Tonyizcool1

Hey guys. Has anyone attempted to modify their transmissions to have like a 7th gear OD? I have -1 front and +2 on the rear sprockets and the thing hauls but down the highway it is like at 5000 rpms. Has anyone heard of any mod such as an OD that could drop it down to about 2500-3000 for long trips without swapping the gears out?

drew_c14

I can't think of any way to add another gear, it's a pretty tight fit in there. I'd say sprocket change, -1 +2 is real aggressive. Try going with a stock size rear and see if you can live with that.

haknslash

x2

Hawkrider

Go back to stock gearing. I've never had a problem with it.

VTRsurfer

With stock gearing the SuperHawk hits 3500rpm at 65mph. 6th gear is slight overdrive...0.961:1.

Tonyizcool1

Yeah, I may go stock gearing next time I need to swap them out.

I was hoping to somehow keep the current gearing because I do like it a bit more than stock, but at the same time somehow lower the RPM for cruising only.

I guess it is either or.

Thumper

Stock gearing here, wow this bike has a 5th and 6th gear. Humm i never use those two unless i am stuck getting on the superslab to get home from a long day of tight back road riding in TN. I am 3rd and 4th kind of rider most of the time. I am sure it really depends on the type of roads you ride.

No real need for 5th or 6th otherwise. I usually cruise around 4.5 to 6 k ahhhh the sweet chickenhawk rumble in mid rpm with a good set of slip-ons.

thedarkknights

Thumper, must be nice... I miss those rides.
I have been looking for some decent roads, but since moving to Michigan, everything is long, flat, boring. Except for all the potholes. =p

Thumper

That sucks, all i got to say is move..... I could never live where the land if flat anf all roads are striaght.

I guess i am spoiled in that i have never lived outside of TN and really have not desire too.

I will admit that a recent trip to Colorado was nice (no bike) and the riders out there must love it.

I have found that my CRF450 tard is as much fun on the back roads as the superhawk if not more fun. Our rides consist of some tight roads with lots of turns and elevation changes, so an average speed would probably be 50 to 70 if not lower so there is no big use of the upper two gears.

I guess i could change the chickenhawks sprocket and get a little more use out of 5th, but thats just pissing money away.

You know i have pondered hosting a get together for fellow chickenhawk riders for like a 3 or 4 day weekend and running several different loops.

Tonyizcool1

Yeah I don't really need 5th or 6th for most of my riding, but there is the occasional highway trip around town. I don't really mind the higher rpms......just wondering if it is alright to leave the engine cruising at 5000rpm for a bit of time.....I don't really see why not, just wondering.

Thumper, you are lucky. Most of the roads near me are pretty straight. Except for one, but last time I went down that highspeed semi- in the middle of no where road a cop flashed his lights and made me rethink my actions.....lol. Darn I need somewhere fun to ride.

VTRumble

Kind of funny to see this posted now. I happened to see this a couple of days ago:

http://southcoast.craigslist.org/mcy/701565997.html

Not quite sure of the setup, but sounds interesting, and from the pics, it's hard to even see anything out of the ordinary.

Thumper

I got an 82 CB750F that gets similar mileage and i ride as much as the weather will permit to work.

VTRumble

What I was pointing out in the ad was the mention of a dual range transmission. In one of the pictures, it looks like another case mounted behind the factory one. I guess anything over 30mpg. seems good compared to the VTR though.

Tonyizcool1

Hmm That is interesting

Thumper

Yep the old one lung CRF450 Street tard gets 44 mpg and she only has a 2.0 gallon tank with no reserve.

88 miles max.....

autoteach

The dual range tranny... it sux. It is completely useless unless you are towing a boat.

Tonyizcool1

I don't plan on towing anything with the Hawk.

I have found an overdrive system for my 70 mustang and it wouldn't affect the other gears, just drive normal and then when you are cruising hit the overdrive and down comes the rpms.

Call me naive or whatever, but why couldn't you just add more gears to a vehicle and drop the rpm's at speed and get better MPG? Acceleration would suck in that gear but why not have one crazy gear with a ratio that would be used only for like 70+ miles per hour or higher?

lazn

You have just a tad more room under your mustang for a overdrive (basically a 2nd simple transmission in your case) than under your SH.

http://www.high-impact.net/transmiss...eoverdrive.htm

Now look under your motorcycle and try to figure out where to add a transmission and not mess up the chain..

Probably not impossible, but certainly not easy, and for sure cheaper to buy a different brand new motorcycle than to design and build one.

superbling

Yes, Honda has used the dual range tranny for ages (CT's anyone?). I've seen the bolt on electronic overdrive you 'stang has. Great idea that has a large market for it. I don't think there's a market for motorcycles........ yet. Most US riders are recreational and want performance first but rising fuel prices might change things. Plus the engineering challenges are bigger (space, too many models/designs, etc) that I'd think it would make the price too high.

Back in the day, I had a new 84 Honda CRX HF (high fuel) model that got 40-44mpg in town and 50-54hwy. 3rd, 4th, and 5th were all overdrives on the "giant" 1.3L motor. At 60mph you had to drop it down to 2nd to pass with any kind of authority! Of course this was a tiny two seater but I can't believe it now takes a friggin' Prius to equal this economy.

Tonyizcool1

Hmm, that would be pretty cool.
Maybe I should just make one and then market it. I do think that some clever people may be able to eventually make one for motorcycles. I love my bike, but just wanted to get a bit more mpg at speed without sacrificing any performance.