Did you have the whole shift case assembly refurbished or just the gear change shaft bushings installed. The control shaft area where the shift slider pin rides as well as the pin itself can see a lot of wear if it was never cleaned or greased. Sand is an excellent abrasive. I have seen slider pins ...

Excellent. I usually find that mag side shim on the bench after I have completely assembled the engine.

The only thing touching the crank when the cases come together are the right and left main bearings. If the c clip is seated properly on the clutch side it could be the depth of the mag side bearing, Check that this bearing is seated flat. slightly off will bind the crank. New seals are sometimes st...

Small business opportunity? I don't think anybody is reproducing them.

I make my own out of rubber c channel sold as an edge protector for sheet metal products. It must be thin. The cover clearance is pretty tight. Put a light stretch into it while in place on the backing plate and use a piece of plastic wrap under the joint, I then connect the 2 ends together with a d...

It is a narrow rubber c channel strip that fit over the outer edge of the backing plate. It becomes dried out and brittle over time so most did not survive.

When I am trying to decide if a parts or project bike is worth fixing I like to take an inventory and follow few basic rules. Are the hard to ship parts there? You can find wheels but getting them to your house can cost more than the wheel itself. What about the chrome parts? They can be expensive w...

Model 97 and 98s also used the longer dipstick. Both bikes had the older Ace style clutch cover with the top mounted dipstick so the straighter and longer kick start levers they used would tuck in closer.

The old rule of thumb was smaller carb, better low end power and throttle response. Bigger carb for long full throttle running at max rpms. Has to do with the velocity of the air being pulled through the carbs bore. Putting vanes in a bigger carb is one way to trick the airflow to increase air speed...

I have only used the pvl systems on our 125s. They were simple to install and time. Been running them for a couple years now with zero problems. I had a number of Sl250 parts bikes so stealing the cdi units was a 20 minute job. I used to be able to pick up complete 250 engines for 50 bucks 20 years ...

Looks like you have a decent platform to begin the journey. With a track and a class that may smooth out some of the disadvantages a 175 would give up in the open class, looks like fun in your future. If you dont plan on a big $$ reed valve upgrade, I found the best bang for my racing bucks were in ...

Thats a pretty beefy clutch. I restored a half dozen 250s and raced one for a few seasons and never had a clutch issue. I dont know what other brands fit, or where new plates can be sourced, but I have a couple of complete used clutch assemblies and no longer own a 250. Yours if you need one. If you...

That beeping sound you hear is the money truck backing up to take all of your cash. To add a reed valve to a Hodaka 175/250 requires a custom made V=Force manifold and extreme cylinder machine work beyond all but the best specialty machinists. Then to make it even more expensive, carb and exhaust fa...

I rebuilt a number of 250s and am pretty sure it was the wiseco #380, but double check. I think the #171 was similar but used a dyke ring on top.

I would suggest you research the racing organizations and tracks in your area, including the classes available for you to compete in. Not all areas have AHRMA style tracks. When we raced VMX from 2010 thru 2016, there were 2 classes, a 125 class that ran in the same heats as the open class vintage b...

Just as the bolts come in different grades, so do drill bits. I has a tough one once and went to an industrial nut and bolt supplier. They has 3 grades of drill bits on display. When I asked the difference between the bits and 3 different prices, he said the level of cussing goes down as the price a...

I find that most of the bolts broken off in this tank mount location were not broken in trying to take them out, but trying to tighten a tank bolt that was too long and grounding it at the back of the hole. Once you drill the hole for the extractor, remember not to do the same with the extractor. If...

Nope. The 250 engine platform and frame whether SL175/250 or ED250 is just to heavy for a decent power to weight ratio without major and costly mods. The 250 Sl is a 280 pound bike, the 175 at 268lbs. Removing 20 pounds of brackets, lights and blinkers doesnt even make a dent. The CW is 190lbs. You ...

Check Rich's Taylored Porting for hop up ideas for the SL175/250 engines.

I know, that sexy cylinder head on the 175 shouts "I am a serious machine" but it kinda ends with the shouting. I tried this exact same thing. I used aluminum rims from the 250 ED, the cdi off the SL250, Works rear shocks, cut off every bracket and part not essential for holding it togethe...

If you have the time rebuilding the engine can be a lot of fun. Tons of parts out there. Sounds like you need a roller retainer for the kick starter. Inexpensive and available. Jumping out of gear could be as simple as a side case adjustment or ball receiver and springs. You cant swap to a bigger cy...

Nice bike. They are still out there if you do the leg work and chase down the leads. I bought my CW new right off the floor of the Hodaka dealership I worked at and raced for. It was located in a large garden shed in a guys back yard and we moved a lot of bikes. I guess I helped keep it open as I bo...

You may also want to check your rear axle spacers and hub sprocket carrier. If you are building from spare parts there were a couple of different spacer widths and sprocket carrier widths. A mix up in any of these will offset the chain enough to drive you crazy with chain rub on the guard. The guard...

Yes, the J style is correct for the 95 CW.

The Toads chain guard will have an extra 6mm bolt running through it to hold the roller in place. Its hard to see when mounted on the bike, but easy to identify when on the bench.

The bottom roller style was used in conjunction with the chain guards that also had the chain roller sandwiched in them. I believe they started with the 97 and 98 model with the swing arm mounted rollers, and then added to the 99 and were used on most models after that. When I was racing we always u...