Hawk top speed?

[Koolaide_is_bad]

[QUOTE=
Will be throwing a properly jetted mikuni, and the 17/45 gears on my other hawk probably next week and then some kenda or vee rubber 80/20 dual sport tires to see how much the road manners improve.[/QUOTE]


did you ever get the touring tires. I'm very curious about weather or not its worth it for my hawk

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Koolaide_is_bad

did you ever get the touring tires. I'm very curious about weather or not its worth it for my hawk

This is an old thread, so it's likely not to get a response.

With my last Hawk, the road manners were vastly improved when I went from the stock knobbies to a set of Shinko 705's, which are very road oriented.

If you put a set of strictly road tires on, it will be even better still. There is at least one member here that has done this, and he only had good things to say. The downside is that you lose a lot of off road capability, so if you don't plan on going off pavement with your bike, then it is a good way to go. If you want to retain some mild off road capability, a set of 80/20 tires like the Shinko 705 is a great option.

[Lit Hawk]

I just got some new Shinko 705s and I love them. What sucks is right before I got them in the mail I noticed my chain slipping and saw my 43 tooth rear sprocket was almost gone. So I put the 45 I have on was almost new but still loooked new and that lasted maybe 3 days. Only thing I can think of is the O-Ring chain going bad so yesterday I went back to 17/50 and stock chain. This morning was my first time riding to work and I was able to get it up to about 71 engines screaming though at about 9000rpm. Off freeway straight road I can get it to 63 easy. Looks like the O-Ring chain was my problem I’m guessing, gonna leave the 17/50 on it for a couple more days and if my rear sprocket stays good I’m gonna throw on my last sprocket I got a 39 and save the 50 for backup. Haven’t taken the 705s off-road yet but on road they’re great. Gotta thank megadan again for the box of extra sprockets and chains they’ve come in handy.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Lit Hawk

Gotta thank megadan again for the box of extra sprockets and chains they’ve come in handy.

Glad they came in handy. Most of it was used, some of it new. Strange to hear that the chain went bad already, but you might have put it through more severe use than I did and it already had about 3000 miles on it.

[Lit Hawk]

Yeah definitely riding 50 miles round trip to work and back mostly freeway at about 70. I had bought Shinko 244 last December and completely wore out the rear tire back in October. Didn’t last me a year so I threw on stock rear knobbie with from Shinko 244 both had plenty tread still and both wore completely out a couple weeks ago. So that’s why I went with more street tires. Way smoother on freeway now

[Koolaide_is_bad]

Thanks for the info guys I think I will go with some 80/20s. Did anyone get a top speed gain with the street tires?

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Koolaide_is_bad

Thanks for the info guys I think I will go with some 80/20s. Did anyone get a top speed gain with the street tires?

I would like to say yes, but I don't have any definitive data. In theory a more aggressive tread like the stock tires will have a higher rolling resistance due to the deflection and deformation of the tread blocks. That said, if there was any gain in top speed, it was at best maybe 1mph or so, which is arguably no real change at all. What you will get is a much smoother ride at higher speeds and a much more stable and comfortable experience. A lot less vibration through the bike as well.

[Skiforce75]

Originally Posted by fishtime9

So, I managed to get my bike insured, as well as took it for a trip to the local town. However, I would like to know what the actual top speed is because my speedometer has to have a tremendous amount of error percentage, due to the fact that it displays 50mp/h but the bike was fine when keeping up in a 60 mph area?

The only speed modification i installed is to be the 17T front sprocket, all the other modifications are for decoration or so on.

Can somebody please tell me on how much the hawk actually speeds up to when hitting the 50 mp/h mark?

Get a GPS App for your cell phone and know for sure. They are free so why not?

[Lit Hawk]

Agree with megadan I can’t really tell yet since I’ve gotten the new tires due to both my sprockets and chain wearing out but at high speeds the 705s are 10X better way less vibration a lot smoother, enjoyable ride. I wouldn’t think I could get any faster than my top speed at 76 but a lot more, I wanna say funner but auto spells not letting me so I doubt that’s right. Couldn’t recommend them anymore if you do more riding on pavement than dirt. I’ll give an update once I hit the dirt trails and mud cause I got trails all over the back of my neighborhood but have not tested the new tires out there yet. Heck I’ll take vid of both freeway and trails soon for everyone to see. It’s about time I learn how to start posting vids

[OneLeggedRider]

I'm a newbie when it comes to the Hawk and I'm considering switching to the 17/45 sprockets. But I weigh 250lbs and do plan on off roading it some so I don't want my first gear too high for putting around in the woods and climbing small hills. Does anyone have any input on this?

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by OneLeggedRider

I'm a newbie when it comes to the Hawk and I'm considering switching to the 17/45 sprockets. But I weigh 250lbs and do plan on off roading it some so I don't want my first gear too high for putting around in the woods and climbing small hills. Does anyone have any input on this?

You should be good with the 17/45 sprockets. If you find it to high just get a 16 tooth or put you 15 tooth back on. If I know I'm riding strictly street I put my 17T and if I'm off road only I use the 15T. Sometimes I use the 16T when I'm out riding some of the back roads and hit a few trails through the wooded areas and cane fields. The front sprocket is an easy swap. I'm running a 40T on the rear but onlt weigh around 180.

[DualSport]

Just for reference: All the japanese 250cc dual sports are 14T sprocket. They have better stroke an bore to handle better gear ratios though..

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by OneLeggedRider

I'm a newbie when it comes to the Hawk and I'm considering switching to the 17/45 sprockets. But I weigh 250lbs and do plan on off roading it some so I don't want my first gear too high for putting around in the woods and climbing small hills. Does anyone have any input on this?

I weigh a tad more than you and I ran around on a 17/43 on the street with no complaints. It was a touch too tall for any serious off roading though, but it could still handle a basic trail alright, just not deep loose stuff or anything that required crawling along.

As Jerry said, if you find it too tall for off road, a quick front sprocket swap works really well. A 16/45 is equivalent to a 17/48 (2.81 ratio), and I found that ratio to be a really good compromise between off and on road. A 15/45 will give you the same basic factory ratio as a TT250, which comes with a 17 front and 50 rear. So if you really wanted to you could simply start with a 45 rear sprocket and see if you like it, then spring for a different front depending on how it feels to you

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by DualSport

Just for reference: All the japanese 250cc dual sports are 14T sprocket. They have better stroke an bore to handle better gear ratios though..

All Japanese dual sports tend to come with a 520 chain as well, making a 14 tooth front sprocket larger than a 17 tooth 428 chain sprocket. Making your comparison a bit apples to oranges. My bike has a 13t 520 front, mostly because it's effective size is just slightly smaller than a 17t 428 sprocket (but bigger than a 16) and a 14t 520 is too big to work with the Hawk sprocket cover.

[OneLeggedRider]

Thanks Jerry and Megadan. Yes I am a big fella, 6'2" 250lbs size 13 shoe and have to special order my hats and gloves lol. I also hit a Subaru wagon head on at high speed on a Yamaha Seca and lost my left leg when I was 18. But I can ride anything and operate any piece of machinery. Dan has me thinking I should switch to the 520 setup right from the gitgo, all my other bikes run a 520. Be interested to know what a 16/45 ratio be on the bigger chain. Still gonna play with the 428 to figure out my ratio though, dont want it buzzy at 55 but also wanna hit the numerous trails here in southeast Ohio. Also are there not any welders in the group? Because of my big feet and artificial leg I'm gonna need wider pegs, but I'm just gonna cut the stock ones in half and use thin flat bar to make them 1.5" longer.