New (used) Hawk owner

[BrianW]

Hello again everyone! I’ve been a member here for years but have not been active for quite some time. Previously owned a Zong Sierra, Lifan DS, and briefly had a Pitster Pro 400 but quickly sold it due to shockingly poor quality. Anyway, I’ve lamented the absence of a bike in my life since selling them all and am finally back behind the handlebars with a Hawk. I bought this bike from FB marketplace sight unseen because it was an excellent price and had obviously been very well kept and highly upgraded. I assume the gentleman I purchased it from is a member here due to his thoughtful upgrades. A little over 1k miles. I will post more pics when i get it plated and get to take it out. Just wanted to share some photos and thank everybody here for the wealth of information found on this sight and it’s nice to see some familiar people still active on here. It’s good to be back!

[Ski_rush]

I love the green. Probably my favorite color for the Hawk. And, I love stories where folks get a good deal on a bike. I've seen some good deals on these too online and other times I see folks asking a bit high. Yours looks in very good shape; seems well cared for.

I have almost the same story as you. Two years ago, I had an enforcer/hawk. I sold it after 3 months of ownership in favor of a street bike. I then sold that one and didn't have a bike for about a year and a half. I missed having a bike, and I looked on craigslist for a while for a used dirt bike. There were too many stories about missing titles and what needed to be fixed. That drew me back to the china bikes.

Congrats. Thanks for posting pics. Let us know how your bike turns out.

[Sochin]

Congrats, and welcome to Hawk ownership.......I have the same color. It is an honest bike and can last for a very long time if you do regular check before you ride etc.

[BrianW]

I finally had a chance to take the Hawk out for a decent ride. Only 25 miles total but about half on pavement and the other half on gravel toad/trails.

My initial thought is that it seems to be a very well made bike. However, mine was bought used and was heavily upgraded and nodded by the previous owner so I’m sure this has something to do with it. It was surprisingly nimble and easy to control off road and handled the ruts, tree roots, the up and downhill trails well and never skipped a beat over all.

My only complaint is the vibration and relatively low top speed. I am trying to compare apples to apples when I say this as I had put around 7500 miles on a ‘08 Lifan GY5 dual sport. The Lifan with factory gearing would cruise around 60 all day with some room left to wind out to 65 or so if necessary. The Hawk would only go 62/3 totally wound out. The funny thing is the Lifan was only a 200.

The vibration was surprising as well. I put this at the feet of the Lifan being counterbalanced (‘08 being the first, maybe only year this way) and the Hawk not. I didn’t expect the difference to be so noticeable but it certainly is.

I hope to change the gearing a bit to be able to cruise at 60 without having WOT. Most roads around here are 55 tops and I bought this bike not expecting anything more than side roads anyway.

Overall, I know I’m going to enjoy this bike a lot. I’m currently living in Louisiana and only 5 minutes from Kisatchie National Forest where there appear to be endless trails. Anybody here from Natchitoches area? I would love to get together at some point and ride.

[Megadan]

If I remember right that bike is rocking a 17/45 sprocket combo, which would normally be perfect to match what your old Lifan could do in terms of cruise speed/top speed, but with that Shinko 700 4.6x18 on the back the rear overall diameter of the wheel is actually smaller, so you are geared like a 17 front 47 rear on a stock Hawks tire size. Essentially, your rear sprocket is about 2 teeth off of what it would normally need to be. If you drop to a 43 tooth rear that would put you back to what a 17/45 would be with a 110/100-18.

Even with all of the upgrades, a good way that I have figured out what gearing to go with is to aim for your desired top speed to settle in around 7000-7500, and your desired cruise speed to sit around 6000-6500

The vibrations are just a nature of the beast. I personally don't find them to be too terrible, but I am also used to it. Good gel grips and some weight in the bars (or a pair of fat bars) can really help isolate your hands. Most of what I feel on my bike is in my seat.

[roundhouse]

Love the green and black man! Awesome you found one used. I got mine from a guy in craigslist.

[BrianW]

Dan, thanks for the info. I’m going to order a 43 and try it out. Also, I suspect the previous owner was a member on these forums, I’ve searched a bit and could not find any posts regarding this bike. Can you recall any? I would like to read through them and appreciate the time and thoughtfulness that have been applied to it prior to my ownership.

Thanks everyone else for the responses. I’ll post occasionally as i get to ride more and remember to post photos!

[Weldangrind]

Welcome back, Brian!

[BrianW]

Thanks Weld! Hope you’ve been doing well!