I recently purchased a 98 superhawk that has a 5-speed trans. Has anyone ever heard of this? I thought they were all 6-speeds.

 

Maybe someone put a Varadero engine in it as all VTRs came with a 6 speed trans.

 

I dunno I bought it for two grand from the original owner with 36000 miles I guess I should try to get in touch with him and ask

 

well,hello there floridajosh,nice to see anothe hawk around the area,im in largo,st.pete area.
if you ned anything,let me know,maybe i can help.

 

Check the engine and frame VIN ;-)

 

Awesome saige thx.

 

K so the engine code is sg36e-2009574 but I couldn't find any reference to what this engine is actually for

 

Does it actually only say 5 speeds on the sprocket cover?

 

Ahh the sprocket cover says sixth so maybe my sixth gear is broken

 

Hmmm did the guy who sold it to you tell you it had a 5 speed trans?

 

Are you sure it's not SC36-E

Which it should be and would also tell you that you have a broken transmission

 

And so you know what the letter codes actually mean:
HondaPCNs

 

That's very strange, in all of my days (too many) of motorcycling I've never heard of a broken top gear on a Honda, or Yamaha for that matter. 3rd gear yes it's the power gear.

 

Sure it isn't sc36? which is the designation for the VTR1000F

My engine no.on my UK '97 storm is SC36E2006***

Can't find any reference to what the Varadero engine is coded as but externally they are virtually the same, so they could share the same code. The differences are internal.

Off the top of my head isn't there nr. the gear lever on the sprocket cover the number of gears. Plus the Varadero has a cable operated clutch.



Yup check the magnesium cover for how many gears and if you have a hydraulic clutch.




Early Varadero sprocket cover with 5 speed box

 

could we see pics of the bike and motor.

 

The guy that sold it to me said it was a five and he also told my wife that he had done something to lower the torque (older guy prob in his 60s).

The engine code is sc36e-xxxxx so it is a vtr engine.

It doesn't affect the bike its like there is no more to shift to after fifth it won't up shift any higher.

The only thing that concerns me is I just ordered a smaller sprocket and new chain and I'm not sure how much its going to raise my rpms in fifth at interstate cruising speeds.

 

Did something to lower the torque? That sound vague and ominous. (and fake). Like he tried to fix the tranny then when he broke it came up with that explanation.

So you shift down for first and then for sure up only 4 gears? You are the first to ever say such a thing on this forum. Not an envious position.

 

when you are cruisingon the interstate, at say 70mph what are your engine rpms?

 

Yeah if you could record gear, speed and rpm you could figure which gear is missing (or if you miscounted all the other times)

 

What concerns me (besides the fact that you should do a little homework next time before you drop 2 grand on something-and I'm not trying to be mean) is that the bike is missing a gear (neither a cheap nor an easy repair) and the seller lied to you. And it's not like you got a screaming deal on it either but regardless of the price or the fact that some of the responsibility falls on you, he lied to you. Sounds to me like a refund/return and/or a possible asskicking is in order... I would never take advantage of someone like that. I've actually talked complete strangers ready to pay OUT of buying a bike I had for sale because I knew it wasn't the right move for them.

 

By the way how are you certain that it's sixth gear you're missing? As smokinjoe said I'm also wondering what your rpms are at a certain speed in top gear and if it's a different gear you're missing. As was said I've usually heard of other gears like say 2nd failing from beating on a bike, not 6th... And if you record speed/rpms in each gear also note how many teeth your sprockets are. Then we could tell for sure what gear is "missing." Still think you should be getting in touch with the seller though...

 

Does it have 6 gears imprinted on the sprocket cover, nr the gear lever?

 

This is the weirdest thing I yet to here... I don't see how can you eliminate any gear between first to sixth without the need to double shift unless the gear is not even there at all, that would require some sort of custom made spacer as well, the gearshift drum is working sequentially, unless the drum itself was modified somehow... But maybe it is possible.

 

NHSH, you are giving the situation way too much credit. The po broke the tranny and sold it as "improved" or something. Like losing reverse on a car and telling the buyer you removed it for lightness.

And chaos, I agree with you about the debacle but I guess it went without saying that he got ripped off. I have never seen a dishonest seller react well after the sale. Like hes not just gonna say "uh, yeah you got me". It was his lowlifedness that got him to swindle the sale in the first place.

 

Maybe you're starting off in second gear,it is 1 down and 5 up!Not trying to be an *******! but maybe your having a Blonde moment.

 

Probably running as a 498cc single, along with the 5 speed box....

 

OK problem solved. If it doesn't fit force it. I went out with my new found confidence that I should have a sixth gear and applied a lot of force when I shifted from 5th to 6th and it kinda popped and jumped up into 6th. I kinda had to force it back into fifth but after several shifts it shifts up and down fine. I contacted the seller and he said he never knew it had all six(hmm). He also said he had put a larger sprocket on. But at least its shifting I rode for about two hrs and it is working great.

 

thanks everybody for the advice and info

 

And just for the record I agree I should have done a better job of research but after looking at a bunch of junk bikes for a month I came across this one on CL and let my excitement get the better of me. I got really lucky as long as it keeps shifting like it is now

 

Sweet, that's good to hear. Change the oil and count your lucky stars I would Glad it worked out.