I received the G4 Hummer this week and have assembled the bike to completion.
Comments so far:
1. The bike is a far superior construction to the old Hummer - and seems a lot stronger and better finished.
2. The Owner's manual and assembly instructions were not the best however. One assembly item not mentioned is the absence of installed brake pads on the back wheel - which seems at first glance to be fully installed and in-situ. The lesson here is not to press the rear brake pedal until you have the pads installed.
3. Tomahawk were pretty quick at answering questions and did seem keen to support their product.
4. The engine is rated at 12.5 KW - but we think there is scope to get another 3 to 5 KW out of the beast - with some minor engineering and tuning mods.
5. With the extra power, Tomahawk have opted for a smaller 41 tooth sprocket to increase top speed - I think this was a mistake. My preference would be for a larger sprocket and to enjoy more acceleration and low-end grunt any day. With this in mind, I have ordered both a 47 tooth sprocket and a 54 tooth sprocket to try out.
Looks promising so far - hope to have a full review in six weeks (bike requires a 1000k running-in).
To hickmanioz:
I had a look at the Wanneroo off-road area (next to the karts) - and agree it's a better place to ride than Gnangarra. Going to trial the bike there - and at Lancelin.
Unfortunately running in a Chinese bike is like running in an English bike 50 years ago.
About 1000kms is right - with oil changes at around 300, 600 & 1000kms.
This is particularly important, since we are going to beef up the power output - which will put the gearbox and clutch under additional strain.
The same thing applies to checking the bike over. A lot of stuff is not pre-lubed and many of the bolts aren't torqued to the correct value - so you have to go over them with a fine tooth comb and check everything - a real mechanic's bike!
I'm sure a lot of folks just rush things and get them going out of the box ASAP - which is where you will run into trouble.
Chinese bikes are cheap - but there is a price to pay in extra care & maintenance - plus some tinkering to get them at their best.
If you take the time however - you can end up with a pretty good bike for the money - and learn a lot about mechanical servicing on the way.
This one has - and I've noticed a few other makes have oil filters on their newer models - but you're right, some of the earlier offerings don't.
THe good thing about some of the newer models is that the replacement oil and air filters are common designs with some of the Jap bikes - so even if the OEM Offerings are a little suspect - the replacement parts will be good.
Chinese 250cc - $1500 + $250 upgrade parts + time & tinkering = good bike
Good secondhand JAP bike - $6,500 - + $800 service + Parts = good bike
New Jap or Euro 250cc = $11,000+ - great bike but do you need (and can you handle)all this capability and what else could you have done with the money?
If money is nothing to you - sure buy a 2007 KTM, if you can handle it!
IF you want to have some fun for a small layout - and enjoy the mechanical side of bike ownership - buy a good China!
Very well said. Good on you for contributing your knowledge and experiences to the forum, Im certain multiple members will find this information usefull.
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