1998 Honda VTR1000F SuperHawk
Miles: 22,160
Clean California Title
Listed Price: $4,380
Introduced in 1997, Honda’s VTR1000F “SuperHawk” [in the US anyway, it was the “Firestorm” everywhere else in the world] looked like a shot across Ducati’s bow. A quick glance at the spec sheet indicated a 116hp 996cc liquid-cooled v-twin with massive 48mm carburetors feeding equally massive 38mm intake valves and the requisite six-speed gearbox. Honda’s new machine featured side-mounted radiators and a new aluminum beam frame with their “tuned flex” concept to improve handling when the bike was at full lean. But the bike was much more a versatile, fun roadster than out-and-out sportbike: suspension was soft, the 472lb lb wet weight was on the slightly flabby side, and the 4.2gal tank sounds adequate, but an observed 32mpg meant it hit reserve after just 100 miles or so, limiting sport-touring pretensions. The SuperHawk was supposedly never really meant to sell in huge numbers, which is great, because it didn’t. That made it fairly rare when new, and clean examples are especially hard to find today.
1998 Super Hawk low miles. Well cared for. Regular oil changes, chain, sprockets, brake pads, and rectifiers. Race Tech rebuilt front end. Stainless brake lines. No track time. No crashes. No engine work. Service book, stock exhaust and owners manual.
This Honda VTR1000F SuperHawk is essentially bone-stock, other than the update to the suspension internals and the Two Brothers exhaust. Two Brothers is a bit on the budget end of the aftermarket exhaust spectrum and doesn’t always have the most sophisticated exhaust note but, if it turns out you’re not a fan of this one, you can always refit the helpfully-included original system. 22,000 miles isn’t really collectably low, but is certainly very reasonable for a machine of this age and versatility: the SuperHawk wasn’t intended to go head-to-head with Ducati’s superbike and really fell halfway in between the Italian manufacturer’s flagship 916 and their more mature Supersport series. As a result, the Honda SuperHawk makes for a much more willing partner for long days in the saddle than a 916 could ever hope to be. Just be prepared to stop for gas every 100 miles or so…
-tad
I test rode one of these on my favorite roads in Germany. What a great bike for twisty roads. I ended up buying a Yamaha TRX 850. Also, a good bike. 90 miles to a tank on the Honda. I was concerned about fuel consumption, so I was considering swapping the carbs from the enduro, or getting someone to make a nice, elegant aluminum gas tank for it. I did a lot of research into cam timing as well. Ducati was getting amazing fuel mileage from the 888 and 916. In the end, modifying Honda’s is not a straight forward process. HRC is the curse of every Honda Motorcycle.
I campaigned one for a few years BITD, fuel economy was indeed terrible, and the chassis and brakes needed upgrading to be useful, and it suffered from the usual Honda wiring issues. But the motor was certainly smile-inducing.