Honda Hawk GT, A Motorcycle That Was Made 30 Years Too Early

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Күн бұрын

In the commuter category,
- The Hawk’s riding position could not be more comfortable, it is upright, and the seat is very cushiony. Your feet are in a relatively comfortable position and the handlebar is in line with your chest further contributing to a great commute riding position. Lack of an OEM winscreen takes one score off since if it wasn’t for the aftermarket screen, you would be blasted in the face by the wind. This earns the Hawk a 9 out of 10 in riding comfort.
- The fuel tank capacity is similar to that of a modern 650cc naked motorcycle holding roughly 3.5 gallons of gas. Despite being a 35-year-old motorcycle, the fuel economy is also similar to its modern rivals. What have engineers been doing this whole time? Anyways. A combination of the two gives you an average of 150 miles of range per tank, which is typical of a motorcycle in this displacement class earning it a 5 out of 10 in the fuel/range features.
- As far as the commute-specific tech goes, it is literally a 35-year-old bike. It has nothing to offer as far as tech goes. Maybe I could squeeze in the helmet holder as a commute tech, but really there is nothing on this bike that is of extra ordinary feature helping you commute more easily earning it a 1 out of 10 in the commute-specific tech and features.
- Storage is essentially non-existent, which is expected of a naked bike earning it a 1 out of 10.
- A good commuter bike should be cost-effective, reliable, and have a strong dealership network. The Hawk GT is priced a bit higher than what it offers because it simply is the first of its kind. Any other Honda from this era would be priced even lower than the Hawk. As far as reliability goes, it is a Honda and outlasts you and your children, but being a carburetor bike, it might have some difficulty cold starting and the maintenance is going to be an ongoing issue with them. As for dealer support, there are more Honda dealerships than McDonald’s drive-thrus with a working ice-cream machine. Altogether giving this bike a score of 6 out of 10 in affordability, reliability and dealer support category.
For a total score of 22 out of 50 points for the commuter category.
Now onto the Performance/Dope Factor Category. Classic bikes like the Hawk tend to not get a very good score here especially if they are more of a street oriented bike than a SuperSport one.
- The Hawk GT’s riding position, although is comfortable for street riding it isn’t race-track oriented like the CBR600F was. It is upright with higher handlebars. Your feet are position straight down instead of pushed back all creating a not-so-tucked in position. However, the extremely narrow bodyworks allows you to take on corners very easily which is the design highlight of the Hawk. This earns the Hawk GT a 3 out of 10 in the race riding position.
- The horsepower- slash-torque figures do not need any elaboration. It was lacking back in 88 and it is lacking now. 39 Rear-Wheel Horsepower and 40 pounds-feet of torque was low numbers for a 650cc bike and was one of the major downsides of the Hawk earning it a 2 out of 10. Some of you were wondering how I calculate the Horsepower/torque category score. I simply add up the horsepower and torque numbers and divide it by 2 which gets me the Horsepower/Torque average. If the average is 0 to 25, it gets a 1, 26-50 gets a 2, and so on and so forth. For this bike, Horsepower is 39, Torque is 40 pounds-feet, and the average is 39.5.
- At 412 pounds, the Hawk GT is a pretty light 650cc bike. Since my score considers a 375 lb or lighter bike a 10 out of 10, and every increment of 25 lbs deducts a score, the hawk at 412 pounds gets a 9 out of 10 in the weight category.
- Regarding the race-track oriented rider aid’s features, there are no gadgets or gizmos on this bike that could aid you on the race track earning it a 1 out of 10.
- As for the Hawk’s design choices and marketplace, being designed as the official first naked bike rivaling its street bike brother the CBR600F, makes the hawk a special motorcycle. But it is not a full-on collectible bike because it wasn’t too hard to get back when it was new. The recipe for an ultra-collectible item is that it should be hard to find and special when it was new AND to age finely over time. The Hawk has aged finely over time but wasn’t too special when it was new. It in fact was not even a popular bike when it was new in 1988 and had to be discontinued only 3 years after it first appeared. Japanese bikes of today are not what you would consider pretty but back then, they knew what they are doing earning the hawk GT a 6 out of 10 for the overall design and marketplace.

Пікірлер: 33

@user-ox2ny7ww2i 9 ай бұрын

Here in the UK ,we never got this bike , but the NTV 650 RC33, steel frame shaft drive , 57 hp , 40 torque at crank ,I have 2 of these ,great bike, thes bike are known to last over 100,000 miles , will sit at 80 all day at 5,000 rpm , good ff the mark by the standard of the day , for under stressed engine ,great handling ,love them.

@billrhea 3 күн бұрын

I had a 1989 and man I miss that bike. It was all tricked out too

@joannerath4779 4 ай бұрын

This goes to your comment regarding carbureted bikes. I have owned an 88 Hawk for about 25 years with 0 carb issues. Nothing but 100% gas goes in the tank. This gas costs about $1.00 more than the 10% ethanol but is cheap compared to carb cleaning/rebuilds. Few stations sell this product. There are only two, Sheets and Chardon Oil, in this area. In fact the temp. was in the 60's yesterday here in N E Ohio so I got an early case of spring fever and I went for a 60 mile ride. The Hawk had not been started since October. With a little choke it started like the day it was new. In fact I have used no ethanol gas in all my small engines. I enjoyed your video. I learned a little and it was a very good review of a timeless bike. Many motorcycles have come and gone in my garage over those 25 years, but the Hawk will be the last to go.

@richardpascual5715 2 ай бұрын

I have had mine for 21 years now and still love it. I never had any carb issues at all. There is a cultish community online and because of them I have modded my hawk to my liking. The only way my Hawk will leave me is if I died. Btw, I had the blue one (repainted since) but I believe the color name was “Candy Flair Blue” and it was a beautiful metallic blue color that I now wish I had kept.

@true-moto-resto 9 ай бұрын

I have this exact bike (without the fairing), simply beautiful

@emadreviews 9 ай бұрын

I was so pleased with this bike!

@baz786mia 9 ай бұрын

Have one of them 😎

@lesbear9828 8 ай бұрын

The first naked bike every brand follows.

@aodhokelly8811 9 ай бұрын

These are a great bike I bought and sold many of the 400 bros and had a few of the 650's for my own pleasure back in the late 90's - 00's, One I had was a monster a 91 rc31 the engine had a lot of work porting, polishing dynojetted etc. glad I kept one of the 650's its a stock 88 nothing like the souped up 91 tho and it needs to be recommissioned. If u come across a 650 bros get one they are a super reliable machine a great run around, everyday bike

@genedhallinc 9 ай бұрын

Had one and should have kept it. Very cool bike.

@billrhea 3 күн бұрын

Yeah man me too. I really miss mine.

@hkredpill9661 4 ай бұрын

I got a 1989 model and same gray color. Love it!

@zhuojunjian5976 8 ай бұрын

I have one.

@miguelmedrano8937 9 ай бұрын

where is that shroud from ?

@rickperez-kz7gj 8 күн бұрын

A friend of mine is selling his for 1500 and I would love to get it.

@deOliveiraFilipe 6 күн бұрын

Get it if you can afford it. I had a rc33 some 20 years ago and regretted selling it back then. Fortunately I was able to buy another One 7 years ago and the only way to part with her is if it's pryed off of my dead hands. The supposed issues with maintenance or repairs is bs to be fair. I can't enjoy riding mine as often as I wish because of family and work responsabilities (and back problems also). Saying that, the ntv always starts and runs flawlessly even after months unnatended (yes, you read right - months)

@solelmi Ай бұрын

bros 650 great bike

@James-dt7ky 6 ай бұрын

I have one too.

@lutzmcnamara413 6 ай бұрын

I have one ❤

@johnlambert3273 5 ай бұрын

Just a minute! My 1985 650 Nighthawk is naked, and so were most bikes until somewhat recently. How did you determine it is the "first" naked bike?

@emadreviews 5 ай бұрын

That’s a great question!

@richardpascual5715 2 ай бұрын

I believe he was trying to convey that it was the first naked “sporting” motorcycle of the modern era-but even that statement seems debatable. Triumph Bonneville? Honda CB750? I believe Honda made a stylish, modern, lightweight, fun motorcycle that did not look good on paper. Remember, the F1 Hurricane came out at the same time and this bike was close in price to that. Which would you buy? Of course the choice was easy. This was also the bike that the Erion brothers of Honda racing fame took to an AMA championship beating out Ducati 900s

@mikegla1746 8 ай бұрын

I really like it. Very outstanding there is one here on sale close to my house it is 650 version but the thing that stop me is part and maintenance I am not familiar with Carburetor and Gasoline now a day will rot o ring and tube out for sure.