Hawk 250 Resource and Information guide.

[Megadan]

Congratulations, you bought a new Hawk or are maybe considering buying a Hawk 250 or other similar brands of bikes. Maybe you already own one and now want to do some upgrades.

This is intended to be a FAQ and resource guide for new owners in setting up their bikes, known issues, and modifications or upgrades. Please refrain from posting questions on this thread, and instead make your own thread in the forum. I want to keep this as clutter free as possible.

If you have a write up or a thread with useful information, custom modifications, or simply see something you feel deserves to be here please PM it to me and I will add it here when I have a chance. This includes any topics currently listed or otherwise.

So lets cover the basics of your brand new bike. You just got it in the mail and you can't wait to get riding! Before you charge off into the great wilderness, here is a list of a few things you NEED to do.

1. Loctite! During assembly, take your time to put blue/medium strength loctite on every fastener. I recommend 243 since it has a higher temp rating, but even 242 will work. Leave no bolt or screw un-touched. It may add time now, but it will save time later.

2. Get Greasy! Put grease on both front and rear axles for the wheels. Also make sure to remove and grease the main bolt and bushings of the rear swing arm. This will prevent premature failure of the rubber bushings in the swing arm. It is also a good idea to clean out and grease the head stock bearings while first assembling your bike. A high quality waterproof/marine grease is fine for all of these parts.

A suggested and relatively easy upgrade for easy greasing of the steering stem bearings and swing arm bushings is to drill, tap, and fit a grease zerk to both. Some information and photos can be found here: http://chinariders.net/showthread.ph...highlight=zerk

3. Oil Change the oil before ever starting it, take your pick, but a large majority of us run Rotella T4 15w-40 with great luck. As long as it is JASO MA (wet clutch rated) then it will be fine.

4.Valves. Set your valve lash now, and then check it regularly. During break in the valve lash will change as parts stretch, shrink, etc. A large majority of starting and running problems are a direct result of poor valve lash.


5. Carburetor. You will have undoubtedly, even hopefully, found endless posts and videos on this subject, but lets cover the basics.
Unless you live above 4000ft in altitude, you will need to tune your carburetor. There are two ways to go about this.
a. Tune the stock carb.
b. Switch to the Mikuni.
There is no performance advantage with the Mikuni carb that many of us run. It is essentially the same exact carburetor, but it takes Mikuni jets. It's main advantage is that you can change the pilot jet out and the needle comes with 5 notches for adjusting, thus giving you full tunability. The stock carb pilot jet is unique and cannot be changed and the stock needle has no adjustment (but can be shimmed).

6. Chain The stock chain may not be the greatest quality, but during assembly you can remove it and either soak it in a heavy gear oil or give it a parafin wax bath. This method will greatly increase the life of the stock chain. If you lubricate the chain or not be sure to adjust the tension This applies to ALL makes of bikes that come crated, and they often get shipped very tight. Failure to do so can result in potential damage to the engine case halves.

7. Other Fluids. Fork oil and brake fluid. Some may argue the necessity of this, but it is so cheap and easy to do that there is no reason not to.
As far as brake fluid, buy a good DOT3 or 4 equivalent, I run synthetic Valvoline in mine, available at any parts store or WalMart. I buy a big bottle, and completely flush the system to ensure the entire system has good quality fluid in it.
As far as fork oil goes, the weight of the oil will come down to preference. I always recommend starting at 15W, and then you can change the weight of the oil as needed to tailor the dampening to your liking.
This is a post of mine describing a basic Fork oil change: http://chinariders.net/showpost.php?...17&postcount=3

8. Lubricate the cables. This is an often overlooked maintenance step that I suggest doing during initial assembly. There are many different lubricants on the market, so take your pick. My personal favorite is PJ1 cable lube https://www.amazon.com/PJ1-1-12-Cabl...pj1+cable+lube

I try to avoid "multi purpose" lube sprays for cables, as they tend to contain heavier greases and waxes that will trap dirt in the cables and cause them to get stiff and bind up. The PJ1 lube not only makes for very smooth cable action, but it also does a great job of cleaning out the sheath of gunk and junk.

9. Adjust the clutch. This guide for the TT250 includes the steps for proper clutch adjustment and also works for the Hawk 250. It is a good idea to go ahead and do this during assembly.
https://cscmotorcycles.com/tt250-clu...on-adjustment/

10. Spokes! One common truth among many Chinese bikes, but Hawks in particular, is the wheel spokes tend to come in a variety of tensions. It is worth taking the time to check both the front and rear wheel for trueness, and then tightening the spokes. Then make it a regular habit to check and adjust the spokes on a regular basis. If you ride in rough conditions it is a good idea to do it more frequently, and if you mostly ride on the road with less aggressive tires I would suggest at least as a part of your oil change interval.

[Megadan]

This is a list of known issues and fixes for the Hawk 250.

Rear sprocket or sprocket stud failures.
Some owners experience the rear sprocket falling off the wheel and/or shearing the studs that secure it to said wheel. This can be easily prevented - My own thread on this topic including a simple fix that resolved it for me. http://chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=19265

If you would like to upgrade the original Chinese sprocket studs to Honda OEM studs, then you will want Part Number: 90128-ke2-940
I would include a link, but quantity and availability change so much between retailers that it makes it hard to put down one source. Just google search or use ebay and find the best deals that you can.

Tubes.
The stock tubes are a common failure point for most owners. Some have failed in just a couple hundred miles, and some of us managed to get over 1000 miles, but they eventually fail. They are made of very thin, low quality, rubber. Any TR4 stemmed quality aftermarket tube is a good upgrade.

Some often simply tear or rub through like mine, but other common causes of these failures also include damage from the spokes protruding into the rim after tightening the spokes or just not being filed flat after assembly, or the rim strip is not covering the spoke nipples inside the wheel and allowing them to rub and cut into the tube. It has also been reported that the rim itself can have sharp or rough edges that can damage the tube. These are all things to look for and correct when changing tubes.

Spokes.
Owners sometimes experience issues with the spokes breaking. It is a good idea to tighten the spokes on your bike when first assembling it, and then regularly check/tighten them. This is true of any spoked wheel, and often a part of regular maintenance and safety checks. I will check mine at a minimum of once per week.

Wheel Bearings.
While the front bearings don't tend to be an issue, more than a few owners (including myself) have had an issue with the rear wheel bearings being installed poorly and causing failures or other damage. It is a good idea to check both front and rear wheel bearings during assembly. They should spin freely. If they are locked up or notchy then replace them.

Front wheel bearings: 6301-2RS
Rear wheel bearings: 6302-2RS

I strongly advise that you purchase good quality bearings. All Balls Racing sells these bearings as linked here. http://chinariders.net/showpost.php?...&postcount=900

Other options include SKF, Timken, Nachi/Quest. Specifically, look for bearings made in Japan, Germany, the UK, or the USA. Alternately, some versions of SKF and Timken can be made in India, Taiwan, or Korea. I have had good luck with Timken bearings produced in Taiwan and Korea, but not India.

Wheel Seal dimensions.

Rear
25x47x10 1 each.

28x42x7 1 each.

Front.
23x37x7 1 each.

[Megadan]

A list of information on upgrading or modifying your Hawk 250.

To start off with, this is a thread of setups on several bikes. A good place to go as a starting point for mods and jetting ideas! http://chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=19036

Sprockets, chains, and gearing - OH MY!
A common upgrade for many Hawk owners is to change the front and/or rear sprockets. The choices and combinations are diverse.

For a stock chain/428 chain setup the most common upgrades are to use:
Front Sprocket: JTF259. in a 16 or 17 tooth count.
Rear Sprocket: JTR269. Available anywere from 56 teeth to 34 teeth.
Chain Links: Stock is 130, but I have found on smaller rear sprockets like the 45 tooth that a 128 links works far better.

For a 520 chain, which is something I personally believe is better for hard use (also the stock chain on a CRF230);
Front Sprocket: JTF328. Available in 12, 13, or 14 teeth counts. 13 is about as big as you will
want to go
Rear Sprocket: JTR279. Available from 30 to 42 teeth counts.
Chain links: Depending on the sprocket combinations it will be anywhere from 100 links to 112 links. I suggest buying at least a 115 link chain, and removing links as needed to get the desired length you need. I bought 120 links just to be safe.

A couple of gearing matches to the 428 chain combinations when using the 520 upgrade sprockets include;
Stock 15f/50r = 12f/40r
The popular 17f/45r = 13f/35r
My personal preference for mainly road use is a 17f/43r = 13f/33r

If you are unsure of what gearing combination is best for you, or what to go with, then you can use this site thanks to JerryHawk to help calculate your gearing changes. https://www.gearingcommander.com/
Simply type 2016 into the filter box at the top right, select filter, and then select "Haosen Hawk 250". Then simply type in your sprockets into the fields to compare.

Exhaust Upgrades.
There are two routes most of us go with this. The easiest way is to buy an ebay CRF230 exhaust, usually found for $120, give or take a little. You could also purchase other CRF230 exhaust systems as they will also bolt on to a Hawk with the same basic modification required - elongating, resizing, or slotting the flange mount holes on the bracket.

The other route is to modify the stock exhaust by removing the catalytic converter and modifying the stock mufflers. Demonstrated in this thread: http://chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=17913

Cyinder Head Porting
For those of you, like me, who just have to get the most out of your bike, or otherwise need a reason to tinker and modify. The Official Head Thread has links to a few threads and tools for such an operation.
http://chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=23004

Fork Upgrades.
3 things are for sure with the stock forks for a majority of riders. They are too soft, too flexy, and poorly damapened. If you already flushed and filled your forks with fork oil as mentioned above, then you already helped the dampening side of things, but that leaves two more things to consider/upgrade.

Fork flex. With such long and thin forks, the Hawk is prone to fork flex. A good way to help improve the steering and handling of the bike is to eliminate a lot of that flex. Fellow member Wamey did a fairly cheap and easy fork brace mod to his bike, seen here: http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=19349

Rider sag. The Hawk's front springs are soft. This is good for comfort, but not good if you are heavier than about 140lbs. Why? Because as you put your weight on the bike, the suspension compresses and takes up that weight. If it compresses too much, then you lose a lot of compression travel, and will likely bottom out the forks very easily. There is a very easy way to solve this, which is by adding more preload.

The stock forks come with 15mm preload spacers. In my opinion this is nowhere near enough preload. My bike would compress the forks an inch simply standing it up with no other weight on the bike. What you want to aim for is the forks to compress around 2.5-3" with your weight fully on the bike. For me, this took 40mm spacers.

To make your own spacers you need to use 7/8 inch or 22mm outside diameter tubing/pipe. You can use thick wall PVC, aluminum, bronze, or even stack up thick washers with the stock spacers if you want to. An easy way to judge how much sag you have is to put a zip tie around the fork tube right under the lower triple clamp and then put your weight on the bike in a neutral riding position. Then dismount the bike carefully (don't put any more weight on the forks). and measure the distance between the lower triple clamp and the zip tie. Adjust your preload until it ends up at your desired distance.

Damping There are two ways to try and improve the damping of the front forks. The first is to run different fork oil weights until you find one that suits your use/preference. The downside to this is that it affects compression and rebound damping equally.

The other way is to install a set of fork valves. This modification allows you to tune the compression damping with the valve while tuning rebound damping with fork oil weight, giving you the greatest control. Here is my thread on the YSS PD238 valve installation.
http://www.chinariders.net/showthrea...554#post284554

Oil Cooler.
While not a necessary modification, it is something worth doing. Not only for an increase in oil capacity, but for these air cooled engines, they rely quite a bit on the engine oil for cooling. By shedding heat you will extend the life of the oil as well as the clutch and other internal components. There are two types of coolers,

1. Valve cover style, which takes the feed of oil from the valve cover and runs it through a cooler and back to the valve cover. A very simple and effective way to cool the oil going to the head, where it can do the most good. mjstef - has some good pictures of this style with his install. http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=17138

2. Sump style cooler. This essentially replaces the filter screen cap with a plug that routes the whole oil supply through a cooler, and then back to the oil pump. This will cool the oil going to every part of the engine and allows for less complication with removing the valve cover for valve lash checks.
JerryHawk250 has a great thread showcasing this style of cooler. http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=19024

Shifter Upgrades The stock shifter isn't very durable and sticks out a fair amount. Myself and many others upgrade to aftermarket shifters.
My personal preference is the steel IMS shifter for the XR400 - https://www.amazon.com/IMS-312223-Fl.../dp/B000UKO37Q
There are also other shifters out there including aluminum units. As long as the shifter you are using is for an 11mm Honda style shifter shaft then it should work as long as it clears the lower frame.

LED Headlight bulbs. This is a "take your pick" section. The Hawk uses an H4 bulb. I personally love the fanless LED gen 2 and gen 3 headlamps from SuperbrightLED's
Links: (This is what I have in my bike) https://www.superbrightleds.com/more...ens/4444/9994/
This style has a built in driver, so there is no extra box to deal with or mount. https://www.superbrightleds.com/more...ens/3930/8566/

This is a video done by a member on here that installed an LED bulb on his bike. Please note that depending on the style of bulb you get you may not have to modify the bulb retainer on the stock headlight like you see being done here. On my bulb this was not necessary. In either case it is a decent little video with better detail than many others have shown.


Steering Stem Bearings.
Another upgrade that isn't entirely necessary, but worth doing if you have the need or gumption, is to upgrade the stock steering stem bearings to tapered roller bearings. These can be purchased through All Balls Racing individually (need 2) as part number: 99-3520-5
Or you can buy them as a kit as part Number: 22-1021

CRF230F Intake manifold: A good way to upgrade to a 40mm spigot mount carburetor. This can include using the stock CRF230 26mm carb or XR250R 30mm carb, or Mikuni VM30 carburetor. Information: http://www.chinariders.net/showpost....&postcount=299

Luggage Rack
Want a luggage rack without having to fabricate something? Member Musictrek installed a TT250 rack to a Hawk - no mods required. http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=20298
Rack found here - http://www.cscmotorcycles.com/BLACK-...p/csc-6000.htm

Clutch Spring Upgrade
If you have done any upgrades to your bike, or are just tired of dealing with soft and inconsistent clutch feel and fade, then upgrading the clutch springs is well worth your time.

EBC CSK Clutch Springs for a 79-82 Honda 750 work perfectly.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001IUMGEY...Gbp4Rm-fWOvV3c

[Megadan]

Likely you bought a Chinese motorcycle because it was cheap! We here on Chinariders love to continue this frugal spirit, with many owners making their own upgrades.

Nice little DIY Windshield. http://chinariders.net/showthread.ph...ghlight=fender

Head Gasket Replacement How-to. : http://chinariders.net/showpost.php?...&postcount=123

Fixes and Repairs.

Here are links to a couple of pdf files for CG125/150 engine repair manuals that are also fairly applicable to our engines.
http://die-kleinkraftrad-ig.de/wisse...itungcg125.pdf

http://www.mpkorado.cz/ke-stazeni/se...l-hartford.pdf

Fuel Float
Fuel gauge reading seems quite a bit off, or bounces around? Here is a quick and easy fix to get it reading right. http://chinariders.net/showthread.ph...114#post303114

[Megadan]

This is intended to be a parts resource, including crossovers from other bikes.

Batteries: This guide by Wamey lists a few battery models that are similar in dimension and functonality to the stock Hawk battery.
http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=20893

TT250 - Hawk parts
One nice thing about the Hawk is that it does share a lot of small parts with the TT250. On top of that, many of these same parts are at least of the same quality, if not better, and much cheaper than new Hawk parts sold through other companies.

Link to TT250 Parts. http://www.cscmotorcycles.com/TT250-OEM-PARTS-s/306.htm

Known parts crossovers include. Rear axle and nut, rear wheel seals, axle adjusters, all of the tank and side body panels, tail light and rear fender/license plate panel, Seat, rubber intake manifold, and even some accessories like the luggage rack. Some parts are a close match and require little extra work, such as the brake pedal, which only needs a small hole drilled for the brake light switch spring or the rear switch needs to be converted to a pressure switch banjo bolt.

Intake manifold to cylinder head gasket. 33.5mm x 3mm. Honda Part number: 91304-KRM-840

Brake Pads
EBC Part Numbers:
Front - FA086
Rear - FA165

Hawk 250 Starter Motor
Per Lit Hawk, he replaced his starter motor with one on ebay with the following specs.
Total length: 6"
Diameter: 2.7"
Mounting holes (center to center hole): 2"
Output gear: 11 spline

[Norm129]

Were did you purchase a 520 33 tooth rear sprocket for your hawk would love to buy one Norm Also like your youtube vids

[Jax11's]

Hello Can you please update this for me trying to figure out and nothing comes up for 250 Hawk


"If you are unsure of what gearing combination is best for you, or what to go with, then you can use this site thanks to JerryHawk to help calculate your gearing changes. https://www.gearingcommander.com/
Simply type 2016 into the filter box at the top right, select filter, and then select "Haosen Hawk 250". Then simply type in your sprockets into the fields to compare."


Thanks Jamie

[wally]

Originally Posted by Jax11's

Hello Can you please update this for me trying to figure out and nothing comes up for 250 Hawk


"If you are unsure of what gearing combination is best for you, or what to go with, then you can use this site thanks to JerryHawk to help calculate your gearing changes. https://www.gearingcommander.com/
Simply type 2016 into the filter box at the top right, select filter, and then select "Haosen Hawk 250". Then simply type in your sprockets into the fields to compare."


Thanks Jamie

Pick "001 - RPS" , "HAWK" , "250 '15 - '17"

[trinitytesy]

Originally Posted by Megadan

Front wheel bearings: 6301-2RS
Rear wheel bearings: 6302-2RS

My 2022 Hawk250 DLX EFI has 6201-2RS bearings on the front.
Who saw that coming?

Will update when I get the rear wheel off.


... UPDATE ...



Are you ready?


If you don't want to check the bearing and bearing seal sizes for your 2022 Hawk 250 DLX EFI before you buy them, you could try these. But I'd suggest checking them yourself. For the seals, get the three numbers. They describe inner diameter x outer diameter x thickness.



If you want to find them on amazon, search "oil seal 21 x 35 x 7" , etc., etc.



Front:
Bearings: 6201-2RS - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LD8SGZG

Oil Seal: 21 x 35 x 7 (TC) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T6CY4H1

Note: Only one seal because opposite side has the speedometer sending unit, so no seal there.


Rear:
Bearings: 6301-2RS - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YSJBYHQ
Oil Seal 1: 27 x 47 x 7 (TC) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T6GNV15

Oil Seal 2: 28 x 42 x 7 (TC) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T6CY4H1


Good luck China Riders!

[Jax11's]

Do you know anyone on here that is familiar or has a New 2023/2022 hawk 250 dlx with EFI and has any info on upgrades? Thanks

[j5finley]

Originally Posted by Jax11's

Do you know anyone on here that is familiar or has a New 2023/2022 hawk 250 dlx with EFI and has any info on upgrades? Thanks

i have done a few upgrades what are you referring to specifically?

i have done a pod filter/air box delete, new headlight bulb, oil cooler, gear shifter, swapped turn signals, fork oil and possibly a few others i can not recall right now. All have been the same product as the non EFI model. the one exception i had was the oil cooler, i was not able to mount it on the front main frame tube, it would not clear the front fender as well as there are welder wires to hold the clutch cable right in front of the main frame tube. i ended up mounting it between the gas tank and the plastic tank fairing. used the provided hardware and mounted to the plastic support and main frame tube, ill get a picture when i get home if anyone wants to see it.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by pcspecialist

Should include the proper amount of oil as I'm frequently seeing comments about how their air filter is covered in oil because they followed the stupid manual and put 1.5 quarts.

Thats because the total oil capacity of the motor is right around 1.3-1.5 quarts if you manage to drain every last drop out of it. I don't bother with giving an actual amount and just recommend filling until the oil is in the center of the sight glass with the bike vertical, usually it takes right around 1 quart to do that with most oil changes, if not a teeny tiny bit more.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by rcjetn

Megadan: Bought Rotella T4 15w-40 like you suggested. The container says it's for diesel engines ?????


Jack

And?

Let me put it to you this way. Diesel engines require 4 key things from their oil.

1. High heat resistance - diesels under load are insanely hot, contrary to popular myth, and the oil needs very high thermal stability to resist getting cooked, or thinning out and allowing excessive wear.

2. High shear strength - You often hear "diesels spin slow, unlike a bike engine" blah blah blah. A 3-5lb piston traveling along a 5-7 inch stroke at 2000rpm with a high compression ratio with forced induction creates way more shear force than most typical car engines, and is only really matched by say an engine that turns past 10,000rpm. Diesel oil needs to resist a ton of shearing force

3. High compression resistance - The force applied to the bearing surfaces of an engine compressing the intake charge to many thousands of PSI, and then making it explode is immense, and the typical gear drives found for the fuel and other systems are also very hard on oils, often breaking down at a molecular level. Diesel oil needs to resist these forces to prevent metal to metal contact and for longer service life.

4. High detergency for particulate suspension. - A common fact of life with diesels is that they are dirty, and their blowby puts a lot of carbon in the oil. To combat this the oil needs to be able to suspend the particulates in order to pass them through the filters and prevent them from building up an settling in places that can cause issues down the road.

How does this apply to motorcycle like ours?

1. An aircooled engine such as these runs hotter than a typical liquid cooled engine, thus a high thermal stability is necessary.

2. The higher RPM nature of the engine means that the oil needs to have a high shear resistance to protect the rings and cylinder.

3. The oil shares itself between the engine and the gearbox, and the gearbox is a gear drive where high compression resistance is important for longer service life

4. A bike with a wet clutch puts organic material into the oil that needs to be suspended to prevent it from settling.

All 4 of these traits are also common among motorcycle specific 4T oil.

Rotella also has a high ZDDP level, which is beneficial to a flat tappet valvetrain as found in our CG clones to reduce wear on the cam and followers. It is also wet clutch rated JASO MA2.

I am not endorsing Rotella as the best oil in the world, but short of a high output high RPM modern precision machine, it is way more than adequate for these bikes. It's a very popular oil in the 4 cylinder Goldwing community where guys like me would put tens of thousands of miles on our bikes. For contrast, and just to make a point, I run Motul 7100 synthetic in my VFR1200

Run whatever oil you want to run, but don't think that any harm will come to your engine either. More wear and damage is done due to cold startups and revving the engine before it is up to temp than almost anything else. The number two cause for accelerated wear is improper oil change intervals. As the saying goes, the best oil is clean oil.

If it makes you feel better there are several of us that have put thousands of miles on our Hawks and other bikes that run Rotella oil. Myself and others do so using Rotella oil that push them pretty hard for extended periods of time and otherwise ride the snot out of them with zero issues. Oil snobs and people who claim to be experts can state "It's not motorcycle oil, so its bad and wrong" all they want, but in my life I have logged tens of thousands of miles between three bikes that specifically only used Rotella T4 or T6, and I never had a loss in compression, bearing failure, oil burning, leaking, or other calamity occour. What I did do was change the oil on a regular schedule based on its smell (fuel saturation), color, feel (loss of lubricity you can feel), or length of time (because oil oxidizes even when you aren't running the engine and breaks down).

If after all that, the little voice in your head still doesn't think it is the right oil to run, no biggie, I wont judge you for it at all. There are plenty of reasonably priced quality 4T oils out there as well.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by KenTaoyan

Filling the oil up halfway on the site glass then I started the engine and I couldn't see the oil in the site glass. I know the oil gets distributed around the engine. (Upper and Lower) what is the procedure for the oil change? Start it up and let it circulate or just leave it at that? Still a newbie and about to do the full meal deal to get ready for spring.

Otherwise, these engines are supposed to have about 1.1 quarts in them, and most people just put 1 quart in and that tends to put the oil in the sight glass about halfway. While running it is normal not to see the oil in the sight glass as the engine is circulating a portion of said oil.

The typical method for checking the oil level on many Honda engines is to run the bike for a couple-few minutes, shut it off, and let it sit for about 5 minutes and then check the sight glass level, and if needed top it off a bit.

[NzBrakelathes]

This might explain more