what's the deal??
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Squid
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 10
what's the deal??
i'm looking at buying a superhawk. i've been around motorcycles for 20 years. i've owned all brands of carb'd bikes. i've noticed a trend that the superhawks seem to have carb problems. since i've never owned one, but have seen several threads here about gummed carbs, i was wanting to know what the deal is!! i have never personally had carbs on any of my bikes gum up. i've never had to clean a set, or even sync a set of carbs. i've owned kawa, suzuki (several of those), and 2 yamaha's. all carb'd, and no problems out of them. i really like the look of the shawk but am a little worried about these problems. i live in oklahoma, and have never winterized a bike. i ride year around. if it snows, i just pull the bike out every 2 days and start it, warm it up, and run it thru the rev range for about 15-20 minutes. maybe this is the reason no carb problems. my 99 r1 now has 25000 miles on it with no problems. please ease my mind!!!
Senior Member
Superstock
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 470
From: titusville, fl
Gas turns to gum and varnish when allowed to sit. The problem has gotten worse over the last 20 years or so as gasolines have been reformulated.
Junior Member
Squid
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 27
From: Jacksonville, NC
If you run them that regularly then you'll have no problems. Park them for 4-6 months/year with out fuel stablizer or running them regularly then you increase the possiblity for issues. Don't be scared, you'll be fine....
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,138
From: Austin, Tx
I think the carb problems you may be referring to are the result of tuning changes when owners modify jetting, airbox components, etc. My understanding is that the Superhawk is a difficult bike to tune but once you're there - all you have to do is hang on! 
Administrator
World Champion
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 105,287
From: Fulton, MO
What you see is the few carb tuning issues some are having this spring. What you don't see is all the VTR owners that DON'T have problems at all. It's like any vehicle forum. The "problems" seem to get more attention but in reality are a fairly small percentage of all vehicles of the same make/model.
evil man of nothing
MotoGP
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,516
From: Boynton Beach, FL
As far as running goes it's been known to be one of the sweeter running stock carbed bikes. Alot smoother than the fuel injected TL was when they came out. Like any other vehicle just don't let it sit for months w/o running it or storing it properly. As far as tuning goes I've had two of these bikes and have tried almost every different exhaust made and no matter they always ran perfect...w/o any jetting changes. As I've said before I'm waiting on a shop by me who is getting a dyno and I'm going to jet mine. Hoping it's for the better...I think the only trend is either bikes that have been seriously neglected or people who aren't experienced enough trying to rejet and they end up making them run worse.
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vtrlvr
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Apr 12, 2007 09:57 PM
