derektitus Posted October 16, 2008 Author Share Posted October 16, 2008 (edited) that hawk is sweet bh1 i would love to have one like that Edited October 16, 2008 by honda1wheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORCAL BOSS Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 My 93 F20L that has been un-touched since about 95... damn that frame looks just like the pic of the intruder. is it the same company? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cw Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 the ad makes the hawk frame at least marketed as an 'intruder'. the hawk design was well established at this point, but the ad shows a different name on it. but, marketing them and there actually being hawk frames out there w/ intruder stickers on it are two different things. i've never seen one, or this ad before... not even an obscure blurb on any site or magazine from bitd. you would think that we would see something about this before w/ the appreciation and uniqueness surrounding hawk frames. since the ad was in 94... attempted buyout w/ a premature ad? the ad says "different name with a few improvements: reduced weight, better joints, and a hard enamel finish!" a fleeting new marketing direction? the addy in the intruder ad is cut off... it says 1823 border... different address from the hawk spec sheets dated june '95..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spur Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Now that is what I call a survivor BH1. Bonzai bars, rarer than your bike, I haven't seen many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BH1 Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Yeah my bike is dusty and has been untouched sitting in my parents basement back in NY. One day I'll get around to rebuilding it, ProForx and all. and yes those Bonzai Bars are very very rare and the only ones I have ever seen. The story behind those is; There was a factory Bonzai rider at my local track (tri-city BMX in NY) and after he snapped a few Bonzai frames he left the team and got rid of all of his Bonzai parts. These bars were a straight trade for a set of 1992 Slam Bars. And big surprise, they have a small crack in one of the welds in true Bonzai fashion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spur Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Yeah Bonzai was even more notorious than Hawk for failure, actually I don't even think you can compare the two. Wasn't it a lack of heat treat or something, I forget where I read why the frames were so bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derektitus Posted October 17, 2008 Author Share Posted October 17, 2008 yea the whole addy for the intruder is 1823 border ave. torrance ca 90501 yea im thinking it was a early messup maybe for a buy out but hawk still made frames for awhile after 94 so i dont know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BH1 Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 The Intruder frame seems a bit fishy to me because it was at the same time Hawk was eliminating the tapered tubing for the straight square /rectangle pre-formed tubes as a cost reduction mechanism. Perhaps it was a pre-buyout on all existing tapered frames? Still I have never heard of that company. It's legit by all means though. Who knows really, in the mid-school era companies were coming and going so fast... What I want to see is the Aluminum Hawk fork! I had a pair for about a month before I sold them off for a ProForx. The Hawk forks were all aluminum and massive! Spur, the Bonzai heat treating issue was a process the owner opted to skip out on in order to keep the cost down. Apparently there was a fire in the barn that Bonzai called home and it left the owner strapped. Ultimately the lack of heat treating weakened the early/mid 92' and later frames until they were all snapping left and right leaving the company battling a lawsuit after a factory rider became paralyzed due to the failure of a frame, and they went under. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spur Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 That is what I remember reading, good knowledge and thanks for clarifying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cw Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 hawk ad from 92 shows the same address as the 95 spec sheets, except they moved from unit 445 to 440... as opposed to the different address on the intruder ad. The Intruder frame seems a bit fishy to me because it was at the same time Hawk was eliminating the tapered tubing for the straight square /rectangle pre-formed tubes as a cost reduction mechanism. Perhaps it was a pre-buyout on all existing tapered frames? this is wut i'm thinking.. a failed attempt at marketing the older generation frames by someone else. Spur, the Bonzai heat treating issue was a process the owner opted to skip out on in order to keep the cost down. Apparently there was a fire in the barn that Bonzai called home and it left the owner strapped. Ultimately the lack of heat treating weakened the early/mid 92' and later frames until they were all snapping left and right leaving the company battling a lawsuit after a factory rider became paralyzed due to the failure of a frame, and they went under. we all know this game. if you dont establish yourself well enough you fade quickly. yes.. it wouldve been really tough to take a hiatus to make sure the products were as safe as possible, and have the venture survive... i'm appalled at the fact this guy actually made the decision to risk his customers safety over losing his immediate investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORCAL BOSS Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 good info guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin S.Brothers Posted October 19, 2008 Admin Share Posted October 19, 2008 forgoing heat treating? A classic bmx industry tale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nbl 49a Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Bh1 is an old buddy of mine and we used to race in New York together. On the Bonzai topic here is what I know. The biggest lawsuit I know against Bonzai was from an accident that happened at Binghampton NY. The track operators son went over one of the jumps in the first straight and had a major failure. He had the Bonzai triple bar frame and the Bonzai clamp forks that looked like Tange Switchblades with Alluminum legs. The forks cracked below the clamp and he cought the fork leg in his neck. He survived but they were worried about brain damage. I have heard some of the stories of the heat treating problmes as well. Nbl 49a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin S.Brothers Posted October 21, 2008 Admin Share Posted October 21, 2008 The forks cracked below the clamp and he cought the fork leg in his neck. He survived but they were worried about brain damage. I have heard some of the stories of the heat treating problmes as well. Nbl 49a HOLY SHIT!!! That is such a gnarly story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BH1 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Yeah I remember that kid. He rode at Tri-City a few times BITD and was on a custom neon-orange 3-bar 20". I also remember his forks being raked waaaay out and the rumor at the time was he heated the legs and bent them out to elongate his wheelbase. *could be false info, but thats what I remember. Regardless, those forks were dangerous out of the box. ***BACK TO THE THREAD TOPIC!*** I'm trying to dig up old photos of my hawk from BITD. I know i have a few. Someone post up a pic of the aluminum Hawk forks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spur Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 This is a frameset owned by 302zapper, it has the alloy fork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORCAL BOSS Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 thats a nice color and those forks are a trip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BH1 Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 yeah those are the forks! nice. *on a side note, I just purchased the BmxPlus! from 92 that highlights the 24" tri-bar Bonzai ...I'll scan the article and start a new thread when I receive the mag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cru Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 This is an interesting thread honda1wheel, i'll see if i can dig up any pics for ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cru Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 honda1wheel, hit me up i have something you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BH1 Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 A scan from BMXPlus! Jan 92. NOTE the bolt-on drop outs on the Hawk forks. Those had to have been a prototype. An old GO cover featuring Lopes again. And the elusive Hawk Mountain Bike. I pulled these off e bay a while ago, so if anyone can give credit please do so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spur Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Body Belt pads on Lopes rig...rarer than anything on that bike these days. I often thought of snagging that Hawk Mountain bike as I now am digging Mid-school mountain bikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cru Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 (edited) this frame and fork are very early , i got them from eric filley from oregon in 91 fork's drop out's where not bolt on then ? Edited October 31, 2008 by Spur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cru Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 (edited) lets not forget the hawk freestyle frame Edited October 31, 2008 by Spur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cru Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 my hawk that i built this year and have currently raced Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
