Hawk 250 yet to take flight...

[blackhawkdown]

BLACK HAWK DOWN PLEASE HELP
Hello to all riders of the dual sport community. This is my first post in china riders which i joined after reading many threads and wanting to be a part of this brotherhood. Let me start off with a little about me then well get down to business. Growing up in rural westchester ny there is not much to offer but if you drive an hour in any direction you have everything at the tips of your fingers. I struggled to find happiness and my niche as a teenager, running around lost having many various run ins with the law of all sorts of types but I can now say i think that period of my life is over and I have finally found some peace and hapiness in riding. There is no feeling like the one of starting up your bike after looking forward to it when you get out of work or fixing a problem with it. The endless joy and hapiness i get from this hobby is incredible just going up and down my street 100 times never gets boring. I started with a klx125L two years ago for my first bike. Something i could pick up riding basics quickly on and also beat the crap out of. I learned to wheelie stoppie clutch control and all the basics except for matinence! My friend who taught me how to ride is very cheap and only likes to take care of things when problems arise instead of prevention like me.

ANYWAYS enough about my personal life lets get down to business. I sold my klx this summer in hopes of saving up for a new dual sport because anyone in suburban nys can tell you its not friendly for riders out here. I saw the hawk 250 with its dual disc breaks and all black powdercoated engine all with a 1500$ price tag and i was sold! It is pretty much a street-legalized 230cc honda dirt bike clone with dual hydrualic breaks and hydrualic clutch. It also has estart with a kick back up which i love as everyone knows kicks are reliable and always a good back up if the battery fails instead of a push start. Now after i assembled the bike i quickly expierienced a problem with the breaks. I am a noob at assemblying bikes so please bear with me. I went to pump the front break just to see if it was responsive and on the second or third pump it locked up and and air rushing out or air compressing sound happened. Now the clutch nor front brake are responsive and i cant start the bike. I have read info about bleeding breaks and clutches that trap moisture in the fluid and i think this is what i need to do but i am worried that the air sound means there is a leak in the system or lines and i dont want to go through all the work bleeding myself if it needs a more serious fix as i work alot and dont have good storage or workplace for my hawk. So my question for my chinariders bretheren is weather you have had a similar expierience or know any possiblities of the air hissing sound upon lock up and what to do from this point. This bike will be my main form of transportation as i have no other and i need to get it street ready before winter strikes! Any help or advice is appreciated.

-mr. blackhawkdown

[midlifemx5]

I have assembled 2 of these bikes and had no problems like your experience. One thing I would make sure of, is that during assembly you didn't knock one of the brake pads out of the caliper, this would allow the piston in the caliper to possibly over extend and possibly get air in the system, also if the pad is out of position there is nothing to grip the rotor and there would be no brakes. As for the no start issue, got to check the basics... fuel? ( is there gas in the tank and is the petcock open) spark? is the key on and the kill button in the run position? Timing and compression? make sure the choke is in the correct position as well. It is advisable to replace the spark plug and poor oil the factory installs for a good NGK and 15 w 40 diesel motor oil. The clutch is actuated by a cable (not hydraulics) so make sure the cable is connected properly at both ends and adjusted correctly. If you could share an little more info it would be helpful to give you the advise you need. Good luck and keep us posted. I love my bikes and think you will too, once you get past these problems.

[blackhawkdown]

Hi midlifemx5 thanks so much for your response i was getting worried my problem was such a basic one that no one wanted to help! You have 2 rps hawk 230s yourself? Im sure you can help me with another question i have haha! The black choke lever by the fuel lever is engaged when it is switched up or switched all the way down? And are you sure the clutch is not hydraulic? Is it just that they share the same fluid? If they share the same fluid it would make sense that i am both having clutch and brake problems. The brakes are just locked in place on the rotors with the calipers and pads engaged. I think it was really rough weather on shipping and some moisture could have entered my system and caused all these issues. If they share the same fluid i am convinced i just need to flush the system but if they dont i might have two problems now any advice or help is much appreciated

[midlifemx5]

Choke is on when the lever is in the up position, The clutch is definitely a cable actuated type, there is a chrome leaver on the top of the transmission case on the rt side of the bike you can see it move and where the cable hooks in if you look straight down from the top of your engine while operating the the clutch leaver. Also make sure the kill switch (larger orange button on rt side of the handle) bar is not depressed. Small button pushed in, is the run position) my font caliper came with a small plastic wedge installed that holds the pads in place while the bike is in shipping. Make sure that wedge has been removed before installing the wheel / brake rotor, so rotor will spin freely. Take your time and look at everything very closely ... See how it works, theses are very simple bikes. You can do this!

[blackhawkdown]

Thanks for your help midlife! I got It started with a little bit of your help and some intuition. I found out the battery it came with was fugaze and had a leak right out of the box but thank god this puppy has a kick start because she kicked right up when i removed the battery! Now to the clutch problem.. you are right it is not hydraulic it is lever actuated it is just very finicky and likes to shift sometimes and doesnt on others i think some tightening or adjustment on the lever is needed let me know if you have any tips for that i would gladly appreciate it. Lastly to my breaks they do function but the air releasing sound when i hit the back break the first day is still scaring me. I havnt read anything about that sound in all brake forums and i would really appreciate if anyone could give me some input because i dont want my brakes locking up on me in the street. Also they werent locked up just so close to touching the pads i thought they were. Is the sound a possible leak or the brakes compressing for the first time? Any info is much appreciated

[newrider93]

Just want to let you Hawk owners know of a few issues that I have run into with my bike and have fixed through trial and error. First off I started having some issues with the bike bogging down when I would give it gas. It would idle just fine but if I gave it gas it would almost die. So first I replaced the spark plug( P.S. the spark that I bought from MOTOBUYS that came with the bike was NOT THE RIGHT ONE). You will need a DPR8EA-9 spark if you get an NGK. Bike seemed to run a little better,but I could tell it was running rich. So I took all the plastics off and found that the silicon that the company uses around the pipe from the carb to the air box is crap. Because the exhaust is close to the air box the heat had melted the silicone away, causing it to get too much air and the carb gave more fuel to compensate for more air. So I got some high temp automotive silicone from a local auto parts store as well as a new air filter as the other has soaking wet with fuel. Bike runs like a champ now.

Another thing I've run into is loosing bolts and nuts due to the vibrations. I tried to contact the dealer I bought the bike from to get more but I never got a response. So I went to a large local hardware store(I say large because the small hardware stores in my area don't have metric bolts). So just for those of you who might loose a bolt or two, the size you will need is a 6mm. I searched all over the internet trying to find out what size I needed and couldn't find what size so I had to trial and error that as well.

[newrider93]

In response to blackhawkdown on the brake issue, idk if you've checked the brake fluid but I would start there. But it does sound like you may have a leak in a brake line. I use my front brake more anyway as it has more stopping power than the rear.

[Adjuster]

If you guys have ACE Hardware in your areas they have the most extensive collection of fasteners I have ever seen. They always have the metrics I need for my Honda clone scooter. ACE Hardware is known for carrying some weird stuff you won't find in the big orange and blue rack stores.


/

[andyj812]

If you take a bolt with you most hardware and automotive stores have a "template" you can screw the bolt into to determine the size and thread. I did that for "Will", I also bought a metric bolt kit from Harbor Freight.

[blackhawkdown]

thanks for the advice newrider i just checked at my silicone seal and there is a hole as well i think this is what the air rushing out sound was i will go get myself some sealant. I think it was just a coincidence that i was hitting my back break and the break in the seal happened at the same time because both brakes still work. Is it possible for both my breaks to function okay and still have a leak in the cable or would they not function at all?

[blackhawkdown]

also does anyone know how far the pads are supposed to be from the rotor when disengaged? just curious

[newrider93]

Not for sure on that one. Although they seem pretty close on my bike, but idk.

[fratermus]

Originally Posted by blackhawkdown

also does anyone know how far the pads are supposed to be from the rotor when disengaged? just curious

Pads are pushed in by the calipers, but there is nothing to push them back out.

After releasing the brake the pads are passively pushed away by imperfections in the rotor. Unless the rotor is warped you may not be able to (visually) detect any distance between them at all.

If you are worried about them dragging you can ride a bit, coast to a stop, and see if the rotor is hot. Probably won't be.

[Mudflap]

Initial pull back of caliper pistons is caused by the square cross section of the O ring. Any dirt or grit that gets past the rubber bellows, or other gunk in the brake fluid can cause the piston to stick, not be pulled away from the rotor.

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by fratermus

Pads are pushed in by the calipers, but there is nothing to push them back out.

After releasing the brake the pads are passively pushed away by imperfections in the rotor. Unless the rotor is warped you may not be able to (visually) detect any distance between them at all.

If you are worried about them dragging you can ride a bit, coast to a stop, and see if the rotor is hot. Probably won't be.

You can make the pull action a little more active by applying a little high-heat silicone to the back of the pad.