Past discussions seem to place normal pressures with matching head and piston at 135 - 145 not to exceed 190, and that at least one person who had a rat head on an Ace 100 cylinder/piston got 195, which is too high. See the discussion in the Old Forum Archive near the top of the first page of entrie...

Here's what it says in the tech article "Know the Difference in Your Pistons" -- "Bad things can happen if you install a type 1 (high dome) piston in an engine designed for the type 2 (low dome) piston. Compression will be excessively high and engine life will suffer. Excessive compre...

Seems to me there is a tech article on the website warning against mixing piston and head styles. Have you thought about stuffing the crank?

Depends on how you define "restore." If your intention is to return the bike to original or near original condition (typical restoration target) then, no, you don't want to make those changes. But if you intend to ride it, and if this is the sort of thing you might have done back in the 70...

No worries on my end. Certain that all will be right soon. I like the build quality on the pipe. Never could weld like that.

RayRay, from the photo, it appears very likely that the boss is leaking at the weld, which is probably why the chrome is delaminating. Rust is creeping in under the chrome and lifting it. Welding should be simple, but I would remove the chrome in the weld zone. Brazing will work for something like t...

MEK, while certainly not harmless, is also not "dangerous" to use. It is available at most hardware stores outside of California. I have used it for years, on occasion without gloves, which I don't recommend as it will absorb through the skin to some extent. It is a fair solvent. Just use ...

Will wait for his response. He might still be on the road, or recovering from HD and the drive.

If soluble in gasoline, it may be more so with something stronger like methylene chloride or carb cleaner (the dip tank type, not the spray can type), or toluene. Methylene chloride is the main ingredient in most paint strippers. Carb dunk is usually found in 5 gallon buckets.

Doubtful that the liner can be effectively removed. Welding will probably cause the liner to ignite, and for that matter, burning may be the only way to get a urethane liner out. Liners are a last resort for an obsolete tank that has thin walls and pinhole leaks due to rust. If lining is the only wa...

Muffler inlet ID is 28mm exactly. Stinger OD (filler pipe) is 28.62mm (1 1/8th inch or 1.125 inch). Roughly half a millimeter too large to go into muffler inlet. The inlet is a flared tube. So either the flare is not large enough, or the filler tubing is too large. Anyway, they don't go together.

Right stuff is a silicone sealant, primarily intended as a gasket maker, just a lot more durable than your average window and door sealant, or automotive RTV. It is black, which is the reason for the comment to use carefully or it will show around the edges. It is not an invasive or solvent glue.

I have noticed that the indent is smaller, which means that there is a void beneath the badge. I was thinking right stuff because it is stronger than most silicone glues and fillers. Always careful about what shows so I would not use so much that it squishes out. Just wondered how folks were doing i...

Just received a new HT3 with muffler. Trial fitting parts and I find that the muffler does not slip fit on the pipe. The outlet end of the HT3 appears to be comprised of three diameters of tube, the inner which is the stinger, the outer, which is a flared connection, and a filler tube between the tw...

Instead of reinventing the wheel, I thought I would ask for suggestions on attaching new tank badges to the Clarke plastic tank. I was thinking of using Right Stuff. Anyone have a favorite method? Thanks

For what it is worth, years ago when racing hare and hound, we frequently encountered deep water. Deep enough to cover the transmission vent. To keep a suddenly chilled case from pulling in water, I used an additional vent. Turns out that the dipstick is the same size and thread as a spark plug. So ...

Thanks.

Does anyone know the approximate diameter of the kicker tubing on the Super Combat or Super Rat? I assume they are the same between the two. Planning a bit of frame modification. Thanks in advance.

Greg McClintock
Prescott, AZ

Assuming that it was running the last time you used it, the points are first most suspect, unless you loaded up the plug with bad gas trying to start it. If the plug is dry, try it on something else like a lawnmower to see if it sparks. But then check the points. Condensation from the atmosphere jus...

Far as I know caliper paint is a marketing thing, not a different kind of paint. High temperature ceramic paint is easy to find, easy to apply, and tougher than it needs to be. I have used high temp ceramic paint to paint the front wheel knuckles on my old 1968 Kaiser Jeep to fill in pits and scratc...

I don't think I have EVER heated a hub to remove a bearing, and I used to be a service manager/mechanic for a Honda dealer, as well as Yamaha and independents. Also, I don't think I have seen a Hodaka with a bearing retainer. There is, however, a sleeve between the two bearings, which is really just...

Hard to say without setting them side by side, but the photo tank is a dead ringer for mine, which is a 100B+ tank, 2.75 gallon. That would make it more like an ACE 90/100 than a Super Rat. Still, it looks in good condition and if you need a period correct tank, there it is.

A bit of professional welding might resurrect the frame as well. Looks like most of it is still there. Unless of course you already have a good frame to use. Not to mention that there is a coil attached to the frame, which is still worth plenty all by itself. I would take the whole thing home and st...