MFNcody's Superhawk - woo!
04-04-2015, 03:55 PM
#1
Junior Member
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Villa Park, IL
Posts: 6
MFNcody's Superhawk - woo!
Hi folks!
I pretty much just joined as I've been in the market for a superhawk since I realized it existed around last summer when I crashed the hell out of my ninja. This will be the first bike that I really sought after. I had a boner for this bike since I saw/heard it and then could not find anything really bad about it (for me). The ninja was a cheap deal just to get on a bike and I ended up spending a great deal more time trying to fix it up than actually riding it. Crashing it at 85mph kinda put the nail in the coffin.
I put a down payment on a yellow 2000 with about 31k mi on it today at Road Track & Trail in Big Bend, WI. I'm in the west suburbs of chicago, btw. I couldn't take it home today because it had not yet been officially tech inspected so assuming nothing unexpected comes up, I'll probably take it home next weekend. Funny I saw this very bike for sale on craigslist around December last year for very close to what it's being sold for now. I messaged the seller then and never got a reply about it. Is anyone familiar with a yellow bike with up-pointing arrow stickers on the right side of the gas tank that look to be covering a dent? It also has Yoshimira mufflers and aftermarket blinkers and stuff. Good or bad, I would really be interested in any history on the bike. Unlike the 2005 with less miles I looked at today, it looked to be kept pretty nice and tidy for the most part. I don't care about minor cosmetic flaws. Actually I kinda prefer a bike that has had a little taste of the world so to speak so I don't have to be all critical about it's perfectness. Anyway I wonder how 31,000mi on this bike is going to fair.?
Ok I'll stop typing now.
Cheers!
I pretty much just joined as I've been in the market for a superhawk since I realized it existed around last summer when I crashed the hell out of my ninja. This will be the first bike that I really sought after. I had a boner for this bike since I saw/heard it and then could not find anything really bad about it (for me). The ninja was a cheap deal just to get on a bike and I ended up spending a great deal more time trying to fix it up than actually riding it. Crashing it at 85mph kinda put the nail in the coffin.
I put a down payment on a yellow 2000 with about 31k mi on it today at Road Track & Trail in Big Bend, WI. I'm in the west suburbs of chicago, btw. I couldn't take it home today because it had not yet been officially tech inspected so assuming nothing unexpected comes up, I'll probably take it home next weekend. Funny I saw this very bike for sale on craigslist around December last year for very close to what it's being sold for now. I messaged the seller then and never got a reply about it. Is anyone familiar with a yellow bike with up-pointing arrow stickers on the right side of the gas tank that look to be covering a dent? It also has Yoshimira mufflers and aftermarket blinkers and stuff. Good or bad, I would really be interested in any history on the bike. Unlike the 2005 with less miles I looked at today, it looked to be kept pretty nice and tidy for the most part. I don't care about minor cosmetic flaws. Actually I kinda prefer a bike that has had a little taste of the world so to speak so I don't have to be all critical about it's perfectness. Anyway I wonder how 31,000mi on this bike is going to fair.?
Ok I'll stop typing now.
Cheers!
04-04-2015, 08:05 PM
#2
Rex Kramer-Thrill Seeker
SuperBike
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Brookfield, WI
Posts: 2,312
Welcome. I'm familiar with Road Track & Trail and you can trust them. Good people. The achiles heel of the VTR is the R/R (Regulator/Rectifier) and the CCT's (Cam Chain Tensioner). The stock R/R tends to fry and sometimes takes out other electrical components (dash, battery) with it. You're going to want to upgrade it to a MOSFET type R/R, if it's not done already. The stock CCT's could let go and wreck your engine. Many have replaced them with manual CCT's. There is a lot of information to be soaked up in this forum's Knowledge Base. Any questions about the Superhawk, just ask.
04-11-2015, 06:13 PM
#3
Junior Member
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Villa Park, IL
Posts: 6
Ohh that yellow... Ohh that noise... I'm in love
Yeah I went and got it today. It has plates but I need to transfer my insurance from the ninja to this then I'll be ridin' it like hell.
04-11-2015, 07:34 PM
#4
Rex Kramer-Thrill Seeker
SuperBike
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Brookfield, WI
Posts: 2,312
I remember seeing that bike. Those arrows stand out in my mind. Looks to be a nice Superhawk.
Please be carefull with first gear. This bike has a lot more torque than your Ninja. Start out slow with this bike. Get familiar with it by yourself at first. Do not go out with your buddies and go all mental with it.
The sound is awesome, hey? That's what drew me to this bike at first too.
Congratulations on your purchase.
EDIT: I see you have the stock CCT's. You will want to address this ASAP.
Please be carefull with first gear. This bike has a lot more torque than your Ninja. Start out slow with this bike. Get familiar with it by yourself at first. Do not go out with your buddies and go all mental with it.
The sound is awesome, hey? That's what drew me to this bike at first too.
Congratulations on your purchase.
EDIT: I see you have the stock CCT's. You will want to address this ASAP.
Last edited by CruxGNZ; 04-11-2015 at 07:36 PM. Reason: CCT's
04-12-2015, 07:48 PM
#5
Junior Member
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Villa Park, IL
Posts: 6
Yeah I was a little surprised it has the stock CCT's still since the previous owner obviously did some other things to the bike. I've already looked through the sticky thread about that and the R/R and will do them soon.
I feel like kind of an idiot asking this but is there a petcock/fuel tank valve? I looked and haven't located one. I see a light on the tach with the fuel symbol so is that a low fuel light then? I found the service manual for the bike but is there an owners manual anywhere?
Actually I never really ride with anybody. I mostly just commute to work and stuff like that. The ninja served that purpose quite well. I talked myself into the superhawk mostly because I figured gas is not super expensive so the time to have this kinda bike is now.
I feel like kind of an idiot asking this but is there a petcock/fuel tank valve? I looked and haven't located one. I see a light on the tach with the fuel symbol so is that a low fuel light then? I found the service manual for the bike but is there an owners manual anywhere?
Actually I never really ride with anybody. I mostly just commute to work and stuff like that. The ninja served that purpose quite well. I talked myself into the superhawk mostly because I figured gas is not super expensive so the time to have this kinda bike is now.
Last edited by MFNcody; 04-12-2015 at 07:53 PM.
04-13-2015, 10:06 AM
#6
Senior Member
SuperBike
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 1,802
Yeah I was a little surprised it has the stock CCT's still since the previous owner obviously did some other things to the bike. I've already looked through the sticky thread about that and the R/R and will do them soon.
I feel like kind of an idiot asking this but is there a petcock/fuel tank valve? I looked and haven't located one. I see a light on the tach with the fuel symbol so is that a low fuel light then? I found the service manual for the bike but is there an owners manual anywhere?
Actually I never really ride with anybody. I mostly just commute to work and stuff like that. The ninja served that purpose quite well. I talked myself into the superhawk mostly because I figured gas is not super expensive so the time to have this kinda bike is now.
I feel like kind of an idiot asking this but is there a petcock/fuel tank valve? I looked and haven't located one. I see a light on the tach with the fuel symbol so is that a low fuel light then? I found the service manual for the bike but is there an owners manual anywhere?
Actually I never really ride with anybody. I mostly just commute to work and stuff like that. The ninja served that purpose quite well. I talked myself into the superhawk mostly because I figured gas is not super expensive so the time to have this kinda bike is now.
There is a petcock, but it's underneath the tank and should be shut off when the tank is removed for whatever reason. I use an 8mm wrench for that.
04-15-2015, 05:26 AM
#7
Moderator
MotoGP
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Gettysburg, Pa
Posts: 5,072
06-25-2015, 09:57 PM
#8
Junior Member
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Villa Park, IL
Posts: 6
Well I've been having a blast getting around with this bike so far! I still haven't really utilized more than 2/3 the rev range. It's just never necessary. Some throttle in any gear and I'm just moving. Gas mileage & cruise range do suck haha but I'm ok with it. I'm used to being stuck with only one gas station (for e85) for my car so being able to just go to any gas station I come across is like a luxury in convenience to me.
Annoyances - the bar ends are still getting loose once in a while. There's just no solid way to have them. I was used to kind of parking my outer palms there as a rigid part of the handle bar and I don't feel like I should do that with these the way they are. Another stupid little thing is the choke doesn't stay choked fully. It sorta backs itself in partially pretty much immediately and so the idle slows down and it can't warm up properly i feel like. It's just a stupid thing though; it hasn't really caused any issues I guess.
I just pretty much finished making a GPS hard mount for the bike.
The original suction cup mount seemed to stay on ok if I cleaned it and stuck it to the gauge window but with all the vibration and stuff, the ball socket part would just let the gps point down after a couple blocks and anyway I felt nervous about it with hard bumps and stuff. Only downside I see to this one I made is it covers up the temp gauge and whatnot.
On the topic of the gps, is there an accessory power lead somewhere to connect to? I haven't found one.
Annoyances - the bar ends are still getting loose once in a while. There's just no solid way to have them. I was used to kind of parking my outer palms there as a rigid part of the handle bar and I don't feel like I should do that with these the way they are. Another stupid little thing is the choke doesn't stay choked fully. It sorta backs itself in partially pretty much immediately and so the idle slows down and it can't warm up properly i feel like. It's just a stupid thing though; it hasn't really caused any issues I guess.
I just pretty much finished making a GPS hard mount for the bike.
The original suction cup mount seemed to stay on ok if I cleaned it and stuck it to the gauge window but with all the vibration and stuff, the ball socket part would just let the gps point down after a couple blocks and anyway I felt nervous about it with hard bumps and stuff. Only downside I see to this one I made is it covers up the temp gauge and whatnot.
On the topic of the gps, is there an accessory power lead somewhere to connect to? I haven't found one.
06-26-2015, 06:58 AM
#10
Moderator
MotoGP
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Gettysburg, Pa
Posts: 5,072
I went with some RAM Mount stuff:
They attach with a well nut which is very secure and does not vibrate loose.
Bar ends shouldn't be a problem. If you can, put some serviceable thread lock on the screws. Just a drop should solve your problem.
And is it just your range that sucks? The Hawk doesn't usually get horrible mileage, it's just the small tank. If you are really getting bad mileage it could indicate a carb issue.
They attach with a well nut which is very secure and does not vibrate loose.
Bar ends shouldn't be a problem. If you can, put some serviceable thread lock on the screws. Just a drop should solve your problem.
And is it just your range that sucks? The Hawk doesn't usually get horrible mileage, it's just the small tank. If you are really getting bad mileage it could indicate a carb issue.
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