Recently aquired a 98 Superhawk
 

I just received a 98 Hawk with 16k miles in a trade. I've been looking for a sport twin, so I'm excited to have it in the garage. Sorry for the wall of text, but I swear there are a few questions at the end of it.

The bike looked to be in fairly good condition for its age, the clutch was slipping at high RPM's and on decel the bike was back firing. The factory mufflers were decored so I figured that was the back firing issue, and on a bike of this age, a clutch rebuild would be nothing to worry about.

I rode the bike home from the trade and immediately tore it down to inspect what the years and previous owners had done to it. The carbs were a mess and the front carb had a torn slide boot. The carbs were full of rust, so I had the tank relined, installed new fuel lines, and replaced all of the jets with new ones. I also installed new Yoshi RS3 slip-ons with the quiet core while I had it down, and did a full service, plugs, factory air filter, and rebuilding the clutch master which was shot.

I noticed while the bike was down, vac caps had been installed on the pair valves, and the airbox, so I figured the PO had done it right. The bike started easily and ran great above 3k. Below 3k, the rpm surges, and hiccups occasionally. The power delivery is abrupt too. Like flipping a switch at 3k. The back firing was still present too.

The suspension was far too soft for my 210 lb butt, so I ordered Racetech springs for the fork, and was planning on trying to adjust the rear shock preload to help it out, it was on the softest setting.

When my springs came in, I checked the pair reeds and they hadn't been flipped, so I flipped them over. I test rode the new springs, and noticed the back firing was still there. When I pulled in my driveway, the tach went to zero and I lost my lights. I pulled the seat while it was still running, I was getting AC voltage from the charging system to it. I killed the engine, and pulled the tail unit, and the R/R had a visible burn spot on the potting. I just installed the new R/R last night, but haven't been able to ride it yet.

My issues with the bike so far, low RPM power issues, backfiring on decel, and the new Racetech springs are squeaking in the fork tubes. I reused the spacers that were already in the forks since the new springs were the same length as the ones I replaced.

And yes, the CCT's are on order, I figure this machine has every other malady that the Hawks are known for, its just time before these break .

May be jetting but I'm no expert.
As far as squeaking in fork tubes did you replace the fork oil?
RT gold valves I would say is a must to go along with the heavier springs.

I replaced all of the jets with factory sizes, and cleaned everything well. From my previous experience with bikes, slip-ons usually don't require jetting changes, and I went with the Honda air filter to try and use the factory jetting. Do you think there are any vac fittings that could cause these conditions that I might have over looked?

As for the forks, the sound is definitely metal on metal, and seems to be coming from around the spring spacers. I am going to pull the caps tonight, and cut the Al pipe spacers that came with the new springs.

Thanks

Is it a Ca or 49 state bike?

49 state.

I'm still researching the forum too, it looks like the Racetech springs that other posters have used were different lengths than factory, also according to the manual, the factory springs should be tapered, but the ones I pulled out were straight.

This bike came from Hazard, KY. But I have found 3 different owners in the last year. I wish I knew it's history.

Thanks

An update:

Installed a Factory Pro jet kit, and after having the carbs off 6 times, my best setting is 182/178 mains, 50 pilots, 4th clip, 2.5 turns rear, and 2 turns front. Adjusted the TPS from 1354 to 501, and synced the carbs. The bike is now running like I think it should. No more decel pop, and completely smooth cruising between 2 and 4k. I did lose some engine breaking, but I assume that was from the carbs being out of sync.

Thanks to everyone on this forum for the help, and thanks for the search function.

for the forks,the spacer might be to short.on the oem setup,there is 0 preload,cut new longer spacers to make it come out to 15mm preload.
change the oil,not sure what weight to use since you didnt put any gold vales.
if the springs are making noise,take them out and flip it,i had the same problem,i flipped mine and noise went away.

Thanks Saige, I forgot to update the suspension woes. I removed my fork top caps, and reread the Racetec Instructions. I cut the Al spacer tubes for the proper sag, I had someone over to help me measure the the sag this time. I used 15 wt oil, at 140 mm. After re-installation, the same squeak was there but quieter, until I test rode it. It went away after riding around my driveway for a few minutes.

When the time comes to install the new CCTs, be sure to measure the valve clearances since you are at 16k miles. One will likely need adjusting.

Your jetting seems a bit rich for a stock air filter. I am curious why you chose the 182 main for the rear carb as it is 2 sizes larger than the front.

The jetting kit came with a 178 instead of a 180, like the packing list said. I'm going to order a 180 and try it. The bike is running so much better now than when I started, I'm just glad to finally be able to ride it safely.

So you received a complete kit? I have not messed with the Factory Pro kit before and was not aware that the 180 is not included.

What mains are on the kit list, and which sizes did you receive?

Check that the vacuum caps aren't degraded and leaking...if it pops on decel and surges you most likely have a vacuum leak, or an extremely off idle mix, or both.

I was more interested in the adjustable needles and did not want to drill the slides, so I went with the Factory Pro kit. It came with 172, 178, 182, 185, and 188. The packing list said it came with a 180, but I received a 178 instead.

It looks as if the FactoryPro kit assumes you will be installing on a bike with stock jets, since the list leaves out 175 and 178.

If you bought this kit new, contact the manufacturer and ask why your kit did not include the 180. He will probably send a new jet your way.