disappointed Hawk owner

[redneck51587]

Ok so I finally made time this morning to work on my hawk and install the 17 and 45 sprockets and chain. At the same time I installed my new wheel bearings and heavy duty Kenda inner tubes and rim strips. Let me say that I am not impressed with the performance after the sprocket change. Before, I had tons of torque and grunt throughout all RPM range. Now it is as if I have completely lost my first gear. Granted, top speed has significantly improved to the point where I haven"t even pegged it yet. I'm considering other sprocket options now since my hawk is practically useless in the dirt now because of no low gear and the loss of torque. If anyone has any suggestions feel free to let me know!

Rant over... lol

[JerryHawk250]

Have you do anything with the carb and exhaust yet? That's were you will get the biggest hp improvement .

[pete]

They really need a 6 speed box...
you have a clutch... make use of it..
most think the clutch plates ware out
if you fan/slip it all the time is not the case..
you will be suprised how much abuse a clutch will take..
the clutch is one of the tools to ride a bike in the dirt it's
not just for starting/stoping and gear changeing well
it's not even for gear changeing...
I know theres nothing like having the correct
gearing.. but a 5 speed box and low HP just
dosn't give you that option...

slipping the clutch will over heat the oil is BS... sitting in a line of traffic
will heat the oil more than slipping the clutch while moveing..
you are not slipping it for 100s of metres... it's a half second at a time..





.

[Megadan]

I had even taller gearing than you, and I probably weigh a good bit more than you, and I found my Hawk to have more than enough grunt to go off road.

As Jerry said, intake and exhaust mods and proper carb jetting will help quite a bit in the grunty department. Especially in the mid range.

In the end you will still have to find the right gearing combination that works for you. I changed rear sprockets 3 times before settling on a 43 tooth rear sprocket and just simply swapping front sprockets out depending on what I was planning to use the bike for. 17 front for commuter duty. 15 front for off-road. A front sprocket swap takes a matter of minutes.

[mac1029]

Ok from my experience i had done all the mods exhaust, air box, mikuni carb, and sprockets . Like you i was disappointed in the lack of torque so i switched back to a 15T front with the 45T rear, and ordered a 16T so i can find some compromise.
But what i think it really came down too is the engine wasnt broke in yet, as i couldnt get over 55mph with the taller gearing.
But all of a sudden after 100 miles on the engine, she started to open up and was getting more torque and top end speed (all of a sudden she became peppy).
Finally i have settled on a 16/45 combo as i am mostly going to be 50/50 riding.
My main point is wait for the engine to break in, i can get up to 74 mph now (still stock guages) with my current setup and still have enough torque to get the front wheel off the ground from start with a snap of the throttle.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by mac1029

Ok from my experience i had done all the mods exhaust, air box, mikuni carb, and sprockets . Like you i was disappointed in the lack of torque so i switched back to a 15T front with the 45T rear, and ordered a 16T so i can find some compromise.
But what i think it really came down too is the engine wasnt broke in yet, as i couldnt get over 55mph with the taller gearing.
But all of a sudden after 100 miles on the engine, she started to open up and was getting more torque and top end speed (all of a sudden she became peppy).
Finally i have settled on a 16/45 combo as i am mostly going to be 50/50 riding.
My main point is wait for the engine to break in, i can get up to 74 mph now (still stock guages) with my current setup and still have enough torque to get the front wheel off the ground from start with a snap of the throttle.

You nailed it on the head. Once you get some miles on it you will notice the increase in performance. I think we all experience the same thing.

[roundhouse]

I have the 17 45 sprocket combo. I did loose some low end but I would give that up any day for the top end. I guess if it was used 90% off road I might stick with the stock but I ride on the street 90% of the time. So what it is used for. I love it

[redneck51587]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

Have you do anything with the carb and exhaust yet? That's were you will get the biggest hp improvement .

I have installed and tuned the mikuni clone and have done the air box mod. The bike runs perfect it just doesn't have that grunt anymore

[redneck51587]

Originally Posted by Megadan

I had even taller gearing than you, and I probably weigh a good bit more than you, and I found my Hawk to have more than enough grunt to go off road.

As Jerry said, intake and exhaust mods and proper carb jetting will help quite a bit in the grunty department. Especially in the mid range.

In the end you will still have to find the right gearing combination that works for you. I changed rear sprockets 3 times before settling on a 43 tooth rear sprocket and just simply swapping front sprockets out depending on what I was planning to use the bike for. 17 front for commuter duty. 15 front for off-road. A front sprocket swap takes a matter of minutes.

I am probably the heaviest hawk rider in existence lol. At 6'2" and 340lbs my hawk would fly before I changed the sprockets. There was definitely much improvement with making the gears run out a lot longer with the new set up. I have several other bikes I ride on the street and I wanted to hawk for its intended dual sport purpose. I ride about 50/50 dirt and street. The terrain here is much like Nebraska, flat and boring. We have a ton of railroad tracks here and every one has cut trails through the easement. Basically, my hawk is just a toy. I do not and would not ever use it to commute since I have bikes more suited for that. I love in a very very small town, and usually just ride the streets for 3 blocks until I get out of town and can ride the fields or tracks.

[redneck51587]

I have tossed around the idea of putting the 15 tooth back on until I get 500 miles on the bike and then switch back and see how she rolls. I currently have 150 miles on it

[jimwildman]

Originally Posted by redneck51587

I have tossed around the idea of putting the 15 tooth back on until I get 500 miles on the bike and then switch back and see how she rolls. I currently have 150 miles on it

Totally unimpressed by a higher gear ratio, I want back to stock, size, but in 520 chain.. bike will max out at 55 on the road but it's the shit on the dirt.

Top speed is useless if it takes all day to get there.

Latley when I hit a big jump, or big enough bump, the kick starter will slam to full extension and the bike will whine like a pig until I stop and kill it. The kicker then slams back to normal, and the bike works like nothing happened.

I think somethings gone awry in the case. Anyone seen anything like that?

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by redneck51587

I am probably the heaviest hawk rider in existence lol. At 6'2" and 340lbs my hawk would fly before I changed the sprockets. There was definitely much improvement with making the gears run out a lot longer with the new set up. I have several other bikes I ride on the street and I wanted to hawk for its intended dual sport purpose. I ride about 50/50 dirt and street. The terrain here is much like Nebraska, flat and boring. We have a ton of railroad tracks here and every one has cut trails through the easement. Basically, my hawk is just a toy. I do not and would not ever use it to commute since I have bikes more suited for that. I love in a very very small town, and usually just ride the streets for 3 blocks until I get out of town and can ride the fields or tracks.

I live in Eastern Nebraska. Not that much flat here actually, lots of big rolling hills. That is part of the reason I didn't gear taller than a 43 rear, I needed to climb said hills.

Fwiw, I would say try a 47 to 50 rear with athe 17 front. You may like it more. 17/50 is what the tt250 comes with as standard.

[Hawk 229cc]

Originally Posted by jimwildman

Totally unimpressed by a higher gear ratio, I want back to stock, size, but in 520 chain.. bike will max out at 55 on the road but it's the shit on the dirt.

Top speed is useless if it takes all day to get there.

Latley when I hit a big jump, or big enough bump, the kick starter will slam to full extension and the bike will whine like a pig until I stop and kill it. The kicker then slams back to normal, and the bike works like nothing happened.

I think somethings gone awry in the case. Anyone seen anything like that?

if it was working go back to the way you had it ,its my understanding these bikes are not made for jumping ,i seen videos of guys bottoming out like big time with small jumps, never mind a big jump ,there just for the flat terrain
small bumps,where you live,the the fact that your a big guy ,i meen i am 260 myself i think you right at the weight limit for the bike too like you said ,big jumps on this bike got to hurt lots of things ,its a china bike too ,may want to upgrade the rear shock for that an go back to stock set up for gearing

weight capacity for the hawk 250 is 330lbs,

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by jimwildman

Totally unimpressed by a higher gear ratio, I want back to stock, size, but in 520 chain.. bike will max out at 55 on the road but it's the shit on the dirt.

Top speed is useless if it takes all day to get there.

Latley when I hit a big jump, or big enough bump, the kick starter will slam to full extension and the bike will whine like a pig until I stop and kill it. The kicker then slams back to normal, and the bike works like nothing happened.

I think somethings gone awry in the case. Anyone seen anything like that?

I think the simple soltion to the kick starter problem is a bungee cord around it clipped to the frame....ARH

[Sochin]

I've stuck with the 17-50 for 1800 miles, works good for Montana and the Rockies.