Weird

[dagus]

Okay, first you have to understand that I'm one of the biggest Hawk GT nuts on the planet. Ever. A total moto newbie (riding 2+ years now), I'm completely obsessed with motos and fiercely loyal to the Hawk GT. I fell in love with it and I never ever ever want to sell.

However.

The weirdest thing. I stopped by a BMW dealer and sat on a R1200S (then asked for a mop, to clean up the drool). I know they're a large chunk of change and way out of my reach, but the levee broke and now I'm thinking... it'd be cheaper to maintain a new bike than keep having to do stuff to bring the Hawk up to standard, and they don't all cost BMW money. So far, all the money I've spent has been on cosmetic sh!t, but I've still got to upgrade my suspension, feel like I kinda need Lenac's improved brake setup, and I need to do something about my exhaust: even though it looks and sounds totally badass, I'm down on power because there's no backpressure with straight pipes. I need Unis and a jet kit and the list goes on and on...

Sometimes I just want to stick a pair of twin headlights on a late-model Gixxer and call it a day.

Having an 18 year old bike as the only horse in the stable is starting to get to me. Somebody talk sense into me, here, huh? See, I can't have two...

[Soul]

haahah im sorry that I cant talk sense into you. I love my hawk..its stilling sitting in the garage..But the truth is, its going to a new home soon. My cousin is buying it from me and I am giving him all of my parts with it.
The hawk is great..But I LOVE the 900rr, after a few miles the hawk was basically garaged..and yea,the hawk is quick in the twisties..but I find the 900 to be extremely flickable as well..not to mention the insane acceleration. 2nd gear wheelies just by gasing it? not a problem.
I wish I didnt need to sell the hawk, and i wish i could talk some sense into you..but its hard.. The only argument i have is a BMW? I could see being tricked into a cbr, r6/r1/ or a gixxer..maybe even a ninja..but a bmw?Seriously..
hehehe

[dagus]

Not any BMW. This BMW. The Hawk GT of BMW's.









I may test ride it this week. Couldn't resist.
Hey, what year is your CBR? Is it a 600 or a liter bike?

[Blade_Zero]

Every ex-hawker has the same mantra.
"I should never have sold her"
"I should never have sold her"
"I should never have ..........

In my opinon no other bike has the character & flexability, it's like an old freind. The running / moding costs are only as expensive as your imagination. Top speed dosn't interest me, not on the highway anyway, if acceleration is your thing change the gearing.

Good luck to you, what ever you decide.

Blade.

[dagus]

I've met so many people that have said that! Honestly, I comitted myself to cleaning her up into a one-of-a-kind showbike (not kidding), and I won't really be happy until I finish. And when I'm finished, no one gets to touch her (unless my kid wants to ride someday) let alone buy her. I'm just bitching, really. What I want is "one to ride, one to wrench" and I can't afford that yet. If I sold my Hawk for a newer ride, I'd just start trying to mod the new bike anyway, making that into an intermittantly unrideable moneypit too. *sigh*

The running / moding costs are only as expensive as your imagination

Yeah, and unfortunately I have a great big imagination!

The Hawk's not going anywhere. No freakin' way.

[TJStoner]

Well... I can concur that having a New bike is nice and no worries, but i love my hawk for the reason i dont like my 1000rr.....its CHEAP to mess with...I mean, if i decide to do something on the 1000 its pretty much $$$ out the pocket...but with the hawk...its my imagination and a little elbow grease...and maybe an odd $$ here or there....keep it, ....its more populer now than it was 18 yrs ago...go figure?

[kennie]

That BMW does seem like a good ride, but they're on the pricey side. It looks like it makes some good power, but it also looks like it turns like a boat in comparison to the Hawk. Try looking at a Trimph Speed Triple.

or perhaps one of these

Either way, I think you'll still want to keep the hawk. It has sane power delivery so when you want to rip - it'll be very forgiving.

[dragonmojo]

Well, I've been a BMW rider since '83 (currently own a '99 R1200C and '04 Rockster), but the '88 Hawk I picked up used in '97 is still with me. I have a '02 Yamaha VStar Classic on consignment, wishing to sell this w/about 5K miles on the clock instead of letting the Hawk go.

Why keep the Hawk? It's paid for. It's relatively small (esp compared to the Beemers). Insurance is cheap(er). It's rather unique, in a good way.

With the latest pocket rockets weighing in about the same as the Hawk, but with 4 cylinders, advanced suspension and triple-digit ponies and performance to boot, the Hawk would barely stand a chance.

Other than insurance and mtce savings, why the Hawk (over these road racers)? Intangibles. Passion often trumps logic. A '65 Mustang is a 41 year old car... outperfomed by many modern cars, but there are people who still want one.

I was at an Alfa Romeo Open House (being a former Spider owner), where they also repair bikes. I took my Hawk, lined up along the curb with other older bikes: Honda CB400-4, Suzuki GT250, Yamaha RD400... and newer ones such as Triumph's Speed Triple, Thruxton. I am still surprised at how modern & svelte the 18 year old Hawk looked; it'll probably still stand out in a crowd of modern-day midsize sportbikes.

If you do decide to ditch the Hawk, please be sure to hang around or revisit the site and let us know if you regretted your decision. Happy riding!

[isaac]

Well since like three people posted on this forum all day today, I'll revive this thread in epilogue form.

Good thing you didn't sell the Hawk eh? That would have been a mistake to regret.

All of us dream of bigger, more powerful bikes. If I had a choice, I'd buy a Triumph Speed Triple. That thing's just outright gnarly.

If you want everything BUT the power though, you give your bike the bug eyes and stiffen up the front fork. You're good to go, and with better gas mileage. The Hawk is too fun to get rid of.

Here's what I do: Always have at least two bikes. That way you can have two different riding experiences. Hell, one bike can be two different riding experiences. I've turned my Suzuki GS850 touring bike into a chopped old school savage. I'm strongly considering turning it into a hooligan bike/naked bike.

Before:


Now:



Future: who knows. I'm hoping something like

[Doc]

Ok so my trun to chime in... you all knew it was coming.


RACE THE HAWK!!!

Go out and get yourself another bike and keep the Hawk to Race!

I was kind of backward in doing this as I had the 900ss before the Hawk but...

Plus I guess being overseas for a year getting out of debt and saving up some money helped me to be able to have more than one bike (I have 4 now)
1. 1992 Ducati 900ss An Almost Classic, still looks great, doubles for sport touring duty and 2 ups with my wife.
2. 1988 Honda Hawk GT Racebike pure and simple
3. 1998 Kawasaki KLX 300R Dirtbike
4. 1984 Honda Ascot 500VT (My Hobby bike, I buy em fix em and sell em)

On the Ascot, I think this is a great thing to do (buy, fix, sell) This way you have a rotating stable and can sample MANY bikes (well many CHEAP bikes at the moment but with each one I learn more, EARN more and move up).

Looks like you need another bike Doug. Although don't you live in the city and that isn't an option due to storage?

[PaullyBoy]

I see the guy I got my hawk from on a semi- daily basis. Any time I do anything to that bike he just stands drooling asking himself why he didn't do it when it was his and so far has offered me $600 more than what I got it from him for. Now I've caught myself looking at a few crotch rockets, and even test drivin a few, but i'll never sell the hawk. I might buy another bike for the speed and HP, but i'll still be doing mods to the hawk on the side. Keep the hawk or sell it to one of us. But dont be suprised that in a year youll be looking for another one.

[dagus]

Interesting you mention the S3, Isaac!!! There's a set of five-and-a-quarter-inch dually headlights from Aztec8.com sitting in my kitchen waiting to be bolted onto the Hawk just as soon as I get the UniPods on (makes room to hide the excess wiring under the tank).

Can't wait for the day Magda and I go house-hunting. I've already made clear that when we do leave NYC, we need a garage big enough to accomodate my moto habit!

[motorcycleman]

I'm with Isaac and Doc; get more than one of you can! But seriously, having owned somewhere over a dozen bikes so far in my time I can say the hawk is one of the coolest- easy to own, nice to look at, flickable and with a little learning an easy bike to wheelie and do smokey burnouts. Not as easy as the rd400 I had as a squid and not nearly as fast as the 85 fj1100 yamaha I had that would do about 160 mph.... (enough to triple your insurance and lose your license, which led me to sell (that plus the possibility of a 100+ crash). I went from that bike to my harley, which gets way scary over 85 or so.... And since I'm a hooligan at heart I kept looking and looking... until spying the hawk in the paper last spring. Now I can get the thrill of a light sportish bike in a more realistic speed factor, plus the vtwin makes working on it a little easier than the fours, and the sexy single sided swingarm... drool... well, you get the idea. You could buy 10 or more hawks for the price of that beemer...