New Hawk, new adventures.

[Megadan]

Mild revamp of the Introduction page for 5/7/2020.

I wanted to change this to include all current upgrades and modifications as well as a full mods list breakdown for those that are interested. I will include links to some of the upgrades that may be harder to find.

Modifications:

Engine.
1. Ported/polished head with smoothed, deshrouded, and polished combustion chamber.
2. Head decked 1mm to increase compression ratio to over 10:1 (calculated 10.3:1)
3. NGK DPR8EIX-9 Spark Plug.
4. Shortened factory plug wire with NGK XDO5F plug cap with resistor removed.
5. 125ml sump drawn Oil Cooler. https://www.aliexpress.com/i/32913143396.html
6. Nibbi PE28FL carb.
7. Nibbi Racing angled air filter.
8. Nibbi "Performance" coil.
9. Ebay CRF230F Exhaust with factory muffler end cap installed and DEI Header wrap on head pipe.
10. Stainless Steel header studs and hardware.
11. WGK 1010851 "Bravo" 292 Cam
12. Roller Cam followers.
13. 4 degree Timing advance Key.
14. Adjustable CDI.
15. Single layer steel head gasket - Total compression 10.8:1

Chassis/Suspension/Brakes
1. YSS PD238 Fork valves with custom made adapters. Found through ebay out of Germany. 15wt oil.
2. Bashan Brozz rear swing arm. https://shop.brozz250.com/eshopprod_...ingArm_Kit.htm
3. Fast Ace Bs-22ar/bda01ar 280mm rear shock with 1000lb/in spring
4. Fork Brace.
5. Sintered brake pads front and rear.
6. Dot 5.1 Ravenol brake fluid.
7. New Master Cylinder with factory levers. (this style https://www.amazon.com/Lisyline-Univ..._t3_B078W4GRWJ )
8. Custom Jerryhawk250 Skid plate with center stand.
9. Goodrich banjo bolt brake switch for rear brake.


Chain, Sprockets, and shifter
1. DID VX2 520 Chain, 98 Links
2. Front Sprocket - JTF328 13 tooth
3. Rear Sprocket - JTR279 33 tooth
4. Honda Sprocket Studs - 90128-KE2-940
5. IMS Flightline Folding Shift Lever - model 312223 for XR400.

Tires
Shinko 700. Front 3.0x21 and Rear 4.6x18 with heavy duty IRC tubes.

Controls/Display
1. Digital Tach cluster sold by Matt (no longer available).
2. Renthal Fat Bars https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3278...archweb201603_
3. Adjustable riser adapters. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3283...archweb201603_
4. Quarter turn throttle assembly.
5. Progrip 737BK Grips.
6. Round swing-away style mirrors.

Lighting/Electrical.
1. Fanless H4 LED headlight from Superbright LEDs.https://www.superbrightleds.com/more...0-lumens/4444/
2. 1157 LED Tail/Brake bulb. https://www.superbrightleds.com/more...15d-bulb/2625/
3. Motogadget M-Blaze Pin turn signals. (from an old project) https://www.amazon.com/Motogadget-MG.../dp/B0145Q61N4
4. Cheap LED Spot lights with relay wiring harness and waterproof handlebar switch. (soon to be upgraded).
5. Upgraded main ground strap to 8awg wire.
6. YTZ7S Battery.
7. 4 position fuse panel and relays installed in modified air box.

Miscellanious
1. CSC TT250 rear luggage rack.
2. Shimmed front fender at rear bolts to angle away from oil cooler for clearance.
3. TT250 Seat

Current consistent top speed with mods and gearing is 74mph via GPS at around 8000rpm on the tachometer, but realistic sustained top speed is around 60-65mph for longer stretches. Acceleration is very strong through all of the gears.

A few pictures as it currently sits.

[pete]

705 would suit your local terrain a lot better by the look of it..



.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by pete

705 would suit your terrain a lot better...



.

In this instance it does. I also spend about half my time on country roads made of dirt or gravel, and occasional single and double track adventures. The 705's did ok at that, but the 700's have been much better so far.

Hard to tell from a few pictures, I know.

The funny thing is, I actually like the on-road handling of the 700 better.

If it helps, 98% of the land in my state essentially looks like this, or farms.

[pete]

rolling terrain...


no real hills/mountains ?


..

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by pete

rolling terrain...


..

Well, it is the central Great Plains. Rolling hills is kind of what this area is known for. That picture is just baby hills. some of the larger ones in North Central Nebraska are huge, and they roll on forever. Just watch Dances with Wolves and that will suffice to painting a picture.

It's also known for rocky terrain out west in the arid high altitude plains (about 4500-5500ft), including bluffs, canyons, lone rock pillars (Chimney Rock as one example). It looks like this.


Here on my end of the state, where nearly 80,000 miles of Rivers and streams - fun side fact, Nebraska technically has more waterfront land than any other state - all feed into the Platte and Missouri River (which both join about 40 minutes south of me, we enjoy more greenery, as well as more ancient bluffs. We have more dense forests (dense being a relative term here) and more wetlands.


I am very proud of where I come from, if it isn't obvious. One of my favorite off road parks is about 4 1/2 hours away from me at the Bessey Ranger District at the Nebraska National Forest. I took my last Hawk there, and I want to bring this one there as well for a motorcycle camping weekend. Ride there and back with all my kit on board.

[The_DJ_Remixer]

Awesome! I am heading to the UPS freight pick up to finally get my Hawk 250! So excited!

[OneLeggedRider]

I may have to get a pumper carb in the near future. Mine's running pretty good with the stock carb but I know it could be better.

I really like the lighter fork oil, I went with Victory/Polaris 7.5w. Southern Ohio doesn't spend much on road maintenance lol. And all the gravel hills are washboard around here. The fork rebound is actually better on the washboard than the monoshock so I probably need to adjust it.

Glad you got it where you want it overall, hopefully mine will be too soon lol.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by OneLeggedRider

I may have to get a pumper carb in the near future. Mine's running pretty good with the stock carb but I know it could be better.

I really like the lighter fork oil, I went with Victory/Polaris 7.5w. Southern Ohio doesn't spend much on road maintenance lol. And all the gravel hills are washboard around here. The fork rebound is actually better on the washboard than the monoshock so I probably need to adjust it.

Glad you got it where you want it overall, hopefully mine will be too soon lol.

For my forks the weight of the oil is mainly used to tune the rebound damping, though it does have a minor effect on low speed compression. With the fork valves in place, most of the compression damping is dependent on the valve itself. Currently have a 15wt oil in it and it is fairly close to what I want, but I may step down to 10wt.

My rear shock is actually pretty close to ideal for me. I managed to find a sweet spot where it is fast, but controlled.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by The_DJ_Remixer

Awesome! I am heading to the UPS freight pick up to finally get my Hawk 250! So excited!

Congrats! Don't let your excitement make you take shortcuts. Take the time to sort everything out as you assemble it and you will end up with a much better finished product that will give you far less problems as you ride it.

[The_DJ_Remixer]

Yessir, Ive been wrenchin on bikes as a hobby most of my life...I figure within a week it should be all together, as Im doing all the mods except the oil cooler...going to wait till 300 miles or so before I install it.

[The_DJ_Remixer]

This is #17. I have too many bikes and projects haha! My buddies Dad has 59 bikes, he helped me uncrate it today
How many bikes are in the photo? 3. The Hawk, the z400d1 and a xl80s in 1000 pieces on the shelves...

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by The_DJ_Remixer

This is #17. I have too many bikes and projects haha! My buddies Dad has 59 bikes, he helped me uncrate it today
How many bikes are in the photo? 3. The Hawk, the z400d1 and a xl80s in 1000 pieces on the shelves...

This Hawk would be my 16th bike in 18 years, so I am right there with you. I always tend to have two or three at a time, which usually works out for me since one always seems to need some sort of repair lol.

Great choice on the color by the way.

[Megadan]

So, after discovering that the price of the Hawk brake rotors went from a ridiculous $45 each to a ludicrous $65 each I decided to fix my warped rotor issue by going straight to the source and ordered a Pair of front and rear wave rotors off of TaoBao along with some "burned copper" (I am assuming it's just sintered) front and rear pads. So far, it has cost me $17 for all of that magnificence. Even if the shipping costs me another $20, it's still half the cost of just one rotor through the Manny network.

I will gladly wait a couple of weeks.

[Megadan]

Since I am stuck with the PZ30 Pumper carb a bit longer as I try to find an intake that will work, I figured I would correct and tweak the setup/tune on it and try to get it to behave just a bit better.

First thing I wanted to correct was the pumper jet nozzle orientation. In this picture the blue line represents what the jet spray angle was like out of the box. It functioned well enough as it was and didn't cause any running issues, but it bothered me. I now have it spraying in what is represented by the green line. Aimed right at the center of the carb exit, just next to the needle.



The nozzle itself is a press fit with a knurled end that simply fits into the hole. Using a bit of wood dowel I tapped it out. On the end of the nozzle is a notch that shows the direction of the nozzle. Using line of sight I tried to orient it the best I could with the center of the rear of the carb and then pressed it back in using a small bit of rod. It's a fiddley process to get it aimed and seated without the darn thing turning though.



The other thing I really wanted to correct was the throttle cam for the pumper plunger. I was having an issue with it binding and causing the throttle to have stiff points, the cam binding up against the flange and side of the carb due to slop, and getting stuck because the stop would end up past the protrusion on the carb body.

My solution was a simple one, a thrust washer between the bracket for the throttle cable and the cam itself. It turns nice and free now and functions just like it should.






Last but not least I decided to play around with my jetting. Since OneLeggedRider drilled his pilot jet and had nothing but good things to say about it, I decided to give it a try with the other stock K40A jet I had laying around from my first Hawk. One thing that makes it a lot easier to do without breaking bits is having a "Drill press" stand for my rotary tool. I managed to drill it without breaking a single bit. I also used a .4mm bit to line the rotary tool and jet in the clamp before stepping up to the .45 bit. That made sure everything was centered and lined up ahead of time, and then I just drilled very very slowly lol.

With my now 45 pilot jet in hand I installed it and played with the idle mixture, ending up at 1 7/8 turns out with the best idle. After going for a test ride my Main jet was just a TINY bit rich (small surge on roll off) so I stepped down to a 120 main from a 125. Needle is also now up to the third notch from the 4th to try and lean out the middle throttle range. This works much better with the larger pilot and properly aimed pumper nozzle, and should help a bit with fuel economy as well.

Air temp at the time of this setup was 60 degrees and about 50% humidity.

Synopsis. Much stronger off idle throttle response. While the 40 pilot was working just fine, it must have been having just the slightest of lean spots on throttle roll on. When cranking the throttle open from a stop or low speed she just leaps forward and picks the front end up pretty hard. Mid throttle roll on is perfect, and wide open is clean, but now a teeny tiny bit lean. I am waiting for a 122.5 jet in the mail, but I have a feeling the 120 main will be the right size once it gets hot here.

One thing I can tell though, now that the motor is broken in. The carb is definitely a restriction on the top end. She will wind out to 8000 in a hurry, but you can just tell it is being held back a bit. I can't wait to hopefully get the PWK30 installed so I can really compare the two.

As a side note, I am also considering stepping down to a 33 tooth rear sprocket. With the way the power is delivered now (immense low end and mid range torque) I think it could benefit from having a bit more gear under her for street duty. I already have a 12 tooth front on stand by. I am also doing so because the 4.6x18 Shinko 700 is smaller in diameter than the stock 110/100-18, so I am geared a lot more like a stock bike with a 17/47 setup.

My last little update for the day was installing a chain tensioner to the swing arm. With the rear shock having the back end so extended I am running about 2 inches of free play in the chain. This definitely helps take the lash out of the system. I am curious to see how long the roller lasts because it's not the greatest design and build quality. A loose bearing and a cotter pin. I may work on making something else to take its place since the roller is just mounted to a straight rod.

[OneLeggedRider]

Thanks for the recognition Dan and my bike is running amazingly well, I got it to 70mph today. But I know it's still running lean from the plug readings and the snap crackle pop when I let off the gas. So.. I've decided to get a different carb and start over. Haven't figured out which one yet but I will. And I'm considering taking this pilot to .5 before I ditch it, worst that can happen is I foul a plug lol. Also I feel that you're talents are being wasted, NASA needs good thorough engineers. 😊