Update on all mods done on the hawk. Questions about baffles?
 

Here is a list of all mods done on my hawk 250,

1st change oil and chain after buying. I went with a D.I.D 428 130 chain.

2nd change sprockets from 15-50 to 17-45, this made probably the best difference in top speed.

3rd re jet carb

4th modify air box intake, noticed hardly anything with this mod. Maybe more noise but couldn’t be sure.

5th Swap speedometer or just use trc app for smart phones did both. I think the app works better.

6th change spark plug to ngk (2202) DPR8EIX-9 Iridium

7th swapped my rear sliders to washers and bolts, chain seems to rub on the factory ones. (This could be an assembly problem)

8th swap chain guide.

9th visual mods. Used acetone to remove all “hawk” stickers and paint replaced with my own stickers

10th bought but haven’t installed rack and box.

11th in the process of tracking down black panels. If you know of where I could buy from?

Beginning top speed 50ish not sure where my rpms were but they were screaming.
Ending top speed 64mph seems to coast comfortably around 55 with no screaming.

Now my next task is modifying the exhaust. I was curious about replacing? Or has anyone messed around with removing the baffle or drilling holes? And if so what kind of sound/performance increase did you notice?

I did the cheap route by doing a baffectomy with a long piece of rebar. ground a point on it, slid into the end of the end of the exhaust, gave it a few good wacks with a sledge.minimal performance or noise changes.

Is this a real thing people do?
 

yeah, im not doing that. Never even heard of someone doing so.

Thanks for report. You may find a replacement header pipe without the catalytic converter 4 cheap. I think the one for the bashan storm was $10-15 or so. Grind out the inner welds and make it smooth flowing. Get a performance exhaust to drop weight etc such as
http://www.amazon.com/FMF-Universal-...estor+silencer

These and all "performance" improvements need to be taken with a grain of salt. In other words, overall improvements vs costs , are marginal but still helpful.

Probably the best upgrade is to go on a diet and for some of us lose about 20 lbs, talk about performance improvements!

Take the baffle out and see if you notice a difference. If you ride in USFS lands, put it back in for those occasions. The rangers take a coat hanger and shove it into your pipe. It better stop or it's a ticket.

Thanks for the info. And yeah haha that's probably the best option!

That's the plan for Thursday I'll report back and see if I notice any. If not maybe it's worth the replacement of the exhaust.

it's actually very common among Kasaski Vulcan and Concours owners. all it really does is knock a hole in the end cap so that exhaust flows slightly more freely. on my concours, we actually pass around a small hole saw about 1.5 inches in diameter to cut the plate out.

On the hawk it probably doesn't help all that much because of the in-line cat converter further up in the exhaust. I saw someone cut that open, gut it, and weld back in place. that would be a better solution other than a new pipe system without the cat and put a forest service approved spark arresting muffler on.

Something like this
http://www.harborfreight.com/diamond...-pc-69657.html

To go after the cat and baffle. This was previously posted by...:hmm:

Common to do on KLR 650 too "get rid of the VW Tweet" sound...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i2BmBVZNaQ

Well there you go. never seen that before. cool, still dont know if i would want to do that though. Thanks guys.

so much for the spark arrester.

the hawk muffler has screws that can let you take the baffle out without ruining it. the cat on the other hand is a PITA.

I'd either remove the cat (if you have access to a welder) or replace the header with the non-cat version, per BlackBike's recommendation. Once the cat is gone, you can re-jet to compensate, and see if there's a benefit. After that, you can decide if you want a new muffler.

Agreed,
First, going to do the simplistic solution and remove baffle. Test, if it's not satisfying I'm going to run the bike at least another few hundred miles before messing with the cat or thinking about replacing. Thanks for the advice.

Removal is ok for testing, but I don't recommend poking a hole in it. That's not easily reversible.

:lmao::hehe: Haha. Lol. True, true, true.

what about the weight of the stock muffler? an unrestricted header and lightweight performance muffler will make a noticeable difference with the right carbie setup.

One of the most important things you can do is keep your options open until it's broke in. These CG motors change personality continuously (at least all of mine have) until they're loosened up.

I'm one of the few who can't afford to lose any more weight, my motorcycles have to do that for me :hehe:

So once my friend gets his TIG welder I will drop a good 15 - 16lbs off our Bashan WILL exhaust system :clap: , that combined with weight I dropped off when I ditched the bulky air box/emissions nonsense that 'didn't do squat' for a UNI Pod Filter... the bike is almost to that "20 lb diet requirement" :tup:, and it should have a few extra ponies too the way the exhaust was restricted on our bike :lmao:

Removed baffle last night did maybe 20 miles to test. I couldn't really tell differences it felt more stable at 60ish but I also removed my rubbers from the foot pegs. Also, it felt like it let open a little more while at full throttle. But nothing substantial to report on preformance. Sound wise, a 100 times better it sounds really good with the baffle removed. I would recommend this to anyone, just to have a little louder exhaust to make people more aware around you. i think this is all I'm going to do with the exhaust for awhile I'll update when I decide to swap it or mod it anymore.

Please post pictures and more info.

Thanks

Will do that. I'm still
Making a few mods. Will post pics here in the next few days. What kind of info do you want?

just more info on 7 & 8

i'll have to take some pics.

but basicly, the bracket and nuts (Rear slider) that are used to to tighten the chain they are shit. so i swapped them for better washers and nuts.

the chain guide, is the rubber piece on the frame that helps guide the chain into the countershaft sprocket. on my bike if you lined up your sprockets perfectly this chain guide actually will not line up with countershaft. so i got rid out it, this won't necessarily throw the chain, but it's not helping.

so you didn't swap the chain guide, you simply removed it?

I was thinking about filing down the ridge on it so it no longer guided the chain but did protect the swingarm.

yes i finally removed it. i did try to swap it with a old honda chain slider but couldn't get that to quite line up either. also just filing it down is probably a better idea haha

You probably won't notice much as long as the cat is upstream. That's your main exhaust flow obstacle.

I just put on a Pro Circuit T4 on my Hawk tonight. It's loud...

do you know where to get one for that price ... only one i found was over $60 ... i would get one for sure at that price

after tailpipe change , single biggest weight lost gain, swap out the battery for a lithium job. gotta b 7 or 8 lbs and balance feels LOTS better.

Which model did you use? did you have to do any fabrication or did it bolt-on?

2003-2015 Honda CRF230.

http://www.procircuit.com/t-4-system-crf230f-03-15.html

Yes, you need to widen the flange bolt holes for the header and you need to make a mount for the back to hang the exhaust since it doesn't line up with the stock. A trip to Home Depot and about 20 minutes with a a Dremel to widen the holes and cut the mounting brackets. I'm going to also see if there's a way to mount the center of the exhaust to the frame mount but it doesn't line up.

thanks for the info

http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=14961

Thank chuck, although I'll try and get some better pictures for you if you want to go this route. Bike sounds mean though.

Here you go.

Thanks for those pics, with those I can tell that the Header wouldn't have worked on my Bashan WILL.

That really looks like a slipstream pipe . Az, did you get yours done?

Ps.entropy beware the lithium weight loss bat plan, I believe the consensus isthat battery may overheat due to excessive unregulated charging on these cheap bikes. They may charge in excess of 14 volts

A lithium/iron/phosphate (LiFePO4) battery designed for motorcycles and automobiles is designed to accepting a charging rate as high as 14.4 volts. It is normal for the charging system in any motor vehicle to charge batteries at this voltage. If your charging system damages a LiFePO4 battery, it would also damage a lead/acid battery. ;)

However, you should not us lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries designed for radio controlled (RC) vehicles in your motorcycle. These batteries have a very volatile chemistry; they will ignite and burst into flame if the cells are exposed to air. :ohno:

Not yet, but 'soon' (next month or 2 :shrug: ), waiting on a buddy to get a TIG welder :D