Hawk Resurrection and Revival.

[Megadan]

In another thread of mine I debated selling the Hawk and getting a scooter. After some thought I decided that I am going to keep the Hawk, for now, and look into an ebike or scooter down the road.

Over the past couple of years life has put me in a bind more than a couple of times, and my own physical and mental health have suffered. I stopped caring about bikes in general, or a lot of other things for that matter. The Hawk just kinda bored me, and I lost the spark.

I decided I need to change things up a bit and try to make the Hawk fun again. I am going to start small with a couple of changes, and a lot more cleaning up and removal of some things than big changes.

First, I went ahead and ordered what was left of what I needed to do a round headlight. That should be here the middle of next week. Basically just a cheap copy.of the Trucklite.

To go with the round light I am going to remove the dirt bike style front fender and install one of these CG125 style metal fenders. I have this one on order as well. https://www.ebay.com/itm/294859784855

It should work with the 21 inch wheel by my measurements, and if not I have a couple.of ideas to make it work.

I also plan to lower the front down a little to help level the bike some wince I also lowered the rear. I don't need to do this really, but why not. It's easy to reverse if I dislike it.

I am still debating on deleting the tank plastics or not. I will wait until the above is installed before deciding. I also considered removing the side plastics and making a battery box foe under the seat, but that can be a down the road project.

Lastly, I am going to remove a few things. First, the fuse box and extra lighting harness I installed for the flood lights.

I plan to remove my skid plate, since I no longer ride off road much. If anybody has an interest in it let me know and I can box it up and see what shipping might be.

Still debating on the oil cooler. Since the bike is mainly.going to be a short distance machine, I have considered removing it. I may instead order a smaller stacked plate cooler and mount it in the same place. I am undecided at this point.

Lastly, I am considering buying a tbr7 front wheel to run an 18 rear 19 front combo with road tires. My one issue with this is mainly the cost. That, and my Shinko 700s have barely any wear on them, and ride good as they are. I may leave that for another day.

My bike as it currently sits for posterity and to track changes in this thread.

[Megadan]

I have also been toying with the idea of a low slung exhaust. The header is cheap enough. I can take my pick of mufflers.
https://m.aliexpress.us/item/2255800...US%21888865834

[Okierider]

Following with interest.
I’ve debated fabbing up a round headlight for my Templar.

[JerryHawk250]

Ha! I know it's hard to turn loose of the old Hawk. I had too many good time with it and doing the upgrades. I really need to sell mine but i haven't really put any effort into selling it. lol
I like what you plan doing with it. I still have the round headlight on my Amazon wish list but never pulled the trigger on it. I have too many other projects going on i need to finish up. That fender should bolt right up.

[herbie]

That’s a beautiful hawk Dan! I forgot where I got the idea for my tail bag, guess it was from you

[TommyD]

Dan, your ideas for your Hawk are very similar to what my plans were for my Jialing resurrection. To me, it's kind of like giving it a Scrambler look.


The lowered rear, 19" front rim, scrambler like front fender, low slung exhaust, round headlight, no plastics etc. are great ideas. Most of the motorcycle companies are all entering the Scrambler game. I think I saw a youtube video of some new Honda versions as well.


Progress on my Jialing move VERY slowly and I've had to compromise due to lack of money, time, and trying to find reasonably priced solutions. Hopefully I'll learn from your experience of good sources for some of the parts!


Also, don't forget a round retro looking speedometer!

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Okierider

Following with interest.
I’ve debated fabbing up a round headlight for my Templar.

If you search around a bit you can find images of a few Hawks with round lights. One of my favorites was one with a 7 inch round headlight that had a brush guard on it and a shorter supermoto style fender

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

Ha! I know it's hard to turn loose of the old Hawk. I had too many good time with it and doing the upgrades. I really need to sell mine but i haven't really put any effort into selling it. lol
I like what you plan doing with it. I still have the round headlight on my Amazon wish list but never pulled the trigger on it. I have too many other projects going on i need to finish up. That fender should bolt right up.

I have been debating ridding myself of the Hawk for a couple of years. To be honest, if my life plans were different I probably would just sell it as I still have my eyes on an MT03. However, since my new job is so close I would feel bad using the mt03 to commute, but I don't mind abusing the Hawk much lol. Plus. Being hopped up a bit and air cooled, getting the oil up to temp doesn't take long.

The Hawk is just a cheap alternative solution to buying a 150-200cc scooter, which would get better mileage, but also cost me a lot more. My current plans might cost me 200 bucks. Maybe 3 if I do the exhaust thing.

The Hawk is also big enough for me and comfy, two important known quantities.

I may make one othet change and install a trunk to my csc rack and ditch the soft bag. That is undecided at this point.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by TommyD

Dan, your ideas for your Hawk are very similar to what my plans were for my Jialing resurrection. To me, it's kind of like giving it a Scrambler look.


The lowered rear, 19" front rim, scrambler like front fender, low slung exhaust, round headlight, no plastics etc. are great ideas. Most of the motorcycle companies are all entering the Scrambler game. I think I saw a youtube video of some new Honda versions as well.


Progress on my Jialing move VERY slowly and I've had to compromise due to lack of money, time, and trying to find reasonably priced solutions. Hopefully I'll learn from your experience of good sources for some of the parts!


Also, don't forget a round retro looking speedometer!

I am not quite sold on the 19 inch front wheel. Mainly due to the added cost of a new tire. I wouldn't mind that so much but they don't make a 19 inch Shinko 700, much to my chagrin.

I have a heap of parts laying about. Depending on what you need, I may have something you can use.

[JerryHawk250]

Yeah, the hard trunk is nice and big enough to put your helmet in. The one I have is also easily removable.

[Bill Hilly]

Originally Posted by Megadan

In another thread of mine I debated selling the Hawk and getting a scooter. After some thought I decided that I am going to keep the Hawk, for now, and look into an ebike or scooter down the road.

Over the past couple of years life has put me in a bind more than a couple of times, and my own physical and mental health have suffered. I stopped caring about bikes in general, or a lot of other things for that matter. The Hawk just kinda bored me, and I lost the spark.

I decided I need to change things up a bit and try to make the Hawk fun again. I am going to start small with a couple of changes, and a lot more cleaning up and removal of some things than big changes.

First, I went ahead and ordered what was left of what I needed to do a round headlight. That should be here the middle of next week. Basically just a cheap copy.of the Trucklite.

To go with the round light I am going to remove the dirt bike style front fender and install one of these CG125 style metal fenders. I have this one on order as well. https://www.ebay.com/itm/294859784855

It should work with the 21 inch wheel by my measurements, and if not I have a couple.of ideas to make it work.

I also plan to lower the front down a little to help level the bike some wince I also lowered the rear. I don't need to do this really, but why not. It's easy to reverse if I dislike it.

I am still debating on deleting the tank plastics or not. I will wait until the above is installed before deciding. I also considered removing the side plastics and making a battery box foe under the seat, but that can be a down the road project.

Lastly, I am going to remove a few things. First, the fuse box and extra lighting harness I installed for the flood lights.

I plan to remove my skid plate, since I no longer ride off road much. If anybody has an interest in it let me know and I can box it up and see what shipping might be.

Still debating on the oil cooler. Since the bike is mainly.going to be a short distance machine, I have considered removing it. I may instead order a smaller stacked plate cooler and mount it in the same place. I am undecided at this point.

Lastly, I am considering buying a tbr7 front wheel to run an 18 rear 19 front combo with road tires. My one issue with this is mainly the cost. That, and my Shinko 700s have barely any wear on them, and ride good as they are. I may leave that for another day.

My bike as it currently sits for posterity and to track changes in this thread.

I also saw them fenders, when I stumbled on them while looking for a fork brace. I found a used fenders bracket from a Kawasaki that was cheap enough to take a chance on buying with the intention of making a fork brace from it. I haven't done it yet, but have stuck it in place, and it will work just fine with my TBR7, but it's not deep enough to work on the Hawk. Do you think that a fender like you posted would provide any benefits similar to what a fork brace may offer ? The seller that I bought the fender bracket from had a few, and was from Germany. I was surprised that it was so cheap (under $20 with shipping). I thought about ordering another, and maybe welding a piece on each side, but haven't. Good luck on your upcoming projects.

[Megadan]

Re-visiting the low slung exhaust idea, I have been looking around and the thought occurred to me that a cheap aftermarket kpm200 exhaust from Aliexpress may work out really well, and suit the somewhat mixed old school meets new school styling my bike would have. As a bonus, it has an O2 sensor bung built in. I can hook up a wide and and really get my jetting dialed in.

https://m.aliexpress.us/item/3256804...andl_shipto=US

[Bill Hilly]

Originally Posted by Megadan

In another thread of mine I debated selling the Hawk and getting a scooter. After some thought I decided that I am going to keep the Hawk, for now, and look into an ebike or scooter down the road.

Over the past couple of years life has put me in a bind more than a couple of times, and my own physical and mental health have suffered. I stopped caring about bikes in general, or a lot of other things for that matter. The Hawk just kinda bored me, and I lost the spark.

I decided I need to change things up a bit and try to make the Hawk fun again. I am going to start small with a couple of changes, and a lot more cleaning up and removal of some things than big changes.

First, I went ahead and ordered what was left of what I needed to do a round headlight. That should be here the middle of next week. Basically just a cheap copy.of the Trucklite.

To go with the round light I am going to remove the dirt bike style front fender and install one of these CG125 style metal fenders. I have this one on order as well. https://www.ebay.com/itm/294859784855

It should work with the 21 inch wheel by my measurements, and if not I have a couple.of ideas to make it work.

I also plan to lower the front down a little to help level the bike some wince I also lowered the rear. I don't need to do this really, but why not. It's easy to reverse if I dislike it.

I am still debating on deleting the tank plastics or not. I will wait until the above is installed before deciding. I also considered removing the side plastics and making a battery box foe under the seat, but that can be a down the road project.

Lastly, I am going to remove a few things. First, the fuse box and extra lighting harness I installed for the flood lights.

I plan to remove my skid plate, since I no longer ride off road much. If anybody has an interest in it let me know and I can box it up and see what shipping might be.

Still debating on the oil cooler. Since the bike is mainly.going to be a short distance machine, I have considered removing it. I may instead order a smaller stacked plate cooler and mount it in the same place. I am undecided at this point.

Lastly, I am considering buying a tbr7 front wheel to run an 18 rear 19 front combo with road tires. My one issue with this is mainly the cost. That, and my Shinko 700s have barely any wear on them, and ride good as they are. I may leave that for another day.

My bike as it currently sits for posterity and to track changes in this thread.

I also saw them fenders, when I stumbled on them while looking for a fork brace. I found a used fenders bracket from a Kawasaki that was cheap enough to take a chance on buying with the intention of making a fork brace from it. I haven't done it yet, but have stuck it in place, and it will work just fine with my TBR7, but it's not deep enough to work on the Hawk. Do you think that a fender like you posted would provide any benefits similar to what a fork brace may offer ? The seller that I bought the fender bracket from had a few, and was from Germany. I was surprised that it was so cheap (under $15 with shipping, which was only 9 cents). I thought about ordering another, and maybe welding a piece on each side, but haven't. Good luck on your upcoming projects. https://www.ebay.com/itm/165545435175

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Bill Hilly

I also saw them fenders, when I stumbled on them while looking for a fork brace. I found a used fenders bracket from a Kawasaki that was cheap enough to take a chance on buying with the intention of making a fork brace from it. I haven't done it yet, but have stuck it in place, and it will work just fine with my TBR7, but it's not deep enough to work on the Hawk. Do you think that a fender like you posted would provide any benefits similar to what a fork brace may offer ? The seller that I bought the fender bracket from had a few, and was from Germany. I was surprised that it was so cheap (under $20 with shipping). I thought about ordering another, and maybe welding a piece on each side, but haven't. Good luck on your upcoming projects.

That fender will definitely have some bracing affect on the front end. When I removed the front fender from my GL1000 goldwing the front end became very numb and loose. I ended up buying a fork brace for it to fix it.

I was actually just thinking it could be a good alternative for more road driven Hawks. Not such a good option for guys going in the mud

[Bill Hilly]

Originally Posted by Megadan

That fender will definitely have some bracing affect on the front end. When I removed the front fender from my GL1000 goldwing the front end became very numb and loose. I ended up buying a fork brace for it to fix it.

I was actually just thinking it could be a good alternative for more road driven Hawks. Not such a good option for guys going in the mud

I wasn't real sure that I could get my Hawk registered because I bought it used from the original purchaser,and just got the MCO, but for the price of $600 for a bike with only 62 showing on the odometer, I bought it knowing that about everything would work on my TBR7. Here in WV ALL motorcycle registrations renew on February 1st, so I waited till February 1st before taking the MCO to the title place, and letting them run it through the DMV. The woman working there wasn't real sure that it would work out, but she said she would try, and "push it through", and just today they called and told me that they had my new plate, and registration, so as has been mentioned here before, It is probably best to have a title service deal with getting a title made, if you live in an area that has one. It only cost me $32 dollars for their fee ,the rest of what I paid was cost that the DMV would charge anyway. I will probably be using the Hawk for the back roads more, and the TBR7 more for better roads, so I may order another fender bracket if the guy still has any, and try to extend it a little to go over the Hawk tire.