Hiya guys and gals,

I've owned my Hawk for about 6 months but I've been living in South Korea for just about all that time. I've only had about 4 weeks to work on the bike. And boy, does it need work. I'll have to wait another 4-5 months before I can continue work on it because in 2 days it will be packed up for a trip to the UK.

The VTR is in working condition but in order for it to meet UK requirements (MOT standards), it's going to need:

-Work on the headlight. It has an HID light but not the projector. So the beam is spread out which may not pass UK inspection standards.
-Brakes. All of the rotors are probably original and Will most likely need to be replacement rotors.
-Tires. Rear tire doesn't hold air past a week. Tread is getting low on both front and back as well. Will have to replace both tires.
-Front turn signals. They are missing. Not too much of a big deal, but something I need to deal with.
-Rear brake doesn't work. The bike has steel braided brake lines but they are older. The rear line has a hole and therefore the rear brake doesn't work.
-Exhaust. It has a Two Brothers 2 into 1 exhaust which I can almost guarantee it will fail the MOT based on the fact you are not allowed to use "for off road use only" exhausts on a road bike.
-The front wheel isn't pointing straight. The forks may be bent. I'll have to pull the front end apart to see.

 

Don't forget, you'll need to add "Firestorm" badging if it's going overseas.

 

lol

 

Managed to replace the lower triple last night. I didn't have time to torque everything down correctly but I'll make sure I go through it all before I ride it in 4 months. I just put it all together for the move (which happens in 2 days).

 

I think there's only one manufacturer that may have made a 2-1 (and it wasn't two-bros, so yours is custom), and the vast majority of people find it very hard to tune a 2-1. So going back to OEM or similar is almost guaranteed to run better.

 

Lucky for you there's a good Superhawk forum in the UK and likely some friendly folks who can help you source what you need there.

 

Yup, I've regestered with vtr1000.org. I'll hit them up for help once I get over there.

I don't have a better picture of the weld job on the can but it does have a two into one system. The can looks to be clamped, welded and riveted into place, not pretty. I'll look again but I do believe it's a two bros can.

 

Just got off the phone with a locksmith. My wife lost the key while I was away and now that it's crunch time (it's getting shipped tomorrow), we realized that we can't drain the gas tank because it's locked.

 

Maybe get the seat off, lift the tank, pulla fuel line?

 

Seat is locked as well

 

How far can you lift the tank up with the seat still locked in place? Try taking Jerry's idea and lift the tank (remove the two allen bolts at the front of the tank and then lift. It pivots at the back) and get underneath there and pull off a fuel line. If your petcock is working correctly, you will need to pull a vacuum on the petcock to make the fuel flow.

 

Plus it'll need the battery disconnected before it can be freighted.

If it's warm where you are the seat at the back can be lifted so you can access to trigger the seat mechanism with a screwdriver.

 

Damn, if it isn't one thing, it's another. Locksmith couldn't get onbase so they have to come today, the same day as the movers.

 

Why not simply buy a Firestorm in the UK? You can get a sorted left hand drive VTR1000F for Ł1000-Ł1500 and you'd save the cost of shipping and getting it into MOTable condition. Then sell it and get your money back when you transfer out.

 

Apparently, Wicky has miscalculated the cool factor of having a right-hand drive motorcycle in the UK.

Note: That will be a lot funnier for those who don't understand about headlights.

 

Just to add - There must be a market somewhere in the work for all the UK bike tires that are unworn on the lefthand side but worn out on the right from all the roundabouts we have

My local roundabout In Essex…

 

I get it, throttle etc are on opposite sides. Makes perfectly good sense

 

Shipping is free through the military and I'd rather not have the hassle of selling a bike at the end of my tour. Plus left hand drive VTR's are way better.

 

Was about to say, looks like the one they have in Colchester ha ha ha. Can you tell I'm a yank or do I just sound like someone who doesn't know his geography?

 

Long awaited update: Well ok, I doubt anyone was really waiting. I think I'm writing this more as a journal, one that people periodically comment on.

...anyways, the locksmith made it on base THE DAY IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LOADED ONTO THE TRUCK. In an hour, he had popped the seat lock out, made a key from it and started the bike. You'll never guess what we found less than an hour later...and you don't want to know what he charged (and I don't want to remember (so I'm not including it here lol)). Bike started with no problem after 6 months. A glorious sound to hear after so long. Then I turned it off, disconnected the battery and drained the gas tank for shipment. A sad, sad day.

http://vid290.photobucket.com/albums...ps4eb5b29c.mp4

 

A better look at the exhaust:

Clamped, riveted and welded in place. Top notch work.

 

Yikes! I crashed just looking at this.

 

I began a thread over at the vtr1000.org forum that will document further work on this project.
www.vtr1000.org ? View topic - US/UK VTR Project.