I am sure that it has come up, but since I am new I get some lattitude right? Do you think that there is a way to lobby Honda for a Hawk update? You wouldn't need too many brand new parts, they practically have them all on the shelf. Keep the frame, use the new 680 engine from the Dueville, and fresshen up the styling, use existing forks, shocks breaks from the CBR. Make it light, torqey and thin... SVs sell like hotcakes instead, they gave us the 599...snore. If we can spend about the same money on a hawk and upgrades and make it better than a brand new SV, think of what honda can do....
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88 sort of blue Hawk "Heidi"
98 yellow Valkyrie, "Hilda"
02 Grey Futura "Ashley"
06 Yellow Daytona 675 "Sunny" -
Welcome aboard USMC,
It gives me no pleasure to shoot you down, as you make a valid point. Read the VR980 superhawk prototype piece in the pictures section, there was a U.S. lobby to build a litre hawk. Honda did eventually build a 1000cc twin but it was devoid of almost all the hawk's characteristics. The tooling for the hawk was already scrapped but that was no excuse.
So if I may extrapolate, you could spend a lot of time and effort explaining why and how the hawk should be brought back. Honda would smile politely and deliver you a sleaved down Superhawk. It would probably sell like hot cakes too.
Sorry,
Blade. -
[ So if I may extrapolate, you could spend a lot of time and effort explaining why and how the hawk should be brought back. Honda would smile politely and deliver you a sleaved down Superhawk. It would probably sell like hot cakes too.
Sorry,
Blade.[/quote]
Ah-ha. Thanks Blade. I am baffled as to why Honda created this segment with the Bros/Hawk and abandoned it after only 3 years. They have produced other bikes for longer than a decade with no changes. Suzuki has been selling the heck out of SVs, and the middleweight standard class is prospering. The Koreans are using thier 650s to get a foothold in the market, Ducati just invested alot in the 695. The VTR is 8 years old..C'mon honda! Oh wait, now they are going to produce that scooter/motorcycle automatic thing..great. Sometimes it seems that Honda just builds what they want irregardless of thier customers, like the VFR ,a bike they ruined just to introduce VTEC...Enough rambilng at least support for the Hawk is still there i fnot OEM parts...
Greg88 sort of blue Hawk "Heidi"
98 yellow Valkyrie, "Hilda"
02 Grey Futura "Ashley"
06 Yellow Daytona 675 "Sunny"Comment
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The Bros (the euro version of the Hawk, produced as both 400 and 650) was released in the UK for one more year, and in Japan for a few years more. The Hawk was way ahead of the curve for the US market. "Naked" styling was already a big part of UK (and then German and Dutch) biker culture, as you can see in the "streetfighters" they've all been cobbling together since the '80s. But we didn't "get" it. The Hawk just didn't sell here... in fact, if I'm not mistaken the Hawk almost wasn't released here - it was designed specifically for the Japanese market. And yet, everyone I've ever talked to that used to have a Hawk says the same thing - "I never shoulda gotten rid of it."
The popular consciousness of the USA is just different from the rest of the world. We want bigger, "better." In other words, large numbers sell. Larger displacement, faster quarter-mile. 0 to 60 in X amount of time. Who gives a crap if it can turn, right?
How else do you explain Orange County Choppers? Have you ever seen the "Christmas Bike?" This country invented "bling." We'd chrome our balls if we could.
I think it was 1993 (?) that the Ducati Monster debuted. And all of a sudden, it was an icon. Edgy, stripped down... and supposedly, something completely fresh and new. Fresh, maybe - but not new. Seems everybody forgot that five years before, Honda had already done it all: a naked, stripped down package with (gasp!) a single sided swingarm. I love Monsters, but they weren't the first. It's just that the market was, for some wierd-ass reason, ready at that particular moment in time for a Hawk. And Ducati delivered. And Suzuki caught on, with the SV (I'm pretty sure that came after 1993, right?).
Here's what I think is ridiculous. If Honda did nothing else but redesign & update the bodywork alone, they could sell these things like they were going out of style. Maybe tweak out the engine, but it doesn't need anything more than Hord or Lenac do in their garages! And yet, it will never happen. Why? Look at the cover of any moto-mag right now:
"Is The ZX-14 The New Busa-Beater?"
That's what the US market wants, and that's what the US market gets. Nobody wants a canyon-carver, becuase using one takes skill. They want to whang on the throttle and be big boys in a straight line; then they don't have to worry about little details like talent. You know what I want to see? What's being released in Japan right now? (That, and what's new in Ludovic Lazareth's shop? That guy's crazy.)
Interesting sh!t is risky, and Honda's completely stopped taking risks. They'd rather put airbags into the Hondapotamus than make a more flickable motorcycle.
And yet... how about we forward the content of this thread to Mr. Toshiaki Kishi?1988 "BlackHawk" project
1989 "RallyHawk" is Chuck's now!
1988 "The Gray" Tempest Gray Metallic stocker
I can't tell you how peaceful it is. Shinya Kimura
People who know ride Hawks. RiotComment
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Whole-heartedly agree! The rest of the world has gone naked, how can they be wrong? You have Brutales, Tuonos, SVs, Monsters, TnTs, Buells, Grissos, speed triples(and fours) and many more. Here it is bigger is better, and let's be like Harley. Why else would honda have replaced the awsome Valkyrie with the ho-hum VTX. Here bikes sell eigther because you want to throw on some leather and go from bar to bar admiring your chrome, or because Sport Rider said whatever bike was .001 sec faster around the track. I think there is hope though, the middleweight class is growing, largely because the increasing number of women riders, and that definitely isn't a bad thing. I have run accross a lot of women riding SVs and to a lesser extent Hawks. I think they don't have the ego thing...
Let's hope that Honda get's it collective head out of it's arse...Otherwise... Triumph has a 675 naked comming out soon...88 sort of blue Hawk "Heidi"
98 yellow Valkyrie, "Hilda"
02 Grey Futura "Ashley"
06 Yellow Daytona 675 "Sunny"Comment
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HUH?!?!?Originally Posted by USMCHAWKGT
oooooooooooh yeah........1988 "BlackHawk" project
1989 "RallyHawk" is Chuck's now!
1988 "The Gray" Tempest Gray Metallic stocker
I can't tell you how peaceful it is. Shinya Kimura
People who know ride Hawks. RiotComment
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[quote="douglas.thompson"]HUH?!?!?Originally Posted by USMCHAWKGT
oooooooooooh yeah........[/quote
yup, 07 speed triple 675
88 sort of blue Hawk "Heidi"
98 yellow Valkyrie, "Hilda"
02 Grey Futura "Ashley"
06 Yellow Daytona 675 "Sunny"Comment
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Kinda weird, but there was one of those "what bike do you think should be brought back" threads or whatever on another one of my riding forums..i think 3 or 4 people also mentioned the hawk as a bike they felt should be brought back. Crazy. made me think of this thread here.Comment
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I still maintain that the Hawk could be brought back, as-is, with the one exception of new bodywork (a la Jo Coring's project from the hawkgt.com photo album), undertail exhaust and handlebar risers, and out-sell the SV in the current market. Hands down.1988 "BlackHawk" project
1989 "RallyHawk" is Chuck's now!
1988 "The Gray" Tempest Gray Metallic stocker
I can't tell you how peaceful it is. Shinya Kimura
People who know ride Hawks. RiotComment
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I want fuel injection!Originally Posted by douglas.thompsonThe Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it.
P. J. O'RourkeComment
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I want a similar looking bike with fuel injection, better brakes and better suspension...
some things can change cosmetically, as long as the the bike remains as flickable as it currently is.Comment
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Somebody has to have an in with one of those Honda Girls.... that ought to get ur foot in the door
The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it.
P. J. O'RourkeComment
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Dont know if you guys read the UK bike mags but 'Superbike' this month has just done a review of the new 'Dullville' which as you may know is an updated version of the NTV650 with panniers etc. The point of this is that Honda have now (finally) updated our classic 52deg Twin and bored it out a touch to 81mm taking capacity to 680, added fuel injection (always good) AND changed the heads to 4 valve single plug!!!!
Rated HP is now 64.8 but just imagine what JD or other peeps like that could make with 4 VALVE heads!!!!
I'd like a set of those on my brand new Hawk please Mr Honda!!!
MarcComment
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Here is my suggestion for RC31 upgrades if it came back. Quality suspension, 800cc 52 degree 4 valve fuel injected motor in medium state of tune, close ratio 6 speed gearbox. Under seat exhaust. Rear hugger fender. Lenac brake kit (1 rotar). Longer radiator that's narrower than frame, with detent for oil cooler. 5 gal petrol tank with stock profile, vacum fuel pump. Generic wheel dimensions. Adjustable light weight rearsets.
Loose the centre stand but keep it's mounting points, loose the seat lock, grab handles, and folding cargo hooks. Install mini rear blinkers. Light weight aluminum clip ons, chain & sprockets.
Polished SSSA, internally routed brakline, polished aluminum chainguard similar to Rob Z's except it extends back to the frame, giving the illusion of the chain being routed through the swingarm, moto GP style. Bros trim looks nicer.
BladeComment
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