Passed my Motorcycle class; time to spend lots of money...

"TheJWT" (thejwt)
05/05/2019 at 19:14 • Filed to: None

I told myself I wasn’t gonna buy a bike, since I’m saving every penny I earn for an NSX. But riding was too much fun to not do again, so here I am. I’m really lik ing this Honda Hawk 650, does anyone know anything about them? I was also looking at Suzuki GS500s, but I’ve heard they’re really not great bikes.

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DISCUSSION (20)

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > TheJWT
05/05/2019 at 19:30

XSR700 is the (somewhat expensive) answer.

(I have an XSR900)

TheJWT > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
05/05/2019 at 19:32

Those are really cool, but a new one of those is getting close to how much my car was... I want to try and keep it under $3500 or so

Monkey B > TheJWT
05/05/2019 at 19:33

Hawk’s are nice but that is all the money for one and I think you can do better with your money. GS500 is small, avoid it. What type of riding do you anticipate doing?

TheJWT > Monkey B
05/05/2019 at 19:38

Some commuting to work (Less than 10 miles each way) and cruising around on the weekends. I really just want some kind of sport bike, preferably a 600 or 650. All the bikes in my class were 250s and they’re just too small for me.

Mercedes Streeter > TheJWT
05/05/2019 at 20:02

In the advice of Oppo’s Triple Tamer: Avoid the GS500.

A 400 class sportbike like ImmoralMinority's can be a decent starter bike. And if you aren't afraid to fiddle with carbs there are a ton of fun old bikes out there like the CX500!

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > TheJWT
05/05/2019 at 21:42

I had a Hawk GT for several years, and to this day it is one of my favorite bikes.

Granted, I am over 6' tall, and not what one would call thin... so the bike was a bit small for me, and being from the 1980s, 46 horsepower is middleground then, but pretty low by recent standards.

It will do highway speeds, plus a little more, but without any kind of windshield, the wind noise and turbulence gets a little tiring, and big trucks and such on the highway can blow you around a little.

Where it absolutely SHINES, is on back-roads.25-60mph up and down through the gears, on that amazing chassis... it’s absolute magic.

Honda does this from time to time... makes something unique, prices it wrong, then cancels it when it fails to sell, despite being a good product.

Hawk GT and GB500 came out about the same time in 1988 . GB500 was sort of like what the Kawasaki WS650 was later on... a Japanese, reliable, low-production tribute to the old british bikes, like Triumph and Norton. Now Triumph is making them itself again, but for a long time there wasn’t much.

The Hawk GT was more more modern. It took racing tech from the RC30 and brought it to the street, the Hawk GT’s engineering number is RC31, for instance. It pioneered aluminum spar frame and single-sided swingarm design, engineered with ELF, for the road which previously was on the racetrack. Later, the VFR V-four lineup also adopted that engineering.

The Hawk used an engine that was also used on the Deauville and the earlier Transalp bikes, a narrow angle OHC V-twin. Not a power-house, but easy to ride, fairly smooth, and with enough torque and peak horsepower to be both friendly and fun, where the CBR600F Hurricane I4 was a race replica light-switch... off, then ON!

The Hurricane was Hawk’s problem. Steel frame, full fairing, race-replica looks, more power from the 600 Inline-4, and a lower price... it sold like crazy, and basically helped invent the 600cc sportbike class, succeeded by the CBR600F2, F3, and on down to the current CBR-600 lineup.

Hurricane got all the press, all the sales, along with larger displacement bikes like VF700/1000, and bargain VF500 also. Hawk GT was slower, less flashy (but I think ultimately more sublimely better looking) and more expensive, with more interesting frame and suspension technology, languished on dealership floors, and ultimately got cancelled after 1990/91.

The sad thing is, it predated the Ducati Monster 600, and the Suzuki SV650, which both gained much more popularity and success in the mid- 90s than Hawk had earlier, as all three were similar formulas... mid-sized “naked” V-twin street sport bikes, as an alternative to ever-advancing and razor-edged race-replicas.

One of the best online communities I have ever been in, is the HawkGT Forum, and I think some of them are still around.

It is a bit of a cult bike, and as such, if you find one... it is likely not exactly cheap. SV650s are much more prevalent, and more powerful, but not quite the pearl-in-the-shell that was the Honda Hawk GT.

I sold mine because I had little time to ride, no money for even the minor maintenance it needed, and ultimately my daily commuter needed the money more... so I reluctantly let it go to someone who would replace the fork seals, change the cush-drive and put a new chain and sprockets on it, and ride it... rather than having it sit in my garage and wait for me to do those things.

I still miss it, but I don’t ride any more, and as I said... it was slightly on the small side, physically, for me.

If there are any questions I can answer otherwise, let me know. One thing... blue or gray bikes are 1988 models. My 89 was , and others through 90-91 are all originally painted red.

TheJWT > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
05/05/2019 at 22:00

This post contains about 10x more information than the RC31' s Wikipedia page; much respect! It caught my eye because I had never heard of it before, and now I understand why. The one for sale is even within my bu dget, so long as it’s not a money pit in maintenance. It’s going at the top of my list for sure .

I guess the only other question I have is what’s it like to get replacement parts, being an older and fairly obscure bike?

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > TheJWT
05/05/2019 at 22:18

It has been a while since I have tried to shop for parts, but when I owned one, it was do-able. Not Porsche expensive, but not Auto-zone cheap, either, and a good online source or helpful Honda dealer is very good to have in your hip pocket.

The nice thing about Honda... the interchangeable parts are common between bikes. The frame, swingarm, tank, and tail are unique to the Hawk GT and European Bros 650 model (same bike, different name)

That interchangeability also breeds mods.

CBR-F2, F3 front end 41mm forks, wheel, fender, and dual brakes... but the brake diameter and spacing is different, so the whole thing has to be swapped. There is a donor bike, GB500, or Bros or something... I would have to look, that can donate a right hand fork lower leg, and CBR-900 brake discs or something, and still a dual-disc wheel, that can adapt... but a CBR-F3 cartridge fork complete front-end swap would be better, or even cartridge-emulators in F2 damping-rod forks.

A VFR-750/800 rear axle carrier 4-lug hub and wheel combo, rear shock, etc.. are somewhat common mods to get wider, more modern rubber, as the Hawk’s wheels are 17" diameter, but on the narrow side for common tires.

The engine doesn’t have a whole lot of mods, but the carbs and the engine have been in production in some form or another for a while, so the part number stock can be found with a little digging.

It is an obscure bike, and long out of production, so parts aren’t just on the shelves ready... but on the other hand, it is still a Honda.

TheJWT > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
05/05/2019 at 22:22

Very good to know, thanks again!

sn4cktimes > TheJWT
05/05/2019 at 22:26

Not saying it’ll be a right fit for you, but I always encourage people to check out Enduro bikes. They’re light, have plenty of torque for their displacement sizes, and deal with crappy roads really well. They are great in-city commuters. They suck on the highway though. I spent 6 hours on mine last year riding through tropical storm level winds to go buy my Rampage, and I was wiped out. But in town, oh man fun.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > TheJWT
05/05/2019 at 22:38

I had a GS500 for a while. Good bike and easy to ride. But i outgrew it fast. Probably cause i rode dirt bikes growing up. So i moved on to a SV650.

The GS was reliable got really good MPG and very easy to work on. Granted i only had mine for about 5 months so...

Monkey B > TheJWT
05/06/2019 at 06:20

look at bikes like the FZ6 and SV650, you can get sport bike flavor in a more comfortable and easier to ride package. Inexpensive, parts and accessories plentiful.

AdverseMartyr > TheJWT
05/06/2019 at 09:22

So, I had a GS500. It’s fine for a just all around bike. That said there is absolutely no reason to buy a 2001 if you want one of them. find something from the early 90s or late 80s. It’s the exact same motorcycle. So if you find one in ride- able condition then you might as well save the cash and get the cheapest one you can.

But since you’ve already taken a riding class if you can find an SV650 or something like that then just skip the gs500 for something with a bit more character.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > Mercedes Streeter
05/06/2019 at 10:40

Don’t buy a CX500.

Mercedes Streeter > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
05/06/2019 at 11:57

Why not?

(I’m kinda curious as I kinda want one after seeing Jake’s antics)

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > Mercedes Streeter
05/06/2019 at 13:49

What you don’t see is how often the damn thing is apart trying to deal with the carbs and such.

EFI is the best and I wouldn’t suggest any carb bike to a new rider.

Mercedes Streeter > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
05/06/2019 at 15:42

In fairness, his has lived a very rough life.

I’d recommend EFI as well. But not everyone has EFI money or EFI tastes (vintage bikes) . Plus, considering how likely you are to drop your first bike, I’d say keep it as close to the bottom of the depreciation curve as possible while still getting safe and reliable wheels. That’s why the Ninja 250 and the Rebel 250 are basically everyone’ s first bikes . Dead simple, stupidly reliable, silly cheap, and still fun enough as a first .

I haven’t even touched my GL1100’s carb yet as I haven’t needed to. The running problem I had with the GS was because the engine sucked up some not-fuel from the bottom of the tank. To date, the only real carburetor problems on any bike I’ve owned (and remember, I’ve purchased about 13 by now) happened with cheap Chinese bikes with even cheaper Chinese carbs.

So my advice is get whatever you want (within reason), but make sure it runs, rides, and doesn’t need anything.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > Mercedes Streeter
05/06/2019 at 15:48

True, but an old EFI SV650 beats the hell out of having to screw with carbs. I’d also stay away from anything under 500cc (or maybe even 600cc) as they feel painfully slow after you start to get comfortable.

I’m a little biased as I bought a Yamaha X SR900 as my first bike and haven’t looked back.

Mercedes Streeter > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
05/06/2019 at 15:59

Oooh, it’s hard to beat the SV650. Those things seem to hold onto their resale value annoyingly well in my area. I really want a BMW, a Triumph, or another Buell as my next. As you can see, I really like pain.

And I guess as someone who upgraded from a 250cc beginner bike to a 1100cc “Sport Tourer” after a month, I definitely didn’t take my own advice lol.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > Mercedes Streeter
05/06/2019 at 16:48

Everyone I know who’s bought a 250 has grown out of it almost immediately. I wouldn’t necessarily suggest a 115 hp 900cc triple as a first bike but mine has been pretty decent to me.

The 650- 700cc class has gotten really good lately with the MT/FZ-07 and it’s Honda and Kawasaki competitors. 7 0-80hp is plenty to wind out.