Quote:
Originally Posted by tknj99
Even with a 6th gear these wimpy 250s will always feel underpowered on a highway. Best to have it as a secondary bike for putting around up to 55mph roads (where most go 65 or so anyway) and offroad plus one as a primary road bike
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^^^^^^ This.
It is possible to run the Hawks on highways. Living where I do, it's not much of a choice if I want to get anywhere outside of town. You either just accept it, stay as far right as possible and let cars by, or ride something more capable.
The 6th gear desire for most of us isn't about extra speed either. It's so we can have a bigger rear sprocket for better torque off road and also still be able to go on said highways without having the engine bouncing the redline at 55mph.
Even the higher end Japanese 250's and 300cc enduro bikes aren't as fast as you might think. Yes, they can achieve higher top speeds thanks to their extra 10hp, but they still aren't going to blow your mind with their speed or top end acceleration. If you really want a truly highway capable bike, you need at least a 400cc engine (in my opinion) to have any real highway capability.