If you just finally assembled your TBR7 or Hawk 250, you are probably looking at the motorcycle saying, “it stands high on the kickstand.” Then you will wonder, after a couple of trials and errors, why the kickstand so long? Also, “How do I shorten my kickstand?”.
Is The TaoTao TBR7 or Hawk 250 Kickstand Too Long?
Well, Yes and No. You are looking at it, wondering if the motorcycle will tip over backward, and figuring the kickstand is too long. There is a simple fix right out of the box, but afterward, we’ll cover ongoing kickstand problems.
Why Is The Kickstand so long?
More like, why is the motorcycle so short? If you newly assembled your motorcycle without instructions, it’s easy to skip steps. One step was to extend the fork tubes. I know a few people reading this just had an A-ha moment. The rest are going out to their TBR7 or Hawk 250 to see when I meant.
Yes, Your RPS Hawk 250 or TaoTao TBR7 Is Too Short.
It seems to fit the motorcycle into the shipping container; the fork tubes are shortened. This problem has an easy fix, and if you ride off-road, the motorcycle will sit higher and give you more ground clearance.
Steps To Raise Your TaoTao TBR7 and Hawk 250’s Front End.
1.- Ensure you take the necessary safety steps—eye protection, fire extinguisher, etc. My Motorcycle Garage Safety Rules – FAQ
2.- Raise the motorcycle on a lift or a jack. A lift that you can easily adjust the height in small increments will work wounds. Here is the motorcycle lift I use (Read My: Motorcycle Lift Jack Post), and so far, it’s been working great. Not easy to store, but it works great!
3.- With motorcycle balanced, secure on lift/jack, have the front wheel barely off the ground. Now you can loosen the fork clamp bolts on both sides.
a. 1 of the bolts is behind the headlight assembly, on each side. The stock turn signal was mounted to the bolt.
b. 2 of the bolts were on the lower clamp and exposed for easy access.
I loosened the nuts in sets of top and bottoms on each side. These are 10mm bolts for me. There is no need to completely remove the bolts(see Note at end of post); have them loose enough to lower the fork tubes.
4.- With the clamps loosen and the fork tubes able to move up and down, raise the motorcycle a little. The wheel should stay on the ground and letting gravity help you extend the forks.
Note: Mine did not. There was lots of binding, so I had to persuade the forks to move. I used two non-marking hammers to break the tubes free. Placed the the end of the wooden handle on top of the tube, and used a second hammer to tap onto the first hammer till the tube moved free free.
After persuasion, the wheel remained on the ground, and I could use the jack to lift and lower the motorcycle to extend and shorten the fork tubes.
5.- For me, I extended the fork tubes it being less than flush with the top surface of the triple tree. It means left about 1/8″ above the surface showing.
6.- Ensure an equal amount of fork tube is above the triple tree.
7.- Tighten the 10mm bolts. For torque values, I used information from CSC Motorcycles (their Website)that they list for their TT250. A cousin of the TBR7 and Hawk 250. It just has a few upgrades, better inspection, and assembly than expected. For 10mm bolts, 15-22 ft-lb. Equally, tighten the bolts, balance each side. Tighten one bolt on the left, then move to the right, of equal height. As you tighten, ensure the tops of the fork tube remain equal.
8.- After torquing all the fork clamp bolts, slowly lower the motorcycle. The motorcycle should lower, and forks might compress a little, but the fork tube tops should remain stationary. Lower the bike to the kickstand, and remove the motorcycle jack/lift. Does the motorcycle lean more onto the kickstand? It did for me.
9.- After the area around the motorcycle is clear, I tested my motorcycle by sitting on it, holding the front brake, and bouncing, and looking for any movement with the fork tubes. At this point, I noticed the TBR7 felt ‘higher.’ I was more on my tippy-toes. Letting go of the front brake, under my own power, I moved the motorcycle forward and slammed the front brakes and pushed. The forks should compress, but the tops of the fork tubes should not move.
10.- Test ride. First, starting at slow speeds, I increased my motorcycle speed and increased my front brake usage. I keep checking for fork top tube movement.
The Motorcycle Should Lean More On The Kickstand.
Now the bike shouldn’t appear like it’s going to tip backward, but you might notice something peculiar about the Hawk 250s and the TBR7’s. The kickstand could be shorter.
I plan to actually change the kickstand in some way to have my motorcycle lean more on it, but for now, this post was to cover a missed step in the assembly of the TBR7’s and Hawk 250. If I modify my kickstand, I’ll post that later.
Motorcycle Kickstand Update:
New TBR7’s Kickstand Upgrade Arrived!
Thank you for following along. Remember that any modifications to a motorcycle can result in unpredictable changes, so seek qualified assistance for these changes and test your equipment before riding.
Thank you,
P.S. I did something that was not necessary but being an over-thinker and safety conscious, I did these. I actually removed the fork clamp bolts, applied a blue thread locker before finally installing/torquing the bolts down. I have bottles of thread locker after I found so many nuts and bolts on the motorcycle when it came out of the box.
Ride Fun, Ride Safe!
