I am tearing down my 1998 Superhawk after a minor traffic accident last month. I pulled the forks off and noticed one of the allen bolts on the bottom of the fork (where the front axle goes through) was loose and leaking a little bit of fork oil. I tightened it up and the next morning there was a small pool of fork oil underneath the one fork even after it was tightened up the night before. The other fork is fine and did not leak. Has anybody here had this problem before? I never noticed any fork oil leaking until I removed the fork off the bike so I was surprised to find it. I'm guessing this indicates a rebuild for the front suspension?

 

I'd say yes it's time for a rebuild or swap I did a swap and would highly recommend it if you're planning on keeping the bike:
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...rc51+fork+swap

Good luck bro!
RC

 

i dont have an answer, but more of an added question. what are good forks to get if someone were to want to do a swap?

 

Ranger, I'm sorry for starting something on your thread bro, but now that you're doing a swap let's talk shop!

Death, I'd recommend CBR 929rr or 954rr front end cuz it's cheapest and readily available and the whole thing will work; fork tubes, triples, wheel, axle, brakes w/o many if any mods!

Good luck!
RC

 

RC51, 954, 929, CBR1000

 

ranger, i wasnt trying to start anything new, just trying to add and get more info on the same subject. just so you know. so all those other honda forks are swappable with pretty much no modding required?

 

Yes... Small mods needed with all, about the same work...

RC51 fork, pro = easiest swap, con = really expensive...
929 fork pro = almost as easy as RC51, con = might need new fork springs depending on your weight...
954 fork pro = same as 929, beefier spring, con = none special...
1000RR fork pro = Radial brakes, con = a tad more expensive than the 929/954...

 

the bolt you are speaking of holds the cartridge to the fork body. it's just a bolt with a crush washer. if it leaks after you tighten it, replace the crush washer.


tim

 

Thanks for all the information. I'm just thoroughly cleaning the the entire bike, as it was pretty abused to begin with. I'm fixing a few things that I come across (i.e. the forks), doing a few mods, and repairing the accident damage. It'll turn out much nicer than what I started with!

 

+1

 

what mods are required? or is it just the potential of needing new springs? thanks a lot

 

You need to move the radiators back by about ½ an inch, It's as simple as using 4 small alu pieces at the bolts and shortening a few hoses, and rotating a bend on one hose... Then a bit of fiddeling with the fairing...

Also regardless of what fork you use, you need to be creative with the handlebars, either clamp a bar on top of the triple or use Helibars (i used even more expensive adjustable one's...) Plus all the fun of re-arranging the stuff on the bars to not hit stuff...

On the 929/954 triple you need to grind a few places (it interferes with the fairing stay) and shim the steering stops a little to achive full lock without hitting the fairing (reduces lock by a few degrees)...

All of this can be done with rather basic hand tools, but is obviously easier with a full shop...

As a side note, regardless of what fork you choose I'd recommend using the 954/929 triple tree as it makes life less complicated... The 1000RR one is a bit to wide and the RC51 is gullwinged at the wrong place... Both need trimming of the fairing...