Hawk 250 - Removed Nibbi PE30 and Reinstalled Mikuni VM26 MOTOVLOG

Come along for a ride on my Hawk 250 and I will be discussing why I removed the Nibbi PE30 carburetor and put the Mikuni VM26 back on. I'll take a little trip through Perry State Forest in New Lexington, OH.
If you aren't aware my Hawk has a Loncin RE250 engine, which is a Honda CRF230F clone. So this advice may not apply to every Hawk 250. This is also applicable to the Apollo 250 RX Extreme.
Amazon Paid Links
Mikuni Clone VM26 amzn.to/3dkoot3
Mikuni Carb Jet Kit amzn.to/2ZYD4ZG
Nibbi PE30 Carb amzn.to/2Lcwzc6​
Alternate Nibbi Link (if 1st is out of stock) amzn.to/3ch8JYF​
Nibbi Intake for Hawk 250 amzn.to/3fpH7lY​
Nibbi 48mm Air Filter amzn.to/2SLgoqc​
Carb Jet Kit amzn.to/2SKxKU7

[@mckrackin5324]

I recognize where you're at now. We're two hours apart. Beautiful country around there.

[@bobkelly2447]

From my observations of the trouble in tuning the carbs on the China 250's it goes back to what I learned in the 1970's you never mess with the jet needle height leave it alone and instead change the main jet size... you need to understand the way a carb works to adjust it properly... the idle/air screw adjusts the fuel air ratio at idle and it effects it up to about 1/4 throttle or a max of 3000 RPM it works at any RPM it continues to influence the fuel air ratio of the other components in the carb. the next thing that effects the throttle opening is the Pilot jet.... and the 2 things interact alot...if you change the pilot jet you must re tune the idle/air screw ! for fastest idle .... the next thing in line is your main jet although that is effected by the jet needle height . it takes effect from about 3/4 throttle and up to red line, the throttle valve cutaway also effects how the engine runs from about 1/2 to full throttle but is rarely ever changed. the biggest problem most guys experience when trying to dial in their carb is a sogg or soft spot in acceleration where the transitions from one aspect of the carb effects the other like where the pilot jet leaves off and the main jet takes over.... this is why leaving the jet needle in it's stock position is so critical moving it higher or lower can and usually does cause a bogg or Sogg in acceleration. for this reason getting the Right main jet size in there is crucial different you want a tan to chocolate brown color on the porcelain .when it is RIGHT. Knowing this you can ride the bike at a given RPM and see what the different things of the carb are doing...weather they are too rich or too lean. when I had a bike shop many decades ago I would simply take a bike out for a putt putt going slow and see if there was any places that had a sogg in acceleration, if I found none then I would take it for a short high speed run say a mile or so.... then stop along the side of the road and pull the spark plugs and do a color check... that worked very well for me. if you change from a 26mm carb to a 30mm carb there are going to be some changes as there is LESS suction going through the bigger carb than there was with the smaller carb... that can and often does equate to a soft or sogg in acceleration.... and in my experience it is right in the transition area between the pilot jet and the main jet at around 3000 ~ 4000 rpm often times a larger pilot jet will cure that .... but you have to re check everything again with a color check as your top end speed may well be too rich..... at full throttle all the holes and orifices in the carb are giving their all, everything is working.... it's not like one thing like the idle stops working completely when you reach a certain RPM they all effect full throttle operation.... I just bought a Nibbi 30mm carb for my TT250 and will be installing it soon thank you for the link on your other video !

[@mirza6472]

I know this is a pretty old video, I learned a lot about motorcycle carbs and how they work especially about these vm26 or pz30 aur cv carbs or the pwk With good tuning you can actually get your motor to running better with any carb. But the larger carb needs both good air inflow as well as outflow. So a restricted exhaust or intake can still be tuned to run well but will not give you the power you desire.

[@dustinsegers4534]

I just did something similar. I ported and polished the head on my Hawk and was originally running a genuine Mikuni VM26-8074. It took forever to get that thing dialed in correctly. However, after porting and polishing the head, I couldn't get the Mikuni flange I was using for the genuine Mikuni to line up with the newly ported intake at all. I went back to the stock intake, put my Mikuni VM 26 clone on there, guesstimated the new jet sizes, and it ran/runs great. I definitely can understand why you would return to a cheaper, yet more reliable, easy to use carb, especially since I've found that the clones are quite easy to adjust versus the higher quality performance carbs.

[@bobkelly2447]

porting and polishing a cylinder head can and will make a big difference in performance but as you discovered getting the carb to work right after words is difficult sometimes, the added airflow into the cylinder can really screw up the vacuum ! creating more for the carb to work on.... a larger carb is often used to compensate for that !

[@ericholman6116]

I have a Hawk and Just purchased a Honda crf 300l. Had deposites in at multiple dealerships. One kept telling me it was coming next month but month after month it never came. Finally got my hands on one after traveling 12 hours round trip. Hope you got your bike.

[@JackofAllMasterofNone]

Got a CB500X last year. 300L was on my short list also. Enjoy!

[@michaelsearles8654]

Looks like my area ,, I'm not far from Perry county trails myself, I'm a noob and used this season too learn how to ride ,,but if you ever want someone to ride some of them Perry trails with ,I would love to learn them

[@gregslair4278]

Lol, I hear ya. I'm about 3 hours from you in Versailles IN. Just got a Lifan KP-Mini. Just as fast as my X-Pect, if not faster (stock). X-pect is EFI, Mini is carb'd and just added the Lifan KPMoto exhaust.

[@bobkelly2447]

Usually a bike manufacture will put on a small carb and error on the safe side but a larger carb will indeed work if nothing else has changed on the bike to increase the air flow there probably won't be much difference in performance but if you change the air filter and put on a different exhaust pipe you should see a bigger performance boost.

[@alohabobbylaguna1702]

are you certain that you were using the right carb nibbi pe28 not the pe 30

[@fwtheog9768]

Which carb was better I’m trying to get a new one but I’m wondering what would make it go faster than 70 at most

[@alecbaker13]

Hell yeah

[@diegogonzalez7326]

Hey what jet attachment do you have on your carb ?

[@lordofloneliness2069]

What would be the best size jets for the carb? I live in south Carolina at sea level

[@fortheculture2153]

What gearing and chain size 17t front won’t fit and never had a rear sprocket on the bike (bought used) same motor

[@gregslair4278]

Also, you should look at a Husqvarna Svartpilan 401 or 701.

[@specruse218]

Hello, I am from TURKEY. I use the same engine block (RE250) in my cafe racer project (HONDA CG 125). But I am having some problems. I use a Mikuni pz30 carburetor and 17 front 33 rear sprockets. Since the motorcycle is 90 kg I wanted it to be focused on top speed. But when I press the gas, a little before the last revs, the motorcycle cuts and grunts like a choke. Which motorcycle's CDI did you use? It came to my mind from the timing of this. The second problem is the breaking noise from the sprocket when I do a clutch kick. The sprocket seems to be dislodged or slipped. I would be glad if you could help me in these matters. And I may have written wrong or badly, I'm sorry. I got some Google Translate help :)

[@JackofAllMasterofNone]

Sounds like your main jet size may be incorrect if your having bucking at wide open throttle. I have a Mikuni VM26 clone. Mikuni does not make a pz30. The pz30 is another clone of a Keihin usually. I recommend the Mikuni clone and you should start with a 25 pilot jet and a 115 main jet and see how that treats you. I used the CDI that came with the engine. It is a generic DC CDI module. the sprocket is probably loose. If it has a Honda type cush drive system, the bolts could be loose or broken. Check them to make sure they are tight. Usually the only thing holding the sprocket actually on is a snap ring.

[@diegogonzalez7326]

Also how many links are on your chain?

[@elderrider9298]

That the same type of riding i do here in Minnesota with my Hawk CRBn (country road beatin) lol

[@hectorkyson6625]

not sure if you guys gives a shit but if you are stoned like me atm you can stream all of the new movies on Instaflixxer. I've been binge watching with my gf lately xD

[@raydencurtis249]

@Hector Kyson Definitely, I've been using instaflixxer for months myself :D

[@RustBeltFab_]

What’s your thoughts on the Hawk all around? How long have you owned it? Is it reliable?

[@JackofAllMasterofNone]

It's a total piece of crap honestly. The engine is reliable, but every other part will break in time. With that said, I really like it. You can slowly upgrade all the crap to Japanese stuff since it all cloned anyway. Just depends on your ability and desire to tinker and upgrade stuff.

[@KO-pk7df]

@@JackofAllMasterofNone Thanks for giving us your honest reply. Maybe for alot of us this tinkering is 1/3 the fun along with the affordability of all this fun.

[@megarouge61]

I have a 2021 Hawk 250. It runs great but has what I consider a somewhat long warm up time, about 4 minutes before it runs smoothly with out throttle "milking" It is completely stock as far as engine but does have a 17 45 sprocket combo. Is this normal for this bike?

[@JackofAllMasterofNone]

No. A properly jetted mikuni clone carb would fix you right up

[@megarouge61]

@@JackofAllMasterofNone I appreciate the ultra fast answer ! Thanks!

[@megarouge61]

@@JackofAllMasterofNone Not to be bothersome but a recommended starting point for main n pilot jets for the mikuni clone? Such as 45 125 or alternative numbers?

[@megarouge61]

@@JackofAllMasterofNone The mikuni clone worked perfectly thanks again

[@Jboost412]

So you went back to the kuni clone..from the nibbi...I watched your video and listened to your reasons for switching back but I’m curious if you just didn’t want to continue messing with the nibbi to dial it back in or if you genuinely felt the vm26 was just a better carb...from my experience I would think the nibbi should out perform the Mikuni clones all day long because of the much smoother/larger bore on the air intake side among other things that make the nibbi seem like it’s far superior to the clone kuni’s...hope to hear back from you! And best of luck with everything! Thanks for making a cool channel full of information...I’m currently trying to make modification/upgrade & problem solving videos as I go for out China bikes

[@JackofAllMasterofNone]

Nibbi is a "better" carb and yes I was tired of trying to dial in the Nibbi. I could not get it just right. I had it as close as I could and still had an off idle bog. The Mikuni clone just works perfectly.

[@Jboost412]

@@JackofAllMasterofNone that’s about what i figured...since quality control is not a huge concern I wonder if the nibbi was maybe a defective unit either way I always tell people if your not looking to mess around throw on a aftermarket pz30/vm26 set it once and your basically done

[@mac4658]

Put the nibbi back on and change your ignition coil u gone fly off that thing trust me . let me know if it works

[@GilbertEid]

@@mac4658 What ignition coil do you recommend? I am looking to put on some upgrades to the stock Hawk 250 I purchased and can't figure out the recommendations. Nibbi is on my list, can you provide directions on the ignition coil?

[@chadcarter9581]

What windshield are you running?

[@JackofAllMasterofNone]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHnQkKSdjqyqh5o

[@joshfit5777]

What size jets do you have on the vm 26?

[@jesses1589]

I'll suggest a tune for you. 125 main jet and a 15 pilot is what I run on my VM26. I have an extended mixture screw installed for adjustments. This tune will not work right if you have your EGR open! I blocked off the EGR on the side of the motor allowing me to run far leaner on the pilot jet. I made a simple block off plate with a old turpentine can as donor metal. It idles real nice, makes good power up until 7,000. It also has head port and polish, full exhaust, nibbi coil, and a Briggs V twin drop in KN filter.

[@joshfit5777]

@@jesses1589 can you show me what your setup looks like please maybe we can exchange #s or some

[@vosburght]

How are you getting that bike to rev like that? I'm going to adjust my valves and carb and see what it does. I no way have what you do in this video!

[@JackofAllMasterofNone]

This is not a stock Hawk engine.. It has an OHC Loncin engine. Same size as stock Hawk engine but overhead cam. So don't worry, you are probably ok. Lol

[@vosburght]

@@JackofAllMasterofNone If you don't mind me asking, how much do you have in that OHV engine?

[@vosburght]

OHC ...

[@JackofAllMasterofNone]

@@vosburght kzbin.info/www/bejne/rn61mmiGi7dmqrM Here is the whole video. Lots of time and money. Not really worth it. Engine was around 6-700 dollars if I remember correctly.

[@jimmyrigged1292]

Hey man.. I got a hawk 250cc enduro about 850 miles on it and I'm installing the nibbi carb tomorrow....do u have any advice or warnings for me ...I hope this goes well ...I'll post the install video to my channel ..feel free to comment on anything u think I need to know ...thanks man and happy and safe riding ..oh and I've never got my hawk to 70 mph not even close ...it just wont do it ..I top out at about 50 and shes screaming for another gear ...

[@chapie62]

JTR269.45 rear sprocket and a JTR259.17 on amazon will gear you out.

[@MaxsGarajMahal]

This bike still up and running properly?

[@JackofAllMasterofNone]

Just went for a ride a few days ago.

[@MaxsGarajMahal]

@@JackofAllMasterofNone Wondered if it was retired. I wouldn't mind doing new updates such as welding up a replacement piston top to increase compression to 11:1 to 1 to get it cooking. Maybe have a new camshaft ground in order to spin it up a bit higher. How close to the Zongshen 249.9cc, 6speed design in the Templar X 250x if you've seen them? It resembles in overall outer design. It is a counter balance making 19hp out of the box with 9:25 to 1 compression. The Templar 250X 6 speed engine can use some tuning as well. Something I'm considering doing a series on for my channel although I've got three Yamaha YZ250F I've been shooting some footage. No since in spending so much time on them as you can buy everything you can dream up and not gain a lot since they're really tuned to the limits. So, the China bikes leaves a lot of leeway to do some machine work on to try to bring them up to snuff. Thoughts?