Anybody out there Ride a DLX 250 Hawk with EFI?

[TurboChris]

Originally Posted by Ol,fart

It didn't run right out of the box to pass EPA.

And it wouldn't run right if you decided to drive it to the Grand Canyon.

[tknj99]

Originally Posted by TurboChris

Seems more like it's a lack of knowledge for you. There is free tuning software options with very cheap diy tuning port adapters. The ecu is a very common Delphi mt05 unit.

https://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=27859

Not sure what conclusion you are drawing from that post but the reality is that its a single person trying to figure out a daunting task, far from a major manufacturer like Cobra or Dynojet or a mainstream tuner for Jap/Euro/Harley bikes that you can add to your cart.. Maybe one day it'll be there but for the regular guy on the street looking for a piggy back fuel controller or a full ecu tune, it's wishful thinking. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong

[JFOlivier]

Failures of anything electronic does happen and in the event of an EFI failure you are up the creek without a paddle. Now if a $25 carb could be rigged up to get you going it would be good, however it seems to me that an EFI failure leaves you without ignition spark anyhow so then the carb is of little use. Hawk may use a Delphi unit but Lifan does not and I have not seen any of these units from my X-pect advertised anywhere. I have not had any problems with the X-pect to date but am trying to look forward to if such a failure should occur.

[TurboChris]

Originally Posted by JFOlivier

Failures of anything electronic does happen and in the event of an EFI failure you are up the creek without a paddle. Now if a $25 carb could be rigged up to get you going it would be good, however it seems to me that an EFI failure leaves you without ignition spark anyhow so then the carb is of little use. Hawk may use a Delphi unit but Lifan does not and I have not seen any of these units from my X-pect advertised anywhere. I have not had any problems with the X-pect to date but am trying to look forward to if such a failure should occur.

Exactly, the carb has a fuel pump just as the efi does, also as far as I'm aware they both share electronic ignition systems so the carb bike still relies on these same electrical modules to run.

[TurboChris]

Originally Posted by tknj99

Not sure what conclusion you are drawing from that post but the reality is that its a single person trying to figure out a daunting task, far from a major manufacturer like Cobra or Dynojet or a mainstream tuner for Jap/Euro/Harley bikes that you can add to your cart.. Maybe one day it'll be there but for the regular guy on the street looking for a piggy back fuel controller or a full ecu tune, it's wishful thinking. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong

It shows how to very easily build the port adapter to hook up for tuning and also has a link to the free tuning software. Everything someone needs to tune these ecu's is linked in that thread.

Here this link is the video in that thread.

Open it on youtube and in his video description it has a link to every part you will need to build the connector and also I believe he has the link to the free software in the description of the video as well. Either way the free software link is in the thread as well.

[tknj99]

Cool stuff for sure.. Im eagerly awaiting to hear someone successfully tuning the Hawk ECU to optimize performance after intake/exhaust work.. whoever makes that happen will have a very nice side business on this forum im certain. Then the other EFI guys will be chasing that as well, ie.. RX3 and RX4 crowd

[hitechluddite]

Thanks for all the responses! It's good to hear the ECU is a common device although it's probably soldered in and would need replacing at the board level. If there has never been a problem with EFI it's doubtful anyone has ever ordered one for a spare or to replace a failed one. That would kinda spook me but its something I would sort out before it had to be done. My search on ebay returned unbranded mikuni replacements for between $60-$30 which begs the question why in the hell this is not OEM on these bikes?

[gwowzer]

My only input is to look back on the post history on this forum. Ever since the DLX got released there has been a post probably once a week about an issue with them.
I personally will MAYBE lean towards buying an EFI model maybe in a couple years, but for me, right now, parts availability is scary. Also the lack of a true manual is a put off.

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by buzz

Totally agree with tknj99, i like simple things.

Simple, but a carburetor is also easy to jet to my standards, not a CARB (California Air Resources Board) requirement or EPA standard. If an EFI starts right up, runs OK at any altitude, but runs lean all the time, I might not want that. This is why performance riders (racing) don't use EFI without full control of the enrichment curve (which these bikes don't have). The convenience of EFI is nice, but not for everybody. Especially those that understand how to jet a carb for performance

Even a cheap PZ30 can be jet to higher performance than stock EFI on these bikes. No exotic electronic intervention required.

EFI is fine for some people. Carb works for others. There are real +/- for both. Most racers use carbs, but not for the convenience. It is because of the performance. Top carbs like the Lectron are one example.

[Ol,fart]

Originally Posted by TurboChris

And it wouldn't run right if you decided to drive it to the Grand Canyon.

I'm an old man on a dirt bike there's no way I'm wandering off further than the local lake( about 30 miles ) lol

[Ol,fart]

Originally Posted by TurboChris

Exactly, the carb has a fuel pump just as the efi does, also as far as I'm aware they both share electronic ignition systems so the carb bike still relies on these same electrical modules to run.

what carb bike has a fuel pump ? And do you know why ? Not trying to be a smart ass. Just curious.

[Ol,fart]

Originally Posted by hitechluddite

Number two son has been youtubing Chinese 250's and is convinced the subject bike is worth the extra $. Anybody out there ride one of these and like to share their thoughts?

has he checked out cscmotorcycles.com? In retrospect I wish I had bought from them. The TT250 is counterbalanced. And they are actually helpful. I would not recommend buying from any of the north texas dealers(all the same company)

[TurboChris]

Originally Posted by Ol,fart

I'm an old man on a dirt bike there's no way I'm wandering off further than the local lake( about 30 miles ) lol

Ok but my point being you already had to fix the carb by rejetting, it's not setup correctly from the factory, it won't be setup correctly if you drive it at 100 degrees F in the summer and then drive it at 40 degrees in the winter because it has no barometer compensation. My altitude example was just one of the ways of explaining that.

[Thumper]

Self correction/adjustment is definitely a convenient feature of EFI systems. And yes, it is true that the entire process is manual with a vacuum driven system (carburetion). Both systems work fine, and the carburetor demands more attention. Altitude and temperature affect air/gas mixture. If you understand your carb and have spare jets, it isn't difficult to make adjustments. This whole argument is inflated.

[Britt]

Originally Posted by Thumper

...This whole argument is inflated.

Exactly.
I've heard two arguments against EFI

1. It's a point of failure. Except, we haven't seen anyone's EFI fail. Oh, and the current crop of carb bikes are dependent on electronics too (ignition control), so...
2. It runs lean, (and you can't tune it). Yes, the Hawk DLX does run a little lean, but once it's broken in, it isn't that bad. It was worse the first few hundred miles. Now it's hard to tell; I do get a little popping every once in a while, but it's infrequent.

If someone likes to tune, get a carb bike. If someone just wants to ride, they'll probably be happier with EFI.

BTW, I haven't heard anyone come out and say that they removed the cat on a DLX and their EFI didn't handle it properly. Has anyone with a DLX done this?