Japan Meets Britain
Stupid question here: Do other people's chain guards on their SuperHawks touch the back of the right shock absorber? There's so little room there -- too much to the right and it touches the lower part of the shock, and too far to the left and the chain might rub against it.
What is the proper position for the chain guard, specifically that curved part that goes behind the shock? And if it does come in contact with the back of the shock, would it be of any value to fit some kind of buffer in between, like thin rubber?
Vince,
Indeed that's a stupid question (just cynical). Yes of course that happens to other people also. I have had this similar issue, and I solved it this way : Just press the rear fork 2 to 4 mm wider, by placing two 1 to 2 mm spacers between wheel and rear fork (both sides). Make sure that the chain guard doesn't touch the rear shock, and now you have 1 to 2 mm extra room. Mount the rear shocks straight up, by placing also a spacer between shock and frame (room enough). By looking, make sure that the chain runs in a perfect straight line over both sprockets It's an hour work, but saves lot's of $$$ on chain guards. It won't effect anything else. Jensen assembly of Japanese motorcycles requires great peace of mind (Pirsig)
If I did that, I suppose I'd then have to put a spacer between the rear swingarm mount for the chain guard and the chain guard itself to push the guard back away from the shock. Otherwise - at least as I can see it - the chain guard (relative to the shock) will be in the same position. I will, however, look into the idea and see if we can do something along those lines.
But bottom line, the guard should not be touching the back of the shock, correct?
Don't I wish...
 So I was doing a bit of 'cheating' on my SuperHawk this morning -- not only did I ride another SuperHawk today (!), but I tried out my friend Scott's Black Bomber. Scott's stock SuperHawk was magical, and almost made me wonder why I bothered doing all the modification work to mine. The Black Bomber though was another story: It had tons of power, and I made a point to wring its neck a bit -- okay, maybe more than a bit. Definitely had the power, but also had the vibration, and it didn't feel nearly as 'refined' as the SuperHawk. Didn't like the seat, the foot position wasn't quite right, and I concluded that it would be a real effort to take this for an extended ride (like 200 miles or more). Could also depend on what you're used to, but I just don't think I could get used to this bike, though admittedly it is gorgeous. Jumping from the SuperHawk to the Black Bomber confirmed to me how good the SuperHawk is. Can't wait to get mine back together!
Just heard from Lee this morning -- he's putting the final coat of clear on this morning, and he said that the tank is GORGEOUS!!!!!! All the checkers line up exactly as the previous tank, and the only difference is the location of the cap. I'll be picking it up on Saturday morning, and it will go straight to John for final installation.
Progress photo to come soon......
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