Hawk Header Help Please!

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by blackhawkdown

Thanks brother and honestly I just want some extra hp gains specifically bottom end other than doing sprocket sprocket change there isnt much out there. I ride for hours upstate NY high elevation and also in NYC at sea level so i need reliability & on the fly tuning. Thats one big reason why when it comes to exhausts & carbs ive been leaning towards brand name. Ive seen jetting issues with clones and knock offs first person even after a friend took it to a "shop" still had issues (Keihin clone carb on banshee). Im swapping the carb out for a genuine mikuni with K&N clamp on foam filter and trying to get as much hp possible with a nice exhaust. Then again these hawks arent meant to handle a race quality beating but I wanna see it through i get the most outta mine.

Good idea. The head pipe is the worst I've ever seen for exhaust gas flow. At the minimum, change the head pipe, and you will be even happier if you use a copper o-ring gasket between head and pipe. I like the VM 26 Mikuni for this engine. Very easy to tune, and parts are easy to get. There are pages of info on that carb, if you hunt for them, on this forum. I would much rather have a more open muffler/spark arrester than a tachometer on an off road bike. You don't have time to be looking at a tach when you are going through the boonies. Your ear will quickly learn where you are at, rpm wise. The pilot jet, and the throttle cutaway control low end, up to 1/3-1/2 throttle. Ideally, when you have the right main jet in the carb, the needle will be in the middle slot. If necessary, raising the needle a notch richens the mixture, lowering the needle weakens it at up to 3/4 throttle. Hope this helps you.

[blackhawkdown]

Originally Posted by Ariel Red Hunter

Good idea. The head pipe is the worst I've ever seen for exhaust gas flow. At the minimum, change the head pipe, and you will be even happier if you use a copper o-ring gasket between head and pipe. I like the VM 26 Mikuni for this engine. Very easy to tune, and parts are easy to get. There are pages of info on that carb, if you hunt for them, on this forum. I would much rather have a more open muffler/spark arrester than a tachometer on an off road bike. You don't have time to be looking at a tach when you are going through the boonies. Your ear will quickly learn where you are at, rpm wise. The pilot jet, and the throttle cutaway control low end, up to 1/3-1/2 throttle. Ideally, when you have the right main jet in the carb, the needle will be in the middle slot. If necessary, raising the needle a notch richens the mixture, lowering the needle weakens it at up to 3/4 throttle. Hope this helps you.

Thanks for the encouragement hunter! There are so many dam vm 26s out there im having a hard time deciding on that too...these two genuine mikuni vm26s caught my eye although they are spigot mount so i would need a spigot to flange mount but let me know what you fellow bird gang members thing about these two on a hawk!!! They share the same jet types as a banshee i think stock which makes availability almost universal which i like...here they are

www.ebay.com/itm/New-Real-MIKUNI-26MM-carb-VM26-606-ROUND-SLIDE-CARBURETOR-/310776591031?hash=item485bba72b7:g:eUgAAOxy4dNS-Pep&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Mikuni-R...dWQkWS&vxp=mtr

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by blackhawkdown

Thanks for the encouragement hunter! There are so many dam vm 26s out there im having a hard time deciding on that too...these two genuine mikuni vm26s caught my eye although they are spigot mount so i would need a spigot to flange mount but let me know what you fellow bird gang members thing about these two on a hawk!!! They share the same jet types as a banshee i think stock which makes availability almost universal which i like...here they are

www.ebay.com/itm/New-Real-MIKUNI-26MM-carb-VM26-606-ROUND-SLIDE-CARBURETOR-/310776591031?hash=item485bba72b7:g:eUgAAOxy4dNS-Pep&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Mikuni-R...dWQkWS&vxp=mtr

Some how I missed this, blackhawkdown, my apologies. In my opinion, and if I was buying a carb for the Hawk, I would buy the VM26-8074. And I've got what I think are good reasons. I would never spend money for a carb that does not give me the absolute maximum performance, especially for less than a hundred bucks. This carb uses a cold start jet instead of a butterfly choke in the intake area. So what, do I hear you say? Because the butterfly and the shaft it is mounted on acts as a flow restricter on the intake side. If I'm spending my money, I want the maximum performance I can afford. I don't think the choke assembly really hurts performance until you are above half throttle. But I want it all. Now that's just my opinion. But it is based on working with this carburetors sisters as well as Mikuni's for more than sixty years. I have no opinion on square slide carbs. I only worked with round slide carbs. Like Amals, Dell Ortto's, Bings, Keihins and Mikunis.