Hawk update.. front tire, fork brace and sprocket

[OneLeggedRider]

Just to let you know the bike is running starting and idling great still. Jay rode it today for an hour and a half and said it's a real treat to ride a bike that doesn't have any issues. And it still sounds amazing, I could hear him coming from a long ways off.

We started with installing the new Kenda Trakmaster front tire, it has a bizarre tread pattern with big open voids like a Swamper and has rave reviews on the mx track yet is still DOT approved. I warned Jay in advance that sometimes a front tire can be more difficult than a rear before we even got started. We gave the new heavy duty tube a light dusting of talcum powder and the tire was changed 25 minutes later.

I said to Jay "well that was pretty painless" and ofcourse that jinxed the rest of the day.

The brace, even though advertised for 19 and 21" wheels was for a 19" tire and if we had checked it for clearance with the tire on it we would have saved a couple hours of heartache and sorrow. And we had already drilled, bent and cut it so that's $70 down the drain. :cry:

After that we pulled the passenger pegs and brackets, and centered the license plate. Now it was on to the 13 tooth sprocket, easy peezy right? I mean Dan and others had done it without troubles right? Keep in mind I'm running the gold 520 O-ring chain.

We pulled the IMS shifter (which has so little clearance it requires an open end wrench and some swearing) and the sprocket cover, kicked the tire forward and swapped the 12 for the 13. I noticed Jay was having some trouble getting the sprocket cover back on so I said "gimme that" and pondered if I was overpaying him.. The cover infact would not go on so upon further investigation I discovered the chain had been rubbing it even with the 12 tooth on.

So I broke out the dremel and tapered the area that had been rubbing, no luck so I removed the section with an angle grinder. While doing so a huge spider crawled out of the cover onto my hand and booked up my arm! I tossed the cover across the room and almost tossed the still spinning grinder as well. After I calmed down we put the cover on. :hehe:

The new tire is noticeably louder than stock and does have some vibration but Jay said it performed well. We have a hairpin sweeper down from my house and he took it at 65mph without ever letting up. And compared to the stock tire that had a bulge in it from the factory it's a huge improvement. And he said the 13/33 gearing is spot on, you can actually wind 1st and 2nd gear now and feels much better at highway speeds.

[paulsstag]

Just to let you know the bike is running starting and idling great still. Jay rode it today for an hour and a half and said it's a real treat to ride a bike that doesn't have any issues. And it still sounds amazing, I could hear him coming from a long ways off.

We started with installing the new Kenda Trakmaster front tire, it has a bizarre tread pattern with big open voids like a Swamper and has rave reviews on the mx track yet is still DOT approved. I warned Jay in advance that sometimes a front tire can be more difficult than a rear before we even got started. We gave the new heavy duty tube a light dusting of talcum powder and the tire was changed 25 minutes later.

I said to Jay "well that was pretty painless" and ofcourse that jinxed the rest of the day.

The brace, even though advertised for 19 and 21" wheels was for a 19" tire and if we had checked it for clearance with the tire on it we would have saved a couple hours of heartache and sorrow. And we had already drilled, bent and cut it so that's $70 down the drain. :cry:

After that we pulled the passenger pegs and brackets, and centered the license plate. Now it was on to the 13 tooth sprocket, easy peezy right? I mean Dan and others had done it without troubles right? Keep in mind I'm running the gold 520 O-ring chain.

We pulled the IMS shifter (which has so little clearance it requires an open end wrench and some swearing) and the sprocket cover, kicked the tire forward and swapped the 12 for the 13. I noticed Jay was having some trouble getting the sprocket cover back on so I said "gimme that" and pondered if I was overpaying him.. The cover infact would not go on so upon further investigation I discovered the chain had been rubbing it even with the 12 tooth on.

So I broke out the dremel and tapered the area that had been rubbing, no luck so I removed the section with an angle grinder. While doing so a huge spider crawled out of the cover onto my hand and booked up my arm! I tossed the cover across the room and almost tossed the still spinning grinder as well. After I calmed down we put the cover on. :hehe:

The new tire is noticeably louder than stock and does have some vibration but Jay said it performed well. We have a hairpin sweeper down from my house and he took it at 65mph without ever letting up. And compared to the stock tire that had a bulge in it from the factory it's a huge improvement. And he said the 13/33 gearing is spot on, you can actually wind 1st and 2nd gear now and feels much better at highway speeds.

I had to laugh about the spider , I think most of us react the same way even the really cool tough guys :hehe: I can see the note coming from Jay " oneleggedrider back in hospital with a spider bite and a deep angle grinder cut and his leg is broken again as he tripped up on the extension cord to the grinder " :lmao:

I enjoy your posts
Thanks
Paul

[JerryHawk250]

I had to laugh about the spider , I think most of us react the same way even the really cool tough guys :hehe: I can see the note coming from Jay " oneleggedrider back in hospital with a spider bite and a deep angle grinder cut and his leg is broken again as he tripped up on the extension cord to the grinder " :lmao:

I enjoy your posts
Thanks
Paul
:lmao: I had the same thing flash through my mind. lol. I can hear him screaming like a little girl. :p

Happy to see some of it worked out. Just get some 3" wide flat bar and make your own fork brace. If I remember right you will need a 14" long piece.

[wedooit]

I hate spiders, and would have spoken some new verbiage, dropped the grinder, broke the wheel...yelled, searched for pest control spray bottle. Yelled for the mrs. WAIT the rest of the story….the mrs has a vendetta for the wasps and their nests....she sprays and blows them off with the pressure washer, and the next day they are back or near in the same places. Back to the spider....they die with carb cleaner........funny story one legged!!!!! Yes Jay would post, broken leg again, grinder cut needing stitches, 6 inch cut in jeans, cut grinder cord, broken favorite new grinder blade, broken grinder housing, cant find the housing that was tossed in the chaos, and pest control is on the way! LOL!!!

thanks for the story!!!!! good laugh!!!!

[OneLeggedRider]

:lmao: I had the same thing flash through my mind. lol. I can hear him screaming like a little girl. :p

Happy to see some of it worked out. Just get some 3" wide flat bar and make your own fork brace. If I remember right you will need a 14" long piece.

The crazy thing is we had been fooling with the cover for a good long spell, I think it finally came out of hiding because of heat from the grinder. :hehe:

Jay had the same thoughts on making a brace with flat bar. Said we could buy a long stick and make 4 or 5, test fit them and paint them gloss black and sell the rest for $75 shipped. I'm willing to bet folks would pay that price for bolt on convenience, maybe more.

[JerryHawk250]

The crazy thing is we had been fooling with the cover for a good long spell, I think it finally came out of hiding because of heat from the grinder. :hehe:

Jay had the same thoughts on making a brace with flat bar. Said we could buy a long stick and make 4 or 5, test fit them and paint them gloss black and sell the rest for $75 shipped. I'm willing to bet folks would pay that price for bolt on convenience, maybe more.
I was going to make one myself but never could find the time to do it. I was going to use aluminum stock and drill a few holes in it and polish it up. When I got the notification from Amazon that the fork brace was available I jumped on it.

[McFailbutter]

It definitely sounded like a lil school girl scream , when it happened. But tough guys, still have fears. And no one really like surprises.

[McFailbutter]

Now if we can only get get the old the running solid. Tired of coming back from rides on onelegged's bike, smelling like a hawk rider. Takes days to wash away.

[McFailbutter]

Old TBR*

[OneLeggedRider]

Now if we can only get get the old the running solid. Tired of coming back from rides on onelegged's bike, smelling like a hawk rider. Takes days to wash away.

Well here's the latest. We tested the Hawk carb on the TBR7 and and no improvement or change. Seems all it wants to do now is idle, anything more and it just surges misses and pops. And it wasn't tank ventilation so we're plugging the weep hole. I'm thinking it's the ignition, especially because the problem got steadily worse over time. Hopefully his buddy Kyle (fellow Hawk rider) can get it hauled down here tomorrow and I can test the stator and coil. Kinda hard to diagnose something by word of mouth and over the phone. :grr:

We would have it purring already I guarantee you but cousin Jay has this weird affliction with Frisbee Golf, it consumes all of his free time. Now I'm not one to judge anyone by their sexual orientation, I worked at Disney World for 2 years. But this Frisbee thing..

First him and the fellas all strip down to their 70's Bruce Jenner athletic shorts and rub each other down with suntan lotion (don't wanna burn ya know), and then they chug a Zima and give each other high fives and rump slaps (kinda like the volleyball scene in Top Gun). After that I don't know what happens, he comes back sweaty and sore mumbling about so and so getting a hole in one. :wtf:

But I'm confident we'll get his priorities straightened out with months of medication and electroshock therapy, and possibly a beer or three. And the TBR will run almost as good as the Hawk. :tup:

[wedooit]

What this about Jay!! I am laughing spilling my morning coffee!! Whiskey tango foxtrot!!! Great morning laugh! Maybe some China fumes will bring g home back! I am still laughing I can't type!

[OneLeggedRider]

What this about Jay!! I am laughing spilling my morning coffee!! Whiskey tango foxtrot!!! Great morning laugh! Maybe some China fumes will bring g home back! I am still laughing I can't type!

Hahaha! Just me being salty that the bike isn't his highest priority. I knew I wanted a dirtbike and a 4 wheel drive from the time I was 6yrs old and nothing was more important and over the years I've had plenty of both. This is his first dirtbike ever and he's never owned a 4x4 to my knowledge. He enjoys riding but I've seen him let a few street bikes set after something needed work. Where as I wouldn't be able to do that, that's why I learned how to fix them at a very young age. :)

[OneLeggedRider]

Damn neighborhood hooligans out there fooling with my bike, I might have to get an alarm..:hehe:

[JerryHawk250]

Damn neighborhood hooligans out there fooling with my bike, I might have to get an alarm..:hehe:

Looks like you picked up an extra 2 horse power just sitting in the yard. :lmao:

[paulsstag]

Looks like you picked up an extra 2 horse power just sitting in the yard. :lmao:

Looks more like 1 and a 1/2 horse power :lol:

[OneLeggedRider]

Looks more like 1 and a 1/2 horse power :lol:

Yep mother and daughter, the little one's only 3 weeks old and curious about everything including the bike :)

[JerryHawk250]

Yep mother and daughter, the little one's only 3 weeks old and curious about everything including the bike :)

She knows a good bike when she sees one. :tup:

[wedooit]

ok can one see onelegged with a modified contraption harness on the horses pulling him around on the hawk, until he gets healed up???? with megadan's new songs he might someday write (megadan said he was a singer), with 2lz's bench buzzards observing (2lz is retired)???? Jay helping with his bruce jenner shorts.....ok I am LMAO …..

ok here is some words to the new song....hawking thru the mud, on a one horse open sleigh....LOL

I think I have had too much coffee....I better get to work!!!

[wedooit]

I think you post a link where to get Jay's the 70's bruce jenner shorts ….LOL LOL

[OneLeggedRider]

I'm actually very good with a horse and buggy lol. In 1976 we took a team of Percherons half way across the United States for the Bicentennial run. I was only 4yrs old but still remember it well.

Well it was time for Jay to take the Hawk for it's weekly maintenance run yesterday, which is usually mostly pavement. He doesn't have the dirtbike background that I do and is still squeamish about gravel roads on the TBR, so I recommended a dirt road route out to my mother's farm. He hit 65.8mph on the Hawk but didn't have a straight stretch long enough to wind it out. He did say he really wants to put some Trakmasters on his TBR soon, the confidence he felt on the Hawk on gravel wasn't something he's used to.

He will also tell you a story about being on the back of my KZ 650 streetbike going up one of the twistiest gravel roads (that had a 150' dropoff with no guardrail and has since been permanently closed), and the PTSD it caused him. I had it in 5th gear WOT because I enjoy keeping the back tire lit and sideways (and I can do this on any bike on gravel, snow and ice, cinders, etc.). I had the bike completely sideways at the outside edge of the curve at 60mph and he said when he looked down the back tire was spinning on the last 3" of road before the 150 foot dropoff. I don't think he's ever rode with me since.. :hmm:

[wedooit]

WE call it a throttle sensation....had my mother in law on a sled with me....yuppers she wont ride with me again either!!!

I think if I rode with you, we would have to stop and clean my shorts....not the bruce jenner kind tho!!!!!! LOL!!!

I got a mortgage, fence that needs to be stained, weeds to mow and spray, and a family to support.....I cant spend time cleaning my shorts!!!! LOL LOL....ok I ve had too much coffee lol

[OneLeggedRider]

Haha! When I was 18 in Chicago we had about 4 inches of snowfall and I had cabin fever so I fired up the Yamaha Seca (one of the first superbikes) and proceeded to do very low speed donuts in the parking lot without putting my feet down.

My father and my buddy Johnny walked outside to see the stupidity firsthand. After about 5 minutes Dad shook his head and said "dumbass" and walked back inside. After about 25 minutes I did lay the bike down and broke a rear turn signal lens, but it was worth it. :hehe:

[OneLeggedRider]

Jay found him a sitter early yesterday morning and struck out about 9am purposely sticking to gravel roads to get more comfortable on with his TBR7. Said he rode for about 5hrs before he got to my place and even discovered a dead end road that turned into trails. He excitedly told me tales of near mishaps involving the tires slipping this way and that on his woods adventure and even snapped a few pics (which is a rarity). I pleaded with him to share his adventure firsthand and post the pics but don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen. :hehe:

And without being asked he dutifully took the Hawk out for about an hour and fueled it up. It had been almost a month since it's last excursion and I was concerned about the battery having enough juice. It didn't wanna start at first but then he realized the kill switch was in the off position. I must have just gotten lucky with that battery because alot of members have had trouble with them holding a charge.

Well after he returned I ofcourse had him stroke my ego, telling me about how well it started, ran and it's performance on the gravel roads. He said on road he prefers the TBR which is a little more well mannered, but the Hawk wins hands down in the squirrelly stuff. I don't think he's installed the LED headlight or taillight on his yet but hopefully will do both bikes soon.

We still have to finish the kitchen and install my cellphone antenna on the cabin. And get in a few rounds of Frisbee Golf.. :tup:

[wedooit]

I am still laughing over the posts on authors...I got two of my customers in my kitchen having coffee and they are rolling on the floor!!!