Hawk first impressions

[OneLeggedRider]

Took the Hawk out for a couple of hours yesterday, the first "actual" ride. Took it on everything from the highway to single lane gravel roads and it was alot of fun. It's light and nimble, easy to turn around in a small space, good brakes, and performs well on gravel at 45mph.

I was gonna turn up the damping on the rear shock but after climbing some washboard hills I might leave it alone. Loved the fork mod and the wider pegs. Definitely a different feel than my Chopper, feels like I'm sitting too high and not much bike out in front of me lol.

Dont care for the seat, it got uncomfortable in about an hour and I'd like to be able to sit further back. And the bead isn't seated uniformly on the front tire so I'll be redoing it very soon. Also the speedo must be way off, I was passing cars on the highway at 52mph. Pouring rain today but I should be able to ride tomorrow. Happy Hawking fellas 😊.

[JerryHawk250]

Awesome! Yeah, I've been tempted to cut the hump back a few inches on my seat a few times. I bought one of the Coleman Mad Dog seat covers from Walmart. It does make better for the long haul.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-M...ector/16777864


Speedo are way off. That why I got the digital cluster from Matt (mjstef).

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by OneLeggedRider

Dont care for the seat, it got uncomfortable in about an hour and I'd like to be able to sit further back. And the bead isn't seated uniformly on the front tire so I'll be redoing it very soon. Also the speedo must be way off, I was passing cars on the highway at 52mph. Pouring rain today but I should be able to ride tomorrow. Happy Hawking fellas ��.

The seats are notoriously uncomfortable. In my opinion the foam is just too soft. Some guys just replace the foam and often remove the hump in the seat. That is a future planned mod for mine, with a little foam added to the front for a bit more height. Another option would be the "lower" Seat Concepts seat for the CSC TT250, but that is also $200 and does lower the height of the main saddle.

As far as the Speedometer being way off. That is kind of a trademark of most of these cheap chinese bikes, especially the Hawk. That is why mjstef (Matt) sells the Hawk digital tach cluster. One of the more expensive upgrades on a Hawk at $95 to your door, but one that I consider to be worth every penny. The speedo is dead on accurate, and you get a Tach to go with it. Plus, it uses an electrical speed sensor in place of the cable drive system, which is prone to failure/breaking (it loves to catch behind the Horn and get ripped out).

[OneLeggedRider]

I will definitely look into the digital cluster, and it would be nice to have a tachometer even if the price is a little steep. I'm doing the LED headlight and fork brace next though. I have a good friend that has a speed/custom shop and he's done a couple seats for me. I could attempt it but his would look much better lol.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by OneLeggedRider

I will definitely look into the digital cluster, and it would be nice to have a tachometer even if the price is a little steep. I'm doing the LED headlight and fork brace next though. I have a good friend that has a speed/custom shop and he's done a couple seats for me. I could attempt it but his would look much better lol.

The price is steep, but I can assure you that once you have it in hand and put it on the bike you will be quite satisfied with the results. No harness cutting, no calibration or other setup/fabrication, and it just works. Plus, Matt is a very stand up guy and will go out of his way to help you if you have a problem with it. In my opinion, for the money it is one of the best upgrades you can do to a Hawk.

As far as the seat thing, I am right there with you. I have a local business owner that does seats that I take all of mine to. I have many skills, but that isn't one of them. I could do it, but he can do it much better, and the cost isn't really that high either.