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 Ultimate High-Tech Crimefighter

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 January 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Falconer

Filming Locations:

363 S Mission Rd, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (13 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

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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Connections

Referenced in Welcome to Essex (2018)

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Soundtracks

Le Parc
Written by Edgar Froese (uncredited), Christopher Franke (uncredited) and Johannes Schmölling (uncredited)
Performed by Tangerine Dream

User Reviews

Any kid of the 80's should have had a great time with this...

For a youngster in the early-and-mid-eighties, this light-hearted piece of renegade cop force fluff was "too rad!" Rex Smith, prettier than any law enforcement officer has a right to be, had all the toys: A motorcycle that would go, like, 180 mph in traffic while firing small rockets, total video uplink to the master crime lab in his helmet, and a racing suit form-fitted to his body by immersing him in a vat of high-tech foam! Silly, but certainly no worse than, say, "Team Knight Rider."