What a concept - A Girl Bringing Back Her 1966 Super Hawk

sarals · Post by **sarals** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 8:44 pm

It seems used SV's are scarce about anywhere! There aren't many around here, either. I had absolutely no trouble selling mine.

DMV today to have her verified and get her a license plate. What a hassle. The person who "helped" me was bound and determined to be as un-helpful as she could. She insisted that my NY registration was not a "title" (it is) and that it wasn't valid as a title (it is), and that I needed to go the CHP to have another verification and a "VIN tag" issued. She was absolutely wrong on all counts. So, I smiled, took the CHP "Application for Assigned Vehicle Number Plate" form from her, plus the "Incomplete Application" form, and went home. When I got home, I went right to the New York DMV website, printed the page that says the "Motorcycle Model year prior to 1972"; "The acceptable proof of ownership is (sic) a NYS Transferable Registration", which I most definitely have. After that, I made another appointment with CA DMV for next Monday. I'm anxious to see what kind of roadblocks they throw up this time.

I did ride her around a bit today. OMG, she runs beautifully! She just does everything well. Both the tach and speedo are smooth, there are no oil drips or drops anywhere, and she idles like a kitten purring. She is running stronger and stronger, too. I guess she's breaking in. I just love her!

What was so cool on the ride was that people would slow down when they were going by me to have a look at her (and it wasn't the chick riding the motorcycle - there are plenty of those around here). One fella, at a stop light, RAVED about how cool she was ("what a cool old bike!"), how gorgeous she looked, and then he took a picture of me and her! Oh, that's just so much fun! I had no idea she'd turn heads the way she does.

sarals · Post by **sarals** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 6:10 pm

I put 40 miles on her today. She ran very, very well. Not a drop of oil anywhere, either. It appears my "fix" on the tach cable was just the ticket. One thing she did do was at extended high speed running she acted, twice, like she was running out of gas. The second time she was. The first time was a mystery, until I got home and checked to see how much gas she'd burned (almost two gallons in 86 miles - that's a lot, but I guess not unusual). That is when I noticed that the gas cap wasn't venting freely - ah ha!! I had put one of the rubber gaskets on that cap, and it's tight around the center portion, and it's thicker than the cork gasket. I believe it's not allowing the tank to vent properly, so fuel at high demand isn't filling the float bowls. Makes sense to me! I have another cap with the cork gasket, and I'll try it.

What do you fellas see for gas mileage on your Hawks?

I am still a little reluctant to wind the engine out, I limited the max revs to 7000 RPM. It seems to live at 6000 RPM at 65 MPH (it's hard to tell how fast she's really going because the speedo needle is bouncing around a bit), and right at 6000 RPM she really sets up a vibration through the footpegs. Rev her above that, though, and she smooths right out (stands to reason). I plan to keep her RPM down until I get 300 miles on the engine. Then, I'll change her oil and then take her out and let her go!

I have reached a consensus on the air fliter covers. The people who have seen her unanimously think I should restore them. So, I will!

Bob750 · Post by **Bob750** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 6:41 pm

Take a look at the underside of the fuel filler cap. There should be two tiny holes on opposite points (12 and 6 o'clock) that allow air into the dome of the cap and then down through the center hole where the spring is that keeps tension on the tabs which grab the inside of the tank bung. If those holes are clogged with rust or grime, this can set up the tank vacuum and starve the carbs. Poke the holes with a pin and blast some carb cleaner in there or soak it in solvent.

sarals · Post by **sarals** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 7:45 pm

Bob750 wrote:Take a look at the underside of the fuel filler cap. There should be two tiny holes on opposite points (12 and 6 o'clock) that allow air into the dome of the cap and then down through the center hole where the spring is that keeps tension on the tabs which grab the inside of the tank bung. If those holes are clogged with rust or grime, this can set up the tank vacuum and starve the carbs. Poke the holes with a pin and blast some carb cleaner in there or soak it in solvent.

Thanks, Bob! I will do that. In fact, I'll look at both of the caps.

jensey · Post by **jensey** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 12:40 am

You're lucky girl, leaning out the mixture is in a lot of cases the reason for a seizure, especially when you running in the engine.

Gas mileage of my hawk is 23 km / litr

Bob750 · Post by **Bob750** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 12:46 am

23 km/l = 54 mpg

Is that for a Hawk or a 'hawk (as in Superhawk)?

sarals · Post by **sarals** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 2:06 am

Bob750 wrote:23 km/l = 54 mpg

Is that for a Hawk or a 'hawk (as in Superhawk)?

Ummmm....! Superhawk (I've seen Super Hawk in print, too). :)

54 mpg? I'll have to see what she really is doing right now. I don't remember what she used to get way back when. I didn't worry about such things in the days of $.35 per gallon gasoline. I used to put Sunoco 260 in her, in fact.