Street Hawk - The Motorcycle

The Motorcycle

The motorcycle in the pilot episode was based on a 1983 Honda XL500 trailbike. The motorcycles used in the series were based on 1984 Honda XR500s. The motorcycles used for the stunt shots were based on Honda CR250s. Overall, fifteen motorcycles were used in the show. The whereabouts of fourteen of these are unknown, but the fifteenth used to reside in the now closed Cars of the Stars Motor Museum in Keswick, Cumbria, England, restored by stuntman Chris Bromham. The pilot motorcycle was designed by Andrew Probert and the series motorcycles were redesigned by Ron Cobb. During filming, the fiberglass bike parts constantly flew off the bike during the course of stunt work. The film stunt second unit crew always had six bikes standing by to replace the hero bike's jump or maneuver. When first unit was on stage at Universal Studios, the second stunt crew were on location filming with a stunt biker performing with the bike. The stunt bikes were always in Universal Studios' effects shop being repaired or replaced with parts. A motorcycle shop, not far from the studio, three miles on Lankershim Boulevard, always supplied new frames and wheels for the stunt bikes. Winfield Special Projects in Canooga Park made all body panels and special efects. Eric Thaler from Austria was in charge of the project at Winfield's.