so heres the deal, got this bike as a first bike and been fixing it to get it road ready while im saving up to take the classes and get my endorsement. when i got it, it had no pressure in the clutch and would die right away as soon as you put it in first. rebuilt the clutch master and finally had pressure on the handle. would put it in gear and would still die. thought alright lets rebuild the slave and see if that does anything. still doing the same thing. finally called up one of my buddies and asked him to come over to take a look at it. he told me to go outside while on the phone put the kickstand up and try it again. voila. thing didnt die and clutch feels perfect. haha all this time it was the damn safety on the kickstand i didnt know about. haha well im glad thats all it was and not anything more cause i was about at complete witts end with the thing

 

Absentmindedly taking off with the sidestand down can be a real butt puckering moment when you make the first left turn, and could cause a rider to go down. Especially as a new rider, you should be thankful for the sidestand switch.

Take the MSF course, then have fun on one of the best bikes out there. But respect the power. It's much easier to dial it on than it is to bleed it off.

The SuperHawk is very forgiving compared to, say a CBR1000RR, but it is not a beginners bike.

 

Welcome and good luck. Be respectful of that throttle and always stay aware and make an escape plan on the road. You are invisible!

 

great advice!

 

Here there shake n bake. I am not a seasoned hawk rider, but I do own one like the rest of you. I've had this bike now for a year and even having grown up on lively little cross bikes from the age of seven, I was surprised by the amount of available power, speed and FUN. But let me give you my two cents as a very experienced rider regarding bikes, quads and snowmobiles. Before you do any hard riding if this is your first bike, the first thing to do is get used to the weight distribution as the hawk in my opinion is front heavy and can go **** up if you're not careful at moderately low speed. Of course once you are cruising, the thing carries itself on it's own wings.
Try this (if you want, otherwise just keep it in mind); at low speeds on an empty road if you can access one; in first gear find the slowest you can go while keeping constant revs and not over revving the engine as this defeats the purpose. While at a steady slow speed (for safety) tilt with your hips as far as you feel comfortable and essentially dip the front end across the road to see how your movement acts on the bike. I know this may sound silly to anyone with experience, but I have personally done this with every machine I have ever ridden (my own or borrowed from friends), quads included, though with a quad the trick it to kick the back end at low speeds to get a sense for the kick back as it takes grip again.. Snowmachines are a bit different again.
Point is Shake n Bake, to get used to how the bike leans into turns at progressively higher speeds, so as to not leave you drifting into an oncomming car; then you can throw the bike down lower by turning a bit more AWAY from your lean, you'll save your life if ever another driver figures the dividing line doesn't matter and all the road is his... or hers. Sounds like useless info you might say... This bike can boogie and you need to be prepared for the day when you are pushing your limits. City driving and back road self racing are different things. Suspension is a good thing to dial in for less front end movement unless you do alot of city riding, as the front end can really affect how you go into and come out of "emergency" turns when hitting the gas.
I guess to anyone riding for a while sees this as a rant, BUT can you tell me that this powerful bike we use to get our 'fix' is a good starting bike? Well HELL YEA, but BUT, in reality if this IS the guys first bike, I think he should be prepared for the way it flies, that's all.
Enjoy your bike!

 

Welcome! LOL the kill switch can be a bastard too.

 

Kinda funny I bought my first bike (98 superhawk) 6 years ago, drove it 90mi fueled up and tried to leave for like 10 min. Finally an older gentlemen approached me and said try putting the kickstand up. To this day I Still ride her every chance I get. Just for your own sake respect the throttle.