My visit with a local dealer about the Hawk...

[Plainsman]

This weekend I took a trip to the city to visit an RPS dealer. The person I spoke with was very friendly and willing to visit at length. I sat on and started a Hawk so I could check the fit and hear how it sounded. I'm 5'9" and could almost sit flat footed.

Everything looked good and sounded good. Dealership was neat and clean with a nice visible mechanics area. Dealer told me they are selling lots of Hawks, 25 this month. He pointed out employees at neighboring businesses that are riding Hawks, and said both him and his mechanic ride one. Said his mechanic commutes 1 hour on the freeway on a stock Hawk. By way of establishing credibility, he told me that he is good friends with the owner of Ricky Power Sports.

He told me all Hawks are the same from every US dealer, doesn't matter how they brand it, Cougar etc. He said other big name online dealers are drop shipping them to customers. That they just call RPS and have them send it to customer. He said at his dealership they fully assemble, tune, and test all bikes before they leave. He said you leave with everything you need to ride straight to DMV for plates.

He said all black are sold out, that RPS has 800 2015s in the warehouse and no black. He said he has 80 2016s on order, they are on the boat now. First 5 black are already sold, and the new model will be $200 more.

Later in the conversation he told me the stock Hawk 250 will go 70mph, and freeway riding is no problem.

So what do you all make of all that?

[Plainsman]

I should add that I'm not trying to start a $!&@storm, I'm just trying to understand. I thought top speed on these bikes was pretty well documented. I don't know why anyone would say that unless they really believed it. What would be the point? If they buy the bike they are going to be very unhappy. When I pushed him on the top speed issue he said the only person he ever heard of not getting those speeds, was someone who was having trans problems and couldn't get the bike into 5th gear.

[Weldangrind]

My guess is that he's talking indicated, not verified speed. That, or he's quite optimistic. Or both.

[kohburn]

I thinking indicated top speed down a hill

[Mudflap]

Drafting cars on the freeway makes a significant difference in top speed. Maybe that's how he comes up with 70 mph.

[FastDoc]

I learned the hard way on a 200cc Zong even if a bike CAN do 70 it's still no where nearly powerful enough to ride on the freeway.

[BlackBike]

It's indicated. No harm no foul, he is just telling what the bike is telling him so it makes for a good sales point. By the way, this place sounds fantastic, :) I surprised you didn't take one home no mater the color. You got repair support, a lot better than most of us out here in the wilderness!

[Plainsman]

It's indicated. No harm no foul, he is just telling what the bike is telling him so it makes for a good sales point. By the way, this place sounds fantastic, :) I surprised you didn't take one home no mater the color. You got repair support, a lot better than most of us out here in the wilderness!

Well that's kind of what I thought. Everything about the visit was great, and the place looked great. It's just that statement about top speed that through it all off for me.

He even showed me a bike (not a Hawk) that was in for repair. It was out of warranty but he said they were covering the repair at no charge. He said he wouldn't charge his customers to fix things that shouldn't have happened, as long as it wasn't due to abuse by the customer. He said he actually has not had many Hawks in for repairs, that they've been pretty reliable.

He also mentioned that he travels a lot and recently has seen Hawks in airport parking areas in other countries and around cities.

[BlackBike]

Well that's kind of what I thought. Everything about the visit was great, and the place looked great. It's just that statement about top speed that through it all off for me.

He even showed me a bike (not a Hawk) that was in for repair. It was out of warranty but he said they were covering the repair at no charge. He said he wouldn't charge his customers to fix things that shouldn't have happened, as long as it wasn't due to abuse by the customer. He said he actually has not had many Hawks in for repairs, that they've been pretty reliable.

He also mentioned that he travels a lot and recently has seen Hawks in airport parking areas in other countries and around cities.

This one is making all the right noises. What is their Web site? Maybe we can drive some business his way.

[Weldangrind]

It's indicated. No harm no foul, he is just telling what the bike is telling him so it makes for a good sales point. By the way, this place sounds fantastic, :) I surprised you didn't take one home no mater the color. You got repair support, a lot better than most of us out here in the wilderness!


Agreed. I sure don't expect him to consider that the speedometer might be wrong. He sounds like a terrific dealer.

[SeerAtlas]

wonder what gearing he's got on his hawks. I personally have a REAL hard time believing 70 on a stock hawk, "indicated " or not.....

[zingshoen]

which 250 does 70mph for a longer stretch reliably? sure, a highly geared bike on a flat road without wind etc, but even more powerful 250s feel rickety and vibrate a lot at those speeds or if they have a heavy frame they may feel stable but only get that fast downhill twice a year for 30 seconds.

so i also reckon 70 means "absolute top speed observed from time to time for very brief periods".

[wilserchinarider]

............Said his mechanic commutes 1 hour on the freeway on a stock Hawk.


..............Later in the conversation he told me the stock Hawk 250 will go 70mph, and freeway riding is no problem.

So what do you all make of all that?

From my experience that is completely untrue!

The stock hawk comes with a 15T front sprocket and tops out at around 50 mph.

70 MPH either indicated or actual is huge stretch for this machine in stock form. I have been to Texas, and like New Jersey typical freeway speeds are 70 - 80 plus MPH. I would never consider taking my Hawk on the Freeway, or interstate highway for any length besides perhaps a few miles at off peak hours.

JMHO, these bikes are a long ways short for limited access highway, Freeway, or Interstate riding.

I believe typical top speed for most Hawk owners is about 62 MPH after a sprocket change and re jetting. One must also realize that top speed is after a considerable distance on flat ground with the motor revving like a mosquito on crack.

Great bikes for around town, secondary roads and off road use, not even close to Freeway capable IMO.

[Mudflap]

I thought the Hawk 250 would be a little faster than my 200s. They'll do about 62 mph (GPS) on flat ground with no wind while being ridden by a 6'1" 240 lb guy. The extra 30cc must give it more low end torque?

[Weldangrind]

One must also realize that top speed is after a considerable distance on flat ground with the motor revving like a mosquito on crack.

Quote of the week! :D

[kohburn]

and a tail wind

[SeerAtlas]

70 on a stock hawk is like seeing a military APC do 120mph, which I actually witnessed once at Fort Bragg... BUT, that was because riggers screwed up, the chutes got tangled, and down it went from the back of the transport aircraft like the proverbial stone... gravity ALWAYS works:) However, depending on its 'ballistic coefficient' , under similar circumstances a Hawk rider (include me OUT!)might see similar speeds:) YMMV rflmao

edit: oh, in case you were wondering, during my "ten foot tall and bullet proof" early mil years, between missions I used to help test prototype parachutes with those guys- we normally had about a 70% success rate :) on the personnel chutes anyway, the heavy equipt guys did better.

[wilserchinarider]

I thought the Hawk 250 would be a little faster than my 200s. They'll do about 62 mph (GPS) on flat ground with no wind while being ridden by a 6'1" 240 lb guy. The extra 30cc must give it more low end torque?

Yea, I would have thought the same. The hawk does seem to have a bit more power, but the hawk is also a larger heavier bike, with beefier heavier tires....so in reality the add. 29cc isn't much of a performance gain by any means IME.

And in stock form, which we are talking about in this thread, my old trusty 2008 lifan gy-5 ran circles around the hawk "as delivered" or stock, to the point I almost had a bit of buyers remorse. Now that I have the Hawk sorted I'm pleased.

To say the Hawk "out of the crate", or in stock form will run 70 mph and is Freeway capable is far from my experience.