It Took a Lot to Get My 2024 Hawk Going

Hawks & Turkeys · 09-18-2024, 10:14 PM

Thought I would make a list of improvements I had to make to get my 2024 Hawk running over these past eight months. Here we go:

- Replaced the worthless factory battery with a Mighty Max.

- Upgraded the "thick wires" that came with the bike and ran from the battery to the solenoid and the solenoid to the starter. The wires were simply not delivering enough power to drive the starter. I found a company on eBay that made custom length cables (Gauge Wire and Cable) and made me a 3" cable to cover the short distance from the battery to the solenoid. I bought a standard length cable to run from the solenoid to the starter.

- Completed a valve lash - AKA a valve adjustment. NGL - I had never done a valve adjustment before, but there are a lot of good videos out there and it seems almost a requirement on new Hawks.

- At the suggestion of an obscure YouTube video I saw, I installed a charging port from the battery that allows me to charge the battery without having to constantly remove the damn side panel with its one screw that is just waiting to be stripped.

- Removed the analog speedo and instrument panel and installed a digital upgrade, whose wiring I screwed up, causing the bike to refuse to start for a month. I believe that I had some conflict with the new, blue & white tach wire, and the existing blue and white CDI box wire, whose power is critical. i wound up pulling out the whole mess and going back to the analog speedo and panel. Oh well...

- After seeing that my gas gauge was off by half a tank (!) I ordered and installed a new fuel gauge float in the gas tank. Ordered it from CSC Motorcycles. It has a longer arm which allows the gas tank float to, well, float.

- My factory throttle cable was 3/4 of an inch too long, far too long for the adjusting threads to shorten the cable enough. As a result, the bike would not idle without stalling out. I had to maintain constant pressure on the throttle grip to allow the engine to rev. I found a company called Venhill in the southern US. They produce custom length cables and ship them to you. It's a more detailed process than I expected - think of the nipples or barrels that have to fit into the throttle grip and carburetor, not to mention the cable length. But the result was great. My new cable is a perfect fit.

My bike was assembled and delivered to me in January 2024 by Orion Powersports of Texas, along with an upgrade to a fairly small Nibbi carb. Other than the digital instrument panel mess, I didn't create any of these problems. This is how the bike was delivered and the issues I encountered.

My blue Hawk runs really well now, eight months after delivery and I'm genuinely enjoying it. But I cringe when I see videos of new Hawks on the road and owners proclaiming that the bike runs great with no issues. That is simply the exact opposite of what I encountered. I'm out.

09-18-2024, 10:14 PM	#1
Hawks & Turkeys Join Date: May 2024 Location: US Gulf Coast Posts: 26	It Took a Lot to Get My 2024 Hawk Going Thought I would make a list of improvements I had to make to get my 2024 Hawk running over these past eight months. Here we go: - Replaced the worthless factory battery with a Mighty Max. - Upgraded the "thick wires" that came with the bike and ran from the battery to the solenoid and the solenoid to the starter. The wires were simply not delivering enough power to drive the starter. I found a company on eBay that made custom length cables (Gauge Wire and Cable) and made me a 3" cable to cover the short distance from the battery to the solenoid. I bought a standard length cable to run from the solenoid to the starter. - Completed a valve lash - AKA a valve adjustment. NGL - I had never done a valve adjustment before, but there are a lot of good videos out there and it seems almost a requirement on new Hawks. - At the suggestion of an obscure YouTube video I saw, I installed a charging port from the battery that allows me to charge the battery without having to constantly remove the damn side panel with its one screw that is just waiting to be stripped. - Removed the analog speedo and instrument panel and installed a digital upgrade, whose wiring I screwed up, causing the bike to refuse to start for a month. I believe that I had some conflict with the new, blue & white tach wire, and the existing blue and white CDI box wire, whose power is critical. i wound up pulling out the whole mess and going back to the analog speedo and panel. Oh well... - After seeing that my gas gauge was off by half a tank (!) I ordered and installed a new fuel gauge float in the gas tank. Ordered it from CSC Motorcycles. It has a longer arm which allows the gas tank float to, well, float. - My factory throttle cable was 3/4 of an inch too long, far too long for the adjusting threads to shorten the cable enough. As a result, the bike would not idle without stalling out. I had to maintain constant pressure on the throttle grip to allow the engine to rev. I found a company called Venhill in the southern US. They produce custom length cables and ship them to you. It's a more detailed process than I expected - think of the nipples or barrels that have to fit into the throttle grip and carburetor, not to mention the cable length. But the result was great. My new cable is a perfect fit. My bike was assembled and delivered to me in January 2024 by Orion Powersports of Texas, along with an upgrade to a fairly small Nibbi carb. Other than the digital instrument panel mess, I didn't create any of these problems. This is how the bike was delivered and the issues I encountered. My blue Hawk runs really well now, eight months after delivery and I'm genuinely enjoying it. But I cringe when I see videos of new Hawks on the road and owners proclaiming that the bike runs great with no issues. That is simply the exact opposite of what I encountered. I'm out.
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