The Neverending Tale of a '65 Superhawk Restoration
Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:01 pm
So I've been lurking here on the site for quite some time now, and I decided that it's time to post my long-overdue introduction to my Superhawk. I've been inspired by a lot of the members of this board and it's time I contributed.
First of all, I didn't even know what a Superhawk was until after I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and wondered what kind of bike Pirsig rode. I was engrossed in the book and had to know the identity of the mystery bike (he never mentions the make or model)! I searched around and found this site (before the forum existed) and had an “ah-ha!” moment. From the one picture of Pirsig and his son on his Superhawk I started searching around, liked what I saw and really got the bug. I found a black '65 on the auction site locally and paid about $600 for it.
Didn't look so bad from far away over the internet!
![Image](http://i754.photobucket.com/albums/xx186/letsgobowling/i-1_B.jpg)
It was not running, and hadn't in years. This was my first motorcycle and I had a lot to learn. It looked rough but I figured, “hey, I know my way around a VW, how different can this be?” Heh.
After getting it home and going through the carbs, cleaning out the tank and getting a battery, it ran! Not very well though. A new title from the DMV was its own adventure, loading the bike in my parents' minivan to take it in for VIN verification. The tank needed Kreeming (awful, I know) and one of the carbs was full of chalky corrosion. But I was getting somewhere.
As I learned more about the bike it became evident that someone had swapped in a CL77 engine at some point (starter blockoff plate, tach delete plate, etc). I rode the bike for a while this way and collected parts here and there. I bought the Bill Silver books and some parts from a Honda old-timer, Rick Bowers in Carson, CA. Rick, if you ever see this, thanks for the parts and tips.
This was all back in college, about 2003. That CL engine was a dog though...lots of smoke, no power and leaked all over the place. I found a complete CB77 engine allegedly in running condition for $150 and spent a few weekends swapping that in. After that the bike got me to and from classes fairly reliably, but I had a few scary moments, including blowing the front tire at about 35mph while making a right turn. It immediately went into a violent head-shake and scared the crap out of me. Somehow I managed not to dump the bike and got the front end settled down by damping the oscillations with my open palms. Turns out the front rim was bent, leading to a gradually growing bulge in the tire and eventual failure.
Engine swap in progress in UC Berkeley Supermileage Vehicle workshop. Not sure what I was doing with that power drill.
![Image](http://i754.photobucket.com/albums/xx186/letsgobowling/Nov1915.jpg)
Occasionally though, the bike ran like a top and gave me immense enjoyment. I took a few great rides through the Berkeley hills with some friends, and really got fired up about rebuilding the bike to its former glory.
Hooning around without mufflers
![Image](http://i754.photobucket.com/albums/xx186/letsgobowling/chris_hawk.jpg)
Bear with me as I add pictures and keep the update going...
First of all, I didn't even know what a Superhawk was until after I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and wondered what kind of bike Pirsig rode. I was engrossed in the book and had to know the identity of the mystery bike (he never mentions the make or model)! I searched around and found this site (before the forum existed) and had an “ah-ha!” moment. From the one picture of Pirsig and his son on his Superhawk I started searching around, liked what I saw and really got the bug. I found a black '65 on the auction site locally and paid about $600 for it.
Didn't look so bad from far away over the internet!
![Image](http://i754.photobucket.com/albums/xx186/letsgobowling/i-1_B.jpg)
It was not running, and hadn't in years. This was my first motorcycle and I had a lot to learn. It looked rough but I figured, “hey, I know my way around a VW, how different can this be?” Heh.
After getting it home and going through the carbs, cleaning out the tank and getting a battery, it ran! Not very well though. A new title from the DMV was its own adventure, loading the bike in my parents' minivan to take it in for VIN verification. The tank needed Kreeming (awful, I know) and one of the carbs was full of chalky corrosion. But I was getting somewhere.
As I learned more about the bike it became evident that someone had swapped in a CL77 engine at some point (starter blockoff plate, tach delete plate, etc). I rode the bike for a while this way and collected parts here and there. I bought the Bill Silver books and some parts from a Honda old-timer, Rick Bowers in Carson, CA. Rick, if you ever see this, thanks for the parts and tips.
This was all back in college, about 2003. That CL engine was a dog though...lots of smoke, no power and leaked all over the place. I found a complete CB77 engine allegedly in running condition for $150 and spent a few weekends swapping that in. After that the bike got me to and from classes fairly reliably, but I had a few scary moments, including blowing the front tire at about 35mph while making a right turn. It immediately went into a violent head-shake and scared the crap out of me. Somehow I managed not to dump the bike and got the front end settled down by damping the oscillations with my open palms. Turns out the front rim was bent, leading to a gradually growing bulge in the tire and eventual failure.
Engine swap in progress in UC Berkeley Supermileage Vehicle workshop. Not sure what I was doing with that power drill.
![Image](http://i754.photobucket.com/albums/xx186/letsgobowling/Nov1915.jpg)
Occasionally though, the bike ran like a top and gave me immense enjoyment. I took a few great rides through the Berkeley hills with some friends, and really got fired up about rebuilding the bike to its former glory.
Hooning around without mufflers
![Image](http://i754.photobucket.com/albums/xx186/letsgobowling/chris_hawk.jpg)
Bear with me as I add pictures and keep the update going...