Concerns about a used Hawk 250 Enduro
 

Hi all,

I looked at a used Hawk 250 yesterday. Guy is asking $1500, and the bike has about 500 miles on it. It was assembled by Q9 Powersports, and still has a few months left on the 1 year warranty.

I had a few concerns with it, looking for a second opinion:

1. When turn signals are on the horn sounds as they flash, and when horn button is pressed nothing happens. (Just a basic wiring problem?)

2. Battery won't hold a charge. It is the battery that came with it. (Maybe electrical/wiring problem with horn is causing a drain? Maybe I just put on a new battery and I'll be fine?)

3. Ran pretty hot, and smelled SLIGHTLY like burning/hot oil. (Oil level looked good, and relatively clean).

I drove it around for about 20mins, and it seemed to run great other than the idle being way off. I plan to do a carb swap anyways, and I know the stock carbs are a bit finicky. I am a little worried about a potential wiring/electrical migraine considering points 1 and 2, and of course the light smell of hot oil was very concerning too.

Any thoughts on those issues? Mostly, is the turn signal horn thing going to be a nightmare, and does these tend to run really hot?

I think I'm willing to pay $1150 or even $1200 for it, but want to know if any of my concerns are serious enough to just move on. Considering I could just pick-up a brand new one for rough $1400 - I think my offer is more than reasonable?

Thanks a lot for any info!

horn works when turn signal is off???

you can get a new hawk delivered for 1500 from several internet sellers. given the things you describe, I'd say this one is priced too high. if you're gonna pay 1500, the thing should be in good working order, including the idle and charging systems.

Main problem would be the price, but it sounds like you're looking at that correctly.


Electrical issues can run the gauntlet. Simple or nightmare. This one is a relatively minor subsystem, sounds like it's straightforward and should be easy to isolate, but I've heard that before. There's an electrical diagram in the owner's manual for the Hawk that may help to get to the bottom of it, page 51.

http://therps.net/User%20Manual/Hawk...s%20Manual.pdf


If the battery wasn't filled and charged correctly initially, it will probably always be flaky. On the other hand, hook it up to a $5 trickle charger from Harbor Freight, and see what it does - it might have just had a low charge the day you tested it from sitting around. In any case, just add the cost of a new battery to the budget, worse case. I wouldn't rank this as a big concern myself.

Hot is pretty relative. The carb may just need to be rejetted if it's running lean. If it's stock, more than likely it's set up lean, and you'll also want to check valve lash. That's kind of expected tuning. You also indicated that the idle is off, so expect some normal carb/tuning work if you do get it, but you'd have to do that anyway with a new bike. It'd be hard to guess if it's running excessively hot without more info, but if the oil is OK and you described the smell as "slightly" not "smoking," I'd guess it's in the normal range from your description.


Still, since the price difference from a brand new one without any unknown history is so small, I'd think I'd get one shipped new just to avoid the extra labor on the electrical issue and spend the time instead on assembly and know that everything is tightened up just right. Whatever direction you choose, good luck. They're a lot of fun.

Yeah, I think your offer is more than reasonable. I wouldn't go over $1000.00 for a used one, but maybe that's just me. Especially with issues. The warranty might not transfer to a new owner...ARH

^I agree with all of the above. I wouldn't worry about chasing the wiring too much, these bikes have a fairly simple wiring harness on them. Since the horn and signals are on the same handlebar switch box, it could also simply be a short there as well.

Honestly, if I were going to even spend 1200 on one I had to take apart and fix, I would consider spending $100 more and having a brand new bike delivered to my home and assemble it myself.

Like Megadan says, just a little more money and you can have a brand new one that you don't have to worry about how it was treated by the previous owner.

Agreed.. for $1500 get a brand new one.

although minor there are too many issues to pay full price for it.

$1000 max

Depreciation is huge on china bikes, I would rather ride the thing until it turns to rust than selling it for a few shillings.

I think that isn't the horn but the turn signal alarm under the seat. It sounds like a truck backing up until unhook it or baffle it.

:)

Sounds like a $600.00 bike to me .Only a real special vehicle doesn't depreciate on its initial sale by 30% or more ,a hawk isnt special enough to circumvent that ,let alone a damaged one ,in mint shape a used hawk might be a $1000.00 bike ( are they now $1500.00 new ?),a damaged one would be double the cost of repairs less than that and those would be dealership service department estimates that hopefully you can just do the work yourself cheaper .Wiring labour and a new battery install at the dealership could easily become a $200.00 repair bill or more ,you are entitled to double that since you are taking all the risk and the hassle of dealing with it .

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

I ended up purchasing a different used Hawk for $1000 bucks. No problems, less than 500 miles.

I'm in love...

Great. Good to hear! ...ARH