Inspirational Hawks...

Members of the HawkGTForum.com
Inspired me to continue my transformation of my beloved Hawkster...

Velocity B's Hawk 
 Mods:
Entire 600rr front end.
3 Spoke RR front wheel stripped and polished.
Triple modified to accept stock Hawk headlight/mounting hardware.
600rr hand controls wired in.
Vapor Trail Tech digital tach and custom mount. 
Penske rear shock.
Hiper Form chain roller.
8 spoke VFR rear wheel stripped and polished.
Engine covers & valve covers polished.
Polished Hawk headers.
Frame powder-coated flat black.
Fresh paint on the fenders and tank.
F3 pegs/polished rear-sets.
Odds and ends(turn signals, bar end mirrors) and allot of Ken's elbow grease.

DL2ewpoo's Hawk   
Mods:
F4i Front End
Monster Seat Mod
TBR HeadersArrow Exhaust
Uni Pod Filters
Stage 3 Jet Kit
Fox Shock
CRG Hindsight Mirrors
Vapor Tach
Adjustable Brake/Clutch Levers
SV650 Fuel Pump
Rear Brake Reservoir Delete
600rr Tail Light
VFR Pegs
LED Gauge Indicators
Flashing Brake Module

Civicious' Hawk
Mods:
700cc Hord-built motor, 84.59hp/55.73tq on MR12
#9 cams
JD's lightweight Wiseco pistons
Carrillo rods
Falicon modded crank
Stage 2 heads
Undercut transmission, everything Nikasil coated
total loss, starter retained
Keihin FCR39's

 stock headpipes, custom collector and stubby R6 can

Hord's lightweight 8-cell battery
HiPerform subframe
F2 front end w/ RaceTech internals, no external adjustment (Hawk fork caps)
ZX10 radial master cylinder
Penske rear
BTT cush drive eliminator/shortened spindle
Masanski's Ducati wheel conversion hub
Brembo mini caliper, Masanski's bracket
etc.

 BTT's Race Hawk  
Mods:
Stock frame,coils,cdi box and starter relay.
Mito tank/Vortex cap and Sunline Vent
Eyepoppers Paint
2005 cbr600rr forks/triple/front rotors-Forks by Hordpower-Rotors by Quality
Ohlins cbr900 shock 1300lb spring -valved by Traxxion
Beringer calipers and perches
ZX636 radiator and seat-recover and foam by Sargent

2005 cbr rear master cylinder

Masanski's brake

hanger/rear rotor lightened

Ducati modified spindle/Carozzeria wheels
SS brakelines SS hardware&probolt throughout
Delkevic slip-on/M4 R/R headers
Rizoma superbike bars and HRC mount
Gilles tooling rearsets on custom plates
Custom harness by PdubHawk/H2O bottle overflow
Plastic oval plates by DC Plastics
Koso tach w/h2o temp
Starlane GPS Laptimer w/Data acquisition capability Every other part -subbie to spacers-I made myself.
JD cooked up the engine.
85+ hp-billet crank
Ti Carrillos-Ti valve train-RR heads cooling
Close-ratio tranny 17/42 gearing
every trick in the book
All riding on Dunlop Q2s.Push-button 320lb/85 hp racer,ala BTT.

NT696's Hawk
Mods:
F2 front end with O/S floating rotors (EBC), and a Hawk front fender.
VFR rear rim modified to attach like stock.
Under-engine can made by me, TBR wrapped headers, -no 'Y' pipe.
Pod filters, 153 cams, head work by JD; oversize SS intake valves, ported intakes, 82mm pistons, balanced crank.
Heated handgrips, Modern headlight assembly with power relays & custom mount. GPS powerSignal eliminator (thanks Doug!) and rear brake line through the swingarm.
Gino's chain roller (an awesome product) and a Corbin seat (over-rated)
I ride it, - a lot. Coming up on 100,000km
Of course, frame sliders, aluminum engine spacers, rear brake torsion arm, and other goodies I make. (I test them all on my bike first)

 

 

Socal31's Hawk

Mods:

Fox Shock
Racetech Springs
TBR Shorty Exhaust
NT696 Sliders
SS Brake Lines
Lotsa new stuff

Rust Buster...

Like I've mentioned before, I'm on a budget. During the time I was dismantling my Hawkster, there were several keys parts that needed special attention. What I mean is... they had some surface rust that needed to be removed. So after countless hours on the internet trying to find the perfect product that will help save me on some Benjamin's. This is what I found...

 You can find this product for around $26 - $30 per gallon. They have smaller sizes as well.

The best part of this product is, its not some type of acid which can burn your skin. Instead, its non-corrosive and reusable... read label for more details. 

The first part that I experimented this product on was my chain. Replacing a chain can cost you more than $80. My chain is a DID 520 Racing chain, which normally cost between $110-130. This will surely save my empty pockets from going any deeper. 

 Before - The condition of my rusted chain... 

 After - Soaking in Evapo-Rust for one hour, rust is almost completely gone... 

I ended up soaking it for a few more hours.

Final - All oiled up and ready to be reinstalled. 

Overall, I've used this product on bolts, pipes and anything that has rust on it. I'm pretty happy with the results. So far the money I invested in Evapo-Rust has already saved me a bundle on my Hawkster project.

Powerplant facelift...

With the frame nicely painted, I couldn't see myself putting back my oxidized weathered out looking engine back in my sick ass (meaning- awesome) frame that I just painted. So I decided to give it a facelift... that's right... FACELIFT! I'm once again going ghetto painting. 

I started off by taking all the parts of the engine that I didn't wanted to get painted. But low and behold... some badness surfaced and I had to deal with it first. 

This is not puddling you'd like to dip your finger in and have a taste... This gunk was sitting in my engine for the past 5 years... Not Good at All, if you ask me.

Can it be possible... its in my water pump too. 

Also, as you can see the engine is very filthy... so a needed blasting was the only way to go before painting.

Yummy... right! 

 Edson... Thanks for helping me out!

Conclusion... call up a friend (Edson M), who is one bad ass mechanic, told me what to do... did it and all is well... hopefully! I can only pray that it starts with no problems once I have everything re-assembled.  

To properly paint the engine, I have to invest in some new toy... I headed to a local store called Harbor Freight and purchased a Blaster Gun and some walnut media. I never used one before, and I must say... I love it! Blasted all the flaking paint off the engine...

 TIP: Cover all the holes up with tape or cloth that you don't want the media going into.

It can be a bitch to get out. Lucky, one of the guys on HawkGTForum.com advised everyone who wanted to go this route. Also, wear protect gear!

 No pictures blasting, but here are the results.

 Used the Rust-Oleum Semi Gloss Black Engine Paint

 Valve covers got a coat of red... Dupli-Color Red Engine Paint

Looks brand new again... Ha!

 

One side with valve cover

 Finished except for side covers... Stator and Clutch... Not yet sure what color to paint.

Maybe the next time around I can upgrade the engine...

A touch of darkness...

School got the best of me once again... Usually Coleman University does not have a spring break. But lucky me, every four years they have all the student take a week break during the spring so they can reset their academic calendar. Otherwise, session during December will run into Christmas and New Years... I don't think many of the students will be happy if that occurred.

So from May 17th thru the 24th I was able to work on the Hawkster... along with my beautiful assistant (who is also my girlfriend) who has given me support on my bird project. 

Its all about getting ghetto! 

Since, I'm a full-time college student, staying within my budget is a definite priority. I would have loved to powder coat all the parts, but for me to stay on budget, I did the ultimate ghetto style painting. My karate kid technique helped me transform this blinged out frame (which I got tired of polishing over and over again) to a cool ass Vader looking beauty... welcome to the darkside!

My beautiful girlfriend and assistant Dina helping me wipe down the frame prior to paint.

Bye-bye to the Bling!

I used Rust-Oleum Engine Enamel... 
Low Gloss Black

2 Spray cans for  $12 @ Autozone

The Dupli-Color will be for the engine. 

Its is Semi-Gloss Black. $6 @ Pepboys Auto Parts

 

 There's NO turning back now... nice and steady strokes. First coat, just a light mist of paint... 10 minutes later, Second coat... get it all covered... 30 minutes later... Last and final coat... Give it that wet look, just be careful not to make the paint run.

After 3 coats of paint... "I'm so diggin' the black frame!"

 The swingarm and other nit-bits got the same treatment...

 All painted and sitting in my family room... 
Best place to put them for now. 

The transformation begins...

This picture was taken on December 17, 2011

Last year in December, I pulled out my beloved Hawkster from the depths of the forbidden backyard blues. It has been sitting there well over two and a half years. After minutes of starring at it in its decrepit form, I decided to revive her with some love. This will take me on a journey, which I'm hoping it will not last as long as it was sitting. Follow me on my little venture of restoring my Hawkster to a new glory I can enjoy. I'll be posting pictures of my progress to show everyone the slow transformation taking place. And I mean slow... since the only time I have available is when I'm not busy with school.

It took me 5 hours to dismantle the bike to a pile of parts.

A brief history...

This sporty little naked bike called the Hawk GT NT650 was totally ahead of its time. It was one of the first modern naked bikes and is often described as a cult bike. Designed by Toshiaki Kishi, it was designated as model RC31. The bike was given a "Pro-Arm" suspension after the RC30 VFR750R. Many of you may compare this bike with the well-known Ducati. Ducati first introduced its first naked bike in 1993 called the Monster, which is still around today. In 1994, they released the Ducati 916. Not only did it have a single sided swingarm it also possessed a V-Twin engine. As you can see, this little bike paved the way!

Specifications:

Manufacturer	Honda
Also called	Hawk GT, Bros, RC31
Production	1988–1991
Class	naked bike
Engine	647cc Four-stroke V-Twin
Transmission	5 speed manual
Wheelbase	56.3 in.
Seat height	30.4 in.
Weight	393 lb. (dry) 412 lb. (wet)
Fuel capacity	2.9 gal

And so my journey begins as I transform my little bike to the bike of my dreams...