Hawk has arrived, getting anxious

[egglocsta]

Well I am a newbie here but I am so glad I found this place! Against my better judgement I went with a Hawk from Motobuys.com, I was a little hesitant after some of the reviews. It came in 4 days, no damage at all :clap: , it has been a week and a half now so I am praying the MSO makes its way to me without any hassle because so far the experience has been excellent.

Assembly went fairly smooth, it was actually more put together than I thought it would have been. I did however immediately drop the back tire to check the stock sprocket and as stated here, there was a ton of play (a ton may be an exaggeration but enough to make me uncomfortable). I ordered the suggested JT sprocket from Amazon, installed it and now there is ZERO play! I'm still in the process of applying locktite to everything.

Here's the kicker though, I haven't fired it up yet. I refuse to until my NGK plug gets delivered, which I just got notification has happened!!! Fingers crossed the start up goes smooth! Here is a pre-assembly and post assembly picture.
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[JerryHawk250]

Welcome aboard. :hi: Bike looks great :tup: I take it you read all the suggestion before you start it up. One other suggestion. Don't start it up in your garage. People will think your house is on fire from all the smoke. lol

[egglocsta]

Haha! Thanks for the advice! Yes I definitely did my research and checked out all the suggestions on chinariders before I even attempt to fire it up. Now if the weather here in Wisconsin would make up its mind I might be able to take it for a quick spin. Nothing like 50 degrees one day and the possibility of up to 10" of snow the next!

[Megadan]

Welcome. That is the color I originally wanted. Make aure to check that back sproclet after a couple hubdred miles. If it gets loose again, put some thin wave washers on the back side of the sprocket and that should take up any slack beyween the sprocket and snap ring

[egglocsta]

Welcome. That is the color I originally wanted. Make aure to check that back sproclet after a couple hubdred miles. If it gets loose again, put some thin wave washers on the back side of the sprocket and that should take up any slack beyween the sprocket and snap ring

Thank you for the tip! I had a bear of a time getting the snap ring back on after installing the new sprocket but man do I feel much better about taking it out on the road now. I'd hate to say it but that factory sprocket was almost laughable, so happy I made the switch to JT.

[Megadan]

Yeah, that snap ring can be stubborn. A good pair of snap ring pliers helps. My suggestion comes from experience. I found the stock sprocket loose, installed a JT just like you did, thought it was tight, found it loose again shortly after. Thats when I tried the wave washers. The movement was largely due to a gap between the snap ring and sprocket, and partly due to the Hawk studs being too small for the bushings. With honda studs and the washers as shims, my sprocket has been rock aolid ever since.

[JerryHawk250]

Welcome. That is the color I originally wanted. Make aure to check that back sproclet after a couple hubdred miles. If it gets loose again, put some thin wave washers on the back side of the sprocket and that should take up any slack beyween the sprocket and snap ring
Dan, Have you been typing with your baseball glove on again? lol :hehe:

[egglocsta]

Yeah, that snap ring can be stubborn. A good pair of snap ring pliers helps. My suggestion comes from experience. I found the stock sprocket loose, installed a JT just like you did, thought it was tight, found it loose again shortly after. Thats when I tried the wave washers. The movement was largely due to a gap between the snap ring and sprocket, and partly due to the Hawk studs being too small for the bushings. With honda studs and the washers as shims, my sprocket has been rock aolid ever since.

Interesting, I may as well do it all right the first time. Thanks!

[Megadan]

Dan, Have you been typing with your baseball glove on again? lol :hehe:

Big hands, little phone :p

[Cravin01]

Welcome! I see you got the "Hawk" off the seat, Does that count as your first mod?:hmm:

[egglocsta]

Welcome! I see you got the "Hawk" off the seat, Does that count as your first mod?:hmm:

I think so :lol: not a fan of writing on the seat

[Weldangrind]

I can appreciate that. The first thing I did to my old KLR250 was remove Kawasaki from the seat, primarily because it was bright '90's pink.

[Cravin01]

I forgot about Those horrid colors they used.


http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/76MAAOSwbYZXZVQ4/s-l300.jpg
was this it ?

They were doing that same thing on there jet ski"s

[JerryHawk250]

That's about the only thing I haven't removed yet. Will it go faster? lol I guess I need to remove the Hawk from the seat.
http://chinariders.net/picture.php?albumid=149&pictureid=1153

[Weldangrind]

I forgot about Those horrid colors they used.


http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/76MAAOSwbYZXZVQ4/s-l300.jpg
was this it ?

They were doing that same thing on there jet ski"s

Yep. Just awful. I like the blue seat with no script and white bodywork, although you'd swear it was a Yamaha.

[Megadan]

The Hawk lettering is still on my seat. I don't mind it.

I guess I could go all Asymmetrical and remove it from one side.

[AresROC]

Very nice bike! Thx for posting the pics!

Where there any helmet/accessories coming with Motobuys.com purchase? Just wondering how they are...

[egglocsta]

Very nice bike! Thx for posting the pics!

Where there any helmet/accessories coming with Motobuys.com purchase? Just wondering how they are...

So far so good, I didn’t get the helmet deal but the bike was to me in 5 days and the starter kit came a week later. My only concern is that I’ll get the MSO in a timely manner. It’s been 2 weeks now, no MSO. Fingers crossed

[egglocsta]

Well I finally had a chance to adjust the valves last night, in other words it was finally over 30 degrees. Fired right up and after roughly 5 min of warming up it held idle fairly well after a minor adjustment. Took it down the road and it seemed to ride just fine. We have a weekend with temps up in the upper 50's this weekend so I'll be tempted to take it out (but I cant because I still don't have the damn MSO to register it- going on 3 weeks) I did hear a noticeable tick after valve adjustment which I assume is ok? It is louder on the exhaust valve. May just have to get the wrenches back out and double check the space, went with the suggested .005/.006 from a youtube video, may have to shrink that down a little. Now I sit and wait and hope I can register it soon since I am using it to commute. I can already tell I'm gonna have some fun with the Hawk!

[JerryHawk250]

I would tighten up the gap a little. I have mine set at .002" intake and .003" exhaust. You will still hear a little ticking but that's a good thing.

[egglocsta]

I would tighten up the gap a little. I have mine set at .002" intake and .003" exhaust. You will still hear a little ticking but that's a good thing.

Perfect, thanks!

[egglocsta]

Out of curiosity, did anyone else have a boat load of leftover bolts after assembly??....I double checked literally everything on this bike and I can't find a single thing missing. Maybe its just a score for all the bolts I will loose in the future, just odd

[JerryHawk250]

Out of curiosity, did anyone else have a boat load of leftover bolts after assembly??....I double checked literally everything on this bike and I can't find a single thing missing. Maybe its just a score for all the bolts I will loose in the future, just odd Yes I ended up with a small butter bowl full plus I kept all the nuts and bolts off the crate.

[Cravin01]

Yes I have plenty of left over bolts. I also haven't got my MSO also!

[Megadan]

Yep. You get a few extras, and like Jerry said the bolts from the crate are worth keeping too. You will find the crate bolts and many of the bolts that secure things to the frame share the same thread type. My rear seat bracket is held down by two crate bolts as an example. The original ones were damaged from the factory.

[egglocsta]

Yes I have plenty of left over bolts. I also haven't got my MSO also!

How long have you been waiting for yours? What dealer did you use?

[Megadan]

I also haven't got my MSO also!

Correct me if I am wrong, but your bikes MCO was in the box of parts and manuals with your shipping crate.

[Cravin01]

Are you kidding me! Could it have been that that gold paper that said it was from china....? They told me they would mail me the paperwork for my tag.

[imapdog]

Are you kidding me! Could it have been that that gold paper that said it was from china....? They told me they would mail me the paperwork for my tag.
i always get mine about 2-3 weeks after delivery. i also get one from china in the crate, but they always send another one. i think most dealers can print them quickly from their own office printer.....

[WWRAFTER]

I can’t speak for anyone else but I had to request my MCO separately.

[Cravin01]

Ya know...I was so wrapped up in building the bike that I just looked at it real quick and just thought it was some cheesy manufacturer paper.....I'll check it when I get home...Thanks everyone, I'll let ya know.

[JerryHawk250]

I received one with the bike but had to request one from the dealer because it had to be notarized by the dealer.

[JerryHawk250]

Are you kidding me! Could it have been that that gold paper that said it was from china....? They told me they would mail me the paperwork for my tag.
Did you go to there website and request the MCO? it only took a few days for mine to come in.


Edit: They have changed it on the website.
To receive your paperwork for any product, Please send, Name, Address, Color, Vin#, And order# to Phmgr.apscusa@gmail.com Please Allow One to Two Business Days for Processing of Paperwork.

[Cravin01]

Dan you were right, That's it but its not notarized like Jerry was saying. I'll take it in and ask if it's ok that way...Hope so!

[egglocsta]

Well I received my MCO over the weekend, took 3 weeks but it did arrive. Took it to the DMV today in Wisconsin and had minimal issue registering. I will note this, it states the make on the MCO as RPS but it is not in the WI system that way. She was able to find it under CHMC (aka the Manufacturer) once she found it, all she did was collect my money and send me on my way with license plates and a new title! Time to ride!

[JerryHawk250]

Well I received my MCO over the weekend, took 3 weeks but it did arrive. Took it to the DMV today in Wisconsin and had minimal issue registering. I will note this, it states the make on the MCO as RPS but it is not in the WI system that way. She was able to find it under CHMC (aka the Manufacturer) once she found it, all she did was collect my money and send me on my way with license plates and a new title! Time to ride! Congrats! time to put some miles on her.

[timcosby]

Well I received my MCO over the weekend, took 3 weeks but it did arrive. Took it to the DMV today in Wisconsin and had minimal issue registering. I will note this, it states the make on the MCO as RPS but it is not in the WI system that way. She was able to find it under CHMC (aka the Manufacturer) once she found it, all she did was collect my money and send me on my way with license plates and a new title! Time to ride!

rps isnt in any of the systems. it comes up as hoesen or something similar in alabama. also got to find it on gieco too. rps isnt the manufacturer its the importer maybe someone should tell them its causing hiccups. just takes that one clerk thats having a bad day and says screw you.

[egglocsta]

rps isnt in any of the systems. it comes up as hoesen or something similar in alabama. also got to find it on gieco too. rps isnt the manufacturer its the importer maybe someone should tell them its causing hiccups. just takes that one clerk thats having a bad day and says screw you.

I agree, maybe they should switch that up. Progressive had a hard time finding it as well when I got insurance on it. On the bright side I put on 25 legal miles last night, still a little cold for riding but we are getting there!

[imapdog]

I agree, maybe they should switch that up. Progressive had a hard time finding it as well when I got insurance on it. On the bright side I put on 25 legal miles last night, still a little cold for riding but we are getting there!

i have no trouble setting up insurance using progressive's online process of adding a china bike. if you have to call, then it will most likely take a while to set it up, especially if you dont have the vin yet.....

[timcosby]

so it showed up on their site as a "hawk" or "rps" ???