Doing Hawk things.

[Megadan]

I am reminded why the PZ30 and VM26 can be annoying to tune as I have to play with the idle mixture screw. I went ahead and ordered these to make my life a bit easier. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Should work, but I won't know for sure until I get them in. At the very least the idle speed knob will definitely work, and I prefer that to be a thumb screw.

I also bought a new oil cooler. My current silver unit is taking a bit of a beating now that it's not mostly protected by the front fender, and I have had to straighten quite a few fins, so I ordered a black cooler of the same size with a protective screen on it. That should help it blend in better and protect it. They also claim it holds 150ml, but I don't know how accurate that is.
Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P2YF26Q...roduct_details

I will say this, without the fender in the way the cooler is almost too effective when the temps drop below 60. With the screen on this one I can at least devise some sort of insert to block air when it gets colder and help the engine get up to temp and stay there better.

[Megadan]

Follow up on the previous post items. Oil cooler came in, and it's just a black version of the silver one I have, but with said screen and slightly thicker/better mounting brackets. That was a nice discovery. I will wait to swap it out until I am at the end of the break in period for the new rings, which is a few hundred more miles. Good chance to really flush out the system, and if there is any metal particles in the cooler they will disappear with the old cooler.

The idle speed knob I ordered out of the first link is perfect. The mixture screw doesn't work. The threads are right, it's the tip that was wrong. I ordered a different one with the right shaped tip... to find that the threads are entirely incorrect. What I need is the tip shape of one and the threads of the other. I love these cheap knock off carbs lol



I did a little more searching and I think I found the hybrid of the two for just a few bucks, but I could only find it on ebay, not amazon, and it ships from China, so I have a couple of weeks to wait.

I may not even need it because I know my mixture is pretty close to perfect after I made a jetting adjustment. How it was behaving had me question if I was too rich at idle, so I cranked that idle mixture down to 1 turn out and it was still having a rich idle issue. So I changed to a pilot jet size I know was too lean on my first Hawk with an exhaust and pod filter - a 25 - an I set the idle mixture at 1 3/4 out because I remember that being just slightly lean on the other hawk. It's perfect now. It's not even too lean at light throttle like I used to experience on said first Hawk.

With that adjustment I bumped my main jet size up one size on a hunch, and now it idles rock solid (as a 292 duration cam can at least) and pulls strong on the clutch, which means the fueling is just about perfect. My brief pull at WOT was also the cleanest and strongest pull I have experienced yet with this whole setup. I'm avoiding getting on it as I am still within break in on the new rings, so as I said it was brief. I wll explore main jet fueling more once I am out of break in.

That all left me with my next adjustment I am going to test, which is the needle. It has an extremely slight sluggishness at part throttle, with the occasional hicuup when getting back on the throttle like you tend to get with lean spots. I have left the needle in the middle notch, but it is now going to be located to the fourth notch from the top (one down) to richen up my part throttle and I do believe I have my carb tuned in at least 90%.

It's quite incredible how strong the draw on the jets is that with a bigger bore, a fairly large cam, a ported head from Motocult, a basic pod filter, and an exhaust. Roughly 22hp at the crank and I am running a 25 pilot, 120 main, needle 4th notch.

My first Hawk, a stock motor with an exhaust and pod filter 27.5, needle third notch, 115 main for an engine making maybe 17hp at the crank.

Let me tell you, the power is definitely more. quite a lot more. Up to 55mph I am maybe at half throttle, tops. It can climb a decently steep hill with my fat butt in 5th gear at 40mph/4500rpm with an ease you would never expect from a CG250.

[Megadan]

Got a nice little heat shield for my head pipe from aliexpress. about $9 with shipping charges. It's a pretty sturdy little unit, and it even comes with a gasket-like set of washers to isolate the plastic from the metal and keep it from melting/burning.



I suspect this thing is going to melt since it just feels like regular plastic, but I will give it a go.

I've also been considering giving this larger fender a try for the front of my bike. The little one I have on there now looks ok, but doesn't offer a whole lot in rock and splash protection.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568...Cquery_from%3A

[Aussie_in_MO]

That new heat shield looks like a prime candidate for doing some backyard sand casting to make one out of Aluminum!

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Aussie_in_MO

That new heat shield looks like a prime candidate for doing some backyard sand casting to make one out of Aluminum!

I honestly think I would try that if I had a smelter and some green sand., Sadly, I don't. If this one melts I will be switching to an actual carbon fiber shield I have.

[Megadan]

Well, it did melt. It didn't even take very long. I am not too surprised given the $9 delivered price tag. On the plus side, I have backup set of mounts for my redneck exhaust hanger bracket.

I have this on hand, and it won't melt. It's just not much to look at other than being carbon fiber.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2JN1KWZ...roduct_details

I am going to put some of that heat reflective tape on the back side of it just to hopefully make it more effective and last longer.

[Megadan]

Of course, after 3 weeks of waiting my mixture thumb screw arrives... damaged. It's almost as if bubble wrap isn't good enough to protect a thin metal object.

[Megadan]

So, for those that are curious, that last heat shield did infact deform from the heat of my exhaust. Ah well. On the plus side, I have some backup mid pipe mounts I went ahead and installed the real carbon fiber heat shield on it, and that is holding up just fine (will see in pictures to come). I am going to thumbnail most of the pictures just for space saving reasons, you can click on them to make them bigger.

First order of business, after being over a week late my new "Yoshimura" muffler and baffle arrived. While a little smaller than I would like, it actually does a decent job and sounds really good. The outlet not only angles down, but slightly to the right, which solves a problem the old ebay exhaust always had.



The new inlet baffle that I have (and installed) is a big improvement over the old design. It is larger, progressive, and has more holes to vent into the packing.



So, how does it fit? Probably one of the best fitting exhaust combinations to have graced this Hawk since the stock exhaust system. The muffler tucks up nicely, the outlet angles the exhaust out and away from the fender entirely, and points above it even if it didn't, so there is no fender melting capability to be had. it's a long enough muffler that it can reach the factory muffler hanger location, and the exhaust angles it correctly so it actually reaches said hanger location perfectly. Plus, it just looks good.

[Megadan]

So, how does it sound? With the dB killer installed along with the inlet baffle, it's so quiet I hear the intake noise more than the exhaust. Stealth mode achieved! No performance hit either, it has zero problems hauling me to 70mph with ease (I didn't want to push too hard, still in the first 500miles on the new jug and rings so I let off right away).

With the dB killer out but the inlet baffle still in place, it has a lovely deep tone to it, but it is not at all obnoxious like the Megaphone muffler was. I feel I can ride with the dB killer out and not stand out too much in the crowd, and it is actually a bit quieter than the Stoneman exhaust from ebay too, or at least the tone is such that it stands out a lot less to my ears.

Honestly, this exhaust with the mid pipe mount corrected and this muffler combination is just about perfect, non-catalyst cat in place or not. If somebody were to make it properly and sell it like this, it would be a winner across the board that I think everybody would go with.

All I have left is the other oil cooler to install and some heavier fork oil. I am also considering a more full sized CG125 style fender for a bit better splash protection. Link: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568...yAdapt=glo2usa

[GypsyR]

Where'd the inlet baffle come from? I have a new muffler and wouldn't mind it being a bit more stealthy too.

[Mikd]

I'm curious if that exhaust would fit the Templar X? The loud stock exhaust is the only thing keeping me from longer street rides.

[2LZ]

Hmmmm.... I have the same heat shield on my DRZ and no issues.
Hawk's looking good, Dan.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by GypsyR

Where'd the inlet baffle come from? I have a new muffler and wouldn't mind it being a bit more stealthy too.

From Aliexpress. It's the only one like it I have found so far.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568...yAdapt=glo2usa

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Mikd

I'm curious if that exhaust would fit the Templar X? The loud stock exhaust is the only thing keeping me from longer street rides.

It's a CRF230 exhaust, so in theory it probably would, but "fit" is a loose term. The mid pipe mount needs modification for the exhaust to actually fit properly.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by 2LZ

Hmmmm.... I have the same heat shield on my DRZ and no issues.
Hawk's looking good, Dan.

Unless you managed to get one from a good source and mine is just a cheap copy (it was 9 dollars shipped).