Hawk 250 for my first bike

[Ichrisbot]

Hi all,
this is my first post here, just recently got my Hawk 250 for my first bike after doing a lot of reading around here. Ended up ordering it from TXpowersports.com for about $1370 shipped, I was happy to get it so quickly after ordering it last Tuesday and receiving it on Friday.

I don't have any prior experience with bikes, but do have some mechanical abilities, and fortunately my brother used to be a mechanic and has plenty of knowledge and tools. Assembly of the bike took a while, and I was a little nervous putting it together without any instructions, but everything appears to be solid and it runs!

Got a photo after initial assembly, before putting any of the plastics on:



A few questions for you guys:
It looks like there is a sensor or something behind the right footpeg, can anyone tell me what the purpose of this part is? I can snap a closer photo of this tonight, it's very hard to see in this photo. It's a black body secured in place with 2 nuts, and has a metal tip sticking out of the bottom. The tip feels spring loaded, and I can pull it out a little bit and the spring pulls it back in.
I circled where the part is here:



Second issue, I probably should have checked all of the spokes for tightness before riding, as the front rim got bent fairly easily after my brother had a very minor, low-speed run in with a pole (released the clutch thinking it was in neutral after parking the bike). Handlebars got tweaked as well, but I was able to get everything re-aligned pretty easily. Not the bike or wheel's fault, and afterwards I watched a video on how to adjust the spokes to true the wheel, but I wasn't able to get it perfectly straight. I'll probably get a pro to do it, it sounds like the local shop does it for a good price, but I'd like to get an extra set of wheels since I plan on doing trail riding with this thing. I'll definitely get a spoke torque wrench for my tool kit, but has anyone else found that the wheels are weak or did I probably just have loose spokes? Is it worth getting an extra set of non-chinese wheels for the bike?


Lastly, the clutch lever makes my foot feel very cramped. I wear size 12 boots and when I up shift, it feels like my foot is trapped between the peg and the lever. Is there an easy to install shift lever that is a little longer, or should I plan on modifying whatever I get to fit?

[jjn]

Sounds like the part you are describing might be the brake light switch for the rear brake.

I am on the verge of ordering one of these. I thought black would be my first choice, followed by red. Looks like the seat height is 35.4 inches, which I could probably handle. My last dual sport was a 2005 KLR650, which I think is 35".

One gent that bought a Hawk put a 16 tooth front sprocket on, which made it a little more relaxed at 50mph. He tried a 17, but the gearing was too high for the bike he said.

[Weldangrind]

Welcome! I think you made a good choice.

Please show us a pic of the shifter.

The rims aren't that great, but at least they're aluminum. You could always buy replacement rims and have them laced to the existing spokes and hubs. Excel makes a good product at a fair price, and IIRC, they're available in several different colours.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by jjn

Sounds like the part you are describing might be the brake light switch for the rear brake...

I agree.

[SpudRider]

Welcome; we are glad you joined us.

While you are looking for a longer shift lever, you can create more space by rotating the stock lever upward a notch or two.

[jjn]

By the way, I believe you stated that this is your first motorcycle. I am firmly of the belief that starting out on a small dual sport bike is the best way to get into motorcycling. It's the way I started out 54 years ago, and I made the right choice. Learn the basics in the dirt. No cars to have to worry about. Dirt is a lot softer than pavement, and road rash is a lot less severe on the dirt. You'll learn how the bike reacts in all kinds of different circumstances, and this will help you stay healthy ion the streets. You'll be much more ready for, say, having the rear tire break loose in a corner, and how to react to that, and many other situations that you don't want to face for the fist time on the street.

And, I have met a lot of riders. Many street riders, when I ask them if they have ever ridden off road, give me a look like I'm speaking some other language. I am grateful that I have NOT missed out on the fun of off road riding, and have owned many dual sports, and street bikes, in my years of riding. Many street riders miss out on a lot of fun, and don't realize what they are missing.

[SpudRider]

Amen! Well said.

[Ichrisbot]

Originally Posted by jjn

Sounds like the part you are describing might be the brake light switch for the rear brake.

I am on the verge of ordering one of these. I thought black would be my first choice, followed by red. Looks like the seat height is 35.4 inches, which I could probably handle. My last dual sport was a 2005 KLR650, which I think is 35".

One gent that bought a Hawk put a 16 tooth front sprocket on, which made it a little more relaxed at 50mph. He tried a 17, but the gearing was too high for the bike he said.

After some googling and comparing to some other images, I think you're right. It also explains where this extra spring is supposed to go, lol.

FYI, I'm 6'1" and generally wear pants with 34-36" inseam and can keep feet flat comfortably if that helps for comparison. I've been reading up on changing the sprocket, but currently the bike feels pretty good and I don't plan on riding on any high speed roadways for a while.

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

Welcome! I think you made a good choice.

Please show us a pic of the shifter.

The rims aren't that great, but at least they're aluminum. You could always buy replacement rims and have them laced to the existing spokes and hubs. Excel makes a good product at a fair price, and IIRC, they're available in several different colours.

Thanks, I might pick up a new rim and spoke kit for the future, hopefully this wheel can be straightened out completely so I can beat it up for a while.

Originally Posted by jjn

By the way, I believe you stated that this is your first motorcycle. I am firmly of the belief that starting out on a small dual sport bike is the best way to get into motorcycling. It's the way I started out 54 years ago, and I made the right choice. Learn the basics in the dirt. No cars to have to worry about. Dirt is a lot softer than pavement, and road rash is a lot less severe on the dirt. You'll learn how the bike reacts in all kinds of different circumstances, and this will help you stay healthy ion the streets. You'll be much more ready for, say, having the rear tire break loose in a corner, and how to react to that, and many other situations that you don't want to face for the fist time on the street.

And, I have met a lot of riders. Many street riders, when I ask them if they have ever ridden off road, give me a look like I'm speaking some other language. I am grateful that I have NOT missed out on the fun of off road riding, and have owned many dual sports, and street bikes, in my years of riding. Many street riders miss out on a lot of fun, and don't realize what they are missing.

Originally Posted by SpudRider

Amen! Well said.

I hope it's the right choice. I was fortunate in that a coworker took me out for some riding before I made a decision on which bike I wanted to purchase. I got to try his 450cc Honda dirt bike which had way too much power and made me pretty nervous, I definitely felt like stepping down to a 250cc would be a good move. Even so, it doesn't feel too fast, but still enough power to push me up hills comfortable and whatnot. For the time being I'm limiting my riding to a small dirt lot near my shop, and at a local off-road park which has some natural terrain and an easy "trail-riding" track.

Thanks for the tips and info all!

[pismocycleguy]

Is the Hawk 250 currently available "legally" in California? I'm interested in purchasing one.
Has anyone on this Forum legally purchased and registered the current model Hawk 250 in California for legal street riding?
Anyone care to share the dealer/distributor they would recommend in California?
Can you buy them assembled as well as unassembled?
Also, what seems to be the current retail sales price for the Hawk?
Thanks,
PCG

[jjn]

According to powersportsmax.com, the bike is not legal in California.

Anyone have knowledge otherwise??

[SpudRider]

The CSC TT bike is similar to the Hawk, but it has USD forks and a counterbalanced engine. The TT bike will be CARB and EPA certified for all 50 states.

http://californiascooterco.com/blog/?p=17961

[wilserchinarider]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

The CSC TT bike is similar to the Hawk, but it has USD forks and a counterbalanced engine. The TT bike will be CARB and EPA certified for all 50 states.

http://californiascooterco.com/blog/?p=17961

Interesting quote from CSC web site.....

As originally delivered by Zongshen to us, the bike was woefully under-geared for the kind of riding I do (which is almost exclusively on the street). The stock sprocket set is a 15T/46T, and the bike would only hit about 62 mph with that gearing. My good buddy Gerry put a 17T on the front, and it completely changed the bike’s personality. The lower gears (first through fourth) were perfect, and I could easily run at 65 mph on the freeway in 5th. With the 17T countershaft sprocket (and less than 150 miles on the clock, most of them put there by me) the bike would touch 73 mph.

My findings also with the Hawk gearing, the real question is what would the TT performance be once EPA and Carb certified. The Hawk as originally imported is underpowered as tuned to meet US requirements IMO, but some carb jetting has greatly improved this, I wonder how much the cat. converter is stealing as well.


The real question for us is how the bike would stack up against other Chinese 250cc bikes. We think we’d do well, based on our after-sale customer support reputation and the fact that the other Chinese 250s are from fly-by-night suppliers who are basically making copies of the Zongshen 250 that do not have counterbalanced engines, or who offer no after-sale support, or who generally offer either a 30-day warranty or no warranty at all.

A tough question no doubt, when a similar, not identical bike is only $1350 shipped.

[SpudRider]

It's always good to have more choices.

[Ichrisbot]

I looked very hard at one of the RX3s for my first bike, but I think the TT would be more in line with what I'd really use (almost no street riding, except to get to the nearby trails). Any ideas on how much it's going to cost? I imagine it will be in the $3k ball park.

Anyways, here's some more photos of the bike with all the plastics on:

[SpudRider]

I don't think CSC has yet established a price for the Zongshen TT bike. However, I think the price will be much closer to $2,000 than $3,000. You might want to give them a phone call, and ask for any updated information.

http://www.cscmotorcycles.com/aboutus.asp