New Hawk, new adventures.
 

Updated as of 5/8/24.

Modifications:

Engine.
1. Motocult ported head with undercut valves.
2. Motocult 70mm Big bore cylinder kit.
3. NGK DPR8EIX-9 Spark Plug.
4. Shortened factory plug wire with NGK XDO5F plug cap with resistor removed.
5. 125ml sump drawn Oil Cooler. https://www.aliexpress.com/i/32913143396.html
6. Mikuni VM26 30mm carb. 120 Main jet, 25 pilot jet, needle middle notch.
7. Dual layer foam pod filter.
8. Nibbi Performance ignition coil.
9. Kajimotor CRF exhaust system - modified mid pipe mount.
10. WGK 1010851 "Bravo" 292 Cam
11. Roller Cam followers.
12. Performance CRF230F PROCOM CDI.


Chassis/Suspension/Brakes
1. YSS PD238 Fork valves with custom made adapters. 15wt oil.
2. Bashan Brozz rear swing arm.
3. Fast Ace Bs-22ar/bda01ar 280mm rear shock with 1000lb/in spring
4. CG125 Cafe front fender.
5. Sintered brake pads front and rear.
6. Upgraded Master Cylinder and clutch base with factory levers.
7. Goodrich banjo bolt brake switch for rear brake.


Chain, Sprockets, and shifter
1. DID VX2 520 Chain, 98 Links
2. Front Sprocket - JTF328 13 tooth
3. Rear Sprocket - JTR279 33 tooth
4. Honda Sprocket Studs - 90128-KE2-940
5. IMS Flightline Folding Shift Lever - model 312223 for XR400.

Tires
Shinko 700. Front 3.0x21 and Rear 4.6x18 with heavy duty IRC tubes.

Controls/Display
1. Digital Tach cluster sold by Matt (no longer available).
2. Renthal Fat Bars
3. Adjustable riser adapters.
4. Quarter turn throttle assembly.
5. Progrip 737BK Grips.
6. Round swing-away style mirrors.

Lighting/Electrical.
1. 7 Inch Round Headlight conversion with CNC brackets and LED headlight.
2. 1157 LED Tail/Brake bulb from Superbright LEDs.
3. Motogadget M-Blaze Pin turn signals. (from an old project)
4. Upgraded main ground strap to 8awg wire.
5. YTZ7S Battery.
6. Upgraded main fuse to blade style with waterproof holder.
7 Most original connectors have been upgraded to weatherpack style.

Miscellanious
1. CSC TT250 rear luggage rack.
2. TT250 Seat

Top Speed: 79mph. Repeatable/Consistent top speed: 75mph.

A few pictures as it currently sits.

https://i.ibb.co/YPLGPgC/20240507-225501.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/gyv7KdN/20240507-225331.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/LzTHQY8/20240507-225404.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/b3NptzT/20240507-225422.jpg

705 would suit your local terrain a lot better by the look of it..



.

In this instance it does. I also spend about half my time on country roads made of dirt or gravel, and occasional single and double track adventures. The 705's did ok at that, but the 700's have been much better so far.

Hard to tell from a few pictures, I know.
:hmm:
The funny thing is, I actually like the on-road handling of the 700 better.

If it helps, 98% of the land in my state essentially looks like this, or farms.
https://www.planetware.com/photos-la...iving-tour.jpg

rolling terrain...


no real hills/mountains ?


..

Well, it is the central Great Plains. Rolling hills is kind of what this area is known for. That picture is just baby hills. some of the larger ones in North Central Nebraska are huge, and they roll on forever. Just watch Dances with Wolves and that will suffice to painting a picture.

It's also known for rocky terrain out west in the arid high altitude plains (about 4500-5500ft), including bluffs, canyons, lone rock pillars (Chimney Rock as one example). It looks like this.
https://visitnebraska.com/sites/defa...?itok=FSzngJcA

Here on my end of the state, where nearly 80,000 miles of Rivers and streams - fun side fact, Nebraska technically has more waterfront land than any other state - all feed into the Platte and Missouri River (which both join about 40 minutes south of me, we enjoy more greenery, as well as more ancient bluffs. We have more dense forests (dense being a relative term here) and more wetlands.


I am very proud of where I come from, if it isn't obvious. One of my favorite off road parks is about 4 1/2 hours away from me at the Bessey Ranger District at the Nebraska National Forest. I took my last Hawk there, and I want to bring this one there as well for a motorcycle camping weekend. Ride there and back with all my kit on board.

Awesome! I am heading to the UPS freight pick up to finally get my Hawk 250! So excited! :)

I may have to get a pumper carb in the near future. Mine's running pretty good with the stock carb but I know it could be better.

I really like the lighter fork oil, I went with Victory/Polaris 7.5w. Southern Ohio doesn't spend much on road maintenance lol. And all the gravel hills are washboard around here. The fork rebound is actually better on the washboard than the monoshock so I probably need to adjust it.

Glad you got it where you want it overall, hopefully mine will be too soon lol.

For my forks the weight of the oil is mainly used to tune the rebound damping, though it does have a minor effect on low speed compression. With the fork valves in place, most of the compression damping is dependent on the valve itself. Currently have a 15wt oil in it and it is fairly close to what I want, but I may step down to 10wt.

My rear shock is actually pretty close to ideal for me. I managed to find a sweet spot where it is fast, but controlled.

Congrats! Don't let your excitement make you take shortcuts. Take the time to sort everything out as you assemble it and you will end up with a much better finished product that will give you far less problems as you ride it.

Yessir, Ive been wrenchin on bikes as a hobby most of my life...I figure within a week it should be all together, as Im doing all the mods except the oil cooler...going to wait till 300 miles or so before I install it.

This is #17. I have too many bikes and projects haha! My buddies Dad has 59 bikes, he helped me uncrate it today :)
How many bikes are in the photo? 3. The Hawk, the z400d1 and a xl80s in 1000 pieces on the shelves...

This Hawk would be my 16th bike in 18 years, so I am right there with you. I always tend to have two or three at a time, which usually works out for me since one always seems to need some sort of repair lol.

Great choice on the color by the way. :tup:

So, after discovering that the price of the Hawk brake rotors went from a ridiculous $45 each to a ludicrous $65 each I decided to fix my warped rotor issue by going straight to the source and ordered a Pair of front and rear wave rotors off of TaoBao along with some "burned copper" (I am assuming it's just sintered) front and rear pads. So far, it has cost me $17 for all of that magnificence. Even if the shipping costs me another $20, it's still half the cost of just one rotor through the Manny network.

I will gladly wait a couple of weeks.

Pumper Carb fine tuning and tweaking.
 

Since I am stuck with the PZ30 Pumper carb a bit longer as I try to find an intake that will work, I figured I would correct and tweak the setup/tune on it and try to get it to behave just a bit better.

First thing I wanted to correct was the pumper jet nozzle orientation. In this picture the blue line represents what the jet spray angle was like out of the box. It functioned well enough as it was and didn't cause any running issues, but it bothered me. I now have it spraying in what is represented by the green line. Aimed right at the center of the carb exit, just next to the needle.

https://i.ibb.co/W3jWpSP/Inkedcarb1-LI.jpg

The nozzle itself is a press fit with a knurled end that simply fits into the hole. Using a bit of wood dowel I tapped it out. On the end of the nozzle is a notch that shows the direction of the nozzle. Using line of sight I tried to orient it the best I could with the center of the rear of the carb and then pressed it back in using a small bit of rod. It's a fiddley process to get it aimed and seated without the darn thing turning though.

https://i.ibb.co/PtM034T/Inkedcarb-LI.jpg

The other thing I really wanted to correct was the throttle cam for the pumper plunger. I was having an issue with it binding and causing the throttle to have stiff points, the cam binding up against the flange and side of the carb due to slop, and getting stuck because the stop would end up past the protrusion on the carb body.

My solution was a simple one, a thrust washer between the bracket for the throttle cable and the cam itself. It turns nice and free now and functions just like it should.

https://i.ibb.co/qNz5pyn/Inkedcarb2-LI.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/NxrHdRm/Inkedcarb3-LI.jpg


Last but not least I decided to play around with my jetting. Since OneLeggedRider drilled his pilot jet and had nothing but good things to say about it, I decided to give it a try with the other stock K40A jet I had laying around from my first Hawk. One thing that makes it a lot easier to do without breaking bits is having a "Drill press" stand for my rotary tool. I managed to drill it without breaking a single bit. I also used a .4mm bit to line the rotary tool and jet in the clamp before stepping up to the .45 bit. That made sure everything was centered and lined up ahead of time, and then I just drilled very very slowly lol.

With my now 45 pilot jet in hand I installed it and played with the idle mixture, ending up at 1 7/8 turns out with the best idle. After going for a test ride my Main jet was just a TINY bit rich (small surge on roll off) so I stepped down to a 120 main from a 125. Needle is also now up to the third notch from the 4th to try and lean out the middle throttle range. This works much better with the larger pilot and properly aimed pumper nozzle, and should help a bit with fuel economy as well.

Air temp at the time of this setup was 60 degrees and about 50% humidity.

Synopsis. Much stronger off idle throttle response. While the 40 pilot was working just fine, it must have been having just the slightest of lean spots on throttle roll on. When cranking the throttle open from a stop or low speed she just leaps forward and picks the front end up pretty hard. Mid throttle roll on is perfect, and wide open is clean, but now a teeny tiny bit lean. I am waiting for a 122.5 jet in the mail, but I have a feeling the 120 main will be the right size once it gets hot here.

One thing I can tell though, now that the motor is broken in. The carb is definitely a restriction on the top end. She will wind out to 8000 in a hurry, but you can just tell it is being held back a bit. I can't wait to hopefully get the PWK30 installed so I can really compare the two.

As a side note, I am also considering stepping down to a 33 tooth rear sprocket. With the way the power is delivered now (immense low end and mid range torque) I think it could benefit from having a bit more gear under her for street duty. I already have a 12 tooth front on stand by. I am also doing so because the 4.6x18 Shinko 700 is smaller in diameter than the stock 110/100-18, so I am geared a lot more like a stock bike with a 17/47 setup.

My last little update for the day was installing a chain tensioner to the swing arm. With the rear shock having the back end so extended I am running about 2 inches of free play in the chain. This definitely helps take the lash out of the system. I am curious to see how long the roller lasts because it's not the greatest design and build quality. A loose bearing and a cotter pin. I may work on making something else to take its place since the roller is just mounted to a straight rod.

https://i.ibb.co/p2khv5S/tensioner.jpg

Thanks for the recognition Dan and my bike is running amazingly well, I got it to 70mph today. But I know it's still running lean from the plug readings and the snap crackle pop when I let off the gas. So.. I've decided to get a different carb and start over. Haven't figured out which one yet but I will. And I'm considering taking this pilot to .5 before I ditch it, worst that can happen is I foul a plug lol. Also I feel that you're talents are being wasted, NASA needs good thorough engineers. 😊

Of course. I always give credit where it is due. You were the first person to make the leap, so you have earned the right to it.

I am curious as to what carb you decide to go with. I know that I never had an issue getting my VM26 clone dialed in. This pumper, aside from some small tweaking, has been pretty decent in terms of getting it to run right. I am definitely interested in your results from going to a "50" pilot hole.

I would need to be an actual engineer first. Still need about 2 years of school before I can even test for a license lol. My thoroughness is just a part of my own personality and the nature of the work I do. I am the guy that takes longer to get a job done but the job only ever needs to be done once, and I am proud of that.

Good stuff Dan and OneLeggedRider. :tup: I'll need to play around with my PWK30 just to see if it makes any improvements. I'm running a 39 pilot @ 1 1/2 turns out and a 125 main. I hate to fool around with it because it seems to be running perfect. But I'll never know until I try it. The PWK30 was a big improvement over the PZ30 once I did the porting and decking.

I like the chain tensioner Dan. :tup:I see you never straighten the chain guide yet. lol I cut that tab off then aligned the guide with the chain and pop riveted it in place.

When you get popping on decel open the air screw a little more till it all goes away - too lean is what I believe causes it.
My bikes if I open the screw a little each time it reduces till it pops no more.

[QUOTE=JerryHawk250;307733]Good stuff Dan and OneLeggedRider. :tup: I'll need to play around with my PWK30 just to see if it makes any improvements. I'm running a 39 pilot @ 1 1/2 turns out and a 125 main. I hate to fool around with it because it seems to be running perfect. But I'll never know until I try it. The PWK30 was a big improvement over the PZ30 once I did the porting and decking.

Jerry I hate to even ask this question because I know that you know what you're doing when it comes to tuning. Have you done WOT plug reading runs with the setup you have now?

Also do you think the PWK30 would be a good choice for me as far as tunability? Keeping in mind I am planning on doing the porting and decking but haven't done it yet.

And Tako I absolutely refuse to go beyond 2 turns on the mixture screw. They drilled it into our brains anything below 1 turn out or above 2 turns out was out of the range of adjustability and clearly meant you needed a different size pilot jet. I've strayed far enough from my training by drilling the pilot, and that was only done out of necessity.

Yes I have done plug reading from WOT. Looks perfect. I also used an A/R ratio gauge to help with tuning. Just curious if any improvements will be gained from low to midrange throttle. I like to tinker and experiment. :D If you watched my video in this thread http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=23589 I did a couple of WOT's at the 2:00 and 9:00 marks. Though you can't make out the speed, notice how quick it hits around the 8500 rpm mark through 4th gear. Both times I hit the 72-73 mph mark on the speedo before I let off the throttle which is almost dead on with my GPS. Like I said, I don't know if it will make a difference but worth a try.
If you are planning on porting and decking the PWK30 will be a good choice. Don't know if the power jet is really necessary. I've tried disabling the power jet and noticed a loss in throttle response.

Wow Jerry, I'm jealous now, that son of a bit## runs! And you're pulling a lot higher gear ratio than me. My bike doesn't pull nearly that hard, takes a good minute to wind 4th gear out and you can't wind 5th out even going downhill. And I'm sure Dan's runs similar to yours. What octane are you running for the 10:1 CR?

Also you've got me convinced on the PWK30 for sure lol.

And Dan I didn't mean to hijack your thread, and would appreciate your thoughts on running the PWK30.

I'm running 93 octane non-ethanol gas.
I don't think Dan minds. It's all relative to his topic. ;)

I don't mind a good hijacking if it is relevant and contains useful info.

As far as running similar, it does. The only thing I would say is different about mine vs. his is that mine pulls a little harder in the lower/middle of the RPM range and a bit less hard at the top end (but still winds out past 8000 very quickly). I would entirely put that down to the difference in the carbs - mine being both smaller and having an accel. pump - and maybe a tiny bit on the fact that I have even a little more compression than Jerry does (entirely by accident).

I can't really compare how quickly it goes through the gears because I am currently geared much shorter than Jerry is in that video. If Jerry threw on a 47 rear sprocket we could compare more directly. I get to 5th gear in a hurry lol. That is honestly why I am going to drop down to a 33 rear sprocket, to get myself back to the equivalent of a 17/45 and gain back some top speed and lower revs on the highway.

As far as the jetting on your PWK30, I am sure it is spot on. Running a smooth bore half moon flat slide, power jet aside, it is going to draw on the jets much differently and with less turbulence. That lack of turbulence will actually decrease the effective size of the pilot jet - a phenomenon experienced on real Mikuni carbs that run an under flow optimizer, where the pilot jet size is almost half that of a carb without it. It all has to do with the velocity of the air charge being much higher. Suffice it to say that our PZ30 clones are a turbulent mess by comparison.

Jerry, as far as the chain guide goes, I will get around to it eventually. It's actually not too bad, so I left it alone for now. I actually want to order a new one from CSC, get it lined up, and install it with a nutsert. The one on my bike is so hopelessly warped that I don't think I can save it/make it work.

As for fuel. Thanks to the extremely conservative ignition timing on these motors, even with 10.3:1 static compression I can run on 91 octane no problem, but I do try to fill with 93 whenever possible. 93 isn't available at every fuel station here, so 91 is what I tend to fill with the most. I also took care to smooth and polish my combustion chamber when doing the port work to ensure I had zero potential hot spots in the chamber.

If I throw the 15 tooth on front it will hit the 8500 rpm limiter in 5th gear no problem.

Yeah, I would say 91 octane is more than enough. Most of the ethanol free fuel around here is 92 and 93.

I'm still going to play around with the pilot jet just for the heck of it.

[QUOTE=OneLeggedRider;307765]It’s essy to try n test theory
Won’t hurt at all but safer
Just for learning purposes
Then go back again

I only did the drilling of the pilot jet because I happened to have an extra on hand. It is proving to be difficult to get fully dialed in, so I will have to disable the accelerator pump to get a better feel for it.

This is why everybody goes to the Mikuni clones. They are nowhere near as annoying to get the tune dialed in on. No idea why, but they are much easier.

130 miles of River and Bluffs.
 

So I decided that a good way to spend a 53 degree overcast day was to take my Hawk on a little 130 mile mini tour along the Missouri River up through the Bluffs, forests, and wetlands. Nice windy little side roads and lots of steep hills. My rear end is sore like only a Hawk seat can manage.

A couple beauty shots that I just felt like taking. Some day soon I will setup my Go Pro to either a chest holder or a helmet and actually record a ride or two.

https://i.ibb.co/gr7m7cP/Hawkfrontroadfix.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/2gStMfp/Hawkrearfix.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/9wLtH4q/Foresthawkfront.jpg

I forgot to mention, I did have one little hiccup on my way home. The barrel on my throttle cable at the throttle broke off about 2 miles from home (thankfully). Hooray for cheap cables.

A drawback to the pumper carb with the 1/4 turn throttle and the double ended cable means I can't just use the factory cable without swapping out to the original throttle assembly, and then I lose the pumper functionality.

Thankfully there are US Based companies on ebay that sell the cables for a whopping $8 each with "fast and free" shipping. I ordered two, just in case it happens again, and they should be here by Saturday.

I also got another intake in for my PWK30 that is not the right angle. Flush another $5... At least I have a great supply of intake O-rings...

Ok, so my throttle cables should be here tuesday or wednesday.

Since I was making an order for a few different parts I also decided to order in the parts needed for a hydraulic clutch conversion. The cost is relatively low. and I get adjustable levers with my new brake and clutch masters.

Links:
Brake/Clutch master cylinders. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Unversal-7-...72.m2749.l2649

Hose:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcycle-...72.m2749.l2649

Slave:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-M...72.m2749.l2649

For those interested, the clutch line does need to be 1200mm according to my measurements. I also measured the front brake line, which was surprisingly shorter at 1100mm. If I were to order a new one I would go with 1200 so I could route it a bit differently.

I also submitted my brake parts to ship today. The shipping was twice the cost of the parts :ohno::lol:

The funny thing is, total price for three brake rotors (more on that in a second) and a full set of "sintered" brake pads was maybe 10 bucks more than JUST one rotor through txpowersports.

So, why three rotors? Well, I ordered a rear and a front as part of a set *link: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=...7207:273110631
The issue is, the bike in question came with both styles of forks even though the hub looks the same, and as a result there are two different brake rotors sold for it. So I decided to not risk the first rotor not fitting after waiting a couple of weeks for it, and ordered the other style of rotor. (middle option on this link with straight "spokes") https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=...207:1075833039
I figured for an extra 6 bucks (and 5 more shipping) I would rather be safe than sorry. If not for that, this would have cost less than just the front rotor from txpowersports.
The pads I ordered (cqr copper burning front and rear) https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=...7207:362297183

My plan is to see if both fronts will work or not. If they do both work, then I will gladly sell one of the two front rotors to whomever would be interested in it for roughly what it cost me to buy and ship it (about $25).

The lever set is the same as the ones I have except I have the cable clutch. They work way better than stock. :tup: I thought about doing the conversation too before I ordered the levers. Wasn't sure how well it was going to work. Now I'll know. lol

I am trying it out of curiosity, but also have a love of hydro clutches. I have never liked cables if I could avoid them. Not many people here have bothered with it, so I figured I could do a proper test/review of it and see if I like it more than the cable system.

I have a feeling the most challenging part of the whole setup will be getting the slave cylinder adjusted correctly. I am going to try and get around it by marking the position of the clutch arm on the engine case where my current adjustment is at.

That was my biggest concern too. I would much rather the hydraulic clutch. Hope it works out. I know I can get just the hydraulic clutch lever to match my brake lever.

Wow, you guys here are in a masters division! If you guys charged for your time and experience, you might be able to retire early! Nice pictures Dan, I am jonesing to get out, but we are so backed up with work in our shop, and our yard looks like a truck stop, backed up with work, and I have a new bike being delivered next week. SO we are working thru the weekend to catch up....AND my weeds on our 10 acres are growing like weeds! lol! Am anxious to see how the hydraulic clutch project works!!! Thanks again guys!!!

wow...
looking at the slave cylinder..

fixed body... straight ridged shaft..
and a pivoting clutch arm that arks at the shaft end..

everything you don't do when setting up a hydraulic ram...

the body needs to pivot so it can follow the ark of the clutch arm..


..

I agree with you, but if you looked at the travel range and position of my clutch arm, there really isn't much arc to it. I think as long as the body and arm are all lined up straight it should do ok. If it lasts will be another question.

Since the weather decided to suck and rain for most of the day I got my new throttle cable installed. I also have two backups just in case lol. I am fairly certain as to what caused the failure of the cable right at the barrel, and that is the fact that the barrel has to rotate in the throttle tube quite a bit between closed and even half throttle, and the hole for the barrel was pretty tight. I used a small round file and opened it up just a bit so the barrel can move freely. If it happens again I will be looking to make my own upper cable that utilizes the rear barrel position on said throttle cam to eliminate the need for said rotation. Why these cables don't come with the extra inch of length needed to do so is beyond me...

Anyway, while I had everything off to do install the new cable I decided to do my valve lash and wrap the head pipe to cut down on all of the heat and the pants burning :tup:. When I went to do the header wrap I spotted a small trace of carbon at the slip joint for the mid pipe so I pulled it and applied a nice coating of tail pipe sealant. I then re-angled my riser adapters away from me and adjusted the handle bars along with the controls to match to make the bike more comfortable for me. I then finally finished up my tinkering by adding some small spacers to the rear mounts for the front fender to angle the front up a bit - a suggestion via OneLeggedRider. It definitely enhanced the "4x4 mode" look of the bike by opening up more air gap between the front of the fender and the tire.

Then, as if the universe itself took pity on me, the rain stopped for a little while and the sun came out, so I decided to go for a quick ride. Made for a pretty good picture opportunity, so I couldn't resist. :yay:

https://i.ibb.co/6HNX3rk/60134025-10...41520896-n.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/4F7q5M7/59750877-10...12463616-n.jpg

The fender definitely looks better, I don't know why more people aren't doing it. ��

Probably because they are simply happy with it the way it is. It's a subtle enough change that some people might not even see the difference.

Got my 33 tooth rear sprocket in today and installed it. Much better! The 35 rear with the Shinko 700 tire diameter (about an inch smaller than stock) had the bike effectively geared like a 17 front 48 rear on a stock tire. Now its geared exactly like a 17/45, and it honestly feels no different in terms of pulling power, and much stronger than my last bike in the higher gears.

Looks good!! I like how your muffler rides high up, some others seem quite bit lower. Is that a different muffler or did you paint it to match?