Hawk 250 Overland Travel Bike?

[Wolftrax]

Well I finally got around to putting the Mikuni on with a 115 main and 30 pilot, turned the air screw out 1.5 turns, cranked it and voila, fired right up. Took it for a quick spin and all I can say is wow. The bike is transformed, wraps up much quicker and has a nice strong linear power delivery all the way up to red line. Decided to see if my top end improved, so ran the same course I did on previous speed tests. The results speak for themselves.

[culcune]

Wow! To summarize in a nutshell, you only replaced both sprockets and carb?

[farmbath]

Changed my 15t to a 17t today and gained about 3-5 mph.

[Wolftrax]

Originally Posted by culcune

Wow! To summarize in a nutshell, you only replaced both sprockets and carb?

Yup, running 17/45 with the Mikuni. The performance gain swapping out the carb was pretty amazing. She purrs like a kitten now at 55mph. Oil cooler should arrive in the next week or so. Sort that out and she should be ready for Yuma amd points beyond.

[mjstef]

Originally Posted by Wolftrax

Yup, running 17/45 with the Mikuni. The performance gain swapping out the carb was pretty amazing. She purrs like a kitten now at 55mph. Oil cooler should arrive in the next week or so. Sort that out and she should be ready for Yuma amd points beyond.

What are you doing for an oil cooler? Thinking about that myself.....

[Wolftrax]

Originally Posted by mjstef

What are you doing for an oil cooler? Thinking about that myself.....

http://www.banggood.com/Oil-Cooler-C...-hkaAhOE8P8HAQ

[Tranberg]

Do the CG clone engines have any oil pressure to speak of?
With all the bearings, except for the valve rockers, being roller bearings, it doesn't need much, and an oil cooler could be restricting flow.

[Mudflap]

The CG engines have plenty of oil pressure and I don't think a cooler would cause any problem. After the pump the oil splits 3 ways so the only restriction would be for the oil going to the rocker arms, and that would be minimal. Oil pressure through the rest of the engine would be unaffected. Whether the CG engine needs an oil cooler is another question.

Originally Posted by Tranberg

Do the CG clone engines have any oil pressure to speak of?
With all the bearings, except for the valve rockers, being roller bearings, it doesn't need much, and an oil cooler could be restricting flow.

[Wolftrax]

Originally Posted by Mudflap

The CG engines have plenty of oil pressure and I don't think a cooler would cause any problem. After the pump the oil splits 3 ways so the only restriction would be for the oil going to the rocker arms, and that would be minimal. Oil pressure through the rest of the engine would be unaffected. Whether the CG engine needs an oil cooler is another question.

Before I purchased the bike I spoke with Adam at RPS about my plan. Purchase a Hawk and ride over 10,000 miles to South America. The only concern they had was overheating on prolonged highway rides in the heat of the equatorial regions. Many air cooled bikes use oil coolers to aid keeping the bike from overheating. After a little research I found the oil cooler for the CG engines and concluded $60.00 is a cheap investment to aid in engine cooling.

[Wolftrax]

I got all my kit together and wanted to see if it will fit on the mighty Hawk. I'm happy to say that everything I'll need for extended overland travel is aboard. It's going to be a cozy ride
I was originally going to use the Mosko gear but decided to use my Giant Loop as it's been tested and proven to be pretty much indestructable.
The second shot is the same gear loaded on a BMW I used for a Southern Africa Adventure.

[culcune]

Member 2LZ and I were discussing the rear racks available on a few of the Bashan bikes; the "traditional" rack that holds a whole slew of stuff. My question is: will the rack on the Hawk hold a top case--those ones that look really bulky but are actually very light AND hold a bunch of stuff? I know the traditional racks are virtually designed for cases, but is the 'modern' Hawk's rack able to bolt a case to it?

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Wolftrax

Before I purchased the bike I spoke with Adam at RPS about my plan. Purchase a Hawk and ride over 10,000 miles to South America. The only concern they had was overheating on prolonged highway rides in the heat of the equatorial regions. Many air cooled bikes use oil coolers to aid keeping the bike from overheating. After a little research I found the oil cooler for the CG engines and concluded $60.00 is a cheap investment to aid in engine cooling.

I fabricated an oil cooler for my Honda XR650L, and it made big improvements in engine cooling, oil temperature, and oil condition. You can read about my oil cooler project at the following thread.

http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=10753

What path does the oil follow to enter the cylinder head, Mark?

[mjstef]

Originally Posted by Wolftrax

http://www.banggood.com/Oil-Cooler-C...-hkaAhOE8P8HAQ

Thanks! Would you have any photos of where it ties into the engine and how you mounted it? Also with our temperature swings here in the rocky mountains, would it me helpful to run a cooler bypass for riding on the 45* days?

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by Wolftrax

Well I finally got around to putting the Mikuni on with a 115 main and 30 pilot, turned the air screw out 1.5 turns, cranked it and voila, fired right up. Took it for a quick spin and all I can say is wow. The bike is transformed, wraps up much quicker and has a nice strong linear power delivery all the way up to red line.

Glad to hear that! I've had terrific success with that carb. In fact, a buddy came over tonight to grab a spare Mikuni from me, for his '81 XR200R. We checked out the stock jets in the worn-out Keihin, and I was surprised to see that the main was 138 and the slow was 38. Since the Mikuni is marginally dissimilar, I installed a 132 main and a 30 slow jet. He just texted me a few minutes ago, to say that it runs perfectly.

That makes me think that I can go even richer on my 200 China bike, to see if it'll make even more power.

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by mjstef

Thanks! Would you have any photos of where it ties into the engine and how you mounted it? Also with our temperature swings here in the rocky mountains, would it me helpful to run a cooler bypass for riding on the 45* days?

The picture in the link tells the whole story. The valve cover is replaced with one that has two banjo fittings, and they allow connection to the cooler via braided hoses. Even clamps are connected in the kit, for mounting the cooler to the frame.

It might be wise to search for the version that has a valve between the two banjo fittings, so that the cooler can be closed off in cold weather.