Hawk Talk

[timcosby]

wait wait not yet!!!

[timcosby]

i have found nothing wrong with the oem brake fluid its still going strong.

[pete]

Originally Posted by timcosby

i have found nothing wrong with the oem brake fluid its still going strong.

internet fact & real world fact can be two diffrent things..
If something is repeted enough by enough people on the internet it quickly becomes fact...
( said by one person & repeted by enough pariots )


..

[Megadan]

I think it would be more fair to say that results may vary than all of this internet myths and facts malarkey. The reason I recommend it comes down to three simple things.
1. A bottle of quality brake fluid is 5 to 10 bucks, not exactly going to break the bank.
2. Most bikes get a full fluid flush/bleed after overseas shipping and assembly - at least by dealers that do things properly.
3. My own experience. My brakes "worked" out of the crate. After a full flush, of which zero air was purged through the 3ft coil of clear tubing I use just for tracking such things, my brakes were far more solid and responsive. Even if the fluid in the system was brake fluid, then it was still contaminated or very poor quality and not lubricating the internal seals very well.

Plus, I have a simple view point with brakes - better safe than sorry. Brake fluid usually shows its weak points under harsh conditions that usually mean you need the brakes at their best...which they arent. Kind of like finding out your parachute is just strings after you jump out of a plane.

[JerryHawk250]

I like to pass on some useful information about spongy breaks after replacing the fluid. If the brakes fill spongy after you bleed them you can do the bungee cord trick to removes the tiny air bubbles that get trapped in the system when bleeding the brakes by pumping the lever. The way it works is that after you've bled all you can get, you pump up the brake and tie the lever back by wrapping with a bungee cord that will hold the pressure overnight. The spongy feeling is tiny air bubbles in the fluid that collectively have the space of a much larger amount of air. So when you hit the lever, each little bubble squeeze down a little, but collectively they feel like a big bubble still in there that refuses to bleed out. Tying the lever back under pressure allows those tiny bubbles to float up toward the top and collect together at the inlet to the master cylinder. In the morning, when you release the lever, the first movement of fluid is to rush back to the master and release the brake. However, since the first thing right there is the collected air, it shoots into the master cylinder and simply surfaces to be a harmless air pocket there. Allow a few seconds before pulling the lever to let the bubble get away from the fluid inlet so that only fluid is then pumped into the line. You should now have a good lever feel on the bike.

[Megadan]

^The lever trick is one of my favorite little "life hacks" with brake bleeding. The science behind it is super simple too.

[Ariel Red Hunter]

In a week it is going to be November. Hopefully, the bank account has recovered from the shock of buying the Hawk in the first place, and we've broken it in and spent twenty bucks on the first upgrades. Now you should have time to work on the bike. One of the first things you should do is drop out the forks and re-grease the steering head bearings. I recommend the best marine water-proof grease you can find. I buy mine at a Mercury or Evenrude dealer, or online. Their grease is designed to work in a salt water enviornment. And it has to work, or their reputation goes down the tubes. It is up to you if you are going to put grease zerks in the steering head of your bike, and now is the perfect time to do that, with the forks dismounted. Likewise putting a PCV in the crancase vent line. Doesn't cost much and helps engine life. Now, do you improve the airbox or go with some kind of uni type filter. Here's my opinion. If you live where it's wet, keep the air box. If you live where it is dry all the time, your choice. I'm sure you are already using a high quality wet-clutch approved motor oil. But here's a hint - synthetic motor oil withstand heat better than dino oil, and resists the slicing and dicing in the transmission and primary drive much better, as well.

Now the next step is deciding if we want to spend money to get more horsepower. As far as I'm concerned, the first real money I would spend is to buy a Mikuni carburetor, and a set of GENUINE Mikuni jets. 105 to 110 main jet, and 22.5 to 25 pilot jet. Next improvement is the exhaust system. There is a good one that requires fitting on Amazon for a Honda 230 that cost in the neighborhood of $125.00, plus a Honda 230 exhaust copper o-ring that goes between the pipe and the head...ARH

[Ariel Red Hunter]

One reason the flathead engine hung on as long as it did in motorcycles was because of the total loss oil system that was common until the 1930's. The described advantages of total loss oiling? Only fresh, clean, and cool oil was used by these pre-historic mechanical wonders. Originally, they had a plunger pump, which you gave a pump every half mile or so. A little more was required when climbing hills. Then a device called a "Pilgrim Pump" was added. This was a drip feed oiler, with a sight feed glass, and a serrated screw which was how you adjusted the oil flow. How much was enough? About 60 yers ago, I read in the owners manual of a late 1920's Indian Scout, "On a concrete road, set the sight-feed screw so that there is just a trace of blue smoke from the exhaust at 45 mph. When going faster, or climbing hills, use the hand pump, mounted at the right front of the fuel tank, to inject extra oil." This was when engineers did not yet understand the advantages of oil for cooling. One of the first engines to have recirculating oil was Val Page's design of the first Ariel Red Hunters. You knew I would put something in here about Ariels, right? The Red Hunters had a double pump driven off of the timing gear. One three times the size of the other. The bigger pump was to scavange the crank case, and pump it to a seperate tank hung out in the breeze. The smaller pump took oil from the same tank and pressure fed the crank, rod bearing, and timing chest. The over head gear was still lubed with a grease gun every hundred miles or so. The side valves were lubed via the timing chest. Ariels even had oil pressure guages in order to re-assure riders that oil was actually being pumped. Next, someone figured out that if you just let the oil fall into an enlarged crankcase, and pumped from there back through the engine, we could get the same effect without having to spend the money for an extra tank, pipes, and the extra pump. They even cast fins on the sides and bottom of the crank case to help with the cooling. Now when you look at your Hawks crank case, you won't find any cooling fins. Nor will you find at least 2 quarts of oil in there. The answer? An oil cooler! Not only does an oil cooler cool oil (duh), it adds about a half a quart to the supply!...ARH

[Ariel Red Hunter]

If you want to reach a retail price point with a product, there is only so much trash you can throw on a machine, and still reach your price point. In order to sell motor cycles to the great unwashed (meaning those that don't know a lot about motorcycles), it has to look zoot, and that means money that could have been spent on upping quality had to be spent on "bling". Like plastic pieces to direct air to non-existant radiators. And a locking gas cap. And a fuel guage that doesn't work very well, anyway. And switches galore. The only switch they seem to have neglected to put on the Hawk is the one that changes the babies (or grand babies) diapers. And let us not forget those wonderful plastic footpeg covers. In order to have money to spend on that stuff, we get barely adequete wiring, poor switch quality, and skimpy spokes in the wheels. But, for all of its faults we love 'em anyway. Because it is still the best bang for the buck!!...ARH

[JerryHawk250]

How boring would it be if all I had to do was put gas and change the oil? lol The fun part is tinkering around with them for little or no money. And if you have money to spend you might be able to sink another $300 in it. I don't think I have more than $1500 tied up in mine with all the mods.

[hertz9753]

It is possible to get a couple extra HP from the fake shrouds, you just need the right stickers.

[JerryHawk250]

Slap an oil cooler behind that fake shroud and make it functional.

[pete]

So I haz this idea guys......
I think ARH needs a bike to play around with..
So if we all tossed a few dollars in the pot
and buy a new Hawk & have it shiped to ARH...

we could set up a paypal account....

WHO'S IN ?...





..

[goat67]

Originally Posted by pete

So I haz this idea guys......
I think ARH needs a bike to play around with..
So if we all tossed a few dollars in the pot
and buy a new Hawk & have it shiped to ARH...

we could set up a paypal account....

WHO'S IN ?...





..

If ARH wants a bike I am in.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by pete

So I haz this idea guys......
I think ARH needs a bike to play around with..
So if we all tossed a few dollars in the pot
and buy a new Hawk & have it shiped to ARH...

we could set up a paypal account....

WHO'S IN ?...

..

New one? That wouldn't be any fun. Get a used one with a blown engine so he can rebuild it. I think he would enjoy that more. But we would provide him with the parts and i'll throw in a skid plate with the center stand.