Hawk Talk

[Ariel Red Hunter]

I guess there are three kinds of gasoline. Basically. Aviation gas, which has no ethanol, but you can't buy any. The other two are motor fuels. Various grades of ethanol treated gas, and non-ethanol gas. If you use your bike for a commuter, ethanol gas will work fine as long as you use a tankful per week. Why a week? It actually lasts a little longer than that, but safety first. When ethanol gas goes bad, it really is nasty, and causes all kinds of carburetor, and fuel tank problems. But, as long as it is fresh, all is well. I'm guessing that it is not as much of a problem west of Fort Worth, Texas where the air is drier. But for everywhere else in the US and Canada, where the humidity is higher, that's where the problem becomes real. Especially for people who don't ride every day. There you will be much happier, especially in the long run, if you use non-ethanol gas. Because it doesn't separate out into gas, water, and goo. Like ethanol gas does....ARH

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Most clutch troubles are actually in the cable layout and/or adjustment. Remember, there are two adjustments, one on the clutch operating lever on the engine, and the other at the lever on the handlebars. But first make sure the cable is lubricated, and runs in nice easy sweeps to the operating lever on the crankcase cover. Then, I remove the cable end from the clutch operating lever, and adjust the lever so it just has freeplay. Not much freeplay, just a little. All you need is enough so that the clutch operating rod and ball bearing are not under clutch pressure plate tension all of the time. After you have adjusted that, then work on the handlebar lever until you have 1/8th to 3/16 of an inch movement at the very tip of the handlebar lever. Now ride your bike until it is well warmed up. Now check that you still have free play at the operating lever. If you don't, ADJUST AT THE OPERATING LEVER. Not at the handle bar lever. Learn to shift to neutral as you come to a stop. It is not a car. It has a multiple plate clutch running in oil. When you hold the clutch out while in gear, the clutch is heating up from the oil drag on the clutch faces. Heating up makes the plate linings swell up enough to get clutch drag. Ride it right, and you should have no problems. If you still have a dragging problem, I'll get into that next time....ARH

[pete]

I set my clutch up with slight drag...
So when the bike is in gear clutch lever
releast " not pulled in " it just trys to move foward...


.

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by pete

I set my clutch up with slight drag...
So when the bike is in gear clutch lever
releast " not pulled in " it just trys to move foward...


.

Pete, would you enlarge on this statement please? There are word use differences between various English-speaking countries. To us here when you release the clutch lever ('not pulled in") with the transmission in gear, it better move forward...ARH

[pete]

Originally Posted by Ariel Red Hunter

Pete, would you enlarge on this statement please? There are word use differences between various English-speaking countries. To us here when you release the clutch lever ('not pulled in") with the transmission in gear, it better move forward...ARH

LOL.... sorry I couldn't help myself....
thought it would make you scratch yer head a bit...

It has a Rekluse EXP2 Auto clutch in it
put it in gear and it will sit there till
you twist the throttle... like a Honda CT110....
Or pull the lever , rev it and it stays like
a normal clutch till you let the lever out with a few revs on..
Has full manual or full auto clutch it changes from
one to the other wheather you use the clutch lever
or not..
you can remove the clutch lever & just have a full auto clutch..
but it is dam hard to find nutrual with out the manual clutch..
manual makes lifting the front easyer for logs etc....



.

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by pete

LOL.... sorry I couldn't help myself....
thought it would make you scratch yer head a bit...

It has a Rekluse EXP2 Auto clutch in it
put it in gear and it will sit there till
you twist the throttle... like a Honda CT110....
Or pull the lever , rev it and it stays like
a normal clutch till you let the lever out with a few revs on..
Has full manual or full auto clutch it changes from
one to the other wheather you use the clutch lever
or not..
you can remove the clutch lever & just have a full auto clutch..
but it is dam hard to find nutrual with out the manual clutch..
manual makes lifting the front easyer for logs etc....



.

I only had just the faintest glimmer that there might be a tongue-in-cheek put down in there. And I went after it like a tall dog in a rainstorm....ARH

[Ariel Red Hunter]

What if you still have a clutch dragging problem? You will have to take off the right side crankcase/clutch cover. Remember there is oil in there because this clutch runs in oil. Maybe you better order a new gasket before you take the cover off. Better safe than sorry. Pull the spark plug out, and ground it to the engine or the frame. Dis-engage the clutch so that the pressure plate compresses the springs. Roll the engine over with the starter and see that the pressure plate doesn't wobble. If it does wobble, adjust the springs until the plate revolves perfectly. Put it back together with the old gasket. Test it for clutch release and clutch hook-up. I've used walls, big rocks and big logs to check that the clutch hooks up. Good luck...ARH

[TaThaTaWay]

Anyone have chain slack issues? I have an issue of the chain, when I get everything aligned and slack on the chain just right and tighten it up to 65lbs of torque and 1 ride the chain goes back to probably 2 inches of slack. I know its better to be on the loose side than the tighter side but 2 inches is that too much? Also how to fix this.... tried it twice and both times it goes from just right to almost tooo loose.

[JeremyC]

Originally Posted by TaThaTaWay

Anyone have chain slack issues? I have an issue of the chain, when I get everything aligned and slack on the chain just right and tighten it up to 65lbs of torque and 1 ride the chain goes back to probably 2 inches of slack. I know its better to be on the loose side than the tighter side but 2 inches is that too much? Also how to fix this.... tried it twice and both times it goes from just right to almost tooo loose.

If it's the chain that came on it, throw it out and get a unibear chain. The stock chain is prone to stretching and breaking.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by TaThaTaWay

Anyone have chain slack issues? I have an issue of the chain, when I get everything aligned and slack on the chain just right and tighten it up to 65lbs of torque and 1 ride the chain goes back to probably 2 inches of slack. I know its better to be on the loose side than the tighter side but 2 inches is that too much? Also how to fix this.... tried it twice and both times it goes from just right to almost tooo loose.

Quality of chains are hit and miss ( mostly miss) There are a few of us Hawk owners that have had no issues with the chain, Me being one of them. I was ready to order a chain before I even got the bike because I heard how bad they were. I only had to adjust the chain twice. Once after the first ride and the second time was at about 100 miles. I haven't fooled with the chain except to remove and clean it a few time but check it before I removed it and was okay. I have over 1600 miles on the chain and has very little side play. They must have sent out a batch of Hawks with decent chains.

[XDoubleXA]

Originally Posted by TaThaTaWay

Anyone have chain slack issues? I have an issue of the chain, when I get everything aligned and slack on the chain just right and tighten it up to 65lbs of torque and 1 ride the chain goes back to probably 2 inches of slack. I know its better to be on the loose side than the tighter side but 2 inches is that too much? Also how to fix this.... tried it twice and both times it goes from just right to almost tooo loose.

Im having the same issues with the Shark. I had to adjust the rear wheel 4 times already, and i just hit 150miles. I know its stretches abit, but this is getting annoying, and new chains arent cheap.

[ricardoguitars]

Originally Posted by XDoubleXA

Im having the same issues with the Shark. I had to adjust the rear wheel 4 times already, and i just hit 150miles. I know its stretches abit, but this is getting annoying, and new chains arent cheap.

Toss the OEM chain, its garbage, mine kept stretching well over 500km on the clock, get an O-ring chain and be done with it, 17K+ on the clock and still running strong.

[Rangerscott]

Oring chain for sure if youre road riding. A snapping training is not fun going down the highway.

[JeremyC]

I pulled my stock chain off and could flex it sideways into a half circle, so mine was crap out of the crate.

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by XDoubleXA

Im having the same issues with the Shark. I had to adjust the rear wheel 4 times already, and i just hit 150miles. I know its stretches abit, but this is getting annoying, and new chains arent cheap.

People on this site that have switched to UniBear chain have had very good experiences with them, and they are not expensive. In the $20.00 range.