal.

This local deal just kind of happened suddenly. Drinking coffee one minute and...

2002 Honda RC51 sp2-
16k miles

Sato dual high mounts
Power commander ( with dyno'ed map)
New 520 DID gold chain/sprockets conversion
New headset bearings
Carbon fiber radiator vents
Silver powdercoated wheels ( matches Honda Silver )
Flush mount signals
Clear rear light with signal integrator
New Michelin PP tires
New service w/oil change

This bike just appeared on CL...I was there fast.
Rode her home 20 minutes later. Clean title...current reg....2 previous owners in their 50's. 1st owner may have put Moriwaki? (whatever) ...cams in it. Never down. No scratches -other than storage dings in a couple places on the exhaust cans.

This particular RC51...well...can PULL.

I can't believe the sound from these Sato's without baffles. They are LOUD and DEEP. Even with my earbuds and good music cranked, I still hear this beast roaring away at all rpms. No way to ride without earbuds.

The ride is good -but not plush like a modern set-up -also a wee bit too firm in the rear. Preload is cranked up. Needs sags set and proper TLC.

The only bummer is on my ride home from the sellers house (30 minutes later ) I bumped into a LEO passing me. Looked down -77 in a 55. He flipped around with lights on and I kindly pulled over. Shut her off, took off helmet and waited forever for him to arrive. I could not talk my way out of it this time. It's been 3 years-so I was way overdue for one.

EDIT: So basically I sold my Superhawk and paid another $500 to get into this deal.

Congrats on the Sweet ride! sounds like you got things in order to make it yours, including the first ticket, Thats true ownership!;) Post some more pics when you have a chance!

It's not likely that there is any road legal 2-cylinder Aprilia that can do anything, any better than that RC-51. Great catch.

I'll do better than that.

Just posted a video tour on YouTube.
It's a couple minutes long if you have time to watch it.
RC51 Sato high mount exhaust - YouTube

Off for a ride now....

I bet my staintunes give that thing a run for its money ;)

Nice choice of bike though. If you want to go for a ride tomorrow I'm doing pretty much all of the north county roads with a buddy, about 4 hours of riding. Pm if you want to ride with

Nice! Sounds like a proper RC. Thanks for the post