Hawk or Bashan? Help me decide!
 

Hey, gang.

It has been quite a few years since I posted...7 or so to be exact.

I'm thinking of picking up a dual sport to just have some fun on and ride around town.

I see a lot of mention on the RPS Hawk and the Bashan Storm 250.

I'm in the (south of) Phoenix, AZ area and there is a place in Mesa, AZ that usually carries the Bashan.

I got a chance to sit on one and check it out up close. Didn't have time for a ride as I was just passing by.

I see a lot of reviews on the RPS Hawk and was wondering how do the 2 compare?

Has anyone tried both? Reason for your decision? I know the Bashan has rear drum breaks, so does anyone who owns one wish it didn't?

What's the quality like on both? I don't mind turning wrenches, just don't wanna have to do so all the time.

Had a couple of China bikes (Pag, Tank) and a South Korean bike (Hyosung -wish I had kept it!) in the past. Have had my Suzuki Bandit 1200 for the last 7.5 years, so just looking for a 2nd bike to fool around on.

So, anything you care to offer will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Nuff said and I can dig it!

olds_cool63

Hawk of course I own one,seriously I think they both are a lot of fun.

With less than 250 smiles on my hawk I am just a newb to the China bike deal here. But with over a million miles on bikes since dad says 4 years old I got an opinion . I just watched a brozz new build vid . I do like the swing arm much better than Hawks . But the drum brake is kinda a bummer . All though drum brakes are fine for as they served us well in years past . With that said I love the disk set up on front and appears to be much better design that Hawks. Lots of same parts used on both bikes I also noticed . The wheel size also if riding off road would better on hawk than brozz , my opinion only . The bars appear to be different also , like different bend. Hawks look more suitable for off road .
Choices suck , but nice also. Choose wisely , but both are super close to each other apprerance wise . Maybe I need another bike :hmm:

Why not a Bashan Enforcer? It doesn't have the inverted front forks like the Storm, but it has rear disc brakes. Have you seen the recent posts about this bike? Not to make your decision even more difficult, but it seems like it would be worth considering.

It really depends on the type of roads you plan to be on I suppose.

I agree with the other comment that you really can't go wrong with either one.

I think they moved on past the Storm? This is as close as I can find these days, touted as the "MC-F006" ? lol But has the inverted forks and a nice rack.. if you're looking for the Storm look. Other than looking pretty much the same as a Storm, I know nothing about it though...

Oh.. The Storm has front and rear disk brakes btw.

Dirt vs Street
 

If you wont be riding on the street the Hawk will work. If you will need to ride pavement a Bashan bike will be the one you want. The counterbalance engine is smooth for road riding and for me that is a pulse.

Welcome back! Someone recently had a similar name as yours, and it made me think back to when you were a member. Maybe it was a premonition? :hehe:

Anyway, since you have a dealer nearby selling Storms, vs. the Hawk, you might want to try to make a deal for the Storm. Of, course, depending on price. The Hawk is going to get you a better bike overall for off-road as it comes stock with more aggressive knobbies, but you will have to fiddle with the carb, or order one of the $40 ebay Mikunis as seemingly every member with the Hawk has reported. The stock carb is sealed, which is the one of the reasons people have simply ordered the mikuni, let alone the Mikuni clone takes Mikuni jets (the other reason for the Mikuni). Also, the sprockets are geared very aggressively for off-road, so most members have changed out their sprockets.

The Storm has less aggressive tires, a better carb from stock, and street friendlier 17/46 sprockets, not to mention a counter-balanced engine.

Which brings us to ski_rush's suggestion--Bashan's Enforcer. Near-identical to the Hawk, but comes with the better carb and Bashan's 17/46 sprockets, but more aggressive knobbies, you get the best of both worlds.

It should be noted that as popular as the Hawk is, as well as the TT250, and the recently introduced Enforcer, none come stock with the once-ubiquitous rear rack. But the Storm does!

There is a member who joined us recently, Musictrek, who lives in the Phoenix area who owns a Hawk. He has posted a few videos to youtube of some pretty long rides out your way, including last week's trip to Wickenburg and back. Look under videos/photos for his videos, so you can see his Hawk in action, out your way.

That rack is available for around $20 shipped. I dont know how easy it would be to mount but there out there to try. If anyone needs a link let me know and Ill find it.

There is a brick and mortar dealer out in Phoenix who bought several Storms and still has them in stock. However, I have seen the Storm listed for sale, including in tandem with the Brozz, at Superiorpowersports. Not sure if those are new, old stock from a while ago, or a more recent shipment?

https://www.superiorpowersports.com/...ycle_s/201.htm

This might be worth a look if they still have it..

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/mcy/6029551690.html

Is it only Advanti carrying them?

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/mcd/6026509062.html

For $20 I would to try to make it fit for Hawk .
Link please and I promise to take pix if it works out and post them .

It took a while but search history came to the rescue:

https://world.taobao.com/item/106024...88.10602414054

Hey, everybody.

Thanks for all the info. Yeah, I'm gonna do some more research.

Believe it or not, I will be doing more street riding with the occasional romp through the dirt. Tire size doesn't matter at this point. I discovered the Enforcer after posting! Hahahaha! I'll need to look at it some more.

Hey, culcune! How's it going, old friend? Yeah...Advanti is the place. It's less than an hour from where I live, so I have to head back and see what's up, once they get some more in.

The Bashan I saw had rear drums...I found out there are different models. Oh, yeah..I will be adding the digital guage and some other mods (such as a fresh paint job).

Anyway, any other things you guys can think of or add?

Appreciate it.

Thanks!

Nuff said and I can dig it!

olds_cool63

IF you can, compare the build of the mono strut control arm in the back. I've owned three China bikes. The first one the control arm was too weak. I had to weld up some braces cause I bent the control arm. The Hawk is pretty durable in that area. Next, try to compare air boxes. There again my second china bike the air box was not that great and couldn't find a good filter for it. The hawk air box is pretty solid. I even installed a K and N filter in it. Check the rims are they metric or something else. Weird but one of my bikes I had trouble getting a replacement tire for it. Hawk has very obtainable tires and tubes.

Olds you might want to consider the Bashan shark and brozz. There have been a bunch of brozz purchases lately as well as me ordering a shark .