2020 Hawk upgrades. Finally on the road. (FAQ?)

[KenTaoyan]

2020 Hawk upgrades. Finally on the road. (FAQ?)
I know this stuff is all over the place answered to death but I spent a lot of time looking at videos and searching on this forum for answers. I did get the answers but this might save a little time as I have seen other riders ask the same questions over and over. I’m just trying to combine them all in one place

• Ignition lock, Use the hex on the ass end of the key to unlock

• Choke, Up = choke is engaged.

Upgrades that I needed right off but didn’t order all at once. I would have had it on the road sooner if I just buckled down and ordered the stuff.

• Sprockets – Although I haven’t actually rode with the stock sprockets so I don’t know the difference but I was going by what everyone else was saying. I haven’t been steered wrong so far. You will need a pair snap ring plyers to remove and replace the rear sprocket. Once you pull the snap ring the sprocket should just slide out. The nuts holding the lugs on are the only nuts on my bike that were on with lock tight. It’s a lot easier to break those nuts loose if you put the sprocket it in a vise and use a breaker bar. Be careful not to mar the nuts. I had to get creative with a cutting wheel to get the one nut off. I had some replacements on hand until I get a higher quality replacement studs and nuts.
 Those nuts and studs are the same part # as my 81’ Honda XL185s

 The Honda manual states
 Front wheel spindle nut 29-36 ft/lbs
 Rear wheel spindle nut 45-58 ft/lbs
 Rear wheel Sprocket pin nuts 40-47 ft/lbs
 Remember to put these back on with Loctite.
 https://www.hondapartshouse.com/oemp...procket-fixing

• Chain tension, With the back tire off the ground most people advise ¾” play

• Carburetor (Seattle area elevation for most of my riding (“0”ft to “600”ft) At first I just tried to make the stock carb work but I couldn’t get it to run right. I then ordered a VM26 clone off of Amazon. Main jet – 115, Needle clip position – middle slot, Air/Fuel mix – 1.5 turns out

• Chain guide - Its not centered on the swing arm. I ordered one from CSC Motorcycles as I was told it would fit. It did fit but was still off centered. (Almost exact same part) With the new sprockets, it does not seem to be an issue.

• Valve lash - It came from China with “0” clearance. There is extensive information on this topic but I needed further description on “Top Dead Center, Compression stroke” (yeah I am a newbie motorcycle mechanic.) With the valve cover off, rotate the motor counter clockwise until you see the Intake valve close. Slowly keep turning until you first see a double line then a line with an “F” and then finally come to rest on the line with the “T”. I found it tough to tighten the nut down and stopping the adjustment screw from turning as well. I found that if I tightened the nut down on a .005 feeler gauge it would create a snug .003 on the intake valve and a .006 on the Exhaust valve it would create a .004.(Some clicking is expected. How much clicking? Mine has a slight click sound

Extra effort
• Fuel level sensor
The tank was installed over the sensor wire and was broke from the factory. The sensor was also installed wrong and marred the O-ring so it leaked gas. I ordered the gas sensor and O-Ring from CSC Motorcycles. I diagnosed the stock sensor as being good so I used it but when I re-installed and fixed the wire the gauge bounces all over the place. Not going to mess with this as I don’t think its value added. It’s way easier to make note of the mileage and check the fuel level before going out.

• Oil change after getting bike. – Shell Rotella T4 15W-40, Yes it’s formulated for a Diesel engines hence the higher quality for heat.

** Added 10-24 - Oil dipstick was getting all twisted and mangled. I was told this was not needed so I chopped it off and by checking oil level by looking at sight glass when the bike is upright. (3\4 on the sight glass)

• Check all bolts and nuts – My lower rear shock was not attached.

• Tires – I went with the Shinko 244. I removed them and had a shop mount and balance them. I could have mounted them but I wanted them balanced (The stock tires looked a little too aggressive to be running on the road.) I Upgraded to heavy tubes as the same time.


• Wheel bearings. – They look like they are sealed but actually there is a little black washer (dust cap) that that sits on top and can be taken off with a blade. Be careful not to mar/bend. Then just squish some grease in. (I use marine grade grease)

• Plastic trim on gas tank. – I was tired of taking it off and putting it back on when dealing with my valve lash so I asked the question on here. “Is it needed? The answer I got that it was “junk” and not value added. Hence permanently removed and I think it looks better without it. At some point in these rainy winter months here in Seattle I may just order a new tank and grind those things off and apply my own decorative trim/decals


My next upgrades when I have it up on the motorcycle jack. (The rain is coming)

• Brake fluid - Works fine now but I will replace with higher quality fluid as so far the input I get from this forum has been spot on.

• Forks fluid – Like other riders have mentioned, they are a little spongy especially with my 250 lbs. braking at the bottom of a hill they don’t bottom out but it is close.



1. 2020 RPS Hawk 250 – Amazon $1689.50 Including tax
2. Sprocket 17T – Amazon $10.48 + Tax
3. Sprocket 45T – Amazon $24.75 + Tax
4. Shinko 244 Dual sport tire 4.10 x 18 65S – Cycle Gear $54.69
5. Shinko 244 Dual sport tire 3.00 x 21 57L – Cycle Gear $37.57
6. Rear sprocket studs and nuts – $56.62 including Tax
7. Snap ring pliers – Harbor Freight $4.99 + Tax
8. Motorcycle jack – Harbor Freight $99.99 + tax
9. Cable lube Amazon $13.19 + tax
10. Hwbnde VM26 Carburetor – Amazon $35.98 + Tax
11. NGK 6681 spark lug – O’reily’s $8.99 + tax
12. Shell Rotella T4 15W-40 Diesel Engine Oil – AutoZone 1 gal $19.99 +Tax

I only have a couple hundred miles on it so far but its running good. I have only taken it up to 45Mph on neighborhood roads as I am still building confidence. I can tell that there is not much (RPM/Power) left but I am not looking to max it out. I’m an old (61) fat (250 lbs) guy and the pavement looks way too painful. I had an old lady roll a stop sign the other day so I rev’ed it up and scared the crap out of her. And that is karma. Slow and careful is best.
I still stand by the comment “the Chinese are great as reverse engineering”. It’s just that they source all of their parts from china and the local standards they hold their venders are not as tight as they should be. When you put all the parts together with loose standards, you have what I call a “brand new project out of the crate”. They don’t seem to have any kind of quality control. (Continuous quality improvement) They do not look to improve their product evident from all the same issues that everyone has that looks like has been going on for YEARS. ~ I’m Controls engineer that has been to china many times working with contractors so I know all too well what they say. “Yeah yeah’ yeah…… close enough.” I knew what I was getting into when I ordered the hawk. I just wanted to add motorcycle mechanic to my semi-retired resume. I love the adventure……