#00791
This site presents what some may consider an excessively lengthy dissertation on my experiences with the Super Hawk. Please read on to discover all the things I love about this bike, the things I'm not so crazy about and the things I've done to make it more the way I want it.
Skip the Intro stuff...take me
straight to the Modification
section
RIDING IMPRESSIONS:
I've been riding miscellaneous motorized 2 wheelers since I was 13 and had previously owned 3 Honda VF/VFRs since 1985. Some discussion of my general motorcycling history and philosophy may be found on my Motorcycling page.
I purchased my "pre-owned" Super Hawk on Thanksgiving day 1997. The bike was procured by the original owner in June 1997. When I took delivery, the bike had 1,375 miles and was in pristine condition. The Dealer had fitted a set of Yoshimura RS-3 low mount oval slip-on pipes, slightly larger main jets (#178 front and #180 rear) and a 0.020" shim, under the head of each stock carburetor needle.
Since purchasing the VTR in November 1997, I've put over 28,000 miles on it. I love it more every time I ride it. The torque is truely awesome when compared to my VFRs. It really pulls hard from any RPM when you yank the throttle open. It makes my old '91 VFR750 feel like a moped in comparison. The Horsepower & Torque curve of my Super Hawk is posted on my VTR Tuning page.
(Note the antique Liberty remote radar detector unit and digital timepiece on the top triple clamp)
The magazines say the VTR has a comfortable sport touring riding position. If this is really the case, I have no desire to ride anything with a "sport" riding position. Contrary to what the popular publications might say, I call the VTR riding position pretty aggressive. Although part of my problem is that my upper body is significantly shorter than my legs. So, the Super Hawk presents a long stretch from the seat to the bars for me. A couple hours of saddle time is about all I can take in a single sitting. After that, my neck is so sore I can't turn my head. But I figure it's something I will live with, I don't want to spend more than $100 on handle bar risers and the vast majority of my riding is the 30 minute each way commute to work. This summer I had the opportunity to put a few miles on a friends 1996 Ducati 900SS and it's proportions worked much better for me. But, I couldn't live without the 25 horses the Duke gives up to the Hawk.
Suspension is another area that could some adjustment. But I'm too cheap to make any real changes. I've played around with spring preload and rebound damping (the only adjustable parameters found on the stock suspension). But haven't yet found a combination that soaks up the bumpy New England pavement. Eventually I will have to pay for a recalibration and different springs. One thing that has worked wonders for the suspension action of my Super Hawk has been a loss of 40 lbs from its rider. I weighed almost 210 lbs when I bought the bike and had to really crank up the preload to keep it from bottoming over sharp edge bumps. The excessive preload really messed up the damping. Now that I weigh about 180 lbs, I've backed the preload way down and the damping rates seem to be decent for the majority of my riding.
The handling is much more responsive than any of the VFRs I've owned. The VFR's have a long standing reputation for truckish handling. They are very stable, but require alot of effort to initiate turns. The VTR is much more nimble. It flicks in and out of turns effortlessly. This combined with the incredible torque of the big twin engine make for deceptively fast cornering. The VTR is still very stable at high speed too.
In June 2002, I spent a couple hours riding a friend's 1996 Ducati 900 SS/CR, which makes the VTR seem as much like a truck as the VTR did to the 1991 VFR. In response, I tried a mod frequently discussed in the various online VTR forums...I raised the fork stantions in the triple clamps. It's a very easy change and the results are qutie successful. I took the forks up 25mm and it makes a noticeable improvement in 'flickability'!!
As with all VTRs, the fuel mileage is terrible. With stock carburetor settings, it gets about 33 to 35 mpg. When you consider the fuel tank only has about 3.5 useable gallons before the dreaded low fuel "Red Light of Death" (RLOD) comes on, you can only go about 115 miles between fuel stops. This could be frustrating for someone with a better conditioned neck than I, or those that live in significantly more rural areas. In Connecticut, there is always a fuel station within 15 miles.
Being a professional mechanical engineer, I just can't restrain myself from tinkering with things. Modifications incorporated on my Super Hawk include:
I ordered my seat from the Corbin booth at the 1998 New York morotcycle show. I spec'd out dimpled leather surface, fancy stitching and red welt/piping on the edges. The contour eliminates most of the iritating forward slope of the stock seat. The seating surface and stitching is all of high quality with no unraveled or torn seams.
My saddle looks just like this...
There is one minor problem with my seat, it doesn't fit my bike quite perfectly. The heavy suede that lines the area of the seat in contact with the tank is slightly bunched up. So, it leaves a gap just to the right of center between the tank and seat. I don't plan to send it back, since the problem isn't too bad and I don't feel like testing the reportedly apalling Corbin customer service for myself. But it would be nice to expect better fit from a $320 seat.
I've since ridden several thousand miles on the Corbin. It is quite comfortable, far better than stock. The seating surface provides good support and the not too soft foam prevents my butt bones from sinking in and pressing on the seat pan. If I had it to do again and the turnaround time and communication with Corbin could be improved from my Connecticut location, I would have them make the nose higher, the dish deeper and the area from nose to turn-up shorter. Otherwise, I'm pretty pleased with the seat.
You can click on the logo above to go to Corbin's VTR webpage.
TBR SMOG PLUGS & FORK PRELOAD ADJUSTERS
The TBR smog plugs disable the Pulsed secondary AIR injection (PAIR) emmission control system. The purpose of the PAIR system is to inject fresh air into the exhaust ports and thus oxidize any unburned fuel in the exhaust gas. The result may be slightly lower HC emmission, but I believe the process creates excessive exhaust gas temperature, which turns the exhaust pipes blue. And, the system certainly adds unwanted clutter and mass to the bike.
The TBR plugs replace the stock reed valve cover plates, on the cam covers, which contain hose fittings for the PAIR system. This allows removal of the PAIR control valve (pump) and it's associated hoses and clutter. To complete the installation, you must plug the big air supply hose from the air filter box and the vacuum line from the #1 carburetor. I used a couple of appropriately sized screws and some silicone seal to accomplish this.
The fork preload adjusters are a handy little two eared knob that attaches to the preload adjuster wrench flats on top of the fork legs. They are secured via two very small set screws per knob. They allow you to adjust fork preload without having to carry a wrench with you. Althouugh the adjusters allow on-the-fly preload adjustment, they don't help the VTR's fork damping problems.
This is a Lycra cover that stretch fits over the top half of the bike. When not in use the cover stuffs into a 5" diameter by 8" long sack that will easily fit into a tank bag or into a Tailocker. I've been concerned over the sun fading my leather Corbin saddle while the bike sits idle in the parking lot at work all summer. This cover is just the thing to provide some solar and dust protection.
I purchased the Geeza cover as a package deal with the Tailocker described below. The regular retail price is $109, but with the Tailocker package, there is a 15% discount on both items. The Geeza cover is also available from the manufacturer, whose address I don't have handy at the moment.
The Tailocker replaces the rear half of the stock rear fender and results in a significantly enlarged stowage compartment under the seat. The unit consists essentially of a topless ABS shoe box. Installation is pretty straight forward, but requires you to cut the stock fender apart which is a task I faced with some trepidation. I ended up getting it mostly right, but I did mis-cut my fender due to misinterpretation of the instructions. The results came out ok anyway. In my opinion, the mounting of the engine control electronic boxes is kinda hokey. You restrain the electronics boxes with a tie-wrap. I'm a little concerned over the longterm effect of vibration due to the less secure method of mounting. I've since replaced the tie wrap mounting system with velcro strips. I think these damp out vibration better and makes removal of the electronic modules much easier.
I think the unit is a bit pricey ($134.95) for what you get. But then I guess it's a fair price to offset the developemnt cost of the product produced by such a small Company. Access is still gained by removal of the seat. With the tailocker installed, there is now room under the seat to stow a sweatshirt, rainsuit, pair of sunglasses, cell phone or other sundry items.
My Tailocker experience hasn't come without some problems. The kit comes with a pair of cheesy Lockhart mini turn signals. I didn't want to lose the superior visibility of the stockers, so I drilled the required extra hole in the Tailocker to mount the stock turn signals. A few hundred miles later I came home from a ride to notice one of my turn signals dangling by the wires bouncing off the rear tire. I eventually ended up epoxying aluminum reinforcing plates to the sides of the Tailocker. I haven't had a problem since. After talking to Talon, the inventor of the Tailocker at the 2000 NYC Morotcycle show, he stated that newer units come with heavier side panels. And to his credit, he said if I would like I can ship the unit back and he will replace it. How's that for customer support.
Unfortunately, during the summer of 2002 a couple people have emailed me to say that it appears Talon and the Tailocker Company have disappeared. I did some quick checking and it iseems to be true. The advertisements that used to be present in Cycle World are gone and both the web URL and email address no longer work. Too bad, it was a pretty decent product.
The speed bleeder is a handy little device intended to streamline brake bleeding into a one may show, with no special tools. The unit consists of a standard sized bleed nipple which contains a little check valve. So, to bleed a caliper, you just crack the nipple about a 1/4 turn and pump the brake lever. The check valve allows fluid and air bubbles to flow out but does not allow air to flow back in when the lever is released. Cool huh? BTW, it appears to be much more effective than the Mity-vac vacuum bleeder. It took me over an hour per caliper to bleed my brakes with one of these after installing the braided SS brake & clutch hoses. With the Speed Bleeders intalled it only took a couple minutes!!
What I can't understand is why such an ingenius, affordable and functional device is not available from every motorcycle shop, Auto Parts store, and aftermarket mass merchandiser on earth!?! This is one of those great ideas that I kick myself about...WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT???
Click on the logo above to go to their homepage.
Renthal 15 tooth Countershaft Sprocket:
With stock sprockets, third gear was the universal gear for riding most roads . Third is useable from under 45 mph to over 120 mph. It almost makes you wonder why there are three more gears in the box. I had only used 5th or 6th gears a small handful of times (one of which resulted in a not so pleasant conversation with the Connecticut State Police and local State Prosecutor's Office - 110mph in a 65 zone). I have noticed though, that 3rd puts you relatively low in the rev range when exiting slower corners. But the step down to 2nd is a bit too big for a smooth entry.
About mid-way through the 2000 riding season, I replaced the stock 16 tooth front sprocket with a Renthal 15 tooth unit. As I suspected, it allows me to use a couple more gears for general riding. Most cruising is in 4th gear with slower corners in 3rd (really slow corners in 2nd) and Freeway cruising in 5th. I still don't have much call for 6th gear. A sprocket change won't add power and it actually reduces top speed, but I like it because it gives me more options in matching engine speed to conditions.
JARDINE HIGH MOUNT SLIP-ON EXHAUST:
When I bought my Super Hawk it already had a pair of Yoshimura RS-3 low mount slip-on pipes installed. The Yosh has served me well and seems to provide a decent power increase over stock (see the Dyno curves on my Tuning page.) But I really like the look of a high mount pipe.
I have to say that I was none too pleased with Jardine's Customer Service!!! I initially phoned in the order for a Jardine pipe on June 30th 2000. The customer service Rep said they were out of stock, but they were in the process of making another batch and they should be ready in a week or two. The pipe finally arrived on October 21st!!!
Installation went quite smoothly and only took about a half hour. The fit and finish of the pipe is very good. Chromed end caps and s-bend pipes and black anodized cans. The sound seems deeper than the old Yosh, but this may be because after 16,000 miles on the Yosh there was no packing left in them. Despite my trouble in getting the pipe, the end product seems to be pretty good.
DYNO JET CARBURETOR RECALIBRATION KIT:
After playing with a Factory brand jet kit through the entire 2000 riding season and never getting the bottom end dialed in, I decided to ditch it in favor of the competition. It turns out that the Dyno Jet needles are more gradually tapered and the VTR likes them ALOT better. For more info on the carb recal, go to my VTR Tuning page.
In addition to the Dyno Jet kit, I also installed a washable/reuseable K&N oiled cotton air filter. I had used these filters in several of my previous bikes and had good luck with them. So, since I'm not so crazy about throwing $40 a year at my local Dealer to buy the OE disposable filter, I decided to try a K&N on the Super Hawk. I have also removed the airbox inlet snorkel, which with proper jetting provides MUCH better throttle response.
In the spring of 2002, I mounted up my third set of tires. The bike arrived with Dunlop D204's. When they wore out, I replaced them with a set of D207ZR's. I got quite a few miles out of the 207's and they handled very well. When they wore out, I headed up to my usual tire supplier, Cycle Gear in Manchester Connecticut and they had the Metzler M-1 available for slightly less $ than the Dunlops. So, I decide to give them a try. I love these tires. these Metzlers are really excellent. They use a variable density steel belt construction with 5 different arcs in the cross-section to produce optimum contact patch at various lean angles. I think they produce phenomonal grip and exceptional feedback. On top of all that, they were actually $40 cheaper than the Dunlops!! Now when was the last time you saw Metzlers that cost less than Dunlop?
Ferodo Paltinum Front Brake Pads:
The old EBC Green pads were finally reaching the end of their useful life, so I decided to try a set of Ferodo's this time. The old EBC's provided very good feel, but I think they lacked ultimate stopping power. The Ferodo's seem to have equal or better feel but also have excellent stopping power.
LINKS:
The following links represent an arbitraryily selected collection of other VTR1000 sites on the web
When I finally get around to pulling the
dampers off my bike for rework, I will be taking them here. C-Cycle
does the same kind of thing as Lindeman and Race Tech, he just isn't
known quite as well. Probably because he's in Southeastern New
England instead of Southern California.
The company is run by Craig Seekins, a former co-worker of mine. He does great work, give him a shot.
In case anyone wants to go riding with me today, here are the current
weather conditions at Groton and Hartford.
If you are so inclined...
I always like to talk bikes, especially VTRs
RETURN TO LANCE'S MOTORCYCLING PAGE
Last updated 01/15/03