Can someone help me pick which bike to get?

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

Choice on bike will also depend on you height or inseam measurement. The Hawk/TT250/Enforcer with 21/18" wheels is tall and more for the 5'10" and taller. Storm and Magician with 19/17" wheels is more for the vertically challenged.

The Seat Concepts seat for the TT250 drops the seat height down to a manageable 32-33 inches. Plus, with rider sag setup properly, once the rider weight is on the bike, anybody with a 30" inseam should be able to comfortably put their feet on the ground, or at least get the front of both feet down. It bolts right up to all 3 of the 21/18 bikes Hawk/TT/Enforcer.

Weirdly, the Magician has the second highest seat height at 32 inches, while the specs for the Storm show it to be the ultimate bike for the short legged at just under 29". Personally, I would get a Storm over a Magician for multiple reasons, especially for off-road use.

[Hawk 229cc]

Originally Posted by GaryBD

I'm not sure if this is older or newer generation. What is the best way to tell?

http://www.saferwholesale.com/DF-250...-df-250rte.htm

I noticed that some of the older one's had rear drum brakes. And how bad are the older generation bikes? Do the rims fail frequently, do the engines tend to fail more frequently? I guess if I found an old gen I really liked for a good price, how strong would the recommendation be to not buy. I definitely don't want a lemon that doesn't run well or breaks down very easily. But if a rim failed, I could replace.

no matter who you buy from hope it goes well i found the worse one to be saferwholsale research the issues ,i had a hicup with txmotorsports ,but had my mco in 3 days an the bike in 7 days from the day i paid an they made one mistake right an refunded me for it ,they all have issues but not everyone has problems, get the hawk an make it what you want ,if your not very tall get the storm or the magiean

[GaryBD]

Im leaning toward just buying a hawk which has been suggested. Its find as is but if i decide to do some cosmetic stuff i have a few questions.

1) what is the function of the gas tank covers? Can the bike be used without them? Do they aid in air cooling at all or more just physicsl protection.

2) Has anyone switched out to round or square headlights. I see round universal type headlights 6 or 7” mentioned. Looks like a switch out would not be hard but I wasn’t sure if the wiring behind that plastic housing was needed to tuck/ protect wires etc.

3) are there any bike plastic kits you can modify to fit easily on the hawk.

I think lowering/cutting back the front fender, removing gas tank covers, placing vintage style round headlight, 1 or 2 round mirrors, and black tubular style rack would change the look quite a bit. Cost of those mods could be very low.

In summary is it a bad idea to switch out headlight to one with no housing (like magician). Or removing gas tank covers?

[Hawk 229cc]

Originally Posted by GaryBD

Im leaning toward just buying a hawk which has been suggested. Its find as is but if i decide to do some cosmetic stuff i have a few questions.

1) what is the function of the gas tank covers? Can the bike be used without them? Do they aid in air cooling at all or more just physicsl protection.

2) Has anyone switched out to round or square headlights. I see round universal type headlights 6 or 7” mentioned. Looks like a switch out would not be hard but I wasn’t sure if the wiring behind that plastic housing was needed to tuck/ protect wires etc.

3) are there any bike plastic kits you can modify to fit easily on the hawk.

I think lowering/cutting back the front fender, removing gas tank covers, placing vintage style round headlight, 1 or 2 round mirrors, and black tubular style rack would change the look quite a bit. Cost of those mods could be very low.

In summary is it a bad idea to switch out headlight to one with no housing (like magician). Or removing gas tank covers?

dont need the covers ,if you like your legs to hug the bike there kinda there for that, headlight stock
one works for me,other then replace with better bulb,seen a guy who cut the rear fender right out youtube video , stock mirrors work great for me but lots of guys replace them ,there is a rack that fits ,i think from like the storm 250,i see a few guys with no covers from dumping the bike ,but guess its fine without for them ,i like the bike covers,but i can see how they could break real easy when dirt bikeing with it or dumping it

Dont know about the plastics kits i would like to know if they have replacements for the 2 front ones though ,for me when my legs hug the bike they do seem to be in the right spot to feel like one with the bike ,but dont need to do it either ,i would think for most just for looks

[GaryBD]

Thanks everyone for helping. I have a few questions about the magician.

1) is it the same engine as hawk? Same horsepower torque etc

2) can i just change a sprocket to get a higher top speed? (Related to question 1 im sure)

3) any easy fixes on that front fender to raise it? Am i the only one that thinks its odd looking?

[JerryHawk250]

The magician has the same engine as the HAWK. But I think you will be happier with the HAWK. The hawk has a larger fuel tank. More off road friendly. Easier to find parts for the HAWK and lots of technical support here.

[GaryBD]

Thanks everyone for the advice. And I really appreciate the CSC TT250 enthusiasm I think CSC is a great company.

I chose the Hawk because of owner support from other owners, parts easy to find, good reputation for reliability. Its also easier to get the wife on board for $1400. It looks easy to modify if I want.

I am buying from Q9Powersports

https://q9powersportsusa.com/collect...owersports-usa

Seems like they had good reviews on this site, lay away was available, and customer interaction was very good so far.

I will repost to let everyone know how the buying process goes ...

*****************************************
I still remain curious about this bike and others like it:
https://www.motobuys.com/fleetwood-2...ro-db07-k.html

Over the last few weeks, I've done a lot of "window shopping" on these bikes, and in part I didn't get this one because I didn't know what I would actually receive.
1) the engine is listed as a "229" but look substantially different from hawk
2) sometimes they list disk brake but have drum
3) they are mostly photo shopped as far as color goes
4) the specs are not correct frequently or questionable, for example the "hawk 4" from safer wholesale looks like a great deal but has a lower top speed around 55mph. The "lancer" from motobuys is something like 70+mph.
5) sometimes the pics have different rear view mirrors.

In short these bikes look nice. Its hard for me to commit to a buy if I don't actually know what I'm getting.

Still, if I had a few extra k and and extra garage space I might order one just to see what I get.

[Megadan]

It is hard to go wrong with a Hawk with this site and if you have the wrenching ability. It isn't a perfect bike, but it isn't hard to iron out the kinks and turn it into the perfect bike for you.

[Jeff Richardson]

Gary I noticed these things too when helping my dad get the Bashan Storm 250. Same as Fleetwood except smaller rims and street-type tires.

1) The engine is different. It's counterbalanced. Also seems to have some cooling fins at the bottom Hawks don't have.
2) Newer models have discs.
3) Yeah the pics suck on most sites.
4) Gearing. The Hawk has 15/50 sprockets whereas the Storm has 17/46. My hawk with a tuned carb and eBay exhaust does 62mph at 400 miles of break-in while the storm completely stock right after assembly did 58mph (GPS speedo because the stock one reads 6mph faster). That's me riding both at 265lbs. Ngk plugs.
5) Some of those pics where really, really old. I can say the storm came with the same mirrors as my hawk. Only difference is they're DOT stamped.

Congrats on the Hawk! That would be my pick if I did it all over again. The Storm is also a really good value. Probably wins on looks. Could use a little more travel in the rear suspension though.

[Jeff Richardson]

Fleetwood looked like the older gen Storm 250 actually. We got it $1625 to the door and that was definitely the cheapest possible. Has the inverted forks, rear disc and slightly different/better headlight and farings. Didn't look close enough last night.

[JerryHawk250]

You can't go wrong with the Hawk. It's been proven a reliable bike when properly assembled and maintained. What I liked about mine was it was like buying a kit bike and customizing it to my liking. While waiting for your bike to come in I would read through Megadan's thread to familiarize yourself with what to look for while assembling the bike. Just take your time and go through the whole bike and it will last a long time.

[GaryBD]

Here is my experience so far:

I ordered a Red Hawk from Q9 Powersports.
They were pretty easy to get a hold of and knowledgeable.
The told me to call for a tracking number in 2 days and I called back and got it.

Road Runner is the carrier. It was shipped from Texas went to Indiana, then to Chicago. It was unloaded on July 1st from carrier truck, and supposed to be reloaded onto new carrier truck headed towards me.

After calling road runner a few times, they basically said it was unloaded, but not reloaded/transferred onto the new truck and is more or less missing. They are requesting a search for the box at the Chicago location and if they do not find in a few days I have to report it stolen or lost and request a refund.

So overall decent experience with Q9 Powersports so far, but shipping not going so well currently.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by GaryBD

Here is my experience so far:

I ordered a Red Hawk from Q9 Powersports.
They were pretty easy to get a hold of and knowledgeable.
The told me to call for a tracking number in 2 days and I called back and got it.

Road Runner is the carrier. It was shipped from Texas went to Indiana, then to Chicago. It was unloaded on July 1st from carrier truck, and supposed to be reloaded onto new carrier truck headed towards me.

After calling road runner a few times, they basically said it was unloaded, but not reloaded/transferred onto the new truck and is more or less missing. They are requesting a search for the box at the Chicago location and if they do not find in a few days I have to report it stolen or lost and request a refund.

So overall decent experience with Q9 Powersports so far, but shipping not going so well currently.

Typical shipping problem with most of these companies. Only trucking company I know that has there stuff together is Saia motor freight. Most of the rest of them will screw it up one way or another. Good luck.

[Its_not_a_honda]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

Typical shipping problem with most of these companies. Only trucking company I know that has there stuff together is Saia motor freight. Most of the rest of them will screw it up one way or another. Good luck.

It is really unbelievable how these companies stay in business. Do they do this with every kind of package or just China bikes? I know they don't pay the people doing the actual work very good. That would make them not give a crap about how or when they get to the packages.But the bad business should make people not use their services. If I was selling something, I would use only the best shipping company.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by GaryBD

Road Runner is the carrier.

Not to dishearten you, but that right there is the problem.

Roadrunner Transportation is a terrible company. Massive debt combined with poor management. They have a reputation of losing or damaging freight and are in serious financial trouble because of it.

If they do happen to find it, do NOT sign the paperwork until you inspect the bike for damage. If it is damaged, refuse delivery.

It may sound like a silly reason to some people, but the specific reason I bought BOTH of my Hawks from Killermotorsports was because they ship with SAIA. I probably sound like a broken record, but SAIA is THE best LTL carrier out there. Evidenced by the fact that both of my Hawks arrived on time and in perfect working order.

If you do have to get a refund and re-order, ask them if they can ship through SAIA. R&L Carriers would be my second pick.