In 1997 Honda began producing a street-oriented twin cylinder GT motorcycle using a historically important name: Superhawk. The previous (60's) Superhawk was a parallel twin motorcycle that Robert M. Pirsig rode in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". The original Superhawk was a commercial success, hence the name being recycled. Outside the United States the motorcycle was named the "Firestorm" . The new Superhawk was introduced after the Ducati 916 made V-twin sportbikes popular again. The new Superhawk uses an all new 90 degree V-twin. The bike introduced several new design concepts such as the "pivotless frame", side radiators, single casting engine case, connecting rods with cap screws instead of nuts, and the largest carburetors Honda ever put on a motorcycle. "Pivotless frame" meant that engine was a stressed member with the swingarm bolted directly to the enigne.

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The bike was released in 1997 as an early release 1998 model year. One motorcycle magazine suggested (circa 2000) that this bike was the fastest 0-60 mph production bike at the time. A racing version of the bike was expected from Honda. Honda produced in 2000 the RVT1000R (RC51) known outside the United States as the VTR1000SP, though the bike had only four engine parts in common with the modern Superhawk. The RC51 was an entirely new V-twin racing platform that won the World Superbike championship its first year racing with Colin Edwards and the Castrol team.

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