New Al Rider

[Kitcat]

Hey all! just ordered a hawk 250 and wanted to say hi!


I was recently hit on my old bike (totaled sadly) and wanted to pick something up that was cheap to ride on the side for fun while my leg heals and i save up.


i bought mine from txpowersports and ive seen alot of negative reviews from them (after i bought it lol...) anyone have any good experiences with them? after reading them its got me a little discouraged about my new bike coming in...

[JerryHawk250]

Welcome aboard and congrats on the Hawk. I never bought from them so really can't comment.

[Kitcat]

Thanks! Been reading the forums for a while and ive found alot of helpful information on it looking forward to being here!


Ive only ever rode the one bike (nc700x) so im interested to see how it is for only 1300!



picked the hawk because it seemed to have the most aftermarket and general support and guidance.

[JerryHawk250]

They're great bikes once you tune and put a free flowing exhaust. Just read through the Hawk Resource guide at the top of the Dual Sport Section.

[Kitcat]

Wow thanks that's a nice list and guides in that sticky. What do you recommend starting with or whats must important or a must do? Right now i had planned on loctite and changing the oil to start with. Once i get it plated im going to also change to a more street focused set as i plan on really just using this for on road use.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Kitcat

Wow thanks that's a nice list and guides in that sticky. What do you recommend starting with or whats must important or a must do? Right now i had planned on loctite and changing the oil to start with. Once i get it plated im going to also change to a more street focused set as i plan on really just using this for on road use.

My guide needs a bit of work, but it's helpful enough.

What I consider must do's, at a bare minimum. The very first post on my guide. Take the time to re-route and secure wiring to keep it from rubbing through or burning on hot things. Grease the pivot points like the swing arm axle bolt and the steering stem bearings. Go over all of the bolts and ensure they are tightened properly, add loctite to critical fasteners like the brake caliper bolts or anything else that would be a disaster if a bolt fell out. Drain the forks of the fluid that comes in them and add either ATF or Fork oil of your preference, at least about 165ml (I run 200) and while you are at it, take the time to make preload spacers to set rider sag to your weight (I can give a rough suggestion depending on how much you weigh). I personally also change out the brake fluid since it is so cheap to do, but others claim it isn't necessary. I will leave that one to you. Use brake cleaner on the rotors and pads as well, they are covered in oil and grime.

As far as performance improvements, at a minimum, de-cat and clean up the welds the stock exhaust, do the airbox mod, and properly jet the carburetor (or buy a Mikuni clone and jet it which is my personal recommendation).

If you want to have it be any sort of a road bike, new sprocket(s) are a must unless you don't plan on cruising over 45-50mph with a pegged top speed of 59.

More road friendly tires aren't a must, but I recommend them eventually over the knobbies if the bike is used on-road a lot.

Oh, and the stock chain quality tends to be hit or miss. I would say at least get yourself a good budget aftermarket chain like a Unibear or standard DID (20 to 30 bucks). to replace it when it eventually goes bad.

[Kitcat]

thank you for taking the time to pass this information along that will be very helpful along with your guide!



Ready for it to come in and start working on it i miss riding!

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Kitcat

thank you for taking the time to pass this information along that will be very helpful along with your guide!



Ready for it to come in and start working on it i miss riding!

I think you will be relatively pleased with it as a whole as long as you keep your expectations realistic given the price of the bike. Most of the issues are known, and a great deal of them are preventable. These bikes generally give back what you put into them. Compared to most modern bikes they may seem to need a bit more tinkering and fiddling, but most of that work is not time consuming or difficult.

Your NC700X would feel like a Ferrari compared to a Hawk, but that doesn't mean the Hawk can't be fun to ride. I have a bike with 10 times the power, engineering, and quality of a typical China bike, and yet I find myself enjoying my time on the Hawk just as much for very different reasons.

I originally bought my first Hawk specifically as a backup ride to my old GL1000. My expectations were low, and sure enough there were a few little things to fix here and there, but i put thousands of miles on it using it to commute to work to save gas until it was stolen from said work. I figured even if I wore it into the dirt and never put any more money into it, if I made it to 10,000 miles I would have more than got my money back on it.

[Weldangrind]

Welcome Kitcat!

[kirbo7106]

Welcome to the forum! Keep us posted on your Hawk. Pictures are always appreciated!

Enjoy the Ride!

[GetnGhost]

I bought my son's TBR7 from txpowersports, no problems at all. Ordered on Feb. 1st, it shipped Feb. 4th, and received it Feb. 10th. The paperwork got here the very next day, filled out and notarized!

[Kitcat]

Thanks I'll post some photos when i get it in I really appreciate the help and the welcome! Just got a call from the trucking company today should have it Thursdays! Got various items coming in tomorrow and Thursdays to work on it stoked to get back on a bike after almost 3 months!

[Kitcat]

Got it in today honestly for the price this is a good looking bike! Gonna have to mess with it tomorrow it's almost freezing here got it to crank but it won't idle without keeping on the throttle. How do I post photos?

[Weldangrind]

Pic tutorial: http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=14422

[Kitcat]

Here we go