1988 Honda Hawk GT - Walk Around and Run

[@tcskibike]

A friend of mind owned one of these and when COVID happened he moved back home to Canada and gave me his!

[@george-ev1dq]

I have 4 off them, I x product 2 and 3 off them in product 1, Superb machines. One has had the 810cc convert but it eats cluthes

[@rogerdale5451]

Oh, I miss mine. So sorry to have sold it. What a beauty. The single swing arm, the beautiful wheels and engine. the tail. handleable for a smaller man such as I. If I'm not mistaken, it had an innovative frame design, being the extruded aluminum extending only half way down, then the engine bolted to it. Also, it has a beautifully finished modest, but totally adequate V twin 650, with 3 valves per cylinder. It sold poorly, but took off after a short 3 year run, and spawned a class of racing, in it's displacement, and it's single swing arm-ness. It took a long time for Suzuki to catch up- and Ducati... (ducatiducatiducatiducati... -ducatiducatiducatiducati...-ducatiducati- BLAM!)- when it finally starts, just short of a call from the bomb squad... The Hawk, tiny tank, nothing to hold on to, but truly a great Honda.

[@true-moto-resto]

Yes, a lovely bike. Thanks for watching and commenting Roger

[@mmotorcycles9497]

It’s a nice one. These bike were definitely ahead of there time. Way before naked bikes were popular

[@true-moto-resto]

Definitely ! And so nicely put together

[@theaustralianconundrum]

@@true-moto-resto I like the heat cycle idea of yours. Most "Winterizers" or collectors just seal them up or throw in Stabil. I actually ended up finding a used Dyno without all the computers that was converted to manual variable speed operation. Cost a few grand but works like a charm and I just sit on them and go through the gears. No redlining etc. Great fun! Cheers from Australia.

[@true-moto-resto]

@@theaustralianconundrum very cool you have a dyno! There are differing views on the long term storage. Some like to add stabil and seal em up, others prefer to drain all the fuel. Personally I think getting some oil and other fluids flowing is a good thing as long as they get hot enough. But each to their own. On fuel injected bikes, I also like to ensure fuel doesn’t gum up the injectors, So running them once in a while seems like the thing to do.

[@theaustralianconundrum]

@@true-moto-resto high octane fuel with included cleaner and inhibitors also helps. Here we use 98 RON.

[@true-moto-resto]

@@theaustralianconundrum Yea, I use high octane ethanol free fuel too. I think 93 octane is the highest we get

[@flechette3782]

It is really an excellent bike. Some people may not think the performance numbers are great (58 HP, top speed 115 mph, etc.) but it was great in '88 and is still more than 99% of what typical riders use today. Handles like a dream. I consider it to be so benign that a beginner could rise it. My other bikes have handling quirks that could spell trouble for an inexperienced rider. P.S. I also run the carbs dry if I plan not using it for awhile. I freaked out a month ago when I accidentally put ethanol gas in it😬, so I drained the entire tank, pure ethanol-free gas in it, and ran it for 45 minutes before closing the carbs.

[@true-moto-resto]

Thanks for commenting, yes great bikes for sure. Getting harder and harder to find a ethanol free fuel here now

[@stephenhovland6196]

I have one of these...love it.

[@true-moto-resto]

I just sold this one, lovely bike but I’m out of room in the shop

[@allergic2cubicles]

Many years ago a friend of mine opened his garage and in there was a black Honda Hawk GT, flat bars, after market exhaust other minor mods. I thought it looked so amazing. He had raced motorcycles in his youth and complained the Hawk was to slow. I still loved the bike so I went out and found my own, he has long since sold his and moved on to Ducati, but every time he sees or hears my bike, he wishes he never had sold his.

[@true-moto-resto]

Great story !!! They’re a lovely bike

[@linkschrecengost1361]

Honda could release this bike today with lighting and dash upgrade and it would be a Hit 👍

[@true-moto-resto]

Yea, not much out there today like this

[@billrhea]

I bought an 88 in 91 and man I miss that bike

[@true-moto-resto]

Just about to sell this one I think

[@billrhea]

@@true-moto-resto are you in So Cal?

[@true-moto-resto]

@@billrheano, Canada

[@billrhea]

@@true-moto-resto awww man. I really want my bike back. I don’t think I could convince the wife but it’s always nice to dream I guess

[@Mikeshobbychannel]

Such great packaging

[@true-moto-resto]

Agree MIke, it’s like art work

[@James-dt7ky]

I have an "88 Hawk GT since '92. For some reason mine is red even though the paint code states gray. I like the gray as well. Other than tires and front brake overhaul it's has needed nothing. I call it the poor man's Ducati 916.

[@dr.barber5895]

Man if they would have gotten maybe 15-20 more hp out of the engine and priced this bike a little bit cheaper i dont think people would even know the name sv650.

[@swordfish1120]

Very clean example of a stock NT650 👍🏽. How long have you owned this one and when was the last time you went for a ride on it? I'm in the process of putting mine together and I'm looking forward to getting her back on the road.

[@true-moto-resto]

I’ve owned it for about 4 years, been 2 years since I rode it. Thanks for watching

[@theaustralianconundrum]

@@true-moto-resto With all the "winterizer" philosophers on KZbin I'd love to see a video from you who would certainly know what the advantages are of running an engine once a month up to a full heat cycle. So many "experts" claim that you need to actually ride the bike on the road however what they don't realise that all they are doing apart from varying revs, is that they are actually cooling the bike more due to the wind blast! lol. Great channel and still very happy subscriber from Australia. And I'm fairly certain you are not advocating starting and idling a brand new motorcycle during storage before it's engine is bedded in? Cheers.

[@true-moto-resto]

@@theaustralianconundrum thanks for commenting. I don’t start mine once a month, usually once every 6 to 12 months. But as you say , lots of opinions on that. As long as I get a couple of heat cycles Each time, I’m ok with that. The advantage of riding the bike if possible is that the transmission gears get some operation and I believe you do get more heat into the engine from riding under load everything is gonna get hotter. So riding is better in my opinion, I just don’t always have the bikes insured for road riding all the time, so that becomes a limitation.

[@theaustralianconundrum]

@@true-moto-resto My XSR900 has a digital temp readout. It takes approx 10 minutes to reach 105C which is when the electrical radiator fan kicks in until the temp drops to 96C and then the temp increases again within a few minutes until 105C is reached again. My litre sportbikes also behaved the same way and I can assure you I could not place my bare hand on any part of the gearbox! While there is no effective load on an idling engine they will still get much hotter than if ridden. If or when I ride them even in Summer they will never exceed 80C. The biggest secret is a full fuel tank with premium 98 octane here in Australia.

[@true-moto-resto]

@@theaustralianconundrum good to know! Yes I always use ethanol free fuel , stabilizer etc. We dont get that high of octane rating here , but I use the highest I can get and ensure it’s ethanol free. Thanks for the comment and info