2024 RPS Hawk S
 

The very top of the updated EPA list for street legal motorcycles lists a model certified as the Hawk X, and it is a carburetor model. It seems to be RPS finally have certified the 'standard' Hawk as a street-legal bike vs. all the years it has technically been an 'Off-highway dirtbike'. I did not see a listing for the DLX fuel-injected model, but the list is early, and will be added to over the next several months as bikes get approved.

Just the regular Hawk with a few tweaks, but instead of.the cg250 it looks like they are changing to a 223cc CB250 engine with the 65.5mm bore and 66.2mm stroke. Still a 5 speed, unfortunately.

https://www.rickypowersports.net/xhawk-250

I saw that. Still only a 5 speed. Baby steps I guess. lol California still need not apply.

The only thing California should apply for is euthanasia.

I honestly would have traded out my Hawk for an X version if they would have at least come with the RE250 engine with the 6 speed and gear driven counter balancer. That would be the best possible upgrade, even if the rest of the bike was more or less the same.

Thanks for the link! :tup: I completely agree with you on the fine points as the bike should have been upgraded, but that could be forgiven if the price point still makes it a great deal, but more importantly, they FINALLY put it in the same class of bike as other 49 street legal bikes (although a few states seem to ALSO reject bikes that are not California CARB certified). But, for the most part, there shouldn't be the registration hassles that plagued the regular Hawk in many states for years. But, again, this will depend on its price. Considering the 49 state street legal Hawk DLX is still around $2k, the Hawk X should still be the deal that it has been for several years now.

Can anyone tell if this new Hawk X still has the kickstart? One of the reasons I love these CG motors is that they still have a kickstart.

Of course they only show the left side in the pictures...

It "probably" will, since most of the 5 speed CB clone engines retain the kick starter. The 6 speed ones eliminate it to add the extra gear, possibly due to case width clearance issues.


But we won't know for sure until we see it. There are totally side covers out there for the 5 speed CB motors that lack the kick start hole.

I don't seem them going through the motion to change much from the formerly 'Off-road only' version to a 'On-highway motorcycle' version, but they did not post a photo of the left side to know for sure (not that pre-release pictures are always 100% of the model coming).

How many HP, and how much torque and at what RPM do the new CB style engines make as compared to the CG. I assume they run more RPM, and naturally make peak power at higher RPM, but is it at any sacrifice to low rpm power?

hi all, brand new to ChinaRiders. just got my RPS Hawk-X a month ago, been slowly learning and working on it.

first off, yes, the 2024 RPS Hawk-X does have a kickstart.

secondly, the 'improvements' to DOT spec don't matter here in PA- i'm still waiting for PENNDOT to approve my title/plate. i was told 4-6 weeks for them to verify the VIN.

i'll be happy to answer any questions about the new model, if i can. i'm still new to all of this, so i probably won't know anything about specs or complex topics.

i came here to ask: what's the consensus on valve clearances? i'm getting ready to do some routine stuff, and wanted to check that. does the fact that the engine is now counterbalanced matter at all? i've got a 24mm Nibbi on it, if that matters. other forum posts seem to range around .002I & .003O, up to .005 for both. as you can see above, the specs listed in the manual don't have valve clearances.

I think that even though the Hawk X is a 223 , it's still a pushrod motor. I know they are counter balanced, but I think they are still a CG

Would the templar be a closer match to what you want?

Hawk is a dual sport. The Templar is an enduro... long flat seat, taller. It is a different type of bike.

Templar base model would be the direct competitor price-wise. In fact, now I think it is lower priced. Temp M would upgrade to a true enduro frame, with all of the upgrades to SS components and bear claw footpegs, adjustable levers, etc. It is now almost the same price as the Hawk X. But it is an enduro.

Define the difference, because if it's Enduro, it means it's for the trails, but it's also street legal.
The hawk is dual sport, meaning also street legal.
The exhaust on the templar is quieter than on the hawk, from what I heard. That's kind of the opposite of what Enduro is supposed to be.

No, they are OHC. You can see the cam gear cover plate on the left side of the engine.

Comparison between the Hawk and Templar M or X is a classic dual sport versus Enduro class.

Here are the main typical differences, generally speaking:
Enduro seat is flat, so you can sit farther back or forward if needed in steep trails or balancing. The seat is more narrow as well, so standing while riding is easier. Enduro seat height is 2 to 4 inches taller. The top of the triple clamps is a few inches taller on an Enduro. The handlebars on an Enduro are flatter and wider. The rake is steeper on an Enduro (more vertical) for agility in tight quarters off road. Foot pegs are farther from the ground on an Enduro. The engine is farther from the ground on an Enduro.

You can make an Enduro street legal with a horn, mirrors, lights, but it is still Enduro class. Stripping lights, horn, mirrors from a dual sport does not make it an Enduro. It's all about scale, stiffer suspension, and frame geometry. A good muffler on an Enduro class bike is unrelated to these things, but required for some State laws for off road single track use, public lands, US forest land, etc.

Enduro class bikes have generally stiffer suspension. These days, Enduro bikes are split into sub classes like cross country and trail, the latter having softer suspension. Also, dual sports are generally heavier, but not because they have street legal gear. Enduro class typically have lighter, stiffer alloys in components including the frame.

An Enduro bike can be street legal, but it will have stiffer suspension than a dual sport, and usually cost more since build is focused on lighter stiffer, higher performance components and frame. These differences are generalities. Most of them are related to higher off road performance. Templar X is definitely enduro class. It checks lots of these boxes.

I feel like a lot of the classifications don't seem to fit the templar from what I've seen on vlogs or review videos.
Some even mentioned that the Templar sits better than the hawk, but how is that going to be with a thinner seat?
Other reviews mention you'd ride your nutsack more on the hawk,vs the Templar, which again, seems to be totally the opposite of the way you describe Enduro bikes.

I looked at a few pics and I can't see the cam plate cover. I think what I see is the standard cap that looks like the valve cover on a pushrod engine on the Hawk X. I need a clear lit photo of that head!
I remember noticing that they put that OHC engine on the Orion RXB 250. The earlier version was carbed, and made 17hp versus 14hp for the pushrod engine. Now it's available with EFI and 249cc engine. Maybe both are available now

It could have also been the picture I saw it on was just doctored. It was a while ago. I do know that all of the new pictures and the Motocheeze video I saw lash cap covers on the valve cover like the newer OHC engines.

If it is an OHV engine, it's a very unique one to have the same bore and stroke as a CB250 and lash caps on the valve cover.

I am not above admitting I am wrong. What would be nice is if somebody could actually confirm if it is OHV or OHC for sure. It would be too much to ask for the people selling them could just tell us for sure.

Doesn't seem to fit which classifications? And how do you ride your nutsack?
I can't imagine doing this on purpose :wtf:

Well first off you need an appropriate sized saddle...

OK. At the risk of revealing too much information (TMI), I always keep those jewels well out of the way of the seat. I will STOP riding and rearrange if needed. Without too much detail, this rarely happens. In fact, I can't remember when it might have been an issue.

But how do you "ride your nutsack"?

Just sounds painful.

Been riding a Hawk since 2017. Never ridden on my nutsack.

Riding balls?
 

Someone must be a Randy...

Try it, you might like it.
You don't know what your missing. LOL

I think I will leave that experience to younger guys. I already have enough pain in my life from day to day.

On the pics linked from the RPS website, you can easily see it's still the pushrod engine. The cam gear bolt is clearly visible in the cylinder, as well as the lack of a cam chain tensioner.