I hope you take a close look at the trouble spot. You’re right at the mileage where mine crapped out.

It’s a very simple preventative fix.

My son did (a new 2021 white TBR7), and we are waiting for it. So I will have the opportunity to see just how different they are in terms of durability and dependability. It is one of each, so hardly a statistical analysis LOL :lmao:

Cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap....did you say CHEEEEEEEAP! I love it so! CG strong, ride hard!:clap:

Boatguy, remember I told you where to look for your problem, At this time I only have a little scuffing of the insulating tape around the harness. I also only ride surfaced back roads as there are no trails in my neck of the woods and this might explain why my harness has not suffered as has yours.

For what it's worth, electrical issues are probably the one constant on all Chinese bikes. Not really in terms of cheap quality (though that can be the case) but in cheap and lazy execution. I probably spent more time redoing my wiring on my Hawk, both in terms of conduit, tape, wire ties, etc. to prevent vibration, corrosion, and abrasion issues. While the cheaper bikes may have a bit more to work through in this regard, the issue described in this post, and similar, is something I have seen from owners of almost every brand of these bikes. Even the venerable TT250, probably the most well put together of them. Simply just a case of getting what you pay for, and being willing to be your own quality control person for your machine.

Well said Megadan! I used the word cheap, but really it means inexpensive. Don't loose sight of the fact the "value you are getting for your money" but it doesn't come without work and yes "some break downs". I ride my HAWK down the backroad, I sometimes wonder, "Would it really feel thousands of dollars better with a Honda CRF 250? Cheap!

Gotcha. I didn’t remember.

But a little scuffing is a lot. There was ONE layer of electrical tape between my main positive trunk line at that rub point. Any degradation is serious there. It’s a metal connector that’s not well protected, not wires.

The only time I have this thought is when I’m on tar. Ha ha.

As I’m doing 55mph with cars piling up behind me, I wonder... is that extra gear worth the extra cash for a CRF300L?

How much faster do you want to go and how much are you willing to pay is the question. The Lifan 250 be here soon.

You’re right. That 250 ticks all the boxes. I would love that extra gear even on my 200. Just to keep up with traffic.

Even with a 6th gear these wimpy 250s will always feel underpowered on a highway. Best to have it as a secondary bike for putting around up to 55mph roads (where most go 65 or so anyway) and offroad plus one as a primary road bike

Never forget my buddy took his truck to a speed shop down in alabama, when he got the invoice from em, thier shop slogan was "speed costs money, how fast ya wanna go" LOL

That would be another way of saying "How much money you got?" LOL Translating that slogan to a dual sport I am thinking about another $5000 on top of the $2000 for a Chinese bike should be enough money to get the speed to keep up with the cars.

^^^^^^ This.

It is possible to run the Hawks on highways. Living where I do, it's not much of a choice if I want to get anywhere outside of town. You either just accept it, stay as far right as possible and let cars by, or ride something more capable.

The 6th gear desire for most of us isn't about extra speed either. It's so we can have a bigger rear sprocket for better torque off road and also still be able to go on said highways without having the engine bouncing the redline at 55mph.

Even the higher end Japanese 250's and 300cc enduro bikes aren't as fast as you might think. Yes, they can achieve higher top speeds thanks to their extra 10hp, but they still aren't going to blow your mind with their speed or top end acceleration. If you really want a truly highway capable bike, you need at least a 400cc engine (in my opinion) to have any real highway capability.

I’m glad you’re back here! You were very helpful with all my n00b questions getting this bike.

But yes, this is exactly it.

I just want to get off redline near top speed.

But also, I weigh nothing so my little Xpect could easily do 65 with me on it. That’s all I ask. Just 10mpg more so people don’t get too upset with me. I think another gear would help a lot with that.