Hawk 250 for my first bike

Ichrisbot · 09-14-2015, 04:27 PM

Hi all,
this is my first post here, just recently got my Hawk 250 for my first bike after doing a lot of reading around here. Ended up ordering it from TXpowersports.com for about $1370 shipped, I was happy to get it so quickly after ordering it last Tuesday and receiving it on Friday.

I don't have any prior experience with bikes, but do have some mechanical abilities, and fortunately my brother used to be a mechanic and has plenty of knowledge and tools. Assembly of the bike took a while, and I was a little nervous putting it together without any instructions, but everything appears to be solid and it runs!

Got a photo after initial assembly, before putting any of the plastics on:

A few questions for you guys:
It looks like there is a sensor or something behind the right footpeg, can anyone tell me what the purpose of this part is? I can snap a closer photo of this tonight, it's very hard to see in this photo. It's a black body secured in place with 2 nuts, and has a metal tip sticking out of the bottom. The tip feels spring loaded, and I can pull it out a little bit and the spring pulls it back in.
I circled where the part is here:

Second issue, I probably should have checked all of the spokes for tightness before riding, as the front rim got bent fairly easily after my brother had a very minor, low-speed run in with a pole (released the clutch thinking it was in neutral after parking the bike). Handlebars got tweaked as well, but I was able to get everything re-aligned pretty easily. Not the bike or wheel's fault, and afterwards I watched a video on how to adjust the spokes to true the wheel, but I wasn't able to get it perfectly straight. I'll probably get a pro to do it, it sounds like the local shop does it for a good price, but I'd like to get an extra set of wheels since I plan on doing trail riding with this thing. I'll definitely get a spoke torque wrench for my tool kit, but has anyone else found that the wheels are weak or did I probably just have loose spokes? Is it worth getting an extra set of non-chinese wheels for the bike?

Lastly, the clutch lever makes my foot feel very cramped. I wear size 12 boots and when I up shift, it feels like my foot is trapped between the peg and the lever. Is there an easy to install shift lever that is a little longer, or should I plan on modifying whatever I get to fit?

09-14-2015, 04:27 PM	#1
Ichrisbot Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 108	Hawk 250 for my first bike Hi all, this is my first post here, just recently got my Hawk 250 for my first bike after doing a lot of reading around here. Ended up ordering it from TXpowersports.com for about $1370 shipped, I was happy to get it so quickly after ordering it last Tuesday and receiving it on Friday. I don't have any prior experience with bikes, but do have some mechanical abilities, and fortunately my brother used to be a mechanic and has plenty of knowledge and tools. Assembly of the bike took a while, and I was a little nervous putting it together without any instructions, but everything appears to be solid and it runs! Got a photo after initial assembly, before putting any of the plastics on: A few questions for you guys: It looks like there is a sensor or something behind the right footpeg, can anyone tell me what the purpose of this part is? I can snap a closer photo of this tonight, it's very hard to see in this photo. It's a black body secured in place with 2 nuts, and has a metal tip sticking out of the bottom. The tip feels spring loaded, and I can pull it out a little bit and the spring pulls it back in. I circled where the part is here: Second issue, I probably should have checked all of the spokes for tightness before riding, as the front rim got bent fairly easily after my brother had a very minor, low-speed run in with a pole (released the clutch thinking it was in neutral after parking the bike). Handlebars got tweaked as well, but I was able to get everything re-aligned pretty easily. Not the bike or wheel's fault, and afterwards I watched a video on how to adjust the spokes to true the wheel, but I wasn't able to get it perfectly straight. I'll probably get a pro to do it, it sounds like the local shop does it for a good price, but I'd like to get an extra set of wheels since I plan on doing trail riding with this thing. I'll definitely get a spoke torque wrench for my tool kit, but has anyone else found that the wheels are weak or did I probably just have loose spokes? Is it worth getting an extra set of non-chinese wheels for the bike? Lastly, the clutch lever makes my foot feel very cramped. I wear size 12 boots and when I up shift, it feels like my foot is trapped between the peg and the lever. Is there an easy to install shift lever that is a little longer, or should I plan on modifying whatever I get to fit?
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