New Hawk, new adventures.

[Megadan]

Small update. I managed to get my hands on a NOS CMX250 (Honda Rebel) 14 tooth front sprocket for a whopping 5 bucks from a guy in the local riders group I am a part of. If you didn't know, the front and rear sprockets for the 520 chain also fit the Honda Rebel.

Anyway, it is just a curiosity exercise, but I want to confirm if the 14 can work or not on a Hawk. I expect not, but 5 bucks is a small price to pay for information. Once I get some time I will report back with pictures.

[Megadan]

I can confirm that the 14 tooth is just a teeny tiny bit too bg. Unfortunate, if not too surprising.

[JerryHawk250]

Too bad that didn't work out. Do you think a 11 tooth would work and not be to small? I really want to do the 520 swap but like having a wide range of choices of 3 sprockets to be able to gear up for different types of riding like I do now with the 428 sprockets.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

Too bad that didn't work out. Do you think a 11 tooth would work and not be to small? I really want to do the 520 swap but like having a wide range of choices of 3 sprockets to be able to gear up for different types of riding like I do now with the 428 sprockets.

There are 11 tooth sprockets out there. PBI makes one that should work out of stainless steel for about $15.
https://www.ebay.com/p/PBI-352-11-St...02669579&rt=nc

I wouldn't consider the 11 too small, though I wouldn't run that as a daily gear.

I think for you, if you wanted to copy the 17/40, 16/40/ 15/40 options you would want a 30 rear. A 13/30 is near enough the same to a 17/40, a 16/40 and 12/30 are identical, and 15/40 and 11/30 are close to the same.

There is a 31 tooth option, but it wasn't sold here in the U.S. I had one on my last Hawk, and you can get them off of ebay for about $25 usually.

If I remember correctly I had 102 links with my 13/31 combo, so you would need either that or maybe 100 links exactly.

I was secretly hoping the 14 would fit, and honestly it might work if you flipped the sprocket and modified the sprocket cover. In the standard location the chain will rub against the protrusion that surrounds the sprocket/chain area from the engine case at about the 7-8 o'clock position. When I say it barely doesn't fit, I mean barely. We are talking about a 16th of an inch.

My hope was to be able to run a 14 front 35 rear, which with my tires would have been like a 17/42 on your bike, but then be able to swap down to a 12 front and have gearing equivalent to a 17/49 setup, or go extreme and swap in an 11 tooth and have a 3:1 gearing setup.

I think I will have to go back to a 31 tooth rear like I had before and snag myself an 11 front to achieve the same things.

This is why I want an engine with that .8 6th gear so much. Then I could have the best of all worlds without the sprocket swapping. a 17/48 equivalent combo would have the cruising RPM in 6th gear of our bikes with a 17/43 in 5th.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by jeffrey

Dan, That CB 200 that I used in my Storm had a 14 tooth 520 on it. The engine was in a 2007 Lifan GS200.

Could be a small variance with the way the engine cases were cast. Like I said, it barely doesn't fit. If I flipped the front sprocket it would work just fine, but I would have to cut away parts of the sprocket cover to make it work.

We shall see. I have no qualms with modifying the sprocket cover, and to be honest my chain alignment when the rear wheel is centered is actually not perfect because the front sprocket is a bit too inboard, so I might just do it. The only thing I hate about flipping the front sprocket is trying to get the bolts in. I might just drill the threads out of the sprocket and run a bolt through it and put a nut and lock washer on the other side to make it easier to install and remove. I already have a 12 front to swap out and that would give me much better off road gearing.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by jeffrey

This Lifan engine uses a JTF264 sprocket. The original 520 sprocket has a offset to it to the outside of the case.

That is kind of what I am getting at. These CG Clones in the Hawk put the sprocket fairly inboard towards the engine case. Without flipping the sprocket, they sit too close for a 14 tooth. Even with the 13 tooth in the standard position it is fairly tight with the sprocket cover and just barely contacts it when installing it, just like a 17 tooth with a 428 chain, though a tiny bit less.

If I flip the sprocket, then the cover definitely needs to be clearanced. It would keep the chain off of the engine case though.

Who knows, I might just go through with it, but not tonight. I just got done cleaning and adjusting my chain lol. No energy left for modifications. I was hoping my Nibbi carb would have arrived by now so I could have installed it, but alas... nothing.

[OneLeggedRider]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

Too bad that didn't work out. Do you think a 11 tooth would work and not be to small? I really want to do the 520 swap but like having a wide range of choices of 3 sprockets to be able to gear up for different types of riding like I do now with the 428 sprockets.

Dont fret Jerry, I'll lead your hand on this journey to the 520 club..

But on a serious note I will get the 13 tooth which will net me about a 17/43 ratio with my 33 tooth rear sprocket. And I seriously doubt you'd need to go lower than the 12/33-16/45 ratio I've got now, I can putt around the Reclaim on some pretty technical trails without slipping the clutch, just gotta be gentle with the throttle.

But I haven't ordered anything other than boat parts/accessories for a minute because I've got bigger plans in the works and my toy budget only goes so far.

[Megadan]

So, I went on a longer ride today, about 80 miles-ish. I discovered a new side effect of my "high output" engine with that big oil cooler flowing hot air above the motor when riding on a hot day (91 degrees and 87% humidity!) My seat actually gets kinda warm now lol. So does my fuel tank for that matter. I have a whole square sheet of that gold heat reflective foil sitting around not doing anything. I think I may line the underside of my tank with it, and if I have any left I might try to stick some to the seat. Might not do a whole lot, but it has to be better than nothing. Cool fuel is happy fuel, right? Cool crotch is definitely happy crotch for sure.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by OneLeggedRider

Dont fret Jerry, I'll lead your hand on this journey to the 520 club..

But on a serious note I will get the 13 tooth which will net me about a 17/43 ratio with my 33 tooth rear sprocket. And I seriously doubt you'd need to go lower than the 12/33-16/45 ratio I've got now, I can putt around the Reclaim on some pretty technical trails without slipping the clutch, just gotta be gentle with the throttle.

But I haven't ordered anything other than boat parts/accessories for a minute because I've got bigger plans in the works and my toy budget only goes so far.

I'll probably go with the 31 tooth because the 30 will put me a little higher than I want with a 13 tooth on front. The 12/31 will be fine for most of the off road riding I do. There are a couple of place we go ride that have some pretty steep hills and the 11/31 would be perfect there. I need billy goat mode there. lol

[Megadan]

So, my Nibbi PE30 has failed to arrive on time. Contacted the seller and they are going to mail me a new one. Without any tracking information it is impossible for me to know if it got lost or delivered to the wrong house, etc. I don't understand why these sellers don't spend the extra buck on tracking. It makes everybody happier in the long run.

[dpl096]

Originally Posted by Megadan

So, my Nibbi PE30 has failed to arrive on time. Contacted the seller and they are going to mail me a new one. Without any tracking information it is impossible for me to know if it got lost or delivered to the wrong house, etc. I don't understand why these sellers don't spend the extra buck on tracking. It makes everybody happier in the long run.

I had same experience...since then I always offer to pay a little extra if the seller will provide the tracking..most say no problem...a few have said if I want that extra service to buy somewhere else.........and I did/do.

[Megadan]

PE30 just arrived. I didn't look it over in super close detail, but I can say that the extra cost paid for the carburetor really shows in the quality. The chome on the slide is immaculate and all of the machining to the carb body is very fine, and certain areas are a polished finish. The black outer coating seems durable, but has a bit of a textured feel to it that might make it a pain to keep clean looking (if you even care).

It came with extra jets in a baggie, a 125, 128, and 130 main jet plus an extra pilot that I couldn't quite read, but looked like a 40 or 48. I have not opened the bowl yet to see what jets come installed, but I am going to assume a 120 main and maybe a 45 pilot. Bowl screws are cap head allen bolts instead of JIS/Phillips.

Overall, I don't feel like it was money wasted at this point. I will report back when I get the time to really look it over and install it. Damn nice carburetor.

[JerryHawk250]

Can't wait t see it installed and results.

[Megadan]

So to update on the bike with said PE30 carburetor (as seen in this thread. http://chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=23923 ).

End results. As far as any change to top speed is concerned, there was no real increase, but that has a lot more to do with the cam profile and where the power peaks combined with my current gearing and where the motor sits in the RPM range,

What has changed is how quickly the bike gets up to speed. It has now become a more steady linear climb up where before it would feel like a struggle, and I can maintain 65-70 with greater ease and more throttle available to me than before. Beyond that point I am on the tail end of the power curve and it just drops off too much to really see much of a difference.

I have a feeling if I put that 14 front on or dropped down 2 teeth in the rear for a better "road bike" gearing setup getting to higher speeds would be much more attainable, if I desired to do so.

Acceleration through all of the gears almost feels effortless now. Maintaining higher speeds up hills in a higher gear is also much easier than it ever was before. Often finding myself able to maintain the current higher gear instead of having to downshift on certain hills I frequently find myself going up.

This is the boost in power I was hoping for ever since I installed the ported head.

[JerryHawk250]

Those are the same exact results I have gotten. Just being able to cruise 65-70 without having to twist the throttle all the way was a nice improvement. I think a 30mm smooth bore is the sweet spot for our setup. I think anything bigger you will loose performance. You have a 32mm. Please prove me wrong. lol