Lowering the Hawk. Some Considerations.

[green_hawk250]

So, lowering the Hawk sounds pretty simple: just take another shorter rear shock with the same spring rate and the same as the stock one compressed length. Sounds easy, but ...

Lets take some measurements before.
We need to find out the total travel distance that new shock to be allowed before the wheel hits the rear fender. Lift the rear side of the bike. I used a folding ladder as shown.



Remove the shock and lift the swingarm as shown until the wheel touches the rear fender. Put it down a little to get the clearance approximately 5-6 mm (1/6 inch) to the fender. At this point we need to measure the distance between shock mounting holes. It will give the minimum eye to eye length for the shock at full compression before the wheel hits the fender.



The following measurements are valid for the Shinko 705 120/80-18 rear tire. It will be different for another tire. Install measuring steel wire between point A and B as shown . Pull wire downward to make it straight and put a marker as shown. Carefully take the wire out and measure the distance between marker (point B) and the bent point at the opposite side (point A). In my case it reads 245 mm with Shinko 705 120/80-18 rear tire .





Before we proceed, we need to adjust chain tension for the longest point of the swingarm travel. Lower the rear wheel so it's axle, swingarm axle and the engine sprocket axle are aligned. Adjust the chain to have 10 mm slack at its midpoint.

Now lets think about new shorter shock. First came to mind is an adjustable shock. There many shocks out there that are suitable, but the big issue for a china bike is that adjustable shock price is close to half of the entire bike price. So, I choose regular nitrogen charged KLX-110 DRZ with adjustable rebound. Check here for installation tips - http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=18122
Next we need more measurements, now on the shock:







As appears, this shock has compressed length less than measured earlier minimum of 245 mm, which means that the wheel will hit the fender on bumps. Considering some deformation of the rubber bumper, we need to take off approximately 10 mm from the shock traveling distance. The best way to do that is to install 10 mm spacer on the stem between the rubber bumper and the top cap. Unfortunately this is non-disassemblable shock absorber. The solution is to install stainless steel clamp-on shaft collar -https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/124/1262:







Once new shock installed, put the bike on the wheels and remeasure chain slack. It will be your new service value.

I admit that the shock wouldn't work the full travel distance after the mods like above, but its performance after rebound adjustments and preload adjustments is entirely acceptable for normal riding.

Note 1.
This method of lowering the Hawk results in reduced swingarm travel. Keep it in mind if you do a lot off-road riding.

Please check another my mods:

http://www.chinariders.net/showpost.php?p=241532&postcount=1
http://www.chinariders.net/showpost.php?p=241533&postcount=2
http://www.chinariders.net/showpost.php?p=242310&postcount=8
http://www.chinariders.net/showpost.php?p=243629&postcount=10
http://www.chinariders.net/showpost.php?p=247652&postcount=13
http://www.chinariders.net/showpost....89&postcount=4
http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=18276
http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=19578
http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=19587
http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=19605
http://www.chinariders.net/showpost.php?p=263450&postcount=15

[JerryHawk250]

Nice step by step writeup.

[OneLeggedRider]

Gotta be a simpler way to lower the rear end, and I'm pretty handy with a welder.

[OneLeggedRider]

Still doesn't tell us how much drop you achieved at a given rider weight. Or how much lower the tail sits with no weight on it, which swinging my leg over is my concern.