New member. NE, Kansas. 2020 Hawk DLX EFI

[Spun_Zombie]

Hello

The 2020 Hawk DLX has been an absolute win for me, I love this thing. I'm going to give my first impressions and post 2k mile review. I'll try and keep this concise but I'm only posting as my insomnia is winning tonight so, well old tired dude ramble ahead safety caffeine and or intoxicant is suggested.

I've lurked this forum on and off after stumbling onto a MotoCheez vid and finding out about the delivery dualsport under 2k. That was roughly the start of June 2020, I ordered my bike off Amazon July 10th and received it relatively quickly all things considered about 30 days later. That time was very rough on shipping with the whole pandemic kerfuffle so I was pleasantly surprised with just how quickly it arrived, and in perfect condition (I quickly rectified that) the one annoyance being the bill of sale had the misfortune of dancing the dance of doom with the bloated beast that is the USPS and after having been lost in California presumably to take up a life of soy consumption it mysteriously arrived 2+ months after the bike... So a couple months of no tag but sales receipts, insurance and tracking info on hand ridding without a plate I never once got pulled over. which considering how well armed with paperwork I was almost hurt my feeling. Knock on wood I still haven't.


It arrived in mint condition. I was shocked, as everything I'd read or watched had me fully prepared for at minimum minor cosmetic damage but even the thin plywood of the packing was perfectly intact.

I'd done my research here other places online and so was able to have it unpacked, assembled, drained and topped off, etc. in a couple hours and out on its first 100 miles the same day it arrived.

I followed a fairly zealous fluid flushing and change schedule every 100 miles for the first 500 just to get all the crud I could free. The amount of particulates observable to the naked eye with a fine mesh filter left me feeling justified. Fork oil was also flushed several times and carried out some crud that would have been rough on the life of the seals had I just left it.

I've seen a lot of people talk about a lack of power, acceleration on the new efi bikes. Most of them usually have sub 500 miles on it. What gets me is they start pulling parts off and fiddling with things.. The design and manufacture of this engine requires a REAL break in period unlike most modern engines break in you're not just bedding valves and seating bearings you're truly finalizing the machining via controlled (hopefully) wear from metal to metal contact. Remember this engine was designed for 3rd world export, the original Japanese engineers knew maintenance was as likely to be chicken blood and prayers as wrenching. Now compound that with less than ideal QC standards in our engines manufacturing (seriously even Italians would raise an eyebrow at the amount of crud in our blocks) and you have a work horse that NEEDS 500 to 1k miles on it before it really comes alive. Mine really started to perk up about 400 miles and didn't fully wake up until around 700 at which point it honestly runs like a champion.

I've ridden this bike throughout the entire Kansas winter up till now for all my day to day travelling. For context my Subaru suffered a catastrophic failure in October (looking for a solid 2.5 if you're selling) and my other bike is an old cx500 scrambler / street fighter i.e. prom queen , She's pretty and pretty unreliable.

This China bike has just been phenomenal both as transport and toy, though the stock tires are lacking for any mud or sand they are surprisingly great in snow and ice for cheep hard tires they're also all but immune to #3 gravel at 50-60 mph. Fuel millage is awesome, with the stock drive cruising at 65 without wind (I hadn't noticed wind on a bike since I was a kid driving my trail 90 to school but oh boy is it noticeable on this one) was no problem I could whip it to 70-73ish on a flat with no wind but that's pegging the rpms and asking for problems.

I just did order a new chain and sprockets, even with above and beyond maintenance the stock chain is dangerously over due for replacement as it has seen some seriously stupid fun offroading along with daily commute. I between 2k 2.5k miles on it
(ripped the spedo cable out on a fence post in high grass at one point ), for what it is that is far beyond what I expected from that chain.
I'll be trying out the often suggested 17f/45r set up with this chain as I'm planning on ridding the Hawk to Colorado this spring and some top end wouldn't hurt. I'm hopping that doesn't have to negative an impact on the puttablity of the Hawk off road I really enjoy just how easy exploring the flint hills has been so far. Fortunately it's stupidly cheep and a spare set of sprockets and a chain is a good idea anyway.

Well this is a huge wall of sleep deprived text. Just wanted to say hello and maybe bump into other Kansas Chinariders. I'll get some pics taken to show off what few mods I've done and the fairly significant trail rash she's suffered which is really just a weight reduction mod if you squint right.

[JerryHawk250]

Welcome aboard! glad to see you're enjoying the Hawk.

[TxTaoRider]

Welcome.

[freezerboy]

Hi,
I been prepping and assembling my new 2020 EFI Hawk today also. Glad to hear all the positive things you said about it. Looking forward to riding all summer. The threads on the bottom bolt for the monoshock were screwed up so I had to pick up a new one at the hardware store.
Hope to take it for my maiden Cruise tomorrow. I purchased mine at power sports Maxx but the owner's manual says Ricky powersports Texas. Have fun

[msteele]

@Spun Zombie- You are spot-on regarding the break-in mileage. I just passed 400 miles on my carbureted Hawk 250 and it is like a different bike. 58mph was hard to attain during the first 100 miles. Opened up air intake snorkel, went to a 105 main jet, raised needle with two washers, changed rear shock out (to drop seat height), left off tank plastic and mounting brackets as well as buddy pegs and their brackets. Just last week went to a 16 tooth front sprocket married to a 40 tooth rear and now WFO with a mild tailwind I clocked an honest 74MPH !!! However....top speed on the reverse run was only 60, still very happy with the Hawk I just ordered a tach so I can note at what RPM the engine grenades. LOL Happy riding to all from El Dorado, Kansas.

[rich_e]

Hello from another NE Kansan! Jackson county.