Calling Hawk riders! New rider in Georgia!

[letsride]

Letsride, If you want to meet up so you can test ride a Hawk, let me know

Thank you! That is a very kind and generous offer. When I get done with duty down here in Chas and can get some free time, I'll give ya a shout. I NEED to finally go to Cabelas in Augusta for the first time anyway!

[Mudflap]

I fill the bikes that won't be used over the winter with 100LL and can't say I notice any difference other than a whiteish yellow exhaust tip.

Rear brake light switches are generic and available on Ebay for a buck or two.

[Emerikol]

Mudflap; I'm confused. A bike that won't be used, what's that? The mere thought of a bike sitting unloved in a corner somewhere is a travesty! As if someone would actually let a bike sit unused for any reason at all! Seriously though, I run 100LL in my DR650 pretty regularly, and it doesn't seem to have done any damage yet. The engines are low enough compression that I don't think they run any hotter, or work any harder to complete the combustion cycle. On the whole, I run QT brand gasoline, and pay the few extra cents per gallon for premium. I probably don't need to run premium, but for the extra $0.40 per gallon, I think of it as cheap insurance. So far the Hawk has been a mountain of fun. My wife mentioned something about a divorce if I took the bike(s) out again this weekend, but I couldn't really hear her over the thumper exhaust blast... I'm sure it will be fine when I get back home.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by Emerikol

My wife mentioned something about a divorce if I took the bike(s) out again this weekend, but I couldn't really hear her over the thumper exhaust blast... I'm sure it will be fine when I get back home.

Lol too funny. Well not so funny. I kind of got the same lip Saturday morning while filing up and going over the Hawk before I took a ride. I only had to cut down a few small pecan trees that were growing wild around my shed. No problem, I get the chain saw out, cut down 3 little trees and pick the chain saw up. can't take more than an hour. Well when I bent over to pick up the cut up trees to put to the trash I manage to throw my back out of whack. I spent the rest of the day and most of Sunday laid up. Late Sunday evening I got up even though my back hurt like hell and went out and took a short 10 mile ride. Either I'm Crazy or just a dedicated Hawk rider.
Now about the Avgas. I knew that wouldn't make a difference. These engines are tuned and set to run 90 octane ( more like 87) unless you can advance the timing you are just wasting money. One of my hobbies was drag racing and tuning GM LS engines. I have about 15 years experience in tuning the PCM's. I had a 6,300 pound 3/4 Chevy with a 6.0 that I stuck a turbo on and did all the tuning myself. I took a stock truck that barely ran a 1/4 mile in 18 seconds and after putting the turbo and tuning had it running mid to lower 13's. For the street I had it tuned for 91 octane and for the track I had it tuned for C12. There is a big difference in timing and fuel mixture from 91 to the C12. Now if I could find a way to program the CDI. I have access to a motorcycle dyno.

[letsride]

Me and my Pops used to run avgas in a 413 Wedge Race motor powering a 70 Challenger down the 660, mainly due to the lead content making it easier on the valve seats. We quit when we repowered with a stroked 440, we then got our fuel from the service station who installed a VP pump. MAN does that stuff smell good! I mainly just run 87 octane ethanol free (Sunoco has the pump) in all my Carbureted toys. My old D150 with the leaning tower of power HATES the E10 gas now days. Gosh I went WAAAY off topic, sorry.

[Mudflap]

Have 5 bikes but can only haul 2 to Az for the winter. Those 2 get ridden every day.

[Azhule]

Unless they changed the formula in the Stabil Red bottle*, you might want to make sure you are getting the Marine/Green version of Stabil, I (and several others) have had a few problems with the red version, but never the Marine/Green one.

*Have had several cans/tanks of gas go bad and gel/gum up carb parts when using the red, and it was in a month or two, not 12+ months of storage like the product said it could do

On a side note, I too (rarely) have issues with treated fuel, Top Tier 0% fuel is another 20+ miles (one direction) to get... or I can just add 7 - 20 cents worth of a fuel additive of choice and it has always kept the fuel well lubricated, clean, and stabilized for 12 to 24 moths.

I have been using a decent amount of "Schaeffer Neutra 131" lately (it cleans gum/varnish and turns carbon into a liquid better than a lot of products on the market right now), but I'm also known to use Sta-Bil Marine, StarTron, BioBor, Amsoil, WYNNS, BG, Yamalube, "RingFree", ... etc... I have a huge list of products (that actually work as advertised) that I have used over the years and I keep an eye out for the best price on them... whatever is least expensive I buy it over the others

[BlackBike]

my story, i just burn it up too dam quick to worry about. it never never seems to last long enough before i'm buying more

also, we put a pint or so full gas capacity in the honda "jaws of life" unit at least a year ago and also i watched our chief pour way more that the recommended amount directly into the task. just started it up and tested it and it ran fine. used the red stuff, your results may vary. actually, it may have been ethanol free fuel in the first place, oops, sorry.

[JerryHawk250]

All I'm going to say is there is no ethanol in my turkey. Lol Okay that was a long enough break. Back to the trails. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We'll get back to this subject on Monday.

[BlackBike]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

All I'm going to say is there is no ethanol in my turkey. Lol Okay that was a long enough break. Back to the trails. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We'll get back to this subject on Monday.

But there is in your beam and coke.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by BlackBike

But there is in your beam and coke.

my beans too.

[Azhule]

I too went a bit 'overkill' with oil changes... before I started it the first time, ~250 miles, ~500 miles, ~1,000 miles, ~1,500 miles... next oil change is at 2,250 to 2,500 and I will be sending the next few oil changes/samples to Blackstone or Polaris to find out how long I should actually go on the China Bike and the oil I use

At $16 a gallon for the synthetic oil I use (Rotella T6 5w-40), oil changes are extremely inexpensive and easy to do

What you are doing is just fine tho, some people just change the oil when finding neutral or shifting becomes rough

[Emerikol]

Pistol and Azhule, thanks for the feedback. I'm running Suzuki 10w40 in the Hawk, and it doesn't seem to be doing badly at all. I get that by the case for the oil changes on the DR, and I also use it in the Rebel. I ran the Hawk on the original oil just long enough to get it hot, then drained it and filled it with the Suzuki oil. I do the oil changes on the DR every 2500 miles, and haven't had any issues. I'm thinking that with the Hawk, every 1,000 makes sense as it's mostly an 'around town' kind of bike. That oil will be taking a lot of abuse from the frequent gear changes and stop and starts. I hope to put another 200 miles or so on the Hawk in the next couple of days. Really I'm trying to hit the 500 miles on the clock so I can do the next oil change and get a feel for what kind of wear I can expect to see.

[letsride]

For those of you that use 15W40, whats with the new Rotella T4? Is that the same regular ole Shell Rotella in new labeling or what? I didn't get it at walmart, I just picked up a few extra quarts of the Super Tech Diesel 15w40. I have been running that in my old Dodge D150 for a very long time and well she is still kicking so I may run it in the Dual Sport I get. I did use it in my Daughters Kymco ATV's engine and trans too when I changed to oil in it a few days ago (have been using Havoline Motorcycle 10W40). It seems to be good stuff, the truck likes it and hey at 9.94 a gallon it works for me. And they way I see it Walmart doesn't refine oil, so its GOTTA be one of the Big Guys

[BlackBike]

certifications for wet clutch- JASO-MA. Change viscosity for preference and temp requirements.