Street Hawk 

A desk bound cop secretly fights crime as the test pilot for a prototype combat motorcycle.

Creators:

Paul M. Belous, Robert Wolterstorff, Bruce Lansbury

Stars:

Rex Smith, Richard Venture, Joe Regalbuto

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Rex Smith	...	Jesse Mach 13 episodes, 1985
Richard Venture	...	Lt. Cmdr. Leo Altobelli 13 episodes, 1985
Joe Regalbuto	...	Norman Tuttle 13 episodes, 1985
Jeannie Wilson	...	Rachel Adams 12 episodes, 1985

Storyline

When Officer Jessie Mach is crippled after an assault by an old enemy, his time on motorcycle field duty seems finished. That is before Norman Tuttle recruits him for a secret government project. Mach is to be the test pilot for the Street Hawk, an advanced motorcycle that carries tremendous firepower and is capable of safely controlled periods of speed of over 300 MPH in an urban environment. This deal includes special surgery to repair his legs while keeping him the facade that he is still handicapped. Unfortunately for Tuttle, who can monitor the action from mission control, Jessie insists on getting involved in stopping crime rather than the simple tests Tuttle wants. So now the city has the additional protection of the mysterious superhero known as Street Hawk.

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Plot Keywords:

motorcycle | prototype | superhero | futuristic motorcycle | secret identity | 

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Taglines:

The man... The machine...

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The motorcycle in the pilot was based on a 1983 Honda XL500 trail bike. 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, 15 motorcycles were used in the show. The whereabouts of 14 are unknown, but the 15th was 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 stunt filming, fiberglass bike parts constantly flew off the bike during stunt jumps. The film stunt second unit crew always had six bikes standing by to replace the hero bike's jump or maneuver. The other stand-by motorcycles remained in the UNI special effects department shop being repaired, or replaced with fiberglass parts for the second stunt unit's next day's filming. When first unit was on stage at Universal Studios, the second stunt crew was on location, filming with a stunt biker performing with the bike. Rex Smith rode the motorcycle only with the first unit principle photography filming crew. The producers didn't want Rex doing stunts, afraid any injury to their star would jeopardize the tight daily schedule. A motorcycle shop three miles North on Lankershim Boulevard, not far from the studio, always supplied new frames and wheels for the stunt bikes. Winfield Special Projects in Canoga Park made all body panels and fenders. Eric Thaler from Austria was in charge of the project at Winfield's.

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Goofs

The opening narration of most of the episodes says that Jesse Mach was injured in the line of duty. However, the pilot episode establishes that Mach was suspended from duty for weeks when he was wounded in an attack by criminals during a motocross during that suspension.

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Quotes

Narrator: This is Jesse Mach, an ex-motorcycle cop injured in the line of duty, now a police troubleshooter. He's been recruited for a top-secret government mission to ride Street Hawk, an all-terrain attack motorcycle designed to fight urban crime, capable of incredible speeds up to 300 miles an hour, and immense firepower. Only one man, federal agent Norman Tuttle, knows Jesse Mach's true identity. The man. The machine. Street Hawk!

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Connections

Referenced in Chuck: Chuck Versus the Cliffhanger (2011)

User Reviews

Good while it lasted.

I loved this show. My whole family would watch it every week.

I've recently been rewatching all my old 80s & 90s favourites, and a lot of them I can't keep watching because they're just too cheesy. This.... well I'm loving it all over again.

Yes, I love the bike (who wouldn't), but mostly I love that the lead is not a chauvinistic, sleeze (and as much as I loved Knight Rider, the sleeziness of of his character really annoyed me when I started re-watching it).

It's a shame this one didn't last the distance.

(I heard they're considering a remake/sequel series.... I really hope that comes to fruition. I'd definitely watch it. Wonder if Clooney will make an appearance. & I wonder if he;ll get billing this time ü)

Details

Release Date:

4 January 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Falconer

Filming Locations:

363 S Mission Rd, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Limekiln and Templar, Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (13 episodes)