Bought my 2002 superhawk in November 2022, I do my research before buying things and already knew of this CCT phenomenon. I drove a couple hours to meet the seller, who stated the bike had been sitting in his garage for about 2 years. Test rode it, carb def needed cleaning bc throttle response very bad, starting very difficult, power wasn't there at all felt slower than my ninja 250. Had a click but I was a noob I didn't realize this was the click of death noise indicating at least one of the CCTs failed. I talked him down from 3500 bucks to 2500. Seller who is a mechanic for a living told me the CCT thing is all BS and overblown and he's driven the bike 40k miles never had to change any CCTs and run perfect always, said "these v-twins will run forever totally reliable and bulletproof." he managed to convince me CCT is not a real thing, and only problem was carb so he instructed me to use sea foam/carb cleaner fuel additive and ride or idle the bike as long as I can. Long story short he told me keep doing this till the day I was riding about 45mph and there was a very odd noise... hard to describe, almost like it was muffled with a pillow over it, don't really remember any clunking or anything just kind of a pop then muffle, I hit the throttle and it muffle revved but did not make the bike go, it was like the clutch was pulled in. I pull over and turn it off quick as I can. I wait about 15 min and try to restart, when I hit the start button there was 1 single quiet "tap" type sound, wouldn't try to start. I think CCT was failed since the start, but finally completely gave out maybe cam chain popped off or something.... went to a shop they said "timing chain tensioner failed and chain jumped timing, need to disassemble motor see if valves bent or other damage. Rough estimate $1500-2k or a lot more depending on what we find in the engine" I asked if the bike was seized up, he said "wasn't seized but locked up from the chain" There is a shop that specializes in these bikes a good 2 hour drive away, before I take it up there want to see if anyone on here has any input. I'm not very handy but there's a chance I could be able to open up a cylinder head.... would it be the front or rear one? And anyone experienced this before or have any guesses based on what I described? Much thanks, really appreciate any and all responses!!!

 

You have fallen victim to the dreaded cct failure by the sounds of if. 95% of them break the front as the spring on the front is starved of oil, the spring corrodes and the tang on the end of the spring snaps and bang the piston kisses the valves, thats the bad news.

good news is its prob only valves, the piston generally wins the fight , if the heads wrecked front cylinder heads are rare and expensive but, you can use a rear head which id easier to find and cheaper but you need to block the cct mounting hole on it, open out the blanked of castings, turn it round and use it as a front head, they are the same thing just in reverse. if you get a new head try and get one with matching cam caps and cams if possible.


i should also add a lot of the bikes iv seen with cct failure has been bikes sitting about not being used so rust gets to the spring.

on later varadaro 1000 engines honda fitted an extra oil pipe feed to that area to help with a problem they said wasnt a problem? strangly !!!

 

And ya fell victim to stars in the eyes when buying it - we lust after certain things - for most guys its gas & motor that we love. CCT is not a joke - most VTRs go at 25 to 30k. Had a cam tensioner put on about that time and - fingers crossed - no issues 21 yrs later & 75k miles.

Good luck - if ya have the time to do it yourself - do it - don't be afraid - bag & label each part, use video / pics to assist in disassemble / reassemble

 

Sorry to hear of your experience.
The guy who sold the bike is an f'n scum bag. Everyone is thinking it. Had to be said.

 

Sucks to read this tale.
Where ya located?

 

i am located in Virginia, the best place is Brooks Cycles in Chantilly it’s far from me but after hundreds of phone calls he’s the only guy who knew the bike I was talking about, clearly exemplified passion in the Superhawk/VTR1000f, and said he owns several including a few totaled ones for donor parts and they’re his favorite to work on. Definitely taking the bike to him because I am not handy enough… well maybe I’ll try to do some disassembling and diagnosis but that’s about it, even that’s a stretch for me. I usually replace fairings, do oil & filter changes, sometimes other fluids if they’re easy, basic cosmetic stuff, I am by no means a talented wrencher lol never even cleaned a carb

 

i don’t think his intentions were completely bad, the bike had 40k miles and he showed videos when he used to ride it and it wasn’t facing any issues back then in 2019, but he definitely wasn’t soft on it lol many top speed all-the-way-open highest gear highway rips and very hard accelerations and revs. But I think he knew the price was too high at 2500 and refused to budge, I hinted maybe $500 or any amount at all partial refund back after it broke so quick and since it was way worse than described but he wouldn’t. The bike also strangely will shift from 2nd to neural on its own so you have to shift to 3rd as fast as you can. Fairings demolished. Dropped countless times, some fairly bad crashes. My friends and I all agree this bike was worth 1k, he just decided I was going to be his sucker. He still checks in and asks if the bike is fixed yet lol he wanted a sucker to befriend I suppose. I told him he better not do business like this with anyone less level headed than me or it wouldn’t end well at all, but also accepted responsibility as a buyer, I drove an hour with my trailer all excited to take a bike home on it, shoulda drove it back home empty. Hopefully this can miraculously have a happy ending though, I just want to feel this bike on the highway at its peak performance.

 

I know who you’re taking it to. He’s on here and active on the VTR groups. Your in good hands..

 

if the gearbox is on its way out you might find it cheaper to just do a motor change

 

definitely considering it considering the price of motors on eBay, they’re not so bad. At most 1500, but potentially as low as 700 with shipping. Since it’s a 2002 I’ll probably shoot for a 2002 or newer motor, but I’ve also heard the older like 1998-99 are faster? Would def like to hear some opinions on which year motor for purchase if the final verdict is a full swap, which is probably 60% likelihood

 

iv ridden a fair few and iv always found the early 97/98 always felt a bit sharper, why iv no idea but they seem a little sharper to pickup. maybe it was just the ones iv ridden

 

Hey guys, my 2002 Superhawk 996 has been diagnosed by the shop. “I'm afraid I have bad news. Complete rear cylinder CCT failure led to piston strike on valves. The entire upper end will have to be rebuilt.” Says the shop. I asked if I can just order a replacement rear cylinder head and swap it on but they seem a bit hesitant and said there’s a chance after the head swap there could be more piston/valve issues? Should I order both front & rear heads and replace both? I very fortunately found a listing for both sold as a pair which I have never seen, not a single front head or a pair so this might be my only chance. What do you guys think, just rear cylinder head or send it and swap both? Can’t wait to be back on the road with my Hawk and I appreciate you fellow riders infinitely for your wisdom on this forum.

 

Well, I'd find another shop. Many people have swapped heads after the same misfortune and lived to tell about it. It's almost always the front head as mentioned, but rear head, same difference. WRT buying the pair of heads or just a rear, unless the pair of heads has had some type of work done to them like porting, etc., you don't (currently) need the front head. I highly recommend installing manual cam chain tensioners (both heads) as part of the excercise, then you shouldn't ever need a front or another rear head. However, far be it from me to tell another SuperHawker to not ****** up a working, front head when they have the opportunity. If you were to buy the pair, you still wouldn't need to swap the front, but you would have a, presumably useless to you, spare front head. That said, or typed, you didn't mention cost. I would say a good front head can be had for about $150 if you're lucky enough to find one. A F&R about $300. They seem to go for about the same money unless someone is trying to rape you for a front. They are much more scarce. I know, that means economics enters the picture, but **** economics. I hated those classes. Shipping will add $$$ and, these days, often makes a decent deal turn to ****. (edit: I assume you're talking about the set of heads on eBay for $400 +$25 shipping (that's the shipping I see, anyway). I suppose we have had a wee bit of inflation lately, so I would say that's a good deal for someone looking for a pair of heads. They don't specifically say they came off a running bike, so get that cleared up before you buy. They do look clean.)

It sounds to me like your shop will tell you, if they haven't already, they can't warranty anything if you provide a used head for them to just swap instead of them rebuilding the failed head, no doubt, at a much higher labor cost. Again, I'd find a different shop. You shouldn't expect them to warranty a used head itself, but if the head gasket starts squirting oil like an excited young lady after the swap, that's on them.

Now, all THAT said, you are talking to a guy with two SuperHawks, one in need of a front head swap, who has two sets of heads (one set which has been breathed on), and who wouldn't let go of his "useless" spare front head to save his children's lives. You never know when you may come across a smokin' deal for a third SuperHawk in need of a front head. It would have to be yellow, of course.

 

im in the market for rear cylinder head, carbs if they’re clean, and honestly lots of goodies so please lmk if you want to sell some Superhawk parts!!!

 

Remember my children's lives?

 

I see no reason why you couldn't just swap the rear head. Brooks Cycles?