Hawk assembly - list of supplies
 

I've got a Hawk DLX on order from q9 and am putting together a little list of everything needed to do the assembly right. Super stoked to take over the garage and put it together, don't want to be held up by discovering I'm missing tools. Our only local hardware store is a small ACE, so even basic things can have limited availability. After extensive browsing here I think this is fairly comprehensive, but please let me know if anything is missing!

Socket and torque wrench
4-14, 17, 19, 30 mm sockets
6mm crescent wrench for spokes
Hook wrench for steering stem nut (can anyone confirm a 19-51mm adjustable wrench will fit?)
Feeler gauges
Battery tender
Waterproof grease
Loctite
Cable lube
Chain lube
15W fork oil
Brake fluid
Oil (Rotella T6 5W-40)

I plan on keeping it mostly stock while it breaks in to get a feel for it before tweaking and adding other variables. A fork brace will definitely go on sooner than later, as will a 12V outlet and/or USB power port. Down the road I have eyes on one of those 65mL oil coolers and proper damper valves.

As best I can tell this should be everything needed to get it running and rolling healthy. Obviously the CDIs will also need some carb supplies. I also opted for a couple extras like an inline fuel filter and NGK spark plug coming from the dealer. I collected some scrap pavers to stack and toss a towel over them for use as a stand. Whether an essential or something that makes the build significantly easier, is there anything else to add to this list?

You will want the snap ring pliers I mentioned at some point, just as a reminder.

My only two suggestions/modifications to your list.

I would do at least the first 500 miles on T4 15w40 before switching to T6. Even then, you might find the break in will take a bit longer than usual. It took almost 1500 miles before my bike finally felt like it was done seating the rings, and I wasn't very nice to it in that time.

As far as the fork brace and fork valve. You ordered a DLX, which has inverted forks, so the brace isn't really necessary, nor will the one us regular Hawk guys use. Same with the valves. The forks on the DLX will be completely different.

Thanks for the advice Dan! Probably time to upgrade the shoddy snap ring pliers I have at the bottom of the toolbox. I keep forgetting that the DLX forks are so different, but nice to know the fork brace isn't necessary. With that in mind I'll probably hold off on buying the fork oil in advance until I can get a feel for the stock dampening. Does anyone know what other model the DLX's forks are most comparable to?

I'm also curious to the reasoning behind breaking in the engine with conventional oil rather than synthetic. I was under the impression that was more of a myth/holdover from the early days of synthetics. I get that it's more expensive and you'll be changing at more frequent intervals, but at a little over a quart per fill it won' break the bank.

I would be the first one to defend what you are saying in regards to break in, but keep in mind that these engines are pretty old school in design, construction, and materials.

Modern engines are also assembled with modern techniques, etc, and are often sent from the factory these days where there is minimal break in time required and with synthetic oil in them.

From my own experience, trying to break one of these in with only synthetic will result in a much longer break in period and a higher level of oil consumption during the break in period.

By all means, if you want to give it a go with the full synthetic break in, go ahead. I was just offering my own 2 cents. I gave it 500 miles on T4 and it still took about another 1000 miles with 15w40 T6 before I could confidently say my break in period was done.