Put together my new Hawk, now some questions..(pics)

[Chito]

So I put my Hawk together and it was painless.. took my time and put new fresh 15WT fork oil in as well as some Rotella T4.. those fluids it came with were pretty murky and gritty, looked like fine coffee grinds settling. Good call there..

A couple things.. FYI my bike says Jun 2018 manufacture date.. The RPS owners manual says the bike comes with O-Ring chain, also the chain is tight but I also don't intend on taking a 100 mile cross country ride till I put the bike through my own trials and Quality Control.. from what I know the chain should loosen up after a few rides.. should I bother adding slack seeing that I'll probably have to reduce slack after a few rides (is that the reason it comes tight in the first place?)

Secondly... I had one issue. The pin that holds the rear brake pedal assembly was nowhere to found so I'll have to find something to complete that before I get to test ride... (SEE PIC)

Other than that.. everything looks ready to go. I'm going to get it going and riding stock configuration before I start tweaking and adding upgrades. Would like to get a feel for what this bike is like out of the box before I start tweaking things, I like to get an understanding of what baseline is. I'm in Idaho and this will probably spend 80% off road since our state is mostly fire roads and back country/mountain dirt roads... keep you posted.

[JerryHawk250]

Nice job! :tup:Looks like the dogs ready for a test ride. lol
No, it doesn't come with an O-ring chain. I would adjust the chain for a little slack. If it is tight with no weight on it, it will be tighter when you do sit on it. If the chain is too tight it can do some damage to the shaft bearing. Put a little slack and readjust after a short ride if needed. It's also a good idea to take the chain off and soak in a synthetic gear oil. This will make the chain last much long as there is no lubricant in these chains from the factory. You want the oil to lubricate the internals of the chain, not just the outside.
You can find a replacement Clevis pin at Lowes or Homedepot in the drawers at the specialty hardware section.

[itsnt4me]

So I put my Hawk together and it was painless.. took my time and put new fresh 15WT fork oil in as well as some Rotella T4.. those fluids it came with were pretty murky and gritty, looked like fine coffee grinds settling. Good call there..

A couple things.. FYI my bike says Jun 2018 manufacture date.. The RPS owners manual says the bike comes with O-Ring chain, also the chain is tight but I also don't intend on taking a 100 mile cross country ride till I put the bike through my own trials and Quality Control.. from what I know the chain should loosen up after a few rides.. should I bother adding slack seeing that I'll probably have to reduce slack after a few rides (is that the reason it comes tight in the first place?)

Secondly... I had one issue. The pin that holds the rear brake pedal assembly was nowhere to found so I'll have to find something to complete that before I get to test ride... (SEE PIC)

Other than that.. everything looks ready to go. I'm going to get it going and riding stock configuration before I start tweaking and adding upgrades. Would like to get a feel for what this bike is like out of the box before I start tweaking things, I like to get an understanding of what baseline is. I'm in Idaho and this will probably spend 80% off road since our state is mostly fire roads and back country/mountain dirt roads... keep you posted.

Glad you got your Hawk assembled. I just got mine on the ground last week and the chain on my bike was so tight I was scared to ride it without adjusting the chain. You may find out from a lot of the guys on here the manual says things that either aren't true or not recommended. I don't trust the manual when its things that are important especially safety issues. Just from one newbie Hawk owner to another.

[JerryHawk250]

I just noticed that they never did correct the chain guide issue. It still sit at a skew. I cut mine loose and lined it up then pop rivet it in place to line up with the chain.

[Chito]

"Clevis" thats what they call it lol.. couldn't remember what it was called. Yeah the dog seems to think now were going somewhere every time I touch the bike.. Heading over to Home Depot to find me a "Clevis"

[Chito]

This looks like a new addition, I've not seen this clamp on other Hawk photos.. new for 2018?

[ChrisWNY]

I'm still not sure why that clamp is on the newer model Hawks (mine had it as well, bought back in May 2018). It clamps the exhaust together but definitely not the best type of clamp for that.

[JerryHawk250]

This looks like a new addition, I've not seen this clamp on other Hawk photos.. new for 2018? Same thing that's on my 2016 Hawk
http://chinariders.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=11751&d=1516569782

[Sochin]

Welcome, where in Idaho?

[AresROC]

Congrats on the new Hawk! Wow seeing that fork oil I might need to replace mine as well. As soon as I can find a measuring cup...


My chain was tight as well, with 10mm up and 10mm down play. So far 60 mile into it it hasn't loosen up yet.


Do your chain have a master link, or maybe we use a chain breaker?

[Chito]

I'm in Boise

[Lit Hawk]

I lost my pin for the rear brake pedal somewhere on the road in the middle of riding. Scared the crap out of me for that second before I realized I have front brakes. Anyways I put a bolt and locknut on mine, works great

[timcosby]

Nice job! :tup:Looks like the dogs ready for a test ride. lol
No, it doesn't come with an O-ring chain. I would adjust the chain for a little slack. If it is tight with no weight on it, it will be tighter when you do sit on it. If the chain is too tight it can do some damage to the shaft bearing. Put a little slack and readjust after a short ride if needed. It's also a good idea to take the chain off and soak in a synthetic gear oil. This will make the chain last much long as there is no lubricant in these chains from the factory. You want the oil to lubricate the internals of the chain, not just the outside.
You can find a replacement Clevis pin at Lowes or Homedepot in the drawers at the specialty hardware section.

or put a lot of slack in it and put one of these on! https://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-Motorcycle-Golden-Aluminum-Adjuster-Chain-Tensioner-Bolt-On-Roller-Tool/122450786549

[timcosby]

This looks like a new addition, I've not seen this clamp on other Hawk photos.. new for 2018?

it was on my 2016

[timcosby]

same thing but cheaper. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminum-Universal-Motorcycle-Chopper-Adjuster-Chain-Tensioner-Roller-Motocross/132763342675