I have a 2000 Superhawk, all stock. I can't figure out if its a fuel problem or a transmission problem. When i am riding at times, more often today than in the past few weeks, the bike feels like it loses power for a second and makes a sound like the clutches are slipping. it doesn't always make the noise but does it often now. It only does it at crusing speed, never in accel or decel. no back firing, no smoke, startes perfect and runs perfect at all other times. at idol it has no problem saying at perfect idol. anyone have any ideas? If it is a tranny problem what is the average cost to replace clutches?

 

So i took the bike out last night and noticed its doing it more. I will be riding along and it feels like im losing power for a second, the tranny clicks and then its fine. if i roll on the throttle no problems. it does it mostly in 3rd and 4th gear around 3000 to 4000 rpms.

 

If your clutch is slipping then your RPMs would go up while the bike slows down.. Is that what happens?

 

Is it the tranny that's clicking, or are you hearing a bit of afterburner. Sometimes, with twins it can seem as though the tranny is clicking when in reality it's just your engine catching back up. Usually when you have tranny issues it will show its ugly head when you are accelerating or engine braking. How many miles are on the machine? Also, some of the pre-2002 Hawks had problems with the cam-chain tensioner. Just out of curiousity, when was the last carb sync done? Check under your front cylinder intake manifold and make sure the little bolt is in there good. If that has a leak in it, you could have some of the same issues. A quick way to check is to start the bike, let it warm up and idle. Then spray some starting fluid around the intake manifold. If you hear the engine go up or down, that means that you have an intake leak. Check it out and let me know.

 

Do a search for the carb shim mod. More than likely it's an overly lean condition at steady, partial throttle position. Colder, denser air may actually exacerbate the problem as well. Cheap fix.

 

mine did almost exactly what your describing put a new set of carbon kevlar clutch discs in and it went away... does it do it when you crack the throttle hard at 3-4 grand?

 

oh yea watch those damn cam chain tensioners mine broke and received 3 bent vales that was a horible day and it started out just makin some weird noises i couldnt explain...

 

From what you describe I would suggest that you need a carb tuneup rather than looking for a mechanical gremlin in the tranny. That said, I would check the chain and sprockets to make sure that tension and condition is OK.
At cruise speeds with the throttle barely opened, if you have a carb sync or a rich/lean condition you will get the symptoms you mentioned. Next time you are out and getting the 'missing' crack the choke a little bit and see what happens. If the bike runs better, you are a bit lean. If it loads up you are rich. This can also be confirmed by the plug condition and colour.

 

The bike has just under 18,000 miles on it. i went out today and put 70 miles on it. when im in 3rd gear running about 3000rpm's it feels like it will lose power for a second and i can make it do it myself just by cracking the throttle a little bit. it doesn't do anything when i accelerate or when its engine braking. only when im at slight throttle just crusing. if i downshift and run up the rpms it doesn't do it any more. i also noticed it did it a lot less today when i had someone on the back. i checked the chain tensioner but don't know how lose is too lose. on my CBR it wasn't hard to tell if the chain was lose. the guy i bought it from said he put a new chain and sprocket set on and showed me the honda reciept.

 

Lose - lacking, lost, misplaced, gone

Loose - not tight, relaxed, not attached, the ***** down the street

Sorry, I had to. complete.