Orion Powersports Hawk 250 Experience - so far so good

Maadcat · 05-14-2019, 09:50 PM

I have been lurking here for a few weeks before pulling the trigger on a Hawk 250. I did a lot of research on this site for the least painful (best?) supplier to buy from. They all have about the same incentives plus or minus a free pair of goggles or such.
I finally settled on Orion Powersports for two reasons:

1. Although there wasn't very much in the way of experiences it seemed with the owners here, the few there are seem neutral to positive.

2. They offered free assembly and testing(whatever that means). For me that equals someone actually having unpacked and gone through all of the parts. I'm assuming that will mean they are all there (yet to be determined).

I have not received my bike yet, but let me recap the experience so far for posterity sake.

I ordered the bike on May 4. That was Saturday, so I knew that I wouldn't see any activity until Monday May 6.

On Monday, mid-afternoon I received an email asking me to call them regarding my order. I had received a call from a Texas number earlier in the day and didn't realize it was them. I called them and was politely greeted by a gentleman on the phone. He was pleasant and asked for my order number. The reason for the call was because my first choice of black was no longer in stock. This didn't surprise me since I had been noticing that most sites were out and I assume they all pull from the same inventory. Bad news, 60-90 days backorder. So he wanted to confirm my second choice of blue. They didn't have to do this, so I thought it was a nice courtesy to confirm.
Within one hour I received another email with a form to sign accepting their terms. I don't know if that is typical, but I signed and returned it. I received a confirmation email that I had returned the signed document.

On May 9, I received an email with an update showing that my bike was complete and was shipping via Fedex Freight from Texas with an estimated delivery of May 14 (today).

Ahhhh, now the fun of watching the bike make its way north to Michigan. Within one night, it traveled from Texas to Illinois, near Chicago, only 3 hours away. Then it had some weird weather delay even though there was no bad weather at all anywhere in the midwest at the time. But the delivery date didn't change.
At this point it was the weekend again, so no activity.

Monday May 13 brought some new movement to another location in Illinois.
Tuesday May 14 (delivery day) it shows up in Grand Rapids terminal (final stop)
Now what? Are they going to call? Or do they just show up with a box truck or a semi? I'm not sure what to expect as I have not received freight to my house before. I've also read on this site issues people have with liftgates versus pickup at the terminal.
I wait all day today....waiting for a call from Fedex, or my wife, that something was going to happen today. By the afternoon, I can't take it anymore....I call Fedex. They put me through to the local terminal. The lady there says that they will call me to schedule and puts me through to their scheduler.....no answer....ring ring ring.....grrrr.
I call back 30 minutes later.....no answer.....ring ring.....grrrrrrrr.

So now I wait. My bike 45 minutes away. No answer from Fedex. I guess I wait until they call.

wedooit · 05-15-2019, 01:57 AM

congrats!!! Would be interesting to see what assembly and testing means. Keep us posted.

herbie · 05-15-2019, 05:01 AM

Congratulations on the new bike! I am looking forward to hearing about your experience with Orion. I just started getting interested in the Chinese bikes and have been shopping around. I have been leaning towards Superior powersports to order from so it will be nice to hear about Orion too.

Digger · 05-15-2019, 07:09 AM

Another Michigan Hawk owner!

Megadan · 05-15-2019, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maadcat

So now I wait. My bike 45 minutes away. No answer from Fedex. I guess I wait until they call.

If it makes you feel better, I had to wait 4 days to take delivery of my Hawk with it sitting at the terminal less than 10 minutes away. I was at work the first day for 14 hours. then the next 3 days were a Holiday weekend, and so I couldn't even go pick it up. I know your frustration.

Maadcat · 05-15-2019, 01:01 PM

Well the adventure continues....

This morning I couldn't take it anymore and called Fedex back. I immediately got ahold of the freight scheduler. When I asked if they were supposed to call to schedule delivery she said "oh yeah, I called yesterday and left a message". Well it turns out they were given a phone number one digit off from mine. Mystery solved on that.
Anyway, as the conversation went on, it turns out that Orion didn't pay for liftgate service to my residence. So somehow I was supposed to get a 400lb. package off a semi. My option was to go back at Orion to see if they would pay or foot the $140 bill myself. Anticipated a run-around on getting Orion to pay I passed on those options. My other options, drive 45 minutes and pick it up at the terminal or have it delivered to work where we have a shipping dock. Well I selected the latter. Unfortunately it means another day of waiting. But lesson learned, get the shipping details figured out ahead of time so you know what to expect on the receiving end.
I may hit Orion up at some time and see if that was a missed detail or if that is SOP. I would think they should spell that out since the site said free residential shipping. Who has a forklift sitting around at home for freight deliveries?!
So tomorrow I bring my trailer into work and wait for the call from my shipping dock. I'll give a detailed update on the results of the bikes trip across the country. And what fully assembled looks like.

Maadcat · 05-15-2019, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herbie

Congratulations on the new bike! I am looking forward to hearing about your experience with Orion. I just started getting interested in the Chinese bikes and have been shopping around. I have been leaning towards Superior powersports to order from so it will be nice to hear about Orion too.

It was a hard decision, for sure. Hopefully I can help you have another data point for your choice.

Maadcat · 05-15-2019, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Digger

Another Michigan Hawk owner!

Cool, I'm over on the west coast. Not many places to ride offroad directly in the area, but it's not too far to trailer bikes to some nice trails.

Digger · 05-15-2019, 07:50 PM

I ride out of Cedar Springs. Sometimes I trailer to Chase and ride the Baldwin/Cadillac area. You Will like your Hawk!

nij_tp · 05-15-2019, 08:35 PM

I purchased from Orion, had the same experience, had to pay $79 for free residential delivery to the north east. When it arrived it was on an 18 wheeler so no way to get it off. So had to refuse delivery. I phoned and the people at Orion where "you should have read the FAQ, it says there no liftgate." Great, why would I read the FAQ. Anyway I got hit with a further $140 (on top of the $79), for my free delivery.

ChipToothy · 05-15-2019, 09:10 PM

My dealer despite me paying the $400 shipping charge didn't offer to door service, only to get it here. LUCKILY the semi driver was stacked like a line backer and was like efff it and helped me get the box to my place.. including setting it down briskly on my ankle but I didn't complain.

herbie · 05-16-2019, 04:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maadcat

It was a hard decision, for sure. Hopefully I can help you have another data point for your choice.

Thanks Maadcat much appreciated!

herbie · 05-16-2019, 04:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nij_tp

I purchased from Orion, had the same experience, had to pay $79 for free residential delivery to the north east. When it arrived it was on an 18 wheeler so no way to get it off. So had to refuse delivery. I phoned and the people at Orion where "you should have read the FAQ, it says there no liftgate." Great, why would I read the FAQ. Anyway I got hit with a further $140 (on top of the $79), for my free delivery.

WOW! JUST WOW!! Thanks for that info

nij_tp · 05-16-2019, 07:48 AM

On a different note I insure all my toys (see below) with Progressive but they would only quote me no collision or comprehensive at @$75, Geico give me full coverage incl collision and comprehensive for just $99. So shop around.

Ps the help these guys (chinariders) give is amazing. Definitely read and follow Megadans advice in the Stickies, I'm doing a write up at the moment of my journey and so far, I have had to correct a number of the potential issues highlighted there.

Maadcat · 05-17-2019, 12:06 PM

Thanks for all the replies. And good news is the bike got here safe and secure yesterday. The Fedex truck showed up at work around 1:30pm. It was strapped down to a long pallet and wrapped in cardboard on both sides and then black plastic wrap. I looked over the packaging and took pictures before cutting off the plastic. No damages was evident from the outside. I cut off the plastic and removed the cardboard sandwich to find a beautiful bike underneath. There is something very satisfying about seeing all of that pristine black metal and chrome with the contrasting blue plastics. It's a gorgeous bike.
Anyway, went on to inspect the bike itself, and finding no damage I signed it off and sent the truck on its way.
Taped to the bike on the seat was a box and across the rear of the seat was an envelope that said MCO.
I removed the box and envelope. Low and behold, under the envelope there were scratches on the pillion handles and across the front of the fender directly behind the seat. These were all quite clearly not from Fedex since they were under the envelope and the rubber fender pads.
Other that that, the fully assembled bike was pristine. I did call Orion about the scratches. They said that those are typical and are coming from the metal crate bars from shipping from China. They didn't have a solution for the silver handles, but I have to send them a picture of the fender so the can see if RPS will replace it. I personally consider myself lucky for the minor damage that I have compared to some. I'm not going to cry over it at this point.
Anyway, I trailered it home no problems and the kids and I rolled it off the trailer, and there it sits in my barn waiting until I get some time to change fluids, finish the assy (mirrors, wiring, fuel line, battery) and upgrade the chain and carb.
I will get some pics up here to show how it was palleted and wrapped. Interesting way to ship an assembled bike. Cheap but effective blocking and such.
All told, I would order from Orion again. I would know ahead of time about the freight shipping, and have that in the plan from the beginning. Having it assembled definitely will save me some time even with a redo of critical attachments.
The MCO came with it, only because they shipped Fedex. Apparently the smaller carriers will steal the bikes, which is why they usually require the MCO to be sent later. Interesting.

05-14-2019, 09:50 PM	#1
Maadcat Join Date: May 2019 Location: Holland, MI Posts: 14	Orion Powersports Hawk 250 Experience - so far so good I have been lurking here for a few weeks before pulling the trigger on a Hawk 250. I did a lot of research on this site for the least painful (best?) supplier to buy from. They all have about the same incentives plus or minus a free pair of goggles or such. I finally settled on Orion Powersports for two reasons: 1. Although there wasn't very much in the way of experiences it seemed with the owners here, the few there are seem neutral to positive. 2. They offered free assembly and testing(whatever that means). For me that equals someone actually having unpacked and gone through all of the parts. I'm assuming that will mean they are all there (yet to be determined). I have not received my bike yet, but let me recap the experience so far for posterity sake. I ordered the bike on May 4. That was Saturday, so I knew that I wouldn't see any activity until Monday May 6. On Monday, mid-afternoon I received an email asking me to call them regarding my order. I had received a call from a Texas number earlier in the day and didn't realize it was them. I called them and was politely greeted by a gentleman on the phone. He was pleasant and asked for my order number. The reason for the call was because my first choice of black was no longer in stock. This didn't surprise me since I had been noticing that most sites were out and I assume they all pull from the same inventory. Bad news, 60-90 days backorder. So he wanted to confirm my second choice of blue. They didn't have to do this, so I thought it was a nice courtesy to confirm. Within one hour I received another email with a form to sign accepting their terms. I don't know if that is typical, but I signed and returned it. I received a confirmation email that I had returned the signed document. On May 9, I received an email with an update showing that my bike was complete and was shipping via Fedex Freight from Texas with an estimated delivery of May 14 (today). Ahhhh, now the fun of watching the bike make its way north to Michigan. Within one night, it traveled from Texas to Illinois, near Chicago, only 3 hours away. Then it had some weird weather delay even though there was no bad weather at all anywhere in the midwest at the time. But the delivery date didn't change. At this point it was the weekend again, so no activity. Monday May 13 brought some new movement to another location in Illinois. Tuesday May 14 (delivery day) it shows up in Grand Rapids terminal (final stop) Now what? Are they going to call? Or do they just show up with a box truck or a semi? I'm not sure what to expect as I have not received freight to my house before. I've also read on this site issues people have with liftgates versus pickup at the terminal. I wait all day today....waiting for a call from Fedex, or my wife, that something was going to happen today. By the afternoon, I can't take it anymore....I call Fedex. They put me through to the local terminal. The lady there says that they will call me to schedule and puts me through to their scheduler.....no answer....ring ring ring.....grrrr. I call back 30 minutes later.....no answer.....ring ring.....grrrrrrrr. So now I wait. My bike 45 minutes away. No answer from Fedex. I guess I wait until they call.
	0

05-15-2019, 01:57 AM	#2
wedooit Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Pocatello, Idaho Posts: 794	congrats!!! Would be interesting to see what assembly and testing means. Keep us posted. __________________ A family that works together, plays together, shoots and trains together, and sleds together, stays together. Second amendment! SkiDoo sleds, NOW 2 TTR225, and a BMS250. A couple of quotes (we are not farmers) "I don't get off the farm much" "Am too old school" I call the china bikes "the china syndrome".
	0

05-15-2019, 08:35 PM	#10
nij_tp Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: Amherst NH Posts: 105	I purchased from Orion, had the same experience, had to pay $79 for free residential delivery to the north east. When it arrived it was on an 18 wheeler so no way to get it off. So had to refuse delivery. I phoned and the people at Orion where "you should have read the FAQ, it says there no liftgate." Great, why would I read the FAQ. Anyway I got hit with a further $140 (on top of the $79), for my free delivery. __________________ Toys include Audi B7, running Stage 2+, S4 Brakes. My VW Vanagon is running 2.5l VVT Subaru engine, 18" AMG wheels, Porsche 944 Steering Wheel, W eekender interior. 1989 VW Vanagon Bluestar one of 2500, 1986 Honda Shadow, 2000 Suzuki Intruder, 1988 Kawasaki Voyager XII, 1976 Mercury Capri II, a bunch of Trailers including a shortened Vanagon for camping, a Sequoia and the latest addition a 2019 Hawk 250. (But dont tell the wife! ) (Latest latest addition a 1995 fwd Subaru SVX)
	0

05-15-2019, 09:10 PM	#11
ChipToothy Join Date: Apr 2018 Posts: 819	My dealer despite me paying the $400 shipping charge didn't offer to door service, only to get it here. LUCKILY the semi driver was stacked like a line backer and was like efff it and helped me get the box to my place.. including setting it down briskly on my ankle but I didn't complain. __________________ Bashan Storm: Ebay steel exhaust wrapped, folding shift lever, seat mod, vm26 carb, air pod, dual led scrambler headlamps, windshield mod, led brake/tail light, secondary led brake light (swingarm), Ebay 295mm rear shock, back up CDI (racing unknown), oil cooler, digital gauge cluster,
	0

05-16-2019, 07:48 AM	#14
nij_tp Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: Amherst NH Posts: 105	On a different note I insure all my toys (see below) with Progressive but they would only quote me no collision or comprehensive at @$75, Geico give me full coverage incl collision and comprehensive for just $99. So shop around. Ps the help these guys (chinariders) give is amazing. Definitely read and follow Megadans advice in the Stickies, I'm doing a write up at the moment of my journey and so far, I have had to correct a number of the potential issues highlighted there. __________________ Toys include Audi B7, running Stage 2+, S4 Brakes. My VW Vanagon is running 2.5l VVT Subaru engine, 18" AMG wheels, Porsche 944 Steering Wheel, W eekender interior. 1989 VW Vanagon Bluestar one of 2500, 1986 Honda Shadow, 2000 Suzuki Intruder, 1988 Kawasaki Voyager XII, 1976 Mercury Capri II, a bunch of Trailers including a shortened Vanagon for camping, a Sequoia and the latest addition a 2019 Hawk 250. (But dont tell the wife! ) (Latest latest addition a 1995 fwd Subaru SVX)
	1

05-15-2019, 05:01 AM	#3
herbie Join Date: May 2019 Location: Illinois Posts: 864	Congratulations on the new bike! I am looking forward to hearing about your experience with Orion. I just started getting interested in the Chinese bikes and have been shopping around. I have been leaning towards Superior powersports to order from so it will be nice to hear about Orion too.
	0

05-15-2019, 07:09 AM	#4
Digger Join Date: Jul 2018 Posts: 64	Another Michigan Hawk owner!
	0

05-15-2019, 01:01 PM	#6
Maadcat Join Date: May 2019 Location: Holland, MI Posts: 14	Well the adventure continues.... This morning I couldn't take it anymore and called Fedex back. I immediately got ahold of the freight scheduler. When I asked if they were supposed to call to schedule delivery she said "oh yeah, I called yesterday and left a message". Well it turns out they were given a phone number one digit off from mine. Mystery solved on that. Anyway, as the conversation went on, it turns out that Orion didn't pay for liftgate service to my residence. So somehow I was supposed to get a 400lb. package off a semi. My option was to go back at Orion to see if they would pay or foot the $140 bill myself. Anticipated a run-around on getting Orion to pay I passed on those options. My other options, drive 45 minutes and pick it up at the terminal or have it delivered to work where we have a shipping dock. Well I selected the latter. Unfortunately it means another day of waiting. But lesson learned, get the shipping details figured out ahead of time so you know what to expect on the receiving end. I may hit Orion up at some time and see if that was a missed detail or if that is SOP. I would think they should spell that out since the site said free residential shipping. Who has a forklift sitting around at home for freight deliveries?! So tomorrow I bring my trailer into work and wait for the call from my shipping dock. I'll give a detailed update on the results of the bikes trip across the country. And what fully assembled looks like.
	0

05-15-2019, 07:50 PM	#9
Digger Join Date: Jul 2018 Posts: 64	I ride out of Cedar Springs. Sometimes I trailer to Chase and ride the Baldwin/Cadillac area. You Will like your Hawk!
	0

05-17-2019, 12:06 PM	#15
Maadcat Join Date: May 2019 Location: Holland, MI Posts: 14	Thanks for all the replies. And good news is the bike got here safe and secure yesterday. The Fedex truck showed up at work around 1:30pm. It was strapped down to a long pallet and wrapped in cardboard on both sides and then black plastic wrap. I looked over the packaging and took pictures before cutting off the plastic. No damages was evident from the outside. I cut off the plastic and removed the cardboard sandwich to find a beautiful bike underneath. There is something very satisfying about seeing all of that pristine black metal and chrome with the contrasting blue plastics. It's a gorgeous bike. Anyway, went on to inspect the bike itself, and finding no damage I signed it off and sent the truck on its way. Taped to the bike on the seat was a box and across the rear of the seat was an envelope that said MCO. I removed the box and envelope. Low and behold, under the envelope there were scratches on the pillion handles and across the front of the fender directly behind the seat. These were all quite clearly not from Fedex since they were under the envelope and the rubber fender pads. Other that that, the fully assembled bike was pristine. I did call Orion about the scratches. They said that those are typical and are coming from the metal crate bars from shipping from China. They didn't have a solution for the silver handles, but I have to send them a picture of the fender so the can see if RPS will replace it. I personally consider myself lucky for the minor damage that I have compared to some. I'm not going to cry over it at this point. Anyway, I trailered it home no problems and the kids and I rolled it off the trailer, and there it sits in my barn waiting until I get some time to change fluids, finish the assy (mirrors, wiring, fuel line, battery) and upgrade the chain and carb. I will get some pics up here to show how it was palleted and wrapped. Interesting way to ship an assembled bike. Cheap but effective blocking and such. All told, I would order from Orion again. I would know ahead of time about the freight shipping, and have that in the plan from the beginning. Having it assembled definitely will save me some time even with a redo of critical attachments. The MCO came with it, only because they shipped Fedex. Apparently the smaller carriers will steal the bikes, which is why they usually require the MCO to be sent later. Interesting.
	1