Newbie: Considering Hawk 250 Purchase

[Torgo]

Hi, newb here, at least as far as Chinese dirt bikes go. I'll age myself here and post a picture of what I used to ride when I was little, along with some YZ80s and YZ125s 2-strokes back in the day. So I'm up there - been probably 30+ years since I did any real moto.



Recently I've been doing some hunting out in West Texas. I really want to get a low-cost dirt bike, which has to be street legal due to public road access, to get into some of the washed out remote corners on the property, and for ~$1400 or so, this Hawk 250 looks like a decent choice from what I've been reading here and investigating online.

The two main mods from stock that I've seen mentioned:
- Sprocket/ratio change (but this seemed mainly to benefit higher speeds)
- aftermarket carb

Anything else to improve the user experience? Other standard mods to recommend? It won't be a day-to-day bike for me, so I'd like to just bolt it together and go, but as long as I'm planning to go through the trouble of assembly, I'm open to a few extras updates to make it more robust in the long term.

[SpudRider]

Welcome; we are glad you joined us.

I started a new thread for you, so you can get maximum exposure for your questions.

[Weldangrind]

Welcome!

Wow, a Benelli! You've come full circle, because Benelli is now Chinese-owned.

Really, just put your bike together with Loctite, change the oil to a good four stroke motorcycle oil before you start it, and enjoy it for what it is. Once you've had some seat time, decide if you need to make any changes.

[Torgo]

Thanks for moving it - I was looking for feedback from some recent builders, but it sounds like you're recommending the path of least resistance to start. With all the feedback you provided elsewhere, that gives me more confidence that the stock setup will work well enough. I did have a friend put a 125cc scooter together a few years back when gas was at $4, and it was DOA until they upgraded the carb for him, so I've kind of approached this with the expectation of it not working that well out of the box. I will take your advise - looks like it's a great resource here if something does come up.

That Benelli was great fun when I was 10. Back then you would have been amazed at the quality of current Chinese stuff compared to some of the junk that got bolted together.

[Weldangrind]

You've got the right attitude towards a China bike. If it doesn't run well, there are several helpful people here who will be pleased to help.

Do you happen to hunt for wild boar?

[Torgo]

Hi Weldengrind,

Sorry for the lag - been tied up and haven't had a chance to get back on here. Pulled the trigger so I've been waiting for arrival.

Don't have hogs where I'm at - it's out in West Texas, and they haven't made it out that far yet, but it's probably just a matter of time. We do see javelinas occasionally.



I'll reply with another post on the progress.

[Weldangrind]

Did you buy a Hawk?

[Torgo]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

Did you buy a Hawk?

Well, not exactly, but I did receive one.

I think I read that someone else had a similar experience with Motobuys - I ordered the Vento because it was a little cheaper and I didn't really care about the difference, but I received a Hawk instead, and equally don't really care. Got it in three days right to my garage, and they've been good about following up with the few questions I've had. Overall, a good purchase experience so far.

It's coming together pretty easy, but I do have a mystery part or two. I'll attach a status picture soon.

[culcune]

Originally Posted by Torgo

Well, not exactly, but I did receive one.

I think I read that someone else had a similar experience with Motobuys - I ordered the Vento because it was a little cheaper and I didn't really care about the difference, but I received a Hawk instead,

I have noticed that Motobuys has renamed several bikes with names of defunct Chinese bike brands. They call some of their products 'Jetmoto' which went out of business a few years ago, and Vento, and Lancer. The 'Vento' is clearly a Hawk, and the Lancer is one of the Bashan bikes from a year or so ago. Don't know why they rename them?

[SlowJunk]

Originally Posted by Torgo

It's coming together pretty easy, but I do have a mystery part or two. I'll attach a status picture soon.

small phillips head bolts (m6's) and rubber washers... yep... might be spares.
Other hardware, be sure and ask someone who has assembled one so it comes together safely.

I have noticed it can come together quite wrong even after several attempts. And sometimes the factory does not quite fasten... well... random fasteners.

On the whole a great bike that runs a bit lean.

Some things to check:
1. spacer on front wheel in correct spot
2. slack on the wires to the ignition module on the frame under the gas tank
3. brake attachment bolts
4. rear shock bolts... both top and bottom
5. the annoying turn signal buzzer (disassembly and quieting or silencing is easy)
6. wiring slack on the bundle under the left rear fender
7. wiring slack and runs at the steering knuckles
8. clutch slack and check routing of cable (seems to change after oil change and a couple hundred run in miles) (i.e. its easier to find neutral after some wear)
9. slack and clamps on the crankcase breather tube
10. you may need to drill a hole for the rear brake return spring to have something to attach too
11. fuel tank float may need encouragement to float correctly
12. swing arm bolt torque
13. ground wire routing around the crankcase breather tube

etc...


Nothing like practice to make one feel they can rebuild it in the wild with tape and a leatherman... make that a metric leatherman

[Torgo]

Thanks, SlowJunk, I will double check those items. As you can see, I’m basically done. I’ve got to fill the battery with acid and charge it, so I’m pausing now before I button everything up and give it a start. I did coast down the driveway to test the brakes, so that’ll have to do for now.



Overall, it went pretty well. The mystery stuff cleared up as I progressed through things – the bracket to connect the gas tank panels was an unknown until I got to that point, and then it was like – oh, yea, that’s what it is. The panel screws were different lengths, but I used them where the length made the most sense, and I ended up having enough parts. I’m left with a couple of extra panel screws and rubber washers, a few of the 8mm nuts, and an extra cotter pin, but I’m comfortable they’re just extras vs. something missing somewhere. It’s a lot less annoying to have a couple of extra parts, then finding out you don’t have one. The plastics weren't a perfect fit, and I had to bend a mount point or two, but not that bad.

It's been a fun project so far.

[Torgo]

Checking back in with an update. Everything is together and it’s up and running. Have about 3 miles on it so far, just basic checks up and down the street in front of my house and getting a feel for the quirks.
I appreciate the advice I received here. Part of my decision to go ahead and pull the trigger was knowing that there was a place to bounce some questions off of others if I got stuck. Luckily that didn’t happen, and overall, it went together pretty smoothly.

I have to say, not having a parts list or assembly instructions, required a little more brainstorming here and there. If you take it slow and think about what next step makes the most sense, you make steady progress.

Since they apparently don't have assembly instructions for these, I put together a summary of the steps while it's fresh in my mind. I’m not sure if I captured every little detail, but hopefully it’s useful for someone else who’s thinking about going this route. I think you need a little mechanical and electrical understanding to make things go easier, but you sure don't need to be a mechanic or anything to do the assembly. I would guess that if you do simple maintenance on your car yourself and try to fix stuff, it'll go pretty easy.

Been waiting for a sunny day here to take some pictures, hopefully get one soon.

[Torgo]

Rounding this out with a final update and some more recent pictures. Only thing missing here are the mirrors and the license plate.

Got the plate on it today - finally 100% street legal. Paperwork took 3 weeks from Motobuys and then Thanksgiving hit, so I ended up titling "without VIN" to avoid the 30 day penalty. Finished off the other stuff, re-titiled, and got it registered. Here in TX - no problemo at all, just took a little longer than it should have.


Took it all around the neighborhood today, and finally got a good run on it. Not real crazy about the knobbys on the road, but OK for light driving.

I'm staying 100% stock just to keep things simple. I've noticed many of the same quirks the others have mentioned: transmission is a little touchy in 1st/N/2nd, hard to find N at times and seems to drop into gear when I shut the engine off. Carb works OK, but got to fart around with the choke and idle screw correctly to start/idle - settles down after warming up a bit. Someone else made a general comment that seems very accurate - at certain gear/RPM points it vibrates like an ultrasonic cleaner.

Nevertheless, all that's minor - what a great value for a basic dual sport / enduro. Total cost to make it street legal came in at about $1650 including TTL and insurance. I think it's going to work out great - can't wait to get it out to the lease to close out the season later this month.

[Adjuster]

Looks great!


/

[SpudRider]

X2; the bike looks great. Thanks for posting the update.