Street Hawk

Did You Know?

• The musical theme was composed by Tangerine Dream and produced by Christopher Franke; a modified version appeared on their album Le Parc, titled Le Parc (L.A. - Streethawk).
• The series was aired by Doordarshan in India and was a roaring success among adolescent males, spawning a MTB-style bicycle named Streetcat.

Plot

Every episode begins with a voiceover by Ernie Anderson setting up the story: Jesse Mach, a former motorcycle cop hurt while on duty, now works as a police troubleshooter. He has been chosen for a secret government assignment to operate Street Hawk, a rugged attack motorcycle built for urban crime fighting. It can reach speeds of three hundred miles per hour and carries heavy weaponry. Only federal agent Norman Tuttle knows who Mach really is. The first episode explains Mach’s past as a police officer and amateur dirt-bike racer before Tuttle brought him into the Street Hawk project. It also shows the bike’s features, including live mission data and a hyperthrust mode for high-speed travel. In later episodes, Mach lives two lives: a police public relations officer during the day and a vigilante at night. The police, especially his boss Captain Leo Altobelli, view Street Hawk as an outlaw and a public relations problem. Each episode focuses on a single crime or task, with no continuing storylines.

The motorcycle

The Street Hawk motorcycle seen in the pilot episode started as a 1983 Honda XL500 trail bike. It was put together in a Hancock Park, Los Angeles garage by Jeff Karr and Dexter Ford, who worked for Motorcyclist Magazine. They used parts from an electric-start Honda 500 Ascot and the XL500’s dual-sport chassis. For the series, the bikes were built on 1984 Honda XR500s, again using the Ascot’s electric-start engine. This made them the first known electric-start dual-sport motorcycles from Honda. The stunt coordinator wanted a turbocharged Honda CX500 street bike for fast scenes, but the actual stunt bikes were Honda CR250 racing dirt bikes. Andrew Probert designed the pilot’s bodywork, while Ron Cobb redesigned it for the series. During filming, fiberglass parts often flew off during stunts. The second unit always kept six backup bikes ready. Stunt bikes were constantly repaired at Universal Studios’ effects shop. A motorcycle shop three miles away on Lankershim Boulevard supplied new frames and wheels. Winfield Special Projects in Canoga Park made all body panels and special effects, with Eric Thaler from Austria managing the project there.

Home media

Two official VHS releases of the Street Hawk pilot movie exist: one from MCA Canada containing the full 90-minute pilot (about 76 minutes without commercials), and a U.S. MCA release running about 60 minutes. Each has unique footage; for instance, the U.S. version includes dialogue not in the Canadian version, while the Canadian version features a blue lightning-style primary weapon instead of the red laser beam from the series, and the U.S. tape has actual stunt jumps instead of matted-in fake jumps. On July 13, 2010, Shout! Factory released Street Hawk: The Complete Series on 4 DVDs, including all 13 episodes, a 41-minute documentary titled The Making of a Legend, and an unaired pilot with different Street Hawk firepower.

Toys

In Brazil, Glasslite handled Street Hawk merchandise, offering the Moto Laser MRX-1 slot track featuring two slot bikes—one being Street Hawk and the other yellow—along with a Jesse Mach action figure. Over in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, the Ertl Company put out a stunt bike toy. It matched the size of typical miniature ERTL vehicles, came with a plastic rider, and ran on a friction wheel; the box hinted at tricks kids could try. Meanwhile, in India, Funskool—the same company behind G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero—took the R.A.M. vehicle, painted it black, swapped the sidecar for Snake Eyes sporting a silver visor, and marketed it as Street Hawk.