Bike Reviews – Skyd Control

So you’ve heard about the Hawk, or maybe your buddy got one or you saw an online ad, but what is it and can it really be any good for such little money? Oh I’ve been there my friend, I had all the same thoughts and questions but I took a leap of faith and bought one. I’ve had it for a few months and a number of miles now so it’s time to share my findings with the world. Is the Hawk 250 worth it? Yes the Hawk 250 Enduro is totally worth the asking price and with a little bit of knowledge going into your purchase you can be a very happy and fulfilled Chinese dual sport owner for many years and miles to come. Jump Ahead if you're the TL:DR typeSpecifications & FeaturesWhat to know Before You BuyUncrating & SetupSkyd's Personal Review of the Hawk I’ve gotten some seat time on the bike now and I’ve also got plenty of wrenching and modifying in on it as well so I’d like to share my experiences and research to help you decide if this is a good bike for you. First, let’s take a look at the basic specifications and features of this bike. Hawk 250 Enduro Specifications & Features This bike is a Dual Sport motorcycle with a tendency towards the dirt. Also just to be clear this is not the DLX model I’m reviewing, although it’s very similar, the DLX is fuel injected, has different forks, and a few other small changes. 229cc 4 Stroke Single Cylinder Air Cooled engine based on the Honda CGElectric Start with Kick backupChain Drive5 Spd Transmission21” Front/18” Rear Wheels with Knobby Off Road tires3.7 Gallon Fuel Capacity35.4” Seat Height53.5” WheelbaseWeight = 278 lbs The Engine The Hawk’s powerplant is a 4 stroke single cylinder engine based off from Honda's CG125 engine produced starting in 1976. The CG style engine is well known for it’s low maintenance and extreme reliability proving it’s worth in a number of developing countries. In fact it was designed specifically to stand up to the abuse of sporadic or even absent maintenance. The chinese clone version of this engine is 229cc and features the same push rod design with a single cam, single lobe, 2 valve setup. This engine is extremely easy to work on should the need arise and it’s simplicity is also its strength. While tough and reliable this is not a high powered engine. You can find Japanese and European bikes with the same displacement putting out double the horsepower, especially in the OHC variety. The Hawk puts out a mild but respectable 16.5hp in it’s stock form (plenty of ways to bump that up a bit). Dimensions, Weight, and Setup This is for all intents and purposes a dirt bike. With it’s tall seat height, 21” front/18” rear wheel setup and stock knobby tires, this bike comes ready for the trail. The stock seat sits at about 35” which is shorter than a typical motocross bike or DRZ for example, but still on the tall side for some riders. There are ways to adjust this down some if you need to, including shaving the seat or swapping in a shorter rear shock. The wheelbase on this bike is a bit shorter than I was used to coming off from a Suzuki DRZ and it turns down a bit quicker but once you get used to it, the bike is nimble and playful. At 53.5”, the wheelbase is similar to that of a CRF230. The ergonomics are in line with any standard dirt bike setup. The rider sits in an upright riding position and handles the bike with ⅞” bars and standard issue brake, clutch, and throttle assemblies. All the controls are as they should be and easily adjusted and/or upgraded to suit your personal preferences. What to know before you buy You need to kill any preconceived notions you may have about owning a Chinese dual sport. Both good and bad. First, forget the excessively bad. We’ve all heard it and most of us have said it, if it comes from china, it’s junk. Well, that’s an unfair blanket statement. You've gotta set that aside, especially as of late. Chinese powersports (partly due to their increasing popularity and sales) have made huge strides in recent years. The Chinese scooter that fell apart after 100 miles that you got back in 2005 has evolved into reasonably well built machines that are capable of lasting a long time. It's also not going to be made with the same quality of parts and labor as bikes 3 or 4 times the cost, it's just the nature of the beast. But now, the excessively good. For every yin, there’s a yang. So don’t go into this thinking you’re getting a Japanese bike. These aren’t Hondas or Yamahas so don’t set your expectations there, you will be disappointed. BUT! That’s not to say these are bad bikes, it’s all about intent. The Hawk 250 is about ⅓ the cost of a similar Japanese bike, and obviously there are reasons for that. Maintenance, repair, and dealer support This is an area where you can see the lower costs rearing their head. There is no dealer support on these bikes. Yes you can submit warranty claims and the like, but as far as bike setup and things such as that, you’re on your own and most local shops, and especially bike dealers, won’t touch these. This isn’t all doom and gloom though. If you’re someone who can turn a wrench or is willing to learn, the Hawk is an excellent bike to own. It’s super easy to work on, many of the parts are interchangeable with genuine Honda parts and the cost is much lower if you break something or want to make modifications. That being said, these bikes are built on the CG engine platform which is a very tough engine that has been proven to survive a ton of abuse. With regular maintenance and a little care your hawk will run for a long time to come. Properly setting up your bike straight out of the crate will go a long way towards success. Bottom line is - going into this purchase just know that you will be your own mechanic and setup guy. But if you’re knowledgeable or willing to learn, this is great cheap fun. Uncrating and Initial Setup No matter where you order your Hawk or other Chinese dirt bike from, it will most likely be delivered in a crate. Typically it will come from a freight company such as Saia or FedEx Freight and they’ll unload it with a powered liftgate. After that, the rest is up to you. ***Fair Warning - Almost all of these bikes end up with what we in the china bike community affectionately call a “Chinese birth mark”. It’s usually a scuff, scratch, or small dent somewhere on the bike as a result of it’s long travel here. Mine had a few scuffs on the side case, no big deal, just expect some minor cosmetic blemishes.*** Assembly You CAN opt for assembly by the dealer for an additional fee in some cases, I would recommend against this. The fact is, I’ve seen a number of instances where someone paid for the assembly only to still find things done wrong, loose bolts, etc. Save the 200 or so clams and do it yourself, then you know it’s done right and everything is tight and good to go and you can have some confidence in the bike. The instructions are, well, provided. They aren’t the best but I’ve also seen worse. There isn’t a whole lot in the way of assembly instructions though, it’s sort of a figure it out yourself situation. The good news is there’s a number of videos and instructions easily found online. Check out this video by Motocheez for his assembly on a 2016 Hawk 250. https://youtu.be/N4D1r23bGGk There have been some changes and upgrades to the hawk since this video was made. For instance mine had the kick stand spring already installed and a number of critical nuts and bolts were slathered in thread locker such as the rear sprocket studs and engine mounts. If you need help or want to see some more examples I’d head over to the forums at chinariders.net where you’ll find yours truly and a myriad of other very knowledgeable dudes. My biggest suggestion is to take your time and make sure everything is snug and secure. I used blue thread locker (medium strength) on almost every single nut and bolt I touched. Setting up the bike Once you’ve got the bike assembled properly, setup is where you can make or break your first impressions. I watched a video on YouTube that chastised these bikes as total junk but I could clearly tell all they did was slap it together and then go rip around on it, cringey. First and foremost, change your fluids. I know of people that ran the first 100 miles with the fluids that came in the bike and it was fine but I would HIGHLY recommend changing at least the engine oil. Whatever it is that comes in these bikes, is probably not great. Having a good engine break in period is important to the performance of the bike over the long term. I used Rotella T4 15W40 in my bike but any motorcycle oil in the proper viscosity is fine. The biggest thing is to make sure it is JASO MA rated for wet clutches. I went the extra mile and flushed my brake fluids and changed my fork oil as well. I did the forks right off due to the fact I weigh 220lbs and knew the stock forks would be too soft so I put in a heavier weight oil. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and attracts moisture, and being that these bikes literally were shipped slow boat from China, I figured the best thing to do was flush that also for a whopping $7 in fluid. Next you want to set your valve lash, these engines typically come very very tight from the manufacturer which can cause hard starts among other issues. If this task sounds scary to you, fear not, it’s really pretty simple on these engines and I made a how to video you can check out for more info. https://youtu.be/1nbp7FnF4sA The last few things to setup are going to be your controls and chain. Some of this comes down to simple ergonomics so sit on the bike with the bars loose and move them back and forth a bit till they are at a comfortable spot for you. Lock them down and then adjust your brake and clutch lever positions by loosening and rotating them forward or backward to your liking. You also want to be sure your throttle has a little free play in it, typically about ¼” is desirable and you also need to adjust your clutch lever free play as well. There’s a million articles and videos available to help you with this if you’re unsure. Last but not least, adjust your chain slack. I’ve noticed the chains come WAY too tight on these bikes. You want about 1.5 inches of slack in the chain. I won’t get into break in procedure, heat cycles, and all that rigmarole because it’s an entire article on it’s own and HIGHLY subjective. All I’ll say is, during engine break in, don’t wring the motor out and don’t lug it either. Try to spend most of your time in the mid RPM range. My personal Opinion and Ride review I’ve done a couple videos about this, the first one was my initial impression upon getting the bike together and having a look over it, and then I did another video of my first ride and thoughts about the bike which can be seen below. I’ve since put more time and miles on the bike and so have a better feel for it, I’m starting to get quite comfortable riding it. https://youtu.be/n-Rsy9Qr_yg How’s it ride? This is going to be a highly subjective topic because it largely depends on your height, weight, riding style, and how well you set the bike up for YOU. That being said, I find the bike to ride quite nicely both on and off road. I plan to make a few more adjustments and upgrades but all in all I find the bike quite enjoyable to ride. The only changes I made before riding the bike in this category were to change out the fork oil with a heavier weight and set the tire pressure lower than stock, about 24lbs front and rear. I would have gone lower but there are no rim locks on this bike so I played it safe. The front forks are still a tad on the soft side but that’s ok as it makes for a nice ride and this isn’t a screaming demon anyway. I’m not launching it over table tops or pounding the whoops, I’m exploring back roads and trail riding. For this, it performs perfectly fine and I have no major complaints in this category. Power and Drive Let’s get this out of the way, this bike is NOT a powerhouse. In stock form it’s just over 16hp. So you won’t be breaking any land speed records on this thing or pulling dank power whoolies. With that out of the way, let’s talk about real world usable power and drive on the Hawk 250. Full disclosure - I never rode this bike in it’s completely stock form. This is due to the fact that I installed a TT250 head gasket which slightly increased the compression before I ever even started it. The power gain here would be minimal but I just wanted to be transparent. (I also have a video about this on My YouTube Channel) During my initial ride as seen above I didn’t really explore too much hilly terrain or anything crazy. I’ve since taken the bike up some pretty steep hills in traffic and it not only held speed it pulled going up the hill hauling my 220lb ass with it. All that to say, the power is adequate to keep up with traffic and traverse hilly terrain. The stock gearing however leaves something to be desired. It’s GREAT off road, good torque and a very usable 1st gear. But it tops out at about 60mph and that’s really wringing the engine out. So after a couple rides I swapped out the front and rear sprockets for a 16/45 setup as opposed to the stock 15/50. There are some upgrades you can do to get a little more punch out of this angry little single cylinder. I’ve got an exhaust swap planned, I already mentioned the head gasket, I also am setting up a pumper carb on it. You could also advance the timing, but I’m not sure if I’ll mess with that one or not. All of this considered, it’s more than adequate to get yourself in trouble. It gets up and goes just fine and even at my weight I don’t feel the NEED to have more power. On the flip side, I don't expect it to rip around like my bored out DRZ did either. Ergonomics and Comfort I’m going to be a little bit nit picky in this section and it’s partially due to my height. First, this bike fits me perfectly fine at 6'4", it’s plenty tall for sasquatch sized guys like me. But there are some things worth addressing that’ll make this bike even more comfortable to ride. First and foremost, the damn seat! I've gotta complain about this one and if there’s only one thing I could change right now, it would be the seat. It’s wider than a standard dirt bike seat like you’d find on a CRF or DRZ which is great, and it’s not the hardest foam I’ve sat on either (looking at you KTM). However, the bump where the seat transitions to the pillion section is way too far forward and causes me to sit awkwardly and also to arch my back weirdly. I noticed my back starting to hurt after 20 or 30 minutes before I realized why. I feel like I’d have to be a foot shorter for the seat to be comfortable as is. But there’s good news, you and I have options. The cheapest solution would be to remove the seat cover, shave the hump, and put the cover back on. That’s actually my plan. You could also swap in a seat from a TT250 which I hear is a bit nicer, or you could add something like a Coleman seat pad. All in all, the rest of the comfort aspects are reasonably decent. If you have large feet like me you’ll probably want to swap out the stock shift lever with one that’s a bit longer. Likewise, bar risers may be a welcome addition for your riding position if you’re over 6 feet tall, especially for standing up. I’m otherwise quite happy with all the controls and the general feel and comfort of the bike. Part of the trick for comfort is bike setup and knowing you may have to swap out a part here and there to get it to fit you how you like. Overall Quality, fit and finish I saved this part for last because it’s easy to judge this through a jaded lens. Yes it’s made in China, yes alot of junk comes from China, and yes this bike is inferior to a bike from Japan, Europe, or the USA. However, I was also pleasantly surprised. After removing from the crate and beginning to assemble the bike, I really started to see how far the Chinese manufacturers have come in the last decade. It didn’t feel cheap and weak like some of the pit bikes from the past that I’d seen. Don’t get me wrong, if you’ve worked on a Honda or Yamaha, this will not feel as well made. But if you can pretend for a moment that you’re back in the year 1980 it might start to feel a bit more familiar. That’s the thing here, these bikes from China are largely clones of decades old Japanese bikes, and that’s not a bad thing. The machining was pretty clean and the welds looked good in all the important areas. I did find a few assembly issues from the factory portion of assembly such as a cross threaded bolt under the seat but I chased it with a tap and all was good. So the bottom line is, I feel the build quality is adequate and the feel is decent as long as you have the proper expectations heading into this. After some seat time I've gotten perfectly comfortable and confident riding this bike. Final Words So with approximately 200 miles on the odometer, I can honestly give this bike two thumbs up. The fun per dollar factor is on point. Is it perfect, no, is it high quality, also no. But, is it a decent bike with potential that you can have alot of fun on? Hell ya it is! There’s a ton you can tinker with on this bike to make it your own, and the cost of entry is so low that it’s not so scary to mess something up. So experiment, keep up on your regular maintenance, and have tons of fun exploring with a Hawk 250 Enduro. Keep the rubber side down my friends (unless your throwing some sick whips, not recommended on the Hawk)