Featured Hawk X50 Plug 'n Play Alarm - Review

Hello Folks,

I've had my new Tiger 800 for a month now and love it. I took full advantage of the recent snow & salt fest riding lull to fit a few 'essential' accessories to my 2018 model year bike. I wanted to fit an alarm but didn't fancy paying the dealer the thick end of £400 for a Triumph branded Meta alarm.

I put out some feelers on Triumph forums to see if anyone had tried the Hawk alarm which is offered with a Triumph specific wiring harness. I got absolutely no feedback apart from other members asking me for my feedback if I fitted one.

https://www.hawkcaralarm.com/catalog/x-50-triumph-motorcycle-alarms-immobiliser

Well I did fit one and I'm very pleased with the results so I thought I'd share my experiences on this and other items I've fitted.over the next weeks

I'd like to point out that I have no connection with Hawk Alarms and I'm also no mechanic - so please use your own judgement when fitting alarms. However if I can fit these things then you can take is read that it's a pretty simple job.

What's in the box

The Triumph version of the Hawk alarm costs £60 including UK postage. I didn't need to buy anything further.

These are the key components....



In addition there are the usual fitting & operating instructions plus a warning sticker and a lanyard. The full specification is shown on the Hawk website so I'm not going to repeat it all here.

The 'Triumph' bit shown below however it's just an extension to the alarm loom with the required white Triumph connector at the other end. If anything the extra loom is a little too long at about 40cm but this would offer greater flexibility as to where to site the main control box



So one end snaps into the short lead from the alarm control box and the other end goes to this connector on the left hand side of the bike just ahead of the tool kit.

There were a couple of spare leads whose colours weren't mentioned in the fitting instructions. I called the Hawk customer service team who were very patient and helpful. They explained that it's a modular system so can be upgraded to included additional features such as proximity sensors, GPS tracker etc. The spare cables are for these extra bits of kit.

This is the Triumph connector you need to locate



And here's the Hawk loom connected and ready to go. I should point out that it's a good idea to disconnect the battery before connecting anything to your bikes electrical system



The alarm has just two other small snap together connectors that need to be joined - one for the small (but loud!) siren and the other for the small blue LED light.

The final bit is an earth lead with a 6mm connector which needs to be earthed to the chassis using an existing bolt if possible. In my opinion this lead is too short and a few extra inches would give more fitting options. I found somewhere but it required more head scratching than it should. You can of course easily extend the cable if necessary

So that's about it in terms of connections. All the above takes just minutes as it is truly a plug 'n play product.

Fitting

More time was spent trying to find suitable flat surfaces to mount the control box and siren. Both are very compact which helps a lot.

For the main box, I followed Triumphs lead and mounted it under the plastic carrier plate. This comes off with just 4 bolts and reveals a handy area but very busy with cabling. Unlike the Triumph system which bolts on, the Hawk alarm is light enough to attached with the self adhesive rubber pad fitted to the back. Although only about 2/3rds the size of a packet of cigarettes, it was surprisingly tricky to find a flat area in amongst the curved plastics and wiring harnesses.

In the end I mounted it vertically behind the rear light cluster



After degeasing the plastics it stuck like the proverbial - best test the position with the backing paper still attached until you find the right spot. There are screw / bolt mounting points if you wish. I used one of them to run a loop of plastic covered stainless wire around the chassis to make it harder for a thief to remove. Probably does nothing but it made me feel better.

After that it was the siren - much easier IMO.

I found a handy spot just ahead and to the right of the tool kit. Again you can bolt/screw it down but I just opted to use the fitted sticky pad provided.



The last bit is finding a spot for the LED lamp. It serves several purposes - as a warning to low lives and also as a way of alerting the owner to any activations that may have happened since arming. There are various codes that will flash up when disarmed and also provides a method to enter a PIN number (user selectable) to disarm the unit if there's been an issue with the alarm.

The Triumph alarm uses the red flashing light built into the TFT display however it seems this is an issue for other brands. Personally I like having two lights blinking away - it looks more tooled up for the cautious thief.

Again I couldn't easily locate a handy spot that was visible but didn't require a hole be drilled in my new bike. Hawk Alarms suggested tie-wrapping it to the chassis where it could glow in the labyrinth of dark spaces of the tank area. In the end I decided to remove one of the two accessory power socket blanking plugs and drill a 9.5 / 10 mm hole on the centre. Magic - if I remove the alarm I can change the bung and all is good again!





So that's about it - I just tidied up the wiring with a few small tie-wraps an reconnected the battery. It worked exactly as promised

I particularly like the soft beep when arming and disarming - I wish my car was like that when getting home late!

The system has all the features you'd expect, such as servicing mode, ferry mode, hijack total immobilisation and more. I should have pointed out that the Hawk alarm also has an immobiliser and works alongside Triumphs own system.

I also appreciate a tilt / nudge sensor that'snot over sensitive. I've forgotten it's armed more than once and started to open a pannier - it gives several warning beeps and flashes the indicators as a forewarning that the siren is about to let rip. Leave it alone and all is good again

I'm really impressed so far.

I'll do a further update after a few months of usage. I'm tempted to add the GPS tracker module that uses a PAYG SIM - I have something similar on my motorhome and it works well.

The Hawk tracker is about £70 so will probably add this soon. My wife however is getting fed up with the volume of parcels arriving since I bought the Triumph. The 'Junk Mail' excuse is wearing thin.

Happy to answer any questions as I would have found it useful when I started my search

 

Good evening - Thank you, I enjoyed doing the write up.

Sorry I have no idea. I assume that the loom is designed for bikes with the factory fitted alarm multi pin plug. I’ve no idea when they started doing that.

However you can still buy the X50 alarm without the special loom and wire it old school style. On the plus side you’ll save about £25 if you make your own connections and also gain an immobiliser I assume?

Hawk offer a fitting service and have a fitter at their HQ - he’s the chap I spoke to a couple of times when I had queries. Give him a call, they were very knowledgeable

Good luck

 

Hi Eldon,

Thanks for the feedback.

I’ve had a high end disc lock alarm - it ate batteries and caused so many false alarms in windy conditions. I guess a small amount of movement in the bars/forks was all that was needed.

The Hawk has proved to be reliable 0ver the first 6 months and gives me peace of mind for £50 ish and an hour or so installing it.

I don’t regret my purchase

I’m planning to add a Hawk text dialler module when time permits - I’ll then get a text warning if the bike alarm is activated - handy if you’re out of earshot

It adds another £50 but still an inexpensive system compared to other brands and Triumphs own offerings

 

Cheers Joe - pleased to be to join such a friendly and knowledgable biker community.

I recently returned from a 2,500 mile tour of southern France & Northern Spain. The Tiger was exactly the right bike for the job and great fun to ride, even in the 43C heatwave over there.

My previous KTM690 and GS1200 Adventure we’re both great bikes, however the Triumph is the best all rounder for my needs.

As Goldilocks said ‘Just right’ - not too big, not too small. Nearly 60 mpg too!