Hawk Talk

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by pete

Are you into pissing people off ?




...

Yeah, I answered his question, but don't approve of running open exhausts.

[Ariel Red Hunter]

One of the best features of the Hawk is the frame. I've never heard a word of complaint about the Hawk's frame. And it is big enough for the average sized American male. Stands a little tall at 34 inches, but plenty strong. For someone under 5'8'', it would be a struggle. So I'd change to a shorter rear shock. If you are also lighter, the spring that comes with the shock should be OK. But it could very well bottom out if you are over 160 lbs. So remember that (the spring weight) when ordering a rear shock. I would also re-mount the rear brake master cylinder up higher, as the stock one is too low. The front forks are fine, as long as you remember to get rid of the anti-rust oil in them when you first get the bike. Maybe the best way to do this is before you even install the front wheel. That way you can just take the tubes out, take the caps on top off, turn them upside down to drain them, re-fill with 200cc's of either boutique fork oil or ATF. I would get a couple of aerosol cans of brake cleaner, and clean the front and rear rotors and the brake pads. I suggest removing the battery and filling it with the provided acid. Then let the battery sit for a few hours to soak up the acid. Then, the last thing in the garage, put it on a 1 amp battery charger for overnight....ARH

[hertz9753]

I love my Hawk but I can't throw a leg over the rear end because it's so high. The seat is about 34 inches where you sit but the rear fender is about 41 inches high.

I'm still semi flexible and can get on my 1980 KX 125 with no problem. The seat is 37 inches at the tank but it doesn't step up like the Hawk. I'm 5"10" with a 34" inseam and I'm not Chuck Norris.

[pistolclass]

So am I the only rider that gets on my bike like a horse? I stand on left peg with my left foot then getting the right leg over is easy. I think I learned this by riding bikes that were way too big for me when I was a teen.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by hertz9753

I love my Hawk but I can't throw a leg over the rear end because it's so high. The seat is about 34 inches where you sit but the rear fender is about 41 inches high.

I'm still semi flexible and can get on my 1980 KX 125 with no problem. The seat is 37 inches at the tank but it doesn't step up like the Hawk. I'm 5"10" with a 34" inseam and I'm not Chuck Norris.

Yeah i'm 5'11" and can't either. I have to do that side kick over the middle of the seat. Or stand on my steps to get on.

[timcosby]

Originally Posted by pistolclass

So am I the only rider that gets on my bike like a horse? I stand on left peg with my left foot then getting the right leg over is easy. I think I learned this by riding bikes that were way too big for me when I was a teen.

exactly what i have to do!

[Ariel Red Hunter]

But not everything is oh-so-wonderful. The swing arm is not really up to the quality of the rest of the bike, and neither is the rear shock. The swing arm is strong enough, but the bushings at the front have been troublesome. These are supposed to be like isolastic bushings, but the quality of the rubber, and the bonding of the rubber to the bushing has caused problems, at least in the past. At least one rider found the rear bushing rubber, supposedly vulcanized to the metal tubes of the bushing, disintegrating in the first 1000 miles. Not good. Of course, there is a solution, but it requires a little machining of the swing arm. Needle bearings plus a grease fitting to keep them lubricated, plus keeping the water out. At the wheel end of the swing arm, replacing the standard nuts with ones that have nyloc inserts seems to solve the problem of the nuts falling off....ARH

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Part two. It has occurred to me that I have never explained what the needle does and how it does it. Maybe it will help someone understand how these things work. The original design is an amalgamation of two designs, the Amac, which didn't use a pilot jet, but instead had two levers where the twistgrip is now. One lever controlled the amount of air only, and the other controlled the amount of fuel through a needle and needle jet. Very simple - the whole mixture from idle on up to more than 3/4 throttle was controlled by the needle, operating through the needle jet. The main jet was screwed to the bottom of the needle jet. Some earlier Amacs had a short needle jet, and the needle controlled the amount of fuel by actually protruding through the main jet. One of the disadvantages of this design was that you continually had to fuss with the two levers in order to get the engine to idle. So Amac bought out one of their major competitors, whose idea for a dependable idle was adding a pilot jet. So now the idle was satisfactory, but you still had two levers to control the fuel mixture above 1/4 throttle. Then someone at what was now Amal, came up with the idea of lifting the needle with the carburetor slide, and in order to get better mid range response, and mixture control from 1/4 throttle to 3/4 throttle, came up with making the main jet tube with a restriction in it (a "throat") which, with a tapered needle working there in, controlled the mid range fuel-air flow. Now we had the single lever on the right handlebar. A little while later, Amal invented the twistgrip throttle control, which we all know and love. And they shortened the needle so that from 3/4 throttle to wide open, the needle receded upwards until the throat was unrestricted, so letting the main jet supply about 92% of the fuel. The pilot jet gives the rest. So now I hope I have made clear how the needle jet (throat) and needle work. And if you haven't figured it out yet, all round slide carburetors, except CV carbs are more or less clones of the Amal Concentric, whether it is Sheng wai, Keihin, Mikuni, Del orto, or Bing. Yes, I could have just told you how it works. But I wanted you to be able to visualize in your minds eye why it works, not just how it works. I've gotten a little criticism from some for putting too much history in my writings. I think it is important to understand why things were developed the way they were, not just how. Before I shuffle off of this mortal coil, I try to educate on the why and the how...ARH

[Ariel Red Hunter]

I think you should hang your cable so you can lubricate it. I've always used ATF for this. ATF, in case you don't know, is synthetic sperm oil (like from whales). Sperm oil is a super lubricant that used to be used in watches, camera shutters, and early automatic transmissions. Of course, they had to find a replacement as soon as they started selling any real numbers of automatic transmissions. Next, run the throttle and clutch cables in the smoothest path possible. Binding or too tight of turns is death on cables. When I do this, I take the fuel tank off to make sure I have the cable runs as smooth as possible, and never more than one clip or zip tie to attach it to the top tube of the frame. That's for the throttle cable. On the clutch cable, try not to tie it to the frame at all. If you have to, one loose zip tie should be good....ARH

[jimwildman]

Originally Posted by fredweb

While this is all relatively accurate, it has f*#k all to do with actually setting up a bike for maximum power/torque curves to achieve optimal performance. Every forum i have ever been on has had some know-it-all jackwagon like you that is always threatened by anyone else having an opinion. The main difference between you and I is that I don't really care if anyone reads the post I wrote or follows any of the instructions. To be honest those recommendations are only jumping off points as it all takes a bit of experimentation to get things just right. I was trying to be helpful. The post you provided was meant solely to confuse and baffle. I don't know if your just that insecure that you have to constantly be the center of attention here but i'll let you have it. You can fumble f*#k around til the end of time for all i care. Good luck with that.

you want to race?

the hawk needs to be tuned for low end torque. thats what it does best, high rpm is for overhead cam engines. that said the gear ratio is way too low, it makes much more torque than the gearing will allow you to use.

so tune it for high rpm all you want, it dont make any power that interests me way up there. revving high gets boring.

deck the head and readjust the valves , no problem. but even then it will be all in the low end.

my 2cents.

[Megadan]

I've always had a belief. If you disagree with somebody on how they choose to set something up. Do yourself, myself, and everybody else a favor and put it in practice and post results. People used to say 40mm carbs (35mm venturi) were too big for the 1000cc goldwing. Somebody setup 40mm IDF downdrafts on one and went to the dyno. Not only did they pick up 8 whp and 5ft-lbs peak. They picked up a majority of their power between 2500 and 7000rpm, much to everybodies "surprise."

As far as these motors go, It's possible to get more power out of them without negatively altering the powerband. You just have to be smart about it.

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by Megadan

I've always had a belief. If you disagree with somebody on how they choose to set something up. Do yourself, myself, and everybody else a favor and put it in practice and post results. People used to say 40mm carbs (35mm venturi) were too big for the 1000cc goldwing. Somebody setup 40mm IDF downdrafts on one and went to the dyno. Not only did they pick up 8 whp and 5ft-lbs peak. They picked up a majority of their power between 2500 and 7000rpm, much to everybodies "surprise."

As far as these motors go, It's possible to get more power out of them without negatively altering the powerband. You just have to be smart about it.

I'm curious. Is the Jeep Comanche the little pickup they built for a while? Built off of a Cherokee floor pan? I liked that little truck, but I was afraid of the uni-body deal with the salt they use here in New York State. You haven't had problems with frame rust?...ARH

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Ariel Red Hunter

I'm curious. Is the Jeep Comanche the little pickup they built for a while? Built off of a Cherokee floor pan? I liked that little truck, but I was afraid of the uni-body deal with the salt they use here in New York State. You haven't had problems with frame rust?...ARH

Yes, it is loosely Cherokee based. Doors forward the body panels and interior are pretty much all the same. Floor pans are a tad different at the seats to the back of the cab. Frame rails are larger/stronger at the unibody section. The rear frame section is built like a unibody - multiple layers of steel welded into a box section, but the bed comes off. AMC called it a "Uniframe", so it's kind of half and half lol.

They weren't notorious for frame rust surprisingly, and I think that has a lot to do with the "frame" having a lot of good drainage and ventilation. They will rust though, usually behind the cab. Mine has a couple of the typical rust spots, rear wheel arch and floor pan. Nothing too bad, but I want to tackle it eventually. Right now I am just doing everything I can to retard its progress. Mine is a relatively solid example of one overall, but it's not the prettiest, has no carpet or headliner (loud) and could use some loving here and there. Dead solid reliable though.

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by Megadan

Yes, it is loosely Cherokee based. Doors forward the body panels and interior are pretty much all the same. Floor pans are a tad different at the seats to the back of the cab. Frame rails are larger/stronger at the unibody section. The rear frame section is built like a unibody - multiple layers of steel welded into a box section, but the bed comes off. AMC called it a "Uniframe", so it's kind of half and half lol.

They weren't notorious for frame rust surprisingly, and I think that has a lot to do with the "frame" having a lot of good drainage and ventilation. They will rust though, usually behind the cab. Mine has a couple of the typical rust spots, rear wheel arch and floor pan. Nothing too bad, but I want to tackle it eventually. Right now I am just doing everything I can to retard its progress. Mine is a relatively solid example of one overall, but it's not the prettiest, has no carpet or headliner (loud) and could use some loving here and there. Dead solid reliable though.

We, here deep in a state whose mantra is the ridiculous over use of salt on state and national highways have found something that really stops rust. Of all things, it is waste french fryer oil. Just make sure it doesn't plug up any of the body drains. Spray in INSIDE the frame rails as well as outside. The smell will go away after a while, especially if you do this in the summer...ARH

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Ariel Red Hunter

We, here deep in a state whose mantra is the ridiculous over use of salt on state and national highways have found something that really stops rust. Of all things, it is waste french fryer oil. Just make sure it doesn't plug up any of the body drains. Spray in INSIDE the frame rails as well as outside. The smell will go away after a while, especially if you do this in the summer...ARH

Boiled Linseed oil works well too, but you definitely want to be careful with it. Not surprising that oil fryer oil works too. Most organic oils will dry and leave behind a heavy residue that essentially waterproofs the surface it bonded to.