2019 Hawk
 

This will serve as my introduction. As you can no doubt surmise from the name, I have a black Hawk. "Blackhawk" was already taken, but I also have a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt, so "Blackhawk45" it is. :hi:
I've had my Hawk for just over a week and have put about 250 miles on it so far. I have it registered in Alabama, which was relatively painless. It was running very lean at mid throttle, required choke on the first startup even at 90 degrees ambient, and seemed to really wake up at 3/4 throttle once fully warmed and choke off. Based on that I shimmed the needle, which made it run perfectly at mid throttle.
I also popped out the pilot screw plug and determined that the screw was 1-1/4 turn out from seated. I increased that to 1-1/2 turn, with the result being that it would now start with no choke and would not start hot unless I let it cool down for a few minutes. So I returned the setting to 1-1/4 turn out. At that setting and with the shimmed needle, it will start cold at high ambient temp with no choke, but seems to be on the edge of needing a bit of choke. And, it will start hot. That seems like a reasonable setting, for now.


Before tuning and keeping it at or below 40 mph, I measured right at 80 mpg. After tuning and with some WOT riding, I measured about 58 mpg.
Btw, I am converting from the odo reading to miles. Checking with gps, my speedometer is pretty accurate in mph but the odo is about 57 miles for 100 indicated. That tells me it is supposed to be km, but is inaccurate. So I'm calling it kiloyards, which is almost exactly what it is! :lol:


After a couple of short rides, I discovered that it was not charging the battery. Tracing the circuit, I found a bent pin in the regulator connector. I straightened the pin and plugged it back in, which fixed that problem.


I'm running Castrol 20w50 conventional motorcycle oil. Once it cools off a bit I'll probably use Rotella 15w40 conventional, but as hot as it is now I think the added viscosity of the 20w50 is a good thing.


I also adjusted the valves at the same time that I worked on the carb. The intake was ok, but the exhaust was tight. I set it at .004" intake and .006" exhaust.


I have ordered a Wingsmoto jet kit. I think it could use a bit more fuel at WOT, and I'm sure that will be even more the case once I gut the cat.


I've also ordered a 43 tooth rear sprocket, which I plan to use with the stock 15 tooth counter sprocket.


I'm using non-ethanol gas, same as I do in all my bikes and other small engines.

Welcome aboard! .45? carry on and stay safe! I was in a homedepot yesterday, and saw two open carry gents. Yesssss glad I live in Idaho. okokok back to the bike!!!! Congrats....there are many great hawk owners here with tons of info!!!!

Welcome Aboard! :hi: Looks like you been reading up on mods from the forum. :tup:

Check out the kits I sell - well worth taking a look for first tune etc

ive been recommended to us 20w 50 oil as well for the summer.

quite a few folks warn of the fork oil levels, may want to check that while you tinker.

Yep, and watching videos by Motocheez and others. Including you, btw! :tup:

I set my valves at .005 for the break in and now I'm at .002 intake and .003" on the exhaust just to squeeze a little bit more performance out of it. I put Rotella T4 15w-40 in it before I ever started it and that's what I'll run for the life of the bike. It's JASO rated for wet clutches and economical. It sounds like you're off to a good start and have done some research on the bike. Happy trails. :)

Welcome aboard blackhawk, sounds like you've done your homework. Have fun, ride safe.

Have you checked your fork fluid levels yet? Am curious what yours was, they seem to vary wildly.

Nope, haven't checked.

Welcome Blackhawk45 I still use the stock carb. I bought a carb kit on ebay that included a adjustable needle and a easier to use idle mixture screw. Drilled the pilot jet to 45, needle 4th notch from top and a 110 main jet. This setting works well for me at 1,000 ft. Tako has a good kit as well for tuning.
I would suggest changing the fork oil. The oil in my fork set looked like engine drain oil when I changed it.
Enjoy your new Hawk

Problems with New Hawk 250
 

Hi,
I'm running into an issue where the engine will stall everytime I let the Clutch out. I can shift into gear no issue but it stalls everytime I release the clutch.
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Tom

He man I just ordered my Hawk today. Ought to be here around the 12th. Where abouts are you in AL? I'm down in Dothan area and will attempt to register in Henry County. I called today and they said so long as I had my MCO/MSO paperwork they could add it in no problem. I am thinking of taking this along with me to North GA Cohutta Wilderness in Oct to use a scout bike.

Welcome RAMHAWK!!! Keep us posted and send us a pix or 2!!!