Hello everyone

[Wigwam Jones]

I'm yet another of those older guys returning to riding after many decades away from it. I have always ridden smaller bikes, mostly 250cc, my favorite. I have owned a couple Yamahas and Suzukis over the years. I used to do crazy stuff like ride a 250cc cross country, WOT for 4 days. Those days are gone, but I recently bought an 82 Yamaha SR250, just like the one I owned new back in the day. It needs work, and I can't trust it for any kind of riding at the moment. Forget riding cross-country, I can't trust it to make it around the block.

I have been looking around a lot at various options in the 250cc range, and it's pretty clear that for the money, I can't beat an RPS Hawk or Magician, even though I'm not much of a trail rider anymore (and no real places to ride off-road around here anyway). So I'm definitely planning to do more street riding.

I'm really fond of the so-called "Universal Japanese Motorcycle" style, sometimes known as a cafe style bike or a British style bike. I love the look of the SYM Wolf Classic 150 and the Cleveland Cyclewerks Ace 250, but if price wasn't an issue, I'd love to have a Suzuki TU250X. But for half the price of the Suzuki, I think I could handle a Chinese 250 that wasn't exactly in line with my preferences as far as looks go.

I have been reading a lot of the very informative posts here as well as looking at the Youtube videos many of you have put online, and I thought I should go ahead and join the forum and introduce myself.

[Megadan]

Welcome aboard!

Depending on a few things, the Hawk is a great option for a budget friendly bike. The only real drawback to the Hawk is that it is a bit on the tall side, and it needs a little tinkering to become what I would call a solid bike, but it has all the right stuff.

Between the Magician and the Hawk, personally, I would do the Hawk. Sprocket choices are cheap and easy, where the Magician rear sprocket is from a bike we didn't get here in the US, and there aren't a lot of affordable choices. I primarily use my Hawk as an on-road bike, although I do like to do an occasional dirt path or two. I am simply wearing out the knobby tires that came on it and I plan on going to a more street oriented tire. If you want purely road use, there are a couple of touring/cruiser tires that come in sizes that will work on the Hawk wheels. All of that said, the Magician is a far better road bike out of the box, so it could still be a great option for you, and a larger front sprocket seems to be good enough for most of the Magician owners out there. It also has rim sizes that will make it easier to find road tire options, and it's a bit lighter than the Hawk. It's also shorter rider friendly.

You could also look into the Bashan Storm or Brozz, essentially just like the Hawk, but a few small improvements out of the box. There is also the CSC TT250, essentially just like the Hawk and Bashan bikes, but better suspension and CARB legal. A little more expensive, but good support from CSC and will have zero issues with registering for road use in any state.

I also love the Standard and "cafe" style bikes, and at one point I also considered the Cleveland Cyclewerks Misfit Gen 2, but I couldn't justify the price vs. a lot of complaints about the quality of the bikes. You can buy 2 hawks, or a Hawk and a Magician, for less than one of their bikes.

Personally, I wish there were more bikes on the Market like said standard/Cafe style bikes. I would have bought one over my Hawk if the price was right. There are a few cruisers out there though, and more modern looking sport bike style bikes, but not many standards.

[Wigwam Jones]

Originally Posted by Megadan

Welcome aboard!

Depending on a few things, the Hawk is a great option for a budget friendly bike. The only real drawback to the Hawk is that it is a bit on the tall side, and it needs a little tinkering to become what I would call a solid bike, but it has all the right stuff.

That's what I've been reading! And I'm not averse to doing a few things myself, especially on a new bike where I have some idea what's going on. I am not fond of trying to diagnose problems with used vehicles where the previous owner did who knows what.

I'm 5-10 and weigh about 225-ish, so I'm not short but not tall. I believe I have about a 31 inch inseam. I suppose I could deal with the slightly taller seat of the Hawk without too much trouble.

Between the Magician and the Hawk, personally, I would do the Hawk. Sprocket choices are cheap and easy, where the Magician rear sprocket is from a bike we didn't get here in the US, and there aren't a lot of affordable choices. I primarily use my Hawk as an on-road bike, although I do like to do an occasional dirt path or two. I am simply wearing out the knobby tires that came on it and I plan on going to a more street oriented tire. If you want purely road use, there are a couple of touring/cruiser tires that come in sizes that will work on the Hawk wheels. All of that said, the Magician is a far better road bike out of the box, so it could still be a great option for you, and a larger front sprocket seems to be good enough for most of the Magician owners out there. It also has rim sizes that will make it easier to find road tire options, and it's a bit lighter than the Hawk. It's also shorter rider friendly.

I'm definitely waffling back and forth between the two. I see your points both ways. I like the fact that the Hawk seems to adhere cleanly to the DIY ethic, so there's lots of people who have blazed the trail and left the breadcrumbs for others to follow, and a thriving third-party market for add-ons. Kind of reminds me of the Raspberry Pi folks if you are into the computer stuff at all.

You could also look into the Bashan Storm or Brozz, essentially just like the Hawk, but a few small improvements out of the box. There is also the CSC TT250, essentially just like the Hawk and Bashan bikes, but better suspension and CARB legal. A little more expensive, but good support from CSC and will have zero issues with registering for road use in any state.

I see that CSC TT250, looks nice, and I read an article in one of the moto mags recently about their RX3, I think it was that they did a cross-country trek on. I also see that they have a cafe-style 250 coming 'soon'.

I like the CSC and the 'street legal' options they offer. I am in Michigan and I've read here that at least one other person has managed to title/register and get plates on their Hawk here, which is reassuring. On the other hand, some here have also said that some states are 'cracking down' on the EPA 'dirt bike' registrations and refusing to plate bikes for on-road use that they formerly allowed. This worries me. I'm not made of money - if I can't get the Hawk titled and on the road legally, it's going to suck. I am at an age where I'm a little risk-averse that way. I want to save money - I don't want to fight city hall so to speak.

So that's something for me to consider, as well as the notion that it appears some of these vendors are hit-or-miss. Sometimes everything goes well, other times buyers either get damaged goods that they can't get repaired under warranty, or the wrong bike shows up and they get cursed out when they complain, or they get ignored completely, or the legal docs don't show up for months, if ever, and the entire thing is kind of blown off with a big shrug like we're a third-world country all of a sudden now.

I also love the Standard and "cafe" style bikes, and at one point I also considered the Cleveland Cyclewerks Misfit Gen 2, but I couldn't justify the price vs. a lot of complaints about the quality of the bikes. You can buy 2 hawks, or a Hawk and a Magician, for less than one of their bikes.

Exactly. And on top of it, although I do dearly love those motorcycles, I *have* a standard/cruiser bike now, my 82 Yamaha SR250 Exciter. It is not running well - but I can get it fixed up, and I will do so. Do I need two similar bikes?

These are the questions I am asking myself mentally. So then, what do I want to buy a bike for anyway? Well, I think the reason is that having bought the Yamaha recently and gotten the bug again - having the wind in my face really woke me up until the bike broke repeatedly. What I want is to ride, not wrench. I don't mind wrenching a bit here and there; but I want a bike I can depend upon if I ride out an hour or so from the city with my camera and a sense of wanderlust. That takes the pressure off for me to get my Yamaha restored/repaired; I can take my time with it and not feel like the riding season is passing me by.

So yeah, a Hawk sounds cool to me. Or a Magician. The Magician looks like the old Yamaha Tricker, which is what I guess it is patterned after. Kind of retro cool. The Hawk's style doesn't appeal to me, I have to say that. To me, dirt bikes look like an old Suzuki TC with a high-low range switch on the transmission. When I walked away from motorcycles long ago, a dirt bike looked like what they now call a Scrambler, kinda.

But then again, at the price, do I really care about the looks?

Personally, I wish there were more bikes on the Market like said standard/Cafe style bikes. I would have bought one over my Hawk if the price was right. There are a few cruisers out there though, and more modern looking sport bike style bikes, but not many standards.

The one thing I thought would be interesting with the Hawk would be to be able to just modify or customize it any old way I decided to, like the time I put 69 Couger taillights in my 72 Ford Maverick. I'd love to see what the Hawk looks like with all that bolted on hoo-hah removed, just the frame and motor.

Thanks so much for responding to my post! I have ready many of your posts and have enjoyed them. I see you're from Omaha; back in the day, I lived in Lavista and worked at the Weird Harold. My mom and one of my sisters still live in Papillion. Good times living there.

[Megadan]

It's always a small world lol. You find Nebraskan's all over the place, and it's always like an instant best friend when you find one.

In regards to your idea on the Hawk with all the stuff removed. Honestly, I considered that too. Personally, I think there are two things you could do to a Hawk to make it look a lot different. First, find a more traditional fork mounted style front fender instead of the dirt bike style one. That would change the look quite a bit. Second, if you were going for a road bike, smaller diameter and wider rims on the wheels - aka supermoto style, with street tires. If you did that and maybe changed the rear shock and could put in shorter front forks, like the Magician units (not sure if those are actually shorter), to lower the bike down a couple of inches then it would look a lot more like some of the modern naked sport bikes on the market, like the FZ07/09, Z900, etc.

[BlackBike]

Sounds to me like you are describing the csc cafe. (If it actually ever comes up for sale)

[Wigwam Jones]

Originally Posted by BlackBike

Sounds to me like you are describing the csc cafe. (If it actually ever comes up for sale)

I really like what I've seen so far. However, the CSC pricing puts them within distance of other brands who offer similar models, such as CCW (tha ace), and Suzuki (TU250X).

Also, although I'm not in a tearing hurry, I'd like to get riding again soon. But yeah, I'm interested.

[Megadan]

The Hawk sounds like it would be a good option then. IMHO there are only a few things that need to be done to a Hawk once it is assembled properly to be good out of the box. The necessary one is carb tuning. Beyond that, a smaller rear and/or a larger front sprocket to make it better geared for road use. This is how my bike currently sits and I am happy with it

Then, while not necessary but nice to have, is the Hawk digital tach cluster so you have an accurate speedo as well as a tach, and either gutting the cat or the aftermarket exhaust and the airbox mod. Because who doesn't like more power? lol

[BlackBike]

Let's not forget the rz3. For crying out loud, it's still only available still thru "pre-order"! This 9ne has been announced since last summer and still not available for purchase

So close , now the trade war to begin , too bad.

[goat67]

Wigman Jones

Welcome I too just got involved with bikes again. I would check out the offerings from CSC.

Missed ya from the other forum you used to frequent.

[kirbo7106]

Welcome to the forum! I think a lot of your concerns are shared by many people on this forum. I'm also interested in the offerings from CSC. Keep us posted on what you end up doing.

Have a great day!

[Heedehcheenuh]

Hello and Welcome aboard!

Heedehcheenuh
Chuck D
Ride on.....

[Wigwam Jones]

Originally Posted by goat67

Wigman Jones

Welcome I too just got involved with bikes again. I would check out the offerings from CSC.

Missed ya from the other forum you used to frequent.

Yes, I miss that 'other' forum also. If it's the one I think it is.

As to CSC, I really do like what I see, but they sure do know how to make choices difficult! Their prices (and I'm sure they are worth what they are asking) are just at the tipping point for me - none of the styles they currently offer really appeal to me - but I'd settle for a style I don't care for if the price is in the Hawk / Magician territory, you know? Once we get up to the 3K range, I am finding it harder to mentally justify not getting a Suzuki or a Honda or even something from CCW. Heck, I keep see-sawing back and forth on the SYM Tiger Classic, even though it's a 150. Argh. Choices!

It's not CSC's fault that I'm not fond of the modern styles; I understand that they are super popular and I get it. But I'm old and just don't care for the design. Would I do it? Yes, if the price justified it. And then probably do something awful to it.

[Weldangrind]

Welcome, Wigwam Jones! Thanks for joining us.

[goat67]

Originally Posted by Wigwam Jones

Yes, I miss that 'other' forum also. If it's the one I think it is.

As to CSC, I really do like what I see, but they sure do know how to make choices difficult! Their prices (and I'm sure they are worth what they are asking) are just at the tipping point for me - none of the styles they currently offer really appeal to me - but I'd settle for a style I don't care for if the price is in the Hawk / Magician territory, you know? Once we get up to the 3K range, I am finding it harder to mentally justify not getting a Suzuki or a Honda or even something from CCW. Heck, I keep see-sawing back and forth on the SYM Tiger Classic, even though it's a 150. Argh. Choices!

It's not CSC's fault that I'm not fond of the modern styles; I understand that they are super popular and I get it. But I'm old and just don't care for the design. Would I do it? Yes, if the price justified it. And then probably do something awful to it.

I know how ya feel about the CSC bikes but they really are the best bang for the buck.

I looked at a new Kawi 300 Versys and it is in the 6K plus range.

You can get a used nice 650 Versys for around the same or a bit less.

I have the Brozz and love it but it will not take it on the freeway it can not get going that fast.

Others have recommended a Suzuki I believe it is a DM or another 650 range Dual sport but I find these too big. I would rather get a street bike then like the Versys.

Well enough ramblin I wish you luck in finding the ride.
I would stay away from the Magician. The Hawk is nice the Bashan like I have is also nice a little step up from the Hawk.

PS
The initials from the other site are AK

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by goat67

The initials from the other site are AK

Please share. It's no problem to reference another forum here.