Is Our $2,000 Mighty Hawk Chinese Budget Bike A Complete Nightmare?
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- čas přidán 31. 05. 2024
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We bet you'll never guess how our $2,000, Amazon-bought Hawk DLX 250 is running after we laid it down and broke it nearly two months ago. Was Andy able to fix it up perfectly, or is the cheap Chinese-built dirt bike still a complete nightmare?
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#Hawk #Repair #Dualsport - Auta a dopravní prostředky
So to be clear - you dropped it, flooded it with water and did some basic maintenance that needed to be done when the bike was assembled. Your idea of a nightmare and mine differ considerably.
Is that cope I smell?
@@mattm1925 Nah, it's called not being a shithead. Treat your shit right or be prepared for it to break.
@@steven3915 sounds like cope
And they road a wheelie before it was broke in😆
My thoughts exactly. Abused it very hard, very quickly.
I own an 2019 250 Hawk with the carburetor. You two are not touching mine. I am very proud of it. Hands off.
No Real mechanic wants to touch that Chinese crap anyways
@kevin2298 Really. Oh. That's why I work on mine myself. To easy. The difference between a HAWK and the rest. Hardly no technology on the HAWK. You have to ride it. The rest of them. The technology tells you how to ride them. Also. I am not looking for speed or flying off something. Just to get there and enjoy the ride. I moded mine. Myself. I need no listened Mechanic. I am not one myself. I buy Chinese because I can mod their products. Make my own. Cheap.
@@scanadaze yea they're all the same bike they just slap different names on em
@@kevin2298 Exactly. Yet. I can work on mine without all of the technology. I put on the technology. Not forced with the technology.
@@scanadaze if you say so
I've got a 2017 carburated Hawk, I've got over 3500 miles on it. Yes, we buy this and do the dealer setup and mods ourselves. I've replaced the sprockets/chains/carburator, I even installed a head from a CSC TT250 on mine (has way better flow) and it runs reliably and well up to 67Mph. It's my main dual sport ride in the woods in the NW rockies.
I wonder if you guys would've been happier by getting the ~$300 cheaper carbureted version
I have a picture driving mine through a lake.... thing has been dropped more times than I can count. I’ve driven it on trails, through mud, and on 1+ hour rides. Now 2 years later I’ve had my first “problem” and that was needing a new battery. I think you guys just got a DUD.
Exactly. Or they messed it up due to their high mechanical skills. 😄
Nah - incorrectly assembled. 30 year mechanic flooded it with water which caused issues that were solved by letting it dry and resetting the box. Bahahahahha
@@AndrewBoundy yeah these dudes on this channels are an embarrassment.
2:50 were the tires actually attributed to this tip over?
It took this guy a week to figure out how to reset a computer by unhooking it you guys sure hes a mechanic lol
Sounds like much of the putting the bike together was missed and no maintenance done on it. You had hundreds of comments from bike riders telling you to change the oil that came with the bike you always need to do that.
Thank you for mentioning this, my thoughts still excatly
@@myass5964 I am not trying to be mean to the young men I like them and think they could have an awesome channel to watch. They are young and could take a couple classes or weekend class and get a little more knowledgeable and really build the channel. I just think they missed on this little bike as so many others have them and have had pretty good luck with theirs. I am glad they explained the nightmare to get it registered so people realize that before buying it they need to see what there DOT needs.
@@myass5964 It is beyond maintenance - like buying a car made by that country
@@mt1885 what do you mean? I own a Chinese bike, and tore it apart before I rode it and reassembled it and I have 200hrs so far and beside adjusting the valves, and tire tubes I haven't had to fix anything. It's quality control, that's all it is
This, it’s funny how they didn’t read a single comment it seems.
Greasing the axle is not for the wheel bearings it so the axle can slide in and out…
My hawk goes close to 80 mph. I put a better head on it , bigger exhaust port flow and these bikes can be made to hit ,80 mph. Great bikes really
Don't let these guys or any other video bulls*** you. The bikes are good. I'm not a bike expert by any means, but I know engines. And this bike engine is just like any other, regular tune ups, oil changes, etc., and it will run for long time. Don't let these guys or any others on you tube discourage you from getting these bikes because it's not a Harley, Yamaha, kawasaki, etc. And for the record, all those brand name bikes are not worth the money you pay for them. And while every one complains about them being chinese bikes, every one seems to forget that all your bikes no matter where they come from have chinese components. So be proud on your chinese harley🤣
It seems the Chinese bikes are next in line after Japan. Early Japanese bikes had similar concerns.
lol. Not even close to true. I have worked and raced in the industry for over 20 years. Nothing that comes stock on Japan and or Austria bikes come from China. Idk about Harley. But I know for sure the dirt bikes from the Japan and Austria certainly don’t. Ktm outsources the most of all and get wheels from Japan, some ignitions for the road stuff from Korea, Rods from Croatia, Serbia or Herzgobia, steel for their frames from the US or Russia and manufactured in Austria along with the engines , some of the other smaller electronics from Germany, they use brembo for brakes protaper. For bars and clamps. Sunstar for Japan on drive controls
Now with that said a year ago a local riding school bought 30 of these china bikes. Several was dead on arrival. 4 of those was these xpro bikes and they where the only ones that’s survived. They basically wasted 30k. The little grom knock offs was by far the worse and they bought 8 of those. All 8 was absolutely junk. Mix matched parts. Compression from 10-80. Tested brand new. All the carbs sucked. Half the electronics failed within the first few classes. Almost all of them kept the neutral light on the majority of the time.
The carb bikes seems to be the best bet. You obviously have to replace those carbs 99% of the time . But least that’s an option you have. Maybe eventually one day the china crap will be somewhat ok. But for now you are much better off buying an older jap bike and just fixing it up. Least they have solid bones
This one video on the Hawk DLX had more problems than every other video I've seen on it combined: granted, those other bikes were built by people that knew to check everything before taking off on it. :P
These people did regular maintenance on something they crashed, and flooded it
@@nemolus310 Right, but they still didn't properly assemble it and prep it for first start.
@@InvidiousIgnoramus and the guy that bought the bike in the very first video of making this big motorcycle video admitted he just now got his motorcycle license how long has it been riding motorcycle before that you can tell he wasn't much of a motorcycle rider
@@nemolus310 hilarious :D
I'm honestly impressed that a $2000 Chinese carbureted dual sport actually has an OBDII system
It's fuel injected.
@@billybadass9031 the Hawk 250 is most certainly not fuel injected
@@Twinspinner This one is. czcams.com/video/hEAjNTyeuuM/video.html
@@Twinspinner this version is. i have the carb version that i paid $1300 for in 2017. this is the newest fuel injected version that motocheese reviewed and costs about $2k.
You need obd2 to check the engine management system and keep it emissions legal
I'd recommend not using the stock tires, getting a nice set of dual sport tires will help. And when you first got this before riding it you should have gone through and checked EVERYTHING absolutely EVERYTHING to make sure shit isn't loose put some loctite on if it seems necessary, changed the oil from the factory all before starting it for the first time. Then you give it a proper break in. Then check everything over again and make sure it didn't come loose. It sucks the problems you had with the dealer and tax stuff, but you kinda turned the headache into a migraine yourself
At 14:30 we learn that the reason Andy is so knowledgeable is because he is actually a robot.
Is it just me I have carbureted hawk and I never had a single issue with anything besides the carb, they sent me a replacement I cut off my muffler put a nibbi cold air intake and it runs AMAZING also the tires work great for me I've got 50 with the stock knobs down a main road
You can also use a metal coat hanger and make a coil that's much like the one you would see in a radiator hose so the inlet tube won't collapse. You can use a piece of PVC and drill a hole, then insert one end into the hole and wrap it around it to make a perfect spring shape. Using correct diameter PVC of course.
For the price, these seem like pretty decent bikes.
You could buy 4 of them for the cost of one Japanese bike. With a little care and maintenance they work very well.
Exactly the reason you buy a bike like this. Plenty of opportunities to learn how your bike works. It will pay dividends on the more expensive bikes in your future.
finished the Arizona Back Country Discovery Route on mine and have had 1500 mostly trouble free miles on my dlx. (turn signal flasher has gone out and the original battery failed).
Good for you, keep propping up China .
@@redpilledpatriot8484 will do, keep being a fear mongering isolationist.
@@stockrappy fear mongering? You apparently don’t know shit about the Chinese communist party. Just one example they are literally commiting mass genocide within their borders. Killing Chinese citizens who have Islam faith. Kidnapping them torturing them, murdering them, etc.. by the millions. You’re essentially doing the as calling me a fear monger and isolationist if we were in 1942 America and I took issue with you propping up the nazi regime.
@@redpilledpatriot8484 not my problem
@@rowdymcjohnson8641 that’s exactly what makes YOU the problem.
i got one with 7k miles and a nibbi carb and it runs perfect. i take it everywhere off road and dropped it a bunch. u guys must’ve really messed urs up
I would probably rather have the carbureted version of the bike for the added simplicity along with much cheaper components like no ecm on a Chinese bike.
I have heard even the Japanese on some of their recent FI units on the smaller bikes really have not gotten them totally perfected yet.
I really feel like the Chinese bikes may do in this country (U.S.A.) what the Japanese bikes did back in the late 60's and early 70's which is offer decent bikes for a lot less money than the competition and gaining popularity and market share as a result IF the Chinese can continue to meet the e.p.a. standards as well.
The Japanese bikes are really starting to price themselves out of what would be considered an affordable market for younger riders with a small cc dual sport now running close $6000 or so out the door new today.
Carburetor is much simpler, why do you need the extra complexity of EFI, with the accompanied sensors, ECM, etc. ?
9:44 I would have found a spring that fits in that tube to hold it open. Could make one too, since it doesn't actually move all that much, by picking a pipe for a mandrel and winding some heavy steel or aluminum wire around it. Could also just cut the tube shorter and whittle down the ribs to hold the clamp in place.
What’s the best oil should you use. When Doing the oil change
Bikes and Beards covered this months ago.
FYI: 2015 Honda Groms also use less than a quart of oil and way too sensitive when it comes to bike washing. I used to just bucket wash with no hose.
remind me never to take any bike to this guy
How did the new oil look after the 200 miles excercise?
Either you guys didn't put it together right, which as much as you complain about it ,could be possible... or ufortunately you got a lame one... I just put 500 hard miles on mine in Moab and the only flaw with my bike was the rider!
Mine's been great. Mostly trails and rough terrain. Very little street riding so far.
great video 👌
I want to know if I can use synthetic oil 5 w 30 w in my new hawk summer riding 80 degrees outside Larry 2/24/2022
Only thing I don’t like is the short wheelbase it will wiggle the rear end in a heartbeat. Wider tire helps a lot
Chaina bikes are amazing bikes. But they are not for beginners. They give the bike a bad name. 👎 newbies bye this bike cause it's cheap and put it together real fast jump on it and ride it till it falls apart that calls it junk. When in facted its not junk its just dumb to jump on it and ride out. With all chaina bikes you need to do a full strip down grease and oil and lockthight everything. Go over ever nut and bolt. If you do that you will get a TON of hard miles.. i stacked over 80,000 miles on a gy6 50cc scooter fully built out to a 100cc. Still have it got it 7 years ago. Thats just my personal best experience. I've got a few other clone bikes and i stacked thousands of miles on them all..
Well done Andy man!
Correct me if I am wrong, but the rear trailing arms appear to be very thin material. A major safety concern to me. Don’t want the arm or arms to fall apart at 50 mph or whatever.
He's such an expert, he track tested in a right turn direction! Bogus for sure!
Mine didn't come with the box of parts to assemble it. No rear shock bolt, front wheel spacer, handle bar clamps, kickstand, front turn signals, headlight bracket, rear brake pedal, shift pedal, battery, mirrors, rear rack, and the fuel tank had a hole in it. By comparison TFL's Hawk is a dream.
It's a chinese bike. Every nut, bolt, screw should be touched and torqued, every pivot point should be greased, every wire should be secured, every connection should be sealed, every spoke should be torqued. Do this during the assembly. These have never been, and never will be, a bike you simply slap together and ride without checking over everything first. The factory oil is only intended to be used for an hour. It's break in oil, it's thin. These bikes aren't meant to be serious off-roaders. They're fire/forest road bikes at best. The good thing is they are cheap, and everything on them is some type of old honda clone. So finding parts isn't hard if you know what you're looking for. Throw a set of Dunlop D605's on it and ride it till it dies.
Seems like you're saying the bike is as reliable as you make it.
so how much do you want for the bike?
7:51 disconnect the battery and hold the connectors together?
That mechanic is a skilled artist.
That doesn’t sound too bad, and I got a 2k check headed my way real soon so looks like imma gettin a China dirt bike!! Oh yeah baby!
I got a TBR7 and I would recommend it and I think it’s probably a better deal than the hawk tbh
Same. Get the tbr7 do the 17 45 tooth gear mod and new chain and do not forget to change the oil. It ships with preservation fluid not motor oil
I’d get the carburetor equipped bike.
So, the "pro" flooded the bike with water, then melted your turn signal....
i have a 2017 hawk 250 that i learned to ride motorcycle on.. i cant believe i got that much bike for $1300 brand new shipped to my door. when putting it together, you have to go over everything and make sure its tight. adjust the valves and probably get a carburetor that lets you adjust the jets. i changed the sprocket to let me cruise at 55 at a lower rpm, and its a great put around town bike.
Was the shipping $400 back then also?
@@dubmob151 no, it was $1300 total shipped to my door. had to pay tax on it when i registered it though.
@@rozzbourn3653 Good deal back then- now they charge shipping along with the higher prices.
@@dubmob151 they are going for $1700 with free shipping now, carb version. ive also read that the build quality of the older bikes was a bit better. at that price, it starts loosing its appeal, but still not a bad option.
@@rozzbourn3653 I was considering the FI one, I guess I was looking at a different listing where they had shipping charges.
Looks like the FI ones all tack on shipping charges, same seller even. Decided not to get it since that pushed it over my impulse buy limit. 😉
Well it must be nice to afford a 10 grand Japanese bike. But some of aren't that rich. Plus the old man looked like he struggled to get it to fall over in that corner and so did the young kid on the parking lot. But I have an Appollo 250 dirt bike. and have had fun with it and it cost 2 grand. I replace that California Carb with a 36 dollar carb and it runs great. I'm also going to put a bigger sprocket on the rear and replace the wheels and chain. It comes to run 70 on the road and for a dirt bike that is just way to fast, so putting a bigger sprocket on the rear I'll lose a little top end but gain more power. Plus to compensate for the softer front end, I softened the rear shock, you know the adjustment on the rear shock? I will also take out some of the stuffing from the exhaust to get the bike to breath better. And with that I will have spent about 2500 on the bike. So is it a 10 grand Kawasaki, no but for fun it;s pretty good bike. As far as I can tell you just want to complain about the bike. It is what it is and you can improve it if you want to. Just like if your going to race that 10 grand Japanese bike. And I have dropped it twice and when I got it up it crank right up. But I have a brain and like making things better then what it was. So I'm not impressed by your skills.
I'd much rather have the carbureted version. On a small cheap motorcycle like this, fuel injection is way more trouble than it's worth......Example, do you really need fuel injection on a snowblower,weed trimmer, riding or push lawnmower?
An air filter & carburetor VS a fuel injector, throttle body,fuel pump , return lines, fuel pressure regulator, ECU computer, sensors,etc...A whole bunch of extra parts that will break and need replaced.
Get the tbr7 then. That is the carbed version.
My fuel injected lawnmower starts everytime
Totally agree with your comment, people don't realize All the extra EFI parts that can go bad .
Never take a 🇨🇳 China bike to a shop. Add $100 to whatever they charge and just buy a new 1.
Thanks, i was thinking about buying this bike a few months ago, but all your videos are telling me to just buy a used bike like a honda, suzuki, yamaha etc instead
Why buy a Honda Suzuki Yamaha Honda and be done
How do u install the Delphi mto5
Can anyone help me my stater relay keeps buzzing when trying to start.
I'd love to see one of these do the TAT. Prove it can or can't be done.
🤔 thinking of getting one just for that
@@giffordetherton9087 interesting, I am thinking the same … I might get a brozz (?) as it’s got a counter balanced engine. Not sure if it’s important or not …🤔🤔
What is your fix for oil in the air box?
Crankcase vent tube is venting oil. Get a oil catch can off of ebay and splice it in the tube but if it's a major amount of oil you have another issue that needs to be looked in too
This shows why to spend a little extra and get a TT250, CSC does the checks and quality control, great video!
Wish this Honda loving mechanic lived in the south.
Great video guys.
Thnx
I have this bike and it idles high any idea what I can do to lower the idle
Check out the cable placement. Make sure it's not binding up anywhere.
How do you if the dipstick is even accurate to begin with?
The Chinese clones of the Honda CG take 1qt of oil. That's it, that's all. Drain out oil... Put oil in.
1qt is cheap enough to just change it often. People don't top off these engines with oil. Just drain and refill..
Somebody now’s where can I find that ecu for my hawk 250 dlx?
Long story short if you can get it with a carburetor do so
Less electronics on anything means less to go wrong
@@huntercampbell7074 when older tech is better than new tech
i have the same check engine light... it goes away after it starts lol...
B.s he turned like a goof. Did you even check the air pressure in the tires first. I doubt it.
You don’t do a proper setup and then get water in it and somehow it’s the bike right?
i wanna see this guy go over a lifan kpx 250!!!
Any time I take codes like this I video them on my phone lol
Did you guys sell this? I’ll buy it
Great bike.
Seems like it's strictly a street bike capable of alittle alley action here and there. But shouldn't be dropped ever. Shouldn't be used like a high performance dirt bike. Never ripped on, slow acceleration and cruising around 😎
I flipped my tbr7 (basically the same some slight differences) across a median by hitting a curb and ot was still running when my buddy came up and turned it off. I was in no condition to do kinda shattered my tibia. It still runs. Only had to replace a bent shifter.
You have to do EVERYTHING when you first get it. Change all oils yes the forks too. Do not run it with the preservation oil it ships with.
@@Demonslayer20111 it's not preservation oil, it's actually break in oil used to seat the piston rings. You use that oil for 10 minutes at idle, then swap it out for 1qt of conventional 10w40 for 300 miles under 75% throttle for proper break in process. I had a hawk 250, ran it through Croom, Florida, through swamps sand pits, dirt and sand trails, bottomed out constantly because I'm 200lbs, but the bike runs great, still runs great, I sold it a week ago and the new guy uses it for door dash deliveries in Orlando and he already put another 200 miles on with no issues other than the gauge cluster not working
did you guys purposefully try to make this bike fail?
Yes, they did everything the incorrect way and looked like complete fools doing so. I do not want to take advice from these guys ever
Seems they wanted a story. Not some boring video when everything was assembled correctly the first time.
A bike that can't be ridden in the rain. Nice!i I guess water crossings are completely out then.
Love my hawk 🤔
With the ecu that is
I think it's funny how everyone jump's on (change the oil!) When no one ever changed the oil on a Chinese lawn mower or generator...
Lol true...
The oil that comes in these is break in oil used to seat the piston rings, you're supposed to change it after 10 minutes of idle, then go 300 miles under 75% throttle to properly break the motor in so parts settle properly. How do I know? Because I owned one and have the manual
There awesome bikes once you get the bugs worked out
And checking out the comment I believe we all think your thoughts are bunk. And since so many have praised this bike for what it is and has had better luck with them, I would say it the nut lose behind the handle bars that is the problem.
Half the problems were the bad assembly. Oof.
It’s better to buy a name brand bike from a dealer. Never buy Chinese products.
I never wash my KLR. The only thing I clean is the chain.
How to terrorize a hawk 250
Funny how TFL guy says owners manual is questionable yet the tech thinks it's good to go. Lol
Note to self.. Don't use this mechanic or let either of these dudes drive and drop your bike..
Hey I’m in Longmont I’ll buy this
From what I've seen the carburetor seems better
Does this bike come with a title
I know similar Chinese bikes come with a title.
17:50 answer is...Hell mf nah Boa lmao
The lesson learned is not to walk away, but to RUN.
Well, they certainly will get further on foot than relying on the Hawk straight out of the box.
NO one is going to work on these for starters. Second is parts, they claim the part is the same as this, good luck *NO ONE* is going to touch this just the liability - owning it once you turn a wrench on it - NO THANKS!!!!!
I have a very similar one as well as a BMW and a KTM - these bikes are great if you use and maintain them properly.
@@AndrewBoundy Owner - sure any can have problems but most I seen people did not take cares of them.
Lesson learned is to check everything and chamge all fluids. Which they didnt do. But sure.
"buy the fuel injected one"
The Hawk can take a beating and easy to fix up good starter bike tbh
3 words “it is Chinese “ should be the biggest red flag 😂
Chinese cars and bikes are complety different now than just 10 years ago. Think of when Japan started selling overseas in the 70s- except China is 10x bigger than Japan.
it's not that much work you guys made it way more work by not breaking it in changing the oil and just a look over of everything and reading the manual not impressed with your series it's a good bike for the price it's not a 8000 dollar name brand
Buy cheap. Pay twice.
Sponsored by Honda probably. Unfair for the hawk. Operator inflicted problems.
There needed to be some story to tell.
Shit i got 500 come build this mf 😅
Biggest surprise, someone else bought this bike. lol Must not have watched the channel.
I think the real value in these bikes is a VINd frame and matching title. Then just replace everything with parts that actually work.
That's what I'm thinking 😉 find a bike swap the Vin and stickers
Way more than 500 prob more than the bike
No thanks have to haul it off
Same stuff you expect to find on a cheap chinese generator or power equipment...lots of little things that need attention first, then you have a decent product for the price.
Nice overview
do Andy have a number?
So don't buy the fuel injection?
Get the carburetor
Finally!!!!!!!! I’ve had the exact same issue for a minute now….. driving me insane…. Thank you all sooooo much!!!!!!
Thank u, was going to buy one for my son's 1st dual sport for commuting in college. Think we will pass.
Very very Good Video. Thank you,