Hawk 250/China Bikes in Motocross

[HELLBENT]

Hey guys has anyone here taken their Hawk 250 or any other China Bikes in amateur motocross events? Up against Hondas etc?

[wheelbender6]

Somebody posted a similar question a while back, asking if anybody had competed in enduros with their China bikes. A few were considering trying an enduro event.

[franque]

It won't be competitive, either from a suspension, chassis, or engine standpoint, you'd be competing in the 250 class against bikes with 40+ HP, weighing at least 50lbs less, with forks that aren't spaghetti noodles.

If you rode it as fast as possible on an MX track, my chief curiosity would be what would break first. These might theoretically last a bit longer in a hare scramble, but even then, completing an event would be an enormous victory, because something in the chassis would almost definitely let go.

It wouldn't really be safe to try, IMHO, because something breaking would be virtually guaranteed, and if you're riding when a wheel explodes, good luck not breaking something yourself.

[TxTaoRider]

Dealing strictly with the hawk style bikes, I dont think youd have any chance. 7" of suspension travel, 14 hp, and 50+ extra pounds of weight would make it a really bad choice.

I have taken my tbr7 to a little mx track nearby and can say I was lucky to keep up with kids riding old dirtbikes, and my buddies on a kdx200 and cr250r both passed me like I was on a bicycle.

However, in the trails I held up much better with my buddies on dirtbikes and actually had to slow a few times because of them. But I've spent some time on working out my suspension so its allot easier to ride than it was stock.

I'd still be up to try a harescramble / cc type race if I could find some others on hawk style bikes or some 30+ year old bike that wanted to have some fun. I just dont want to be the only one out there looking silly. Lol

[tknj99]

Im thinking if they ever come out with a Hawk 750 (if Honda allowed that name infringement lol) then it may make sense to go up against the 250cc class

[Sir kayakalot]

I love my Hawk and ride it every time I can find an excuse. I look at it like a high performance moped or scooter. Looks good and still gets great gas mileage and I can go almost anywhere with it. But it has zero business being on an MX track. All you will do is destroy it. I have raced RMs, KXs, and CRs. There is night and day difference from the Hawk. I can guarantee that I would break my beloved Hawk on the 1st or second lap trying to ride it like my KX

[wheelbender6]

Don’t get the impression from this that the Hawk is not a Great bike. It is.
Modern motorcycles are super specialized now. I don’t think even a KTM enduro could be competive on a motocross track.

[stewbrash]

I think you have to look at the reality that these are just street bikes that do a little better job navigating (safely) on dirt, hills, muddy swamps and bumps than your 1975 Honda CB250...and knowing that.

[Bruces]

Several years ago a member here did line up and race his chinabike ,there are pictures posted but no idea where .I think he had a hawk ,it was black ,members name might of been Blackhawk but honestly just guessing and that was several years ago .

[Bruces]

Look for a thread called “spot the hawk”

[Big Bird]

I'm sure there are people that have with a higher end kayo or gpx dirtbike. Kayo has a zongshen powered watercooled 250 that makes 36hp. They even have 2 stroke bikes.

[Dusman]

My understanding is that Joe Henner has raced his Orion RXB on an MX track in the adult division and did well, but his RXB is probably the most modded in the United States. There are several that have raced and done well with their GPX bikes, but that been more enduro type racing versus MX track racing.

I have a Hawk and love it, but it is a trail bike designed for third world dirt road riding and tractoring through trails. The frame is simply not for made jumping, ripping hard through trails, etc., nor is the motor even close to being designed for that.

When you think of the purpose of a Hawk, I see it as more akin to a Yamaha TW200 than anything else. T-dubs aren't made to race and jump (you *will* break them if you do that), but to tractor through trails and back roads reliably.

[Wild Dog]

Hawk 250 and China bikes is not the same. There are motorcycle made in China that are made for motocross racing.

If you are going to race using one of the chinese motorcycle made for motocross, you will have a good time and be able to compete.

Now if you are talking about using the Hawk 250 and brothers, then you are not going to have a good time. Per se the motorcycle won't be destroyed in a ball of fire.. BUT you are going to be extremly slow and you will need a lot more of technique to jump and land.

Some people here start with modded out hawk frame that are chopped of weight that is not needed and after a few races they upgrade the front suspension.
They do that, because buying a chinese motocross motorcycle or an used CRF or YZF is quite expensive.. So they use those motorcycles till they got enough money..

But give the price of used CRF, YZF and some chinese motorcross motorcycle in the US.. For someone in the US, it will be alot wiser to go for a used CRF, YZF or one chinese motorcycle made for motocross.

Originally Posted by Dusman

When you think of the purpose of a Hawk, I see it as more akin to a Yamaha TW200 than anything else. T-dubs aren't made to race and jump (you *will* break them if you do that), but to tractor through trails and back roads reliably.

They won't break but it won't be a nice experience on the other hand if the rider doesn't know how to land, then you can break even the most pro motocross motorcycle out there.

[XLsior]

If they had a CG250 MX class bracket then sure could be low cost hoot.

Against the rest of the pack nope...

[XLsior]

Not MX but anything is possible