So long story short... I'm in the market for a new bike and was gonna find something off Craiglist but remembered my dad has a superhawk sitting in his backyard. It's been there a longggg time. I'm not even sure exactly how long but maybe 7+ years. Someone tried to steal it but ended up just dropping it and damaging some things. My dad just never went back to it after that.

Now I'm considering trying to bring it back to running condition but I'm just curious if its worth it. How hard are these bikes to work on and get parts for? Maybe some particular areas I should start working on? I'm hoping to get some basic stuff done this weekend. Battery, oil change, sparkplugs...but after over 7 years of sitting i'm sure there's a lot more wrong with it. I don't even know if he drained the tank so I'm sure the thing is rusty on the inside if he didn't. I'm just trying to look at this as a learning experience. I don't know much about bike internals but i'm definitely willing to get my hands dirty. Now I realize you can just buy one for pretty cheap now a days. So i'm not trying to break the bank on repairing it but it would be nice to see my dads face when it cranks over for the first time after all these years haha.

I barely made an account so I'll do some searching around the forum for some answers but any help would be greatly appreciated. Maybe i'll post some photos tomorrow.

 

Hmmm....first, you can buy a superhawk used between $2000 and $3000.


Sooo...for free, on your dads bike, you'll need to:


Check out the tank - full of dirt and rust will cause problems for a long time. If rusty inside, look for a clean used tank?
Clean the carbs - free
Maybe replace air filter, etc. if mice now reside there
Perhaps replace chain, sprockets, tires and maybe brake pads from sitting so long?
Change the oil, spark plugs, etc.


Parts are still relatively easy to get. I would guess even with replacing all of the above you'd be into it for less than $1,000.


Step one would be to get it to run, and see if there are any catastrophic engine noises before dumping $$$ into it.


Good luck!

 

+1 AndyMX47

If successful bringing it back to life add R/R & CCTs plus clutch & brake fluid.

Still a worthwhile project and a great tribute

 

Plan on tires too. While the wheels are off plan on lubing up the calipers along side changing out the break pads.

Some things you can check for free include the petcock diaphram and hoses for signs of dry rot / damages.

I would say if you had the chance to work on the bike with your dad to jump on that chance. Might cost a little bit but the memories and bonding associated with the rebuild will be well worth it. Also from my experience there just anything like the VTR.

Pics would be nice!

 

Generally speaking, the hawk isn't any harder to work on than other bikes. Easier than some, I'd say.
There is much help on this sight. Lots of parts on EBay for the bike.
At least it's only 2 carbs and 2 cylinders.

 

Post some pictures so we can check it out....

James

 

Yeah,

Like James says!

Pics please.