So Many Hawk Issues!

[Hawks & Turkeys]

Let me tell you about my Hawk X 250 experience. I purchased a new, 2024 Hawk X 250, carbureted, put together by the US distributor and shipped to me in January 2024. Cost: about $1,950, which included a break in period, Nibbi carb upgrade, and oil changes.

Once it arrived at my house, the bike would not start for the first five days. The factory battery was weak and needed constant charging. The battery "cables" are nothing more than thick wires, as is the cable that runs from the solenoid to the starter. So its a dual problem: the small battery is putting out minimal power, and the cables are barely delivering enough power to engage the starter.

The Hawk arrived at my house with four miles on the odometer. So it seems that the distributor (I won't name them because I don't want to get sued) "broke in" the bike by starting it and letting it idle for....what, 20 minutes at a time? Then they changed the oil, and started the bike and let it idle again. So by the time the bike arrived at my house it had such a carbon buildup that it refused to start. That's my theory, at least.

More to come, including how I solved the cable problems. Thanks for reading.

[Megadan]

I solved my problem with A black 20 inch 8AWG copper battery cable with 1/4" lug ends. I made my own power cable out of the same size wire and lugs. The 1/4" lug ends are the only part that is hard to find pre-made for that size of wire, but you can find them yourself easily.

The wire gauge used for the starter is theoretically sufficient, but I noticed quite the difference once I put that 8awg cable from the battery to solenoid, and then solenoid to battery.

Stock batteries are a known weak point anyway, and most of us upgrade them or replace them immediately, or very early on out of necessity.

The original battery amps is also generally fairly weak. On my first Hawk I installed a 240cca lithium battery from battery tender, and that bike cranked faster than all hell with the stock wires. The original batteries on most Hawks have, 88-90cca. I run a YTZ7S style battery in my current Hawk and it cranks over better thanks to having 130cca.

[Sport Rider]

this is why I would rather assemble and break in myself. i don't trust shops and the types of "mechanics" they employ aren't particularly skilled. did you do the nibbi carb, or did they?

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Sport Rider

this is why I would rather assemble and break in myself. i don't trust shops and the types of "mechanics" they employ aren't particularly skilled. did you do the nibbi carb, or did they?

That is always what I recommend to anybody that orders one of these bikes. Save the money from the "Assembly and PDI" and just do it yourself. An average joe will do a better job than the underpaid person in the back with an impact driver who isn't a mechanic and doesn't care. Plus, it gives a familiarity with your bike that you just can't get without working on it.

[Hawks & Turkeys]

Originally Posted by Sport Rider

this is why I would rather assemble and break in myself. i don't trust shops and the types of "mechanics" they employ aren't particularly skilled. did you do the nibbi carb, or did they?

The distributor out of Texas installed the Nibbi for not much extra $$, though they gave me a smaller than expected 24mm carb. I can't complain about the power; I just feel like I'm on a cleanup detail trying to get things to the point where I have a reliable bike.

BTW we're on the same page on the cable upgrade. I had to upgrade the cable from the solenoid to the starter - it was all I could do to get the starter to work!

[buzz]

Did you buy from Manny?

[Hawks & Turkeys]

Originally Posted by Megadan

That is always what I recommend to anybody that orders one of these bikes. Save the money from the "Assembly and PDI" and just do it yourself. An average joe will do a better job than the underpaid person in the back with an impact driver who isn't a mechanic and doesn't care. Plus, it gives a familiarity with your bike that you just can't get without working on it.

You're absolutely right that doing work on your bike will give you familiarity. But as someone who has owned a Honda and a Yamaha but never a Hawk (and is not a natural born mechanic), it takes some time to get over the shock of the new bike needing so much in the way of repair and upgrade. ITS A BRAND NEW BIKE! So seeing things on Day Five of ownership like, "Remove the gas tank" or "You need a valve lash." In a normal world, its not the way its supposed to work! But here we are...

[Bruces]

Originally Posted by Hawks & Turkeys

You're absolutely right that doing work on your bike will give you familiarity. But as someone who has owned a Honda and a Yamaha but never a Hawk (and is not a natural born mechanic), it takes some time to get over the shock of the new bike needing so much in the way of repair and upgrade. ITS A BRAND NEW BIKE! So seeing things on Day Five of ownership like, "Remove the gas tank" or "You need a valve lash." In a normal world, its not the way its supposed to work! But here we are...

That’s why it was priced at 1/3 the cost of something not needing some basic set up .

[Zapkin]

Originally Posted by Hawks & Turkeys

You're absolutely right that doing work on your bike will give you familiarity. But as someone who has owned a Honda and a Yamaha but never a Hawk (and is not a natural born mechanic), it takes some time to get over the shock of the new bike needing so much in the way of repair and upgrade. ITS A BRAND NEW BIKE! So seeing things on Day Five of ownership like, "Remove the gas tank" or "You need a valve lash." In a normal world, its not the way its supposed to work! But here we are...

with all due respect, I feel like you didn't do your research on the bikes before taking the plunge. but, that is over and done, now you get to learn and if that doesn't float your boat, put that sucker on marketplace and sell it. but, you might take a loss.

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by Hawks & Turkeys

You're absolutely right that doing work on your bike will give you familiarity. But as someone who has owned a Honda and a Yamaha but never a Hawk (and is not a natural born mechanic), it takes some time to get over the shock of the new bike needing so much in the way of repair and upgrade. ITS A BRAND NEW BIKE! So seeing things on Day Five of ownership like, "Remove the gas tank" or "You need a valve lash." In a normal world, its not the way its supposed to work! But here we are...

Cheap crate bike. It's great! But no dealership to set the bike up properly after it arrives or help you with any warranty.

OK, they "assembled it", but these motorcycles need constant attention.

This makes all of the setup and initial tuning really your job. I am sure you knew this all along, but lots of experience to help here.

The key things to check are EVERY single nut and bolt (some may need loctite blue, or loctite red), valve clearance, and carb jetting.

Placement of levers (and mirrors), routing of cables (throttle cable, in particular), might need attention.
Actually, this is not unusual for dirt bikes, including dual sport. The dealer might take care of initial build, but you can customize the fit while you go over stuff. Dealers suggest that you bring it in for a check up within 500 miles to make sure things aren't coming undone.

Then 6 months into ownership, you will need to do additional maintenance. Check everything! The chain will need attention within days. Chains stretch. This is a constant issue, even with good aftermarket chains. But things like the bolts that hold the brake calipers on, fork tube tension on the triple clamp, gear shift lever bolt, well, everything can loosen up !!

[Megadan]

Yep, there is a reason these bikes are so cheap. You are the quality control guy, the PDI technician, and the mechanic.

That said, once you sort out the various little foibles, most of them small quality issues or just poor assembly, they are great bikes. Spokes are a great example. Stay on top of them for a while and eventually they stop needing checked on fhe regular as the wheel settles in. So many new people, especially on Facebook groups, are constantly breaking spokes or having whole wheels collapse, because they never touch them. I have had the same spokes and rims for several years now, not one problem.

[GypsyR]

Oh crap. Just did maintenance and forgot the spokes. I was almost done I guess.

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by GypsyR

Oh crap. Just did maintenance and forgot the spokes. I was almost done I guess.

[Hawks & Turkeys]

Originally Posted by buzz

Did you buy from Manny?

I bought my Hawk from a distributor in Texas. I won't put their name out there. There's really no dedicated tech support from these dealer/distributors. Nobody has dedicated people to man an old school help desk, or whose job it is to monitor and respond to emails all day. So I would email them, and two to four days later get a short email reply. It's just not...

[Hawks & Turkeys]

Originally Posted by Thumper

Cheap crate bike. It's great! But no dealership to set the bike up properly after it arrives or help you with any warranty.

OK, they "assembled it", but these motorcycles need constant attention.

This makes all of the setup and initial tuning really your job. I am sure you knew this all along, but lots of experience to help here.

The key things to check are EVERY single nut and bolt (some may need loctite blue, or loctite red), valve clearance, and carb jetting.

Placement of levers (and mirrors), routing of cables (throttle cable, in particular), might need attention.
Actually, this is not unusual for dirt bikes, including dual sport. The dealer might take care of initial build, but you can customize the fit while you go over stuff. Dealers suggest that you bring it in for a check up within 500 miles to make sure things aren't coming undone.

Then 6 months into ownership, you will need to do additional maintenance. Check everything! The chain will need attention within days. Chains stretch. This is a constant issue, even with good aftermarket chains. But things like the bolts that hold the brake calipers on, fork tube tension on the triple clamp, gear shift lever bolt, well, everything can loosen up !!

Really well said. I feel like I'm on the downhill side - there's only so many issues to tend to before the Hawk starts riding pretty well! My last big issue is the throttle free play and next to nothing in the way of adjustments. There's no adjustment at the carb end, and a bare minimum locking nut at the throttle end.