Got my first hawk!

[L00N]

Picked it up used for 800 came with the mikuni carb and ~60 miles (speedo cable snapped). also is this the stock swingarm? Spotted a xr200 roller on craigslist. looking to see if i can swap some suspension parts and rims over so I can go on this little road trip we are planning this summer.

For now I'm enjoying breaking in the motor in the snow.

[Megadan]

If you tried to post pictures, I don't think any of them showed up. Congrats on the Hawk.

As far as the swing arm, there is nothing wrong with the factory one as long as you aren't looking to do some jumping or rough whoops at high speed. Same goes for the rims.

Keep the spokes tightened and check them on a regular basis and the wheels shouldn't be a problem.

If you feel that you need to upgrade the rims, then any 36 hole Honda pattern rims will work with the Hawk.

As far as the swing arm goes, make sure the pivot bushings and axle/bolt are well greased with a marine grade grease as well as the shoulders and bushing sleeves on the rear shock to prevent damage to the rubber swing arm bushings and binding.

If you want to swap to an XR swing arm it will require welding tabs to the frame in order to accept the link system required for the Honda setup, or for somebody to weld aluminum tabs to the swing arm itself to accept a direct shock mount like the Hawk unit.

[L00N]

Hmm, seem to be having issues with images still.

Im planning on a little road trip this summer across 3 states mostly on back roads and some dirt roads. Any suggestions for sprocket sizes, there is a 50t on the rear and I have yet to confirm if the front is the 15t. I weight about 150 and would probably carry about 30-40 pounds of gear, and hoping to sustain 60-65 mph so I can hang with the dr350s.

I've seen a lot of suggestions for a 17/45.

[culcune]

Originally Posted by L00N

Hmm, seem to be having issues with images still.

Im planning on a little road trip this summer across 3 states mostly on back roads and some dirt roads. Any suggestions for sprocket sizes, there is a 50t on the rear and I have yet to confirm if the front is the 15t. I weight about 150 and would probably carry about 30-40 pounds of gear, and hoping to sustain 60-65 mph so I can hang with the dr350s.

I've seen a lot of suggestions for a 17/45.

Last November, I rode member Emerikol's 2015 Hawk on a 120-ish mile loop from his home on the outskirts of Phoenix up to the starting point of a group ride, on 40+ miles of desert sand roads, on 2-lane and 4-lane highways, and back to his house on freeways. His bike has the stock carb but he jetted it, exhaust work, and 17/39 gearing. I would have preferred a mid-40 gear on the dirt stuff, but that is just me being picky although there was over 40 miles of it. For the road stuff, the gearing was great and let me hit mid-60 mph. You don't sound like you will be purposely riding too much dirt (that was the point of our group ride--the dirt part), so you could probably copy the gearing of Emerikol's bike, although I bet you could probably get away with a 40 to 42 rear and get the same results if you did do carb and exhaust work. That is the beauty of the Hawk's hub; a copy of the XL185 which has numerous sprockets in increments of 1 tooth, so the world is your oyster when it comes to rear sprocket choices.

[L00N]

Originally Posted by culcune

Last November, I rode member Emerikol's 2015 Hawk on a 120-ish mile loop from his home on the outskirts of Phoenix up to the starting point of a group ride, on 40+ miles of desert sand roads, on 2-lane and 4-lane highways, and back to his house on freeways....

Thanks for the input. I think I may try 17/40. My usb/volt meter came today and I installed my hand guards yesterday. Maybe Ill have to place my sprocket order in now and I can try the new gearing this weekend.

[Plump Kibbles]

Originally Posted by L00N

Hmm, seem to be having issues with images still.

Im planning on a little road trip this summer across 3 states mostly on back roads and some dirt roads. Any suggestions for sprocket sizes, there is a 50t on the rear and I have yet to confirm if the front is the 15t. I weight about 150 and would probably carry about 30-40 pounds of gear, and hoping to sustain 60-65 mph so I can hang with the dr350s.

I've seen a lot of suggestions for a 17/45.

I have a cheaper Orion version, X-Pro - very unhappy with the gearing when I got it, topped out around 50ish and shaking like a dog taking a crap.. I don't have the hawk sprocket setup, I'm on a 520 chain - and used an 11T front sprocket, 30T rear sprocket. My 520 chain doesn't allow for the higher count front sprocket teeth due to size. I'm able to get up to highway speeds, can hold 70MPH with no wind or steep inclines. Have recently had it on I81 at 80MPH, surprisingly scary lol WITH knobbies.. I went from a 45T rear to 30T, and really didn't see a difference in lower gears or taking off from a standstill - can actually pop it up when I need to without any issues. I believe the front was a 12T or 13T stock, and went down to compensate for the missing teef in the rear lol - all said and done I'm very happy with the gearing and sustainability of speed now. I also have taken off the SAI system and replaced it with a boost bottle (old Yamaha trick) to help in lower RPM torque bogs.. But yes the 17TF/45TR sprockets are a very common setup I've seen just can't contest for that with the setup I have. I would say it's not too far off from what I've got going on, maybe even a little better too. My recent ride was to my friends about an hour and a half away by back roads. All 55MPH and I was just cruising no problems at all. The trick is playing with the gearing to see what suits YOU - I'm about your stature, nimble I call it, and the bike does just fine. I haven't had that kind of weight or distance, but did manage about 20-30lbs of supplies during the trip, mostly tool weight..

I'm not sure how long you've got to prepare, but I would honestly get some different rear sprocket sizes and see which pair does best. But, not sure if you've got time to do that.

BE SAFE out there during your trip too, man! The cagers drive like buttholes. Good luck for the sprockets also; you'll get it in no time!

[L00N]

The kick start sticks out at an odd angle and digs in to my calf. Is this pretty standard for the bikes? I think a little grinding should take care of it.

[L00N]

large image host


Ebay digital speedometer with 13k. Decided to go that route because it was a little cheaper than the zanella one. Speedo, digital sensor, and USB charger was 60 shipped. I tried to reuse the old speedo bracket but one hole lined up and I butchered it trying to weld it to the first plate attempt. The speed sensor i ordered didnt fit and had to be dremelled down to size. I didnt realize that the hawks, tbr7s, etc have different style of ignition switches so this one is kind of squeezed in there with a little room for a usb charger.

I've got the clock to stay on even after shutting the bike off by tapping into the red ignition wire. With a t tap
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...5468/6300723-P

Got the tachometer to work by making a "y" wire (one Male and two female bullet connectors). I tried to make all the wiring least invasive as possible and reversible.

Any one know how to get the fuel gauge to work? I grounded fuel sensor(blue yellow) to stop it from flashing.

Set the tire circumference to "lc-106" for the stock rim/tire combo and is GPS verified, there is a bit of lag between the garmin and the new speedo.

[PowerJunkie]

Good deal!! I'm currently looking at them. Getting jiggity jazzed!