when life was good..roadracing a Hawk GT...

[dolomoto]

[Crash]

Awesome! I remember those days. Please post more if you have them.

[Crash]

And those Bates Fastlane boots kick ass! Dolomoto those make you cooler than Shaft.

[KDNYC]

Full gear is hot. Oops, did I say that out loud?

[squirrelman]

so, what year was that??

[Rydtheslyd]

Full gear is hot. Oops, did I say that out loud?

I agree There Is nothing Sexier than a woman in full leathers who knows how to ride well!!

[dolomoto]

so, what year was that??

That was my '88 bought new in 89...it was either that or a CB-1 (another cult bike!). Put 18k on it including a couple thousand scary damn miles in the Philippines (!!). Roadraced it in 93 and crashed it into a fence at NC Motor Speedway aka The Rock.

Traded it (wrecked, mostly front end damage) for a 83 Nighthawk (blew that one up drag racing at Florence-Darlington Dragway in 94).

Traded the N'hawk (blown engine but custom paint) for a 91 Concours. Got hit by a Bobcat (the animal, not the Mercury) and slid 160' face down hwy 378 outside Sumter/Shaw AFB in January 95. Got a friend to meet me at the bank and bought a slightly used 94 Concours to ride it home for me. Cut the arm cast off two weeks later, rode the Concours down to report for training at Tyndall AFB, FL.

3 destroyed bikes in 3 years!

My leathers (which have shrunk ) have the tag: Dainese, Choice of champions.....Freddie Spencer Champion of the future. ha, ha, ha.

I carried a picture of that 88 in my wallet for years. It still is the only photo I've ever carried...much to the chagrin of my wife!

[dolomoto]

And those Bates Fastlane boots kick ass! Dolomoto those make you cooler than Shaft.

Notice the beer cans duct-taped to the outside of the toes of my boots in place of sliders! I had no money...but damn it... I was racing!

[dolomoto]

Awesome! I remember those days. Please post more if you have them.

That's me leading the charge (second wave). I didn't start first!



That's my arch enemy (Bandit 400) in the background. Never did beat that fella. I usually ran low 8's at around 80 mph in the 1/8th. Still had that crappy Fulmer that I bought with the Hawk...upgraded to Shoei when I roadraced.

[dolomoto]

Awesome! I remember those days. Please post more if you have them.

On the banking at Rockingham. Bankings are BAD for motorcycles...but good for acceleration. We started from the infield and about the time we got to third, we transitioned from the apron to the banking. The Rock had a 42 deg bank which they did not let us race on. We used both straights, turns 1/2 (20 something degree banking) and the infield. That's me, 4th from left.

[dolomoto]

so, what year was that??

That was my '88 bought new in 89...SNIPPED... Roadraced it in 93 and crashed it into a fence at NC Motor Speedway aka The Rock.

Traded it (wrecked, mostly front end damage) for a 83 Nighthawk (blew that one up drag racing at Florence-Darlington Dragway in 94).

Traded the N'hawk (blown engine but custom paint) for a 91 Concours. Got hit by a Bobcat (the animal, not the Mercury) and slid 160' face down hwy 378 outside Sumter/Shaw AFB in January 95. ...SNIPPED...
3 destroyed bikes in 3 years!
...SNIPPED...
It still is the only photo I've ever carried...much to the chagrin of my wife!

The Nighthawk that replaced the wrecked Hawk GT...




And the 94 Concours that replaced the wrecked 91 Concours that replaced the blown-engined 83 Nighthawk...



But this is the Ultimate V-twin. I still remember Nick I. racing it at Road Atlanta....what a sweet bike!




And did I mention that I was racing on borrowed money? Just had my pickup, my new wife, the tookit that came with the bike and a gas can!



I reckon they were the good ole days.

[Crash]

dolomoto wrote:
"My leathers (which have shrunk ) have the tag: Dainese, Choice of champions.....Freddie Spencer Champion of the future. ha, ha, ha."

Didn't they! That is what I keep telling myself!

[SMF]

you know at loudon life is still good. an unnamed member here recently got into the 19's on his 700cc hawk... there are typically 3+ hawks racing on any given LRRS weekend (and yes, we're competitive, loudon might be the last track we can be on...)

[Crash]

you know at loudon life is still good. an unnamed member here recently got into the 19's on his 700cc hawk... there are typically 3+ hawks racing on any given LRRS weekend (and yes, we're competitive, loudon might be the last track we can be on...)

A good Hawk is still competitive it's just that there are a bunch of "ifs"

General "if's"

If - the class excludes superbike SV's
If - the track isn't all straight aways
If - the racer has is skilled

In amateur racing the rider with the best "racecraft" will almost always win regardless of equipment. The SV seems to always beat the hawks because there are so many of them and so few hawks, odds favor a better rider being on an SV that day. It's like taking on the entire Chinese army. Even if they are only armed with sharp sticks chances are they would win. Also a good hawk can easily make SV power but needs lots of $ invested to make a solid race package. A stock hawk against a stock SV (like LWSS spec for instance) would have the hawk racer selling his sperm and blood for an SV. Most guys who want to go race want to keep it as cheap/simple as possible, that means SV.

However I believe that the Hawks have not won their last trophies. Not by a long shot. If you want to know how effective the hawk still is you only have to watch how long it takes for them to be approved for the vintage classes. The Wera V classes don't count. Could you imagine showing up at the race track on your 1988 Honda Hurricane to compete against the CBR600RR's? Nope. The NT650 can still get it done against more modern bikes.

Or am I just being sentimental?

[Kilter]

You guys need to come on up to Ontario, Hawks already run in vintage and make for a good showing in their class (period 4 lightweight)

Check out www.vrra.ca and come on up for one of next seasons races. I'll gladly offer up a couch and a place to crash pre/post weekend.