Return of the Super Hawk?

RETURN OF THE SUPER HAWK?

ROUNDUP

MOST ENTHUSIASTS will agree that when it comes to fanning the fires of enthusiasm and nostalgia, the name "Honda Super Hawk" is right up there with "Triumph Bonneville." It was, after all, the 305cc CB77 Super Hawk, first sold in the U.S. in 1961, that got the attention of a generation of American riders when it added amazing performance to the quality and durability that already were Honda trademarks.

Now, a number of seemingly unrelated factors have coincid ed to create a situation in which an all-new Super Hawk could make a great deal of sense-so much sense, in fact, that Honda is rumored to be considering such a bike. Those factors in clude the non-competitiveness of Honda's vaunted but outdat ed RC3O V-Four production racer, the competitiveness of Ducati's Twins in Superbike racing, and the general world wide interest in V-Twin-pow ered sportbikes.

The proposed Super Hawk, shown here in a Cycle World artist's conception, would weigh in at about 350 pounds and would be based around an all-new, 1000cc, liquid-cooled V-Twin, ftiel-injected and tuned to produce about 100 horse power. It would be equipped with a single-sided swingarm, and follow the general architec ture of the Hawk GT, that promising V-Twin that never quite caught on.

Would a larger, more power ful version, which we'll call the V 1000 Super Hawk, make any sense to you? Should Honda build it? Most importantly, what should a state-of-the-art, high performance V-Twin like this cost? Let us know, by mail or fax, what you think (CW Super Hawk, Cycle World, 1499 Mon rovia Ave., Newport Beach CA 92663; fax 714/631-0651).

We'll pass your responses on to American Honda, then we'll all wait and see what, if anything, happens.

Jon F. Thompson