Dual sport / dirt bike recommendations

stumpmj · 06-12-2017, 11:33 PM

Hi everyone,

I've been doing a bunch of reading around here and I've decided to take the plunge on a Chinabike. The question is which one.

My use will be mainly of road. I'd prefer lights and the signals so I can register it (I'm in Utah so I can register just about anything with lights) to make navigating between trails easier and so I can make the occasional run to the store but I'm not above a pure dirt bike if it's sufficiently better.

I've been borrowing a friend's bike so I have a bit of dirt experience as well as five years of so if street riding experience.

I know I want 21/18 front and rear wheels and the biggest frame possible (I'm 6' 2" ) and I'd prefer electric start.

So all of you experts out there, what would you recommend and which vendor would you reccomend? At a glance, I see the Nathan enfircer, the hawk, the stallion, and the Apollo agb36. I know the last one is dirt bike only but I also see longer travel suspension and more power via a higher compression ratio.

So, thoughts? Recomendations? Warnings?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

Megadan · 06-13-2017, 04:50 AM

I think the best question to start with is, how much do you want to spend? Followed by, how hard to you want to push this bike when you do go off road?

I can speak from my experience with the Hawk. Being a fellow tall person (6'4'') I can say that the Hawk is surprisingly comfortable. I won't say I have all of the room in the world, but I don't feel cramped at all. You can get one to your door for roughly $1300 bucks, and in my opinion, for road use you will want to do a couple of upgrades that will add to the cost.
1. Sprockets to gear it better for road use, bare minimum would be to run a 40 tooth rear sprocket - $20. This gives roughly the same gearing as the famous 17/45 combination.
2. A quality chain - this can range anywhere from $20 to $80 depending on what options you go with. The stock one will work fine, but the quality is hit or miss, some people get quite a few miles out of them, others don't.
3. While not necessary, I would also recommend the Tach cluster upgrade so that you have an accurate speedometer, an Odometer that reads in miles, and obviously a tach - $95.
4. A main jet kit to tune the stock carb -$10,
OR a VM26 "upgrade" with an upsized pilot jet and again the main jet kit - $55, this route has more tunability, but costs more. If you plan to do upgrades like the exhaust and intake modifications, the Mikuni is the better option.
5. Change all of the fluids it comes with. Obviously this can vary greatly in cost, but these would be my recommendations.
+Fork oil - some recommend ATF, I say use actual Fork oil. I run 15wt PJ1 synthetic fork oil in mine and it rides great and a .5L bottle (just enough to do the forks with a little left over) is about $14.
+Engine oil - Shell Rotella T4 15w-40. You can buy a gallon of it for $13 bucks at WalMart, which is enough for almost 3 oil changes. (My hawk takes 1.5 quarts to show in the middle of the sight glass with the bike level)
+Brake fluid - take your pick, good DOT3 or 4. Just call it 10 bucks.

For road use, this is what I feel is the minimum for a hawk. So if we go with the cheapest route possible, tack on $190 to have a GOOD hawk. Some people might disagree, but this is my opinion for a mainly road use bike, and it is exactly how my bike currently sits, although I have an exhaust and intake stuff waiting in boxes. Essentially, $1500 realistically gets you a good reliable basic "dual sport" bike to get you point A to point B.

On the other end of the 250cc Chinabike spectrum you have the Pitster Pro LXR 250F. It's not a cheap bike compared to the hawk, more than double the price at around 3500 bucks. However, with that doubled price you get essentially double the power, a water cooled engine, 6 gears, EFI, Billet wheel hubs, heavy duty alloy rims, and high quality long travel suspension with billet triple clamps, inverted forks, and an adjustable rear shock.

As far as a Vendor for the Hawk, there are a lot of options with good and bad stories from each. I bought mine from Killermotorsports. My experience was good. I got the bike when they said I would get it, and after submitting my MCO request it took about 10 days to arrive with the bill of sale.

stumpmj · 06-13-2017, 08:34 AM

Great info, thanks!

To clarify, I'm really looking for a dirt machine that is road legal. I'd likely have to shorten the gearing on a hawk (smaller countershaft or bigger rear sprocket) for trails.

Budget is under $2000 and preferably under $1500. Any more than that and I'll hold out until bikes get cheaper this fall.

Thanks again!

**JerryHawk250** · 06-13-2017, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stumpmj

Great info, thanks!

To clarify, I'm really looking for a dirt machine that is road legal. I'd likely have to shorten the gearing on a hawk (smaller countershaft or bigger rear sprocket) for trails.

Budget is under $2000 and preferably under $1500. Any more than that and I'll hold out until bikes get cheaper this fall.

Thanks again!

The Hawk is already low geared. Almost too low. I'm very happy with my Hawk. I think this will be perfect for what you looking for. Carb tuning and unplugging the exhaust really wake these bikes up.

Megadan · 06-13-2017, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

The Hawk is already low geared. Almost too low.

I agree with the gearing. The stock 15/50 combination is already very low out of the box. Obviously you can ride it as is and decide what to do from there.

I do believe the Bashan Enforcer - essentially a Hawk as well - comes with a 45 or 46 tooth rear sprocket, and many owners are happy with that. There are also Hawk owners who just run a rear sprocket around that same tooth count that are happy.

Given your price range it sounds like the Hawk or Enforcer are right up your alley.

2LZ · 06-14-2017, 09:56 AM

The Hawk is about the best two wheeled deal on the planet. Can you road register it in Utah, is the main question. Some states won't do it because it's listed as an off road bike according to EPA. You may want to check with others here and your local DMV before pulling the trigger.

Miniminimike · 06-15-2017, 01:53 AM

I registered my 2017 Hawk 250 here in Utah a couple of weeks ago with no problems. The MCO said motorcycle and the lady asked if it was a street motorcycle and I said yes. I had a local police officer come to my house and do the VIN certification form after I assembled it and took that form to the DMV along with the bill of sale, MCO, proof of insurance and completed title form.
I bought from TXPowersprts with no problem. Delivered within a week and MCO forms came 3 days later in the mail.

I'm loving the bike. Seems well geared for trail riding. Rode to the top of Lake Mountain last Saturday. Very pleased so far! I'm 6'3" and 250 lbs

2LZ · 06-15-2017, 10:13 AM

This is good to hear that UT is on the "yes" list.

06-12-2017, 11:33 PM	#1
stumpmj Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: SLC Posts: 2	Dual sport / dirt bike recommendations Hi everyone, I've been doing a bunch of reading around here and I've decided to take the plunge on a Chinabike. The question is which one. My use will be mainly of road. I'd prefer lights and the signals so I can register it (I'm in Utah so I can register just about anything with lights) to make navigating between trails easier and so I can make the occasional run to the store but I'm not above a pure dirt bike if it's sufficiently better. I've been borrowing a friend's bike so I have a bit of dirt experience as well as five years of so if street riding experience. I know I want 21/18 front and rear wheels and the biggest frame possible (I'm 6' 2" ) and I'd prefer electric start. So all of you experts out there, what would you recommend and which vendor would you reccomend? At a glance, I see the Nathan enfircer, the hawk, the stallion, and the Apollo agb36. I know the last one is dirt bike only but I also see longer travel suspension and more power via a higher compression ratio. So, thoughts? Recomendations? Warnings? Thanks in advance for your replies!
	0

06-13-2017, 04:50 AM	#2
Megadan Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 8,017	I think the best question to start with is, how much do you want to spend? Followed by, how hard to you want to push this bike when you do go off road? I can speak from my experience with the Hawk. Being a fellow tall person (6'4'') I can say that the Hawk is surprisingly comfortable. I won't say I have all of the room in the world, but I don't feel cramped at all. You can get one to your door for roughly $1300 bucks, and in my opinion, for road use you will want to do a couple of upgrades that will add to the cost. 1. Sprockets to gear it better for road use, bare minimum would be to run a 40 tooth rear sprocket - $20. This gives roughly the same gearing as the famous 17/45 combination. 2. A quality chain - this can range anywhere from $20 to $80 depending on what options you go with. The stock one will work fine, but the quality is hit or miss, some people get quite a few miles out of them, others don't. 3. While not necessary, I would also recommend the Tach cluster upgrade so that you have an accurate speedometer, an Odometer that reads in miles, and obviously a tach - $95. 4. A main jet kit to tune the stock carb -$10, OR a VM26 "upgrade" with an upsized pilot jet and again the main jet kit - $55, this route has more tunability, but costs more. If you plan to do upgrades like the exhaust and intake modifications, the Mikuni is the better option. 5. Change all of the fluids it comes with. Obviously this can vary greatly in cost, but these would be my recommendations. +Fork oil - some recommend ATF, I say use actual Fork oil. I run 15wt PJ1 synthetic fork oil in mine and it rides great and a .5L bottle (just enough to do the forks with a little left over) is about $14. +Engine oil - Shell Rotella T4 15w-40. You can buy a gallon of it for $13 bucks at WalMart, which is enough for almost 3 oil changes. (My hawk takes 1.5 quarts to show in the middle of the sight glass with the bike level) +Brake fluid - take your pick, good DOT3 or 4. Just call it 10 bucks. For road use, this is what I feel is the minimum for a hawk. So if we go with the cheapest route possible, tack on $190 to have a GOOD hawk. Some people might disagree, but this is my opinion for a mainly road use bike, and it is exactly how my bike currently sits, although I have an exhaust and intake stuff waiting in boxes. Essentially, $1500 realistically gets you a good reliable basic "dual sport" bike to get you point A to point B. On the other end of the 250cc Chinabike spectrum you have the Pitster Pro LXR 250F. It's not a cheap bike compared to the hawk, more than double the price at around 3500 bucks. However, with that doubled price you get essentially double the power, a water cooled engine, 6 gears, EFI, Billet wheel hubs, heavy duty alloy rims, and high quality long travel suspension with billet triple clamps, inverted forks, and an adjustable rear shock. As far as a Vendor for the Hawk, there are a lot of options with good and bad stories from each. I bought mine from Killermotorsports. My experience was good. I got the bike when they said I would get it, and after submitting my MCO request it took about 10 days to arrive with the bill of sale. __________________ Hawk Information and Resource guide: http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=20331 2018 Hawk 250 - Full Mod list here. http://www.chinariders.net/showpost....62&postcount=1 2024 Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 https://chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=34124
	0

06-14-2017, 09:56 AM	#6
2LZ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Volcano, Ca Posts: 7,092	The Hawk is about the best two wheeled deal on the planet. Can you road register it in Utah, is the main question. Some states won't do it because it's listed as an off road bike according to EPA. You may want to check with others here and your local DMV before pulling the trigger. __________________ "Light a fire for a man, and you heat him for a day. Light a man on fire, and you heat him for the rest of his life." 2007 Suzuki DRZ400S (SM convert) 2009 Q Link XP 200 1967 BSA B25 250cc Starfire 2022 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 2023 Royal Enfield Scram 411 1948 Royal Enfield Model G 350
	1

06-15-2017, 10:13 AM	#8
2LZ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Volcano, Ca Posts: 7,092	This is good to hear that UT is on the "yes" list. __________________ "Light a fire for a man, and you heat him for a day. Light a man on fire, and you heat him for the rest of his life." 2007 Suzuki DRZ400S (SM convert) 2009 Q Link XP 200 1967 BSA B25 250cc Starfire 2022 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 2023 Royal Enfield Scram 411 1948 Royal Enfield Model G 350
	1

06-13-2017, 08:34 AM	#3
stumpmj Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: SLC Posts: 2	Great info, thanks! To clarify, I'm really looking for a dirt machine that is road legal. I'd likely have to shorten the gearing on a hawk (smaller countershaft or bigger rear sprocket) for trails. Budget is under $2000 and preferably under $1500. Any more than that and I'll hold out until bikes get cheaper this fall. Thanks again!
	0