Hullo

[motorscythe]

Hello to you all. Long time lurker. Mechanical brain intrigued by these bikes and their price so going to be ordering a Magician next week. After owning KTM's for years, I look forward to something new and much more carefree(even though I'll forever be insane about maintenance.)

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by motorscythe

I look forward to something new and much more carefree(even though I'll forever be insane about maintenance.)

We are kindred spirits in that regard lol. I bought my Hawk as something fun that I don't have to care about, yet I find myself obsessing over fixing little issues and doing my usual obsessive break in and maintenance schedule.

Welcome aboard!

[motorscythe]

Originally Posted by Megadan

We are kindred spirits in that regard lol. I bought my Hawk as something fun that I don't have to care about, yet I find myself obsessing over fixing little issues and doing my usual obsessive break in and maintenance schedule.

Welcome aboard!

Thanks mucho Megadan. You and Jerry have often been the wisdom I seek when I have a question about the bike. I've been making a short checklist for the last month or so as I come across things. Would you mind commenting/adding to the list for that first initial uncrating? The question marks designate things I'm still researching.

All plastics off
Oil drain - change
Valve adjustment
Carb change
Spark plug change
Remove wheels - truing/balancing/grease bearings
Street/sumo tires?
Remove forks/shock - oil change
Grease headstock/swingarm
17t sproket/new chain
Braided brake lines?
Brake cleaner
Brake fluid change
Brake pads
Kickstand engine killswitch
Check all bolts/Loctite

[dpl096]

Welcome aboard.....

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by motorscythe

Thanks mucho Megadan. You and Jerry have often been the wisdom I seek when I have a question about the bike. I've been making a short checklist for the last month or so as I come across things. Would you mind commenting/adding to the list for that first initial uncrating? The question marks designate things I'm still researching.

All plastics off
Oil drain - change
Valve adjustment
Carb change
Spark plug change
Remove wheels - truing/balancing/grease bearings
Street/sumo tires?
Remove forks/shock - oil change
Grease headstock/swingarm
17t sproket/new chain
Braided brake lines?
Brake cleaner
Brake fluid change
Brake pads
Kickstand engine killswitch
Check all bolts/Loctite

I will go down your list with my 2 cents on a few things lol.
- You don't necessarily need to take all the plastics off - I did so because it made getting to things easier. If you do this, be prepared to possibly chase threads. I had a few cross threaded bolts.
- Carb change isn't entirely necessary if you are going to keep the bike mostly stock. You can save yourself money here if you don't plan on doing any real modding to the bike. The only catch is getting the stock carb open, and the stock carb does limit you on easily uprading the pilot jet. If you swap to the Mikuni, be prepared to spend extra money on a handful of main and pilots and tinkering to get it setup right. That said, the VM26 IS worth it if you really want to fine tune the bike, but it isn't a performance upgrade.
- Spark Plug - Never hurts! I have a Denso 5372 IX24 iridium plug, you can also run an NGK DR8EIX iridium. That said, a good quality brand platinum or copper plug can also do you no harm, especially if you are going to spend the time tuning a carburetor.
- Wheels. Bearings are sealed, so there is no greasing the bearings, but some Marine/Waterproof axle grease on the axle bolt never hurts. I do recommend checking that the bearings are freely turning, and if not, remove them and see if they are still good and not damaged by being improperly pressed in, or too tightly pressed in like my rear bearings were. Definitely check the wheels for trueness. I trued up my front wheel a little, but the rear was perfect. Tightening the spokes is a definite item to check off that list though.
-Tires. I am still running the stock knobbies on my Hawk lol. The Magician comes with more of a 70/30 or 80/20 tire. What kind of use is your bike going to see primarily? That will help determine what would work best for you. Personally, the Maigician is mostly a road bike in my eyes. It has much less suspension travel than the Hawk does, so it's more of a road bike that could handle a country road decently. I wouldn't go trying to do trail riding with it, as there is evidence from one member that the frame may not be up to the task in handling rougher stuff well.
- Headstock and swingarm = yes, do this.
- If the Magician doesn't already come with a braided line, then you will have to find an alternative to do this upgrade. If you know the length you need CORE MOTO can custom build you a line in any color combination you want for $69. http://www.coremoto.com/category_s/4085.htm Or you can try to find an existin brake line with the same Banjo fittings and similar length and adapt it.
- All of the brake stuff. By pads, I assume you mean clean them? If so, then yes, give all of the brake parts a good cleaning.
- Loctite - ALL THE THINGS! lol.

Other suggestions, check to make sure the fuel tank isn't going to be rubbing against a bracket on the bottom. Motocheez has a youtube video on this issue causing a leak on the Magician he had that he sold to his friend.

[motorscythe]

Originally Posted by Megadan

I will go down your list with my 2 cents on a few things lol.
- You don't necessarily need to take all the plastics off - I did so because it made getting to things easier. If you do this, be prepared to possibly chase threads. I had a few cross threaded bolts.
- Carb change isn't entirely necessary if you are going to keep the bike mostly stock. You can save yourself money here if you don't plan on doing any real modding to the bike. The only catch is getting the stock carb open, and the stock carb does limit you on easily uprading the pilot jet. If you swap to the Mikuni, be prepared to spend extra money on a handful of main and pilots and tinkering to get it setup right. That said, the VM26 IS worth it if you really want to fine tune the bike, but it isn't a performance upgrade.
- Spark Plug - Never hurts! I have a Denso 5372 IX24 iridium plug, you can also run an NGK DR8EIX iridium. That said, a good quality brand platinum or copper plug can also do you no harm, especially if you are going to spend the time tuning a carburetor.
- Wheels. Bearings are sealed, so there is no greasing the bearings, but some Marine/Waterproof axle grease on the axle bolt never hurts. I do recommend checking that the bearings are freely turning, and if not, remove them and see if they are still good and not damaged by being improperly pressed in, or too tightly pressed in like my rear bearings were. Definitely check the wheels for trueness. I trued up my front wheel a little, but the rear was perfect. Tightening the spokes is a definite item to check off that list though.
-Tires. I am still running the stock knobbies on my Hawk lol. The Magician comes with more of a 70/30 or 80/20 tire. What kind of use is your bike going to see primarily? That will help determine what would work best for you. Personally, the Maigician is mostly a road bike in my eyes. It has much less suspension travel than the Hawk does, so it's more of a road bike that could handle a country road decently. I wouldn't go trying to do trail riding with it, as there is evidence from one member that the frame may not be up to the task in handling rougher stuff well.
- Headstock and swingarm = yes, do this.
- If the Magician doesn't already come with a braided line, then you will have to find an alternative to do this upgrade. If you know the length you need CORE MOTO can custom build you a line in any color combination you want for $69. http://www.coremoto.com/category_s/4085.htm Or you can try to find an existin brake line with the same Banjo fittings and similar length and adapt it.
- All of the brake stuff. By pads, I assume you mean clean them? If so, then yes, give all of the brake parts a good cleaning.
- Loctite - ALL THE THINGS! lol.

Other suggestions, check to make sure the fuel tank isn't going to be rubbing against a bracket on the bottom. Motocheez has a youtube video on this issue causing a leak on the Magician he had that he sold to his friend.

This is exactly the feedback I was looking for. I'm excited to be anal about everything(that sounds bad.) I'm buying this bike as a road only commuter bike to work and mainly so I can learn about carburetors. Being in Utah I figured it was important to be able to adjust the jets and such without hassle so I bought the Mikuni carb a month ago just to play with it. Believe it or not I have only had fuel-injected bikes(except when I was young and didn't care ha.) Good to know the bearings are sealed and thanks so much for the brake line reference!

Also, do you think SF type oil is really necessary for this engine? I ask because I've got plenty of Honda SJ.

[Megadan]

Carbs are fairly simple really. Once you get your baseline jet sizes figured out, the rest is fairly simple. Since the Mikuni clone is such a popular swap on these engines, many of the Hawk setups here can give you an idea of where to start. If you are at high enough altitude, you may find that the jetting that comes in the Stock Carburetor and the Mikuni Clone may actually be just about right. Most people around 4000-5000ft above sea level run the stock jetting.

Here is a handy dandy chart you can use to help get an idea. The N100.604 jet on these charts is the main jet used in the Mikuni clones.
https://www.thumpertalk.com/uploads/...1454275318.gif

To simplify that chart, every 2500ft of elevation change calls for a half step decrease in jet size, and every 25 degrees of temperature swing also calls for that same half a step up or down,

Example, I am at 1000ft and I am running a 110 main jet, if I were to ride up to 3000-3500ft, ideally I should step down to a 107.5 main jet, and if the temp dropped from 75 degrees where I was and is now 50 degrees at 3500ft I would want to increase the main jet half a step. This means that My main jet would stay the same size, but if the temp never changed during my climb, then for optimum performance I would want to change to a 107.5. Is this really necessary? No. My bike might be a hair on the rich side, but still rideable and the performance change will be almost unnoticeable. If you ever plan a trip though, this will definitely give you a good idea of what jets to bring along with you if you ever plan a trip.

As far as the oil question. SJ is a more current API classification, while the SF standard is technically obsolete. As long as the oil is wet clutch rated, then it should work fine. Personally, I run Rotella T4 15W40 in both of my bikes, and in the case of my Goldwing it actually performs better than Honda GN4 10w40 overall. Plus, it's about half the price and is SF JASO rated. Being a Diesel oil also means it has a lot of compression modifiers, detergents to help suspend deposits, and is formulated for higher thermal stability. This makes it almost ideal for the dual purpose duty of engine and gearbox lubrication like a motorcycle. It has a higher level of ZDDP, which is good for flat tappet valvetrains like the Hawk has. It is also safe for wet clutches. Plus, 2 - 4 quart jugs costs $30 or less, and on a Hawk means you are good for 6 oil changes lol.

[BlackBike]

Megadan...excellent