Top 5 Mods.

[China Rider 27]

For my purpose I came at it in a different way. The HAWK for me is a mountain hills back roads light trail machine. So my mods went

1) New digital cluster (wanted the tach for carb tuning)

2) Oil Cooler (for engine protection in harsh demanding conditions ( I have since learned they are CG tough, you can ride them hard)

3) 520 chain and sprocket combo

4) PZ30B carburetor with 1/4 turn throttle

5) De-cat exhaust (almost 1 year after purchase)( I need a forest service approved spark arrester)

[Rocket tests]

There are certain maintenance items that I would consider to be mods. If you use a non factory part or modify a part to perform a specific task it was not originally intended to perform or use a sustituted material which offers cost or performance benefits then I consider that to be a mod.
If I found a oil which would eliminate clutch and friction surface wear entirely making future oil changes a thing of the past I'd consider that a mod worth the entire cost of the bike. Or if I modified the fork head nuts to accomodate a adjustable on the fly knob giving the rider the capability to adjust to various riding conditions experienced during any ride then that is a mod in my book.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Rocket tests

There are certain maintenance items that I would consider to be mods. If you use a non factory part or modify a part to perform a specific task it was not originally intended to perform or use a sustituted material which offers cost or performance benefits then I consider that to be a mod.
If I found a oil which would eliminate clutch and friction surface wear entirely making future oil changes a thing of the past I'd consider that a mod worth the entire cost of the bike. Or if I modified the fork head nuts to accomodate a adjustable on the fly knob giving the rider the capability to adjust to various riding conditions experienced during any ride then that is a mod in my book.

If you modify something, that is inherently a mod, which is short for modification.

A spark plug change is not modifying anything, even if you change plug types, temps, etc. Those changes are done as part of just getting the bike to run in certain conditions correctly, and to me that is maintenance, not modification.

That same rule of thumb applies to changing jets. You are doing what is necessary to get the bike to run optimally. Not doing so can potentially result in damage to the vehicle.

In your example, modifying fork caps to have adjustable preload is a mod. You had to modify something to get that performance benefit that can now be done on the fly. Changing the preload spacers within the forks to get better rider sag though? Not a mod. You have not altered the way in which the vehicle can do this in any way, nor have you made it any easier to adjust.

Changing the oil, regardless of what the oil claims to do, is still just an oil change. You are not modifying the engine in any meaningful way.

[MINTY DLX]

Originally Posted by Megadan

I had a random thought riding home tonight that I felt like sharing, and then posing a question to the rest of you.

If you had to pick only 5 mods to do to your Enduro, be it a Hawk, Brozz, etc. what would they be and why?

I think this will prove interesting, especially for us Hawk guys since we tend to be the most mod heavy of the bunch.

So for ground rules, I will allow related upgrades to be considered one, I.E. Chain AND sprocket changes will be considered one mod since it is all part of the same concept (I.E. regearing). I will exclude things like replacing the battery (the stock ones usually suck), fluid changes, or other maintenance related things like greasing bearings.

So my 5 mods I must have list in no particular order.

1. Re-gear. Yep, right off the bat, the previously mentioned chain and sprocket upgrade. For the Hawk in particular I forsee this as a popular one.

2. Better rear shock. The original Hawk one does OK, but its dual spring rate makes it sit too low so it bottoms out easily. This takes precedence over the fork valves, which while nice, I could also live without and be happy.

3. Exhaust. I would stick with the ebay system, but no matter how you slice it, the stock system suuuuuuuuuuuucks.

4. Ported head. Self explanatory really. On it's own it made a nice difference, but paired with the previous and next mod, game changer.

5. PE30 Carb with necessary intake to make it work. Because the difference is staggering, especially with a ported head.

There are many other mods I would love to include for many reasons, but like I said, if I was limited to only 5 mods, and that was all I could do, these would be it. I would even forgo the tach cluster upgrade, as much as I like having a tachometer, and if I had to I would use my phone as a speedo lol.

Allegedly my dlx is on its way. Does any one know if its worth regearing out of the box?

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by MINTY DLX

Allegedly my dlx is on its way. Does any one know if its worth regearing out of the box?

I am not familiar with the DLX stock gearing, although I have heard it is geared a little better than the standard Hawk for road use. By how much I could not say.

[MINTY DLX]

Thank you! I'm looking froward to finding out.

[JerryHawk250]

List for my X22R.
1. Regear 17/34
2. PE30 smooth bore carb.
3. De-cat exhaust
4. Wisco 11:1 Piston
5. Stage 1 Hot Cams.

[NzBrakelathes]

Bought this a month back, has a 73mm piston upgrade from 70mm, PWK34 carb sounds like exhaust packing left the muffler n runs like a cut cat on heat!

[RedCrowRides]

I was surprised ( but pleased ) that bar swaps didnt make the Enduro Bikes Top 5 list, I'm a Grom Clone Rider and the stock bars on them are notoriously bad both for strength and a pretty poor bend out of the box.


I just don't think I could not have a bar swap on a Grom Clone out of the Top 5 list, they are ( in my opinion of course ) that terrible.


The seat on the Gen 2 Vaders forces you into an "against the tank " posture that goes from initially annoying to downright intolerable in a hurry , i think the single biggest "game changer" swap i did was a flat style seat swap ,it just made the Bike so much more comfortable a seating position to ride in, plus it was far more comfortable from a padding aspect as well.


Other than that, my List would be carb /intake and exhaust system ,the stock shock i did change but if i had to choose between the bars or the seat or a shock, they'd both get the nod ahead of the shock , i can live with a meh shock for the riding i do but the Bike being plain uncomfortable to even sit on is kinda not gonna cut it over time.


At least you guys have bars that while not perfect , are tolerable enough to fall outside a Top 5 Mods List" , which when you get down to it, is a List of 5 things that really are so awful they need to go haha!

[mtiberio]

Originally Posted by mtiberio

Ha! I ordered a 2020 TT250 last week and I ordered a Brozz swingarm kit from peacesports. Looks like I'll have hard data for you soon.

I got my TT, but since peacesports was slow in sending the swingarm, I cancelled the order. I want to re-engineer the end plates on the stock TT swingarm, and if I am sucessful, my biggest complaint about it will be addressed.

I was also thinking of ordering an entire Brozz just for the 17/19 wheels and swingarm, and then I could swap the parts I want and build a 2nd bike for my son.

[Deckard_Cain]

Originally Posted by RedCrowRides

I was surprised ( but pleased ) that bar swaps didnt make the Enduro Bikes Top 5 list, I'm a Grom Clone Rider and the stock bars on them are notoriously bad both for strength and a pretty poor bend out of the box.


I just don't think I could not have a bar swap on a Grom Clone out of the Top 5 list, they are ( in my opinion of course ) that terrible.


The seat on the Gen 2 Vaders forces you into an "against the tank " posture that goes from initially annoying to downright intolerable in a hurry , i think the single biggest "game changer" swap i did was a flat style seat swap ,it just made the Bike so much more comfortable a seating position to ride in, plus it was far more comfortable from a padding aspect as well.


Other than that, my List would be carb /intake and exhaust system ,the stock shock i did change but if i had to choose between the bars or the seat or a shock, they'd both get the nod ahead of the shock , i can live with a meh shock for the riding i do but the Bike being plain uncomfortable to even sit on is kinda not gonna cut it over time.


At least you guys have bars that while not perfect , are tolerable enough to fall outside a Top 5 Mods List" , which when you get down to it, is a List of 5 things that really are so awful they need to go haha!

So on the Grom clones, what bars do you prefer to install? I know the pro taper klx110 and the Honda mini bars are super popular...

[RedCrowRides]

I like the KLX 110 bend myself , but a lot of my friends run the Honda Minis, i think the height of the Rider is the big factor there, if you are 5-10 or 11 , or 6 foot you will likely want the slightly wider and taller KLX bend, if 5-10" or under then the lower Honda Mini bend is probably going to be more your preference.


That's just a general observation tho ,and there are always exceptions due to personal preference and what your riding style / primary use of the bike is ,either of the two bends are still vastly superior to the stock bars in terms of comfort and strength.

[Deckard_Cain]

Originally Posted by RedCrowRides

I like the KLX 110 bend myself , but a lot of my friends run the Honda Minis, i think the height of the Rider is the big factor there, if you are 5-10 or 11 , or 6 foot you will likely want the slightly wider and taller KLX bend, if 5-10" or under then the lower Honda Mini bend is probably going to be more your preference.


That's just a general observation tho ,and there are always exceptions due to personal preference and what your riding style / primary use of the bike is ,either of the two bends are still vastly superior to the stock bars in terms of comfort and strength.

Good to know! I'm 5'9 and have a rather short leg inseam, 29". So it sounds like the Mini bars would probably fit me better. Bike use is local city transportation, parking lot tomfoolery and messing around. No big stunting.

[twinmonkeys]

I have the TBR7, I would say top 5 are, exhaust, sprockets, carb and intake, gauge cluster, fork brace. I have to do the brace still but have done the rest already.

[Kenstogie]

Originally Posted by twinmonkeys

I have the TBR7, I would say top 5 are, exhaust, sprockets, carb and intake, gauge cluster, fork brace. I have to do the brace still but have done the rest already.

i have done all of the above on my TBR7....except the fork brace.... where did you get yours?