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I have been thinking more about my next bike and I still don't want to finance my second ride from a dealer. Sadly enough, most newer bikes on the market don't really interest me except for a select few. Those select few I can't practically afford anyway.

Besides a VFR Interceptor, I've been curious about the Superhawk as far as it's reliability, maintenance, full coverage insurance estimates for a 21 year old, power, handling, touring capabilities, overall ride experience, etc. I mostly spot the 996 Superhawks but i'm not aware if any are built with 6-800cc displacement.

Has anyone owned/ridden one of these bad boys? They look so friggin sweet and a Vtwin is just what I want! But I'd like to have the forum's perspective because most reviews sound biased to some extent. I'd appreciate some practical opinions from all of you honest people!

I have owned one since they were first delivered to Canada in May of '97. It's a blast to ride with tons of torque and great handling and with a set of pipes it sounds better than my wifes Ducati. Touring range sucks and it is less comfortable than my VFR, but WAY more fun. You can buy them cheap used and they are very reliable.

High_Side

Hey thank you high_side. As soon as I save up a lot of money for next riding season, I'll probably go for the VFR or the VTR. I haven't sat on either so I'm not sure which feels better, but I'd aim for the VTR because it sounds like a blast to ride. I hear the V4 is really smooth and I bet the Interceptor is great for touring, but I ride city streets 98% of the time so touring capability isn't a large factor. The only part of the VTR that turns me off is the carburetors, although I read they are very well built. But fuel injection is highly beneficial for an owner who doesn't know how to work on carbs.

The only thing I know about the VTR's is that they are notoriously gas guzzlers (for bikes) and even though they have a twin engine, they eat more gas then their equivalent 4 cyl counterparts. Have you considered the fule injected SV650S? More nimble for the city, FI, and much better on gas.
Dani

dankatz wrote:The only thing I know about the VTR's is that they are notoriously gas guzzlers (for bikes) and even though they have a twin engine, they eat more gas then their equivalent 4 cyl counterparts. Have you considered the fule injected SV650S? More nimble for the city, FI, and much better on gas.
Dani

SVs are great bikes as well and My good riding buddy was on one on our trip to California this year. They are nible and fun but lack the big torque of the VTR. You can't go wrong with either one of them.

High_Side wrote:SVs are great bikes as well and My good riding buddy was on one on our trip to California this year. They are nible and fun but lack the big torque of the VTR. You can't go wrong with either one of them.

Would a VTR1000 be a crazy jump from a Honda CB650 inline four that's relatively tame except at high rpm? I think I am getting better at riding every time I head out, but I'm sure the big v-twin Superhawk is an entirely different animal from my nighthawk. I read that it is capable of power wheelies from any gear without much effort. I think I have pretty stable throttle control, but have you had any problems with the front end becoming light when you didn't want it to?

matthew5656 wrote:Would a VTR1000 be a crazy jump from a Honda CB650 inline four that's relatively tame except at high rpm? I think I am getting better at riding every time I head out, but I'm sure the big v-twin Superhawk is an entirely different animal from my nighthawk. I read that it is capable of power wheelies from any gear without much effort. I think I have pretty stable throttle control, but have you had any problems with the front end becoming light when you didn't want it to?

I had a 650 Nighthawk in highschool with quite a few bikes inbetween. The VTR is rock solid in the handling department where the Nighthawk is definately not! The riding postion will also feel kind of alien after riding the semi-cruiser 650 and it lacks long time riding range. The VTR will get you in to trouble quickly because it is deceptively fast and you have to keep a handle on the throttle. Where as a Nighthawk makes 120mph feel insane the VTR will blow past there comfortably in about 10 seconds. Power wheelies are not a problem if you control your wrist. The only time this was ever an issue was coming out of a slow corner at the track on to the straight away and the front end would dance a little even with fully shifting my body weight. Fun, but not fast..... This one all comes down to your level of self control and abilities. It will not buck you off unless you do something really stupid.

Like others said, the VTR for whatever reason is a bigtime gas guzzler. Other than that, it's a great bike and can be had for pretty cheap. There used to be one in town with loud D&D pipes and it sounded awesome.

HYPERR wrote:Like others said, the VTR for whatever reason is a bigtime gas guzzler. Other than that, it's a great bike and can be had for pretty cheap. There used to be one in town with loud D&D pipes and it sounded awesome.

I have it on pretty good authority that Matthew may be back to this thread

BURN!