Which Dual Sport to purchase

[crixster]

Hello, everyone. Long time lurker and previous Zongshen GY200 owner. Torn between the available options for purchase. Hawk DOT, Hawk EFI and the Templar 250, or 250M or 250X. Plenty options and plenty searching on the forum has me leaning toward the Hawk EFI. Any input from the members would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Aussie_in_MO]

I'd hesitate to recommend an EFI bike just from a support standpoint. Personally I'd go Templar base for shorter riders, Templar M or X for taller riders depending on whether the kick start or 6th gear and adjustable suspension are more important to you

[Megadan]

It really comes down to your budget and what you primarily want to use the bike for. Road duty and the Hawks are fine. Big fuel tank, big seat. The Templars are going to be better off road.

If you want the nice in-between of the two, the Lifan KPX is probably the bike for you.

[crixster]

Very insightful comments from both of you with what I realized was limited info in my original post. I am a shorter rider, owned a KLR650 a few years ago, and was a challenge with the seat height. This will be 90% road use. Not looking to break the bank here at all, just need a bike to run around with. So, with the resource this channel is, looks like I can narrow down to the Hawk 250 DOT for the upgraded balance shaft or the Base Templar.

[XLsior]

Other than the seat height and firmness, the Templar X with balanced 6 speed engine is hard to beat for a predominant road going dualsport.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by XLsior

Other than the seat height and firmness, the Templar X with balanced 6 speed engine is hard to beat for a predominant road going dualsport.

Hawk X he wants to get has a balanced engine too. Just missing the 6th gear.

[XLsior]

whats the price difference between the 2? because the PR250 engine would probably fit without issue on a counterbalanced hawk X frame...If seat height is a major problem. Or you just want a backup engine on the shelf as a spare...

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by XLsior

whats the price difference between the 2? because the PR250 engine would probably fit without issue on a counterbalanced hawk X frame...If seat height is a major problem. Or you just want a backup engine on the shelf as a spare...

Hawk X is 1500 plus shipping, maybe 1800ish delivered.

[red2003]

Originally Posted by crixster

Very insightful comments from both of you with what I realized was limited info in my original post. I am a shorter rider, owned a KLR650 a few years ago, and was a challenge with the seat height. This will be 90% road use. Not looking to break the bank here at all, just need a bike to run around with. So, with the resource this channel is, looks like I can narrow down to the Hawk 250 DOT for the upgraded balance shaft or the Base Templar.

What is the remaining 10%? Back roads? If yes, why are you going the dual sport route at all? A small street bike, even like a Rebel 250, would be leaps and bounds better to run around town on.

Of course, if the remaining 10% is deep mud, then you gotta stay with the dual sport option.

[panzer77]

I would avoid the EFI simply for the reason you can fix carb issues or replace with a new carb. At your 90% road use, it sounds like you are really looking for a supermoto. The Templars are great bikes but they are more of a dirt or enduro bike. It would take a bit of work and more $$ to make them more street-friendly. You would want to replace the tires right away and make sure to have the front rim trued up and balanced. You will also have to deal with sprockets as they are geared low and not set up for cruising over 60-65. They are also tall and light, meaning they have stability issues with strong cross-winds when traveling at speed. The fuel tank will limit your range, 80-100 miles at best. You might be better off with a street bike of some type or something already setup like a Supermoto.

Tao Motor TBR7. https://taomotor.com/products/motorcycles/tbr7/

[Thumper]

So dangerous getting into the recommendations

I wonder what happened to Jeff (Peace Sports) and the awesome Recon with full sized wheels? I really liked my Bashan Storm with inverted forks. It was a nice dual sport. The Bashan Brozz and Recon were excellent bikes. There are some lucky owners out there.

We had very very bad luck with a TBR7. It was a Chinese COVID batch. Whoa.

The Bashans were before all that. You can still get the Storm. If you want a dual sport, I still think it is a good one.

[Do©Hawk]

I have a DLX EFI. It isn't the constant problem that everyone makes it out to be, but if you do have problems, solutions aren't as easy. I've popped a couple codes and it has its quirks, but for the most part, It's been great. it has similar shortcomings to all the others....loose things, marginal battery power, out of true wheels.... I ride it mostly on the road and can keep up with traffic on everything but the highway. I don't deal with much in the way of elevation changes, but in western PA, it does get cold and my EFI always starts without issue.

Take what I say with a grain of salt. My Hawk DLX is my 1st motorcycle and the only one I have any experience with. I can't recommend which China bike you should buy. I can only tell you about my limited experience with mine. Also, I bought it used. I have more than doubled the miles on the odometer since last September, currently at 2230 miles.

[XLsior]

Other than the 6 speed counterbalanced engine on the templar X. choosing a dirt/dualsport for 90% road use might be the wrong choice from the start. If you're lane splitting and urban filtering the grom clones and perhaps the newer CT125 clones would be a better match.



If you need to punch down a highway/freeway often then something with 40hp+ might be better.



Can the 250cc dualsports do that stuff...sure. But they're much more at home in a rural back road atmosphere where potholes abound.

[crixster]

Originally Posted by red2003

What is the remaining 10%? Back roads? If yes, why are you going the dual sport route at all? A small street bike, even like a Rebel 250, would be leaps and bounds better to run around town on.

Of course, if the remaining 10% is deep mud, then you gotta stay with the dual sport option.

The end location for the bike will be in the Bahamas. So the 10% will be sandy areas or limestone roads. Street bikes wont do, some of the paved streets sometimes suffer from potholes where in my experience dual sports are that much better.

I appreciate all the input guys. Still leaning toward either the Hawk X due the large support base of resources or base templar. Still undecided guys!