The Hodaka Club Forum

Allright. Hodaka purchase made with historical significance. A project with a goal of speed both on the track and in a straight line. A catchy title from my wife's license plate. A new project to keep me out of trouble as Eweleen says. An outlet to practice writing skills and story telling and as a photographer I do like to take pictures. A use for some of the stuff I've been saving for decades. A project to improve self-esteem and a feeling of well being with some laughs and to converse with your friends. What could be better?

Maxie

I like it the way your wife's license plate shows it. "2 The Max." It is a 2-stroke after all.

Another twist, so to speak! This is all falling into place. Hmm, should we do that in the title? I think you're on to something Jack.

Max

Done!

Yep. "2 Da Max" short and sweet. Or "2 D' Max". Or whatever feels best. Ask your wife.

"2 the Max" works 4 me.

IM4U-2DMAX -----------Clarence

Let the project begin. First I need to transfer these day one pictures (sounds familiar) to this post to tell the story from the beginning. Bear with me.

Neat. Izzat some sorta Bull-taco ? Looks like a real pure-blood.

Top end checkout reveals a GEM reed, .020 model 93 Rat cylinder reed ported and weird early Webco head. Good stuff, money's worth right here! The pipe appears to be a low Torque Engineering model that is sound but needs some dent removal.

The reed assembly cleaned up nice and I'm starting the disassembly and decrudding of everything. My how does that stuff bond together like that? Not fun but you only have to do it once. I like the part of refurbishing pieces and putting them in the to-use box. This is entertaining me already!

Max

Bill2001 wrote:Neat. Izzat some sorta Bull-taco ? Looks like a real pure-blood.

It does have the look of the day! I think that it was a bit over-tired with those whopper 4.00x18/19 Pirellis. Overkill is the word!

Maxie

Ooh, this is going to be cool! Just a few preliminary questions/observations. Were the 90/92 style bars a weight-saving measure? What do you think of the tank. It looks like a peanut tank off an old-school chopper. The way the petcock comes off the back like that suggests that it would ideally be mounted in a more upright position. Also, how do you think the pipe was mounted? The jug says slip fit but the pipe says threaded spigot. Finally, I'm happy to see that you are continuing with the cool homegrown paint schemes ala the Partridge Family tank. Are you going to reproduce the "Captain America" frame paint job?

Hey Matt. Where do I start? The bars were probably what the guys liked or maybe he broke the originals. All guesses. The tank is just sitting on the frame. I sold these little chrome tanks as racing weight savers in the day. Notice the bike in my avatar has one. Also one on my old short tracker. I may even use this on the project if it can be saved. The engine had a slip fit exhaust receptacle but I'll use the one on the pipe. It was all in the pile. Captain America? Something to consider to honor the Meigs brothers and their paint job. I probably put some of those dings on their frame when I passed them decades ago! Fun project already, I always like the social interaction on these projects and you get to play with motorcycles too! Entertaining for sure!

Max

Here's a better shot of the tank and mounting. Popular item in the day.

Max

Too cool Max! How fun to think that you banged bars with that very bike (not to mention sold it as new) back in the early 70's. Were those race tanks Hodaka branded equipment or aftermarket. Mine was a universal Clark tank with about a 2 liter capacity. Anyway, this is going to be fun and I'm sure looking forward to coming along for the ride. From a business perspective, you've doubled your money on the sweet GEM reed cage alone. From the mojo angle, many times more than that. Great score!

Thanks Matt. I think we got the tanks through our Hodaka distributors or they may have come from Webco. I have never seen any markings on them. Funny, I can't remember everything from 50 years ago!

Max

Better than me, Maxie. I can't remember everything from 5 minutes ago

Speaking of tanks made an inspection of this one necessary. Looks sound inside and out. A few dings. I'll strip it and take along with the pipe for a dent removal at the body shop. Maybe we can use it. Gross now.

Max

Here's my 0.05. It would sure be cool if it can be salvaged. It was part of its previous owner's race set-up and would be a neat homage to him. Who knows, you probably sole it to him in 1972.

Hey Matt, Yes I probably did sell him the tank. I think it will probably be saved with some dent removal and polishing or painting or even a re-chrome. Heres another challenge coming up. It appears the frame has been broken and an attempt has been made to fix it. This is not meeting specs for something that goes fast or at least we hope it does. I'll try to measure and determine if things are still lined up before disassembly. If so I can grind that mess off and re-group. All part of the ongoing plan of reconstruction. Part of the fun process I guess!

Max

Yikes Maxie, that looks like the front end of my first Super Rat. Hey, sometimes a guy's gotta put another guy into the wall - right? . Can you tell if the steering head rake is stock? It looks like there is a small fracture on either side of the steering head just above the original tank mounting bosses about where the gussets attach. No biggie. That weld job can be ground off and rewelded. Here's hoping the metal underneath is solid. If anyone can solve this conundrum, its you Maxie.

hodakamax wrote: It does have the look of the day! I think that it was a bit over-tired with those whopper 4.00x18/19 Pirellis. Overkill is the word!

Maxie

Mine came with larger tires of the "first oversize", supposedly to float thru mud better. But how much more tire area is needed for a 12hp, 200 lb bike?

Wow, the new project is really fun. Now I have something to talk about other than the Old Man's raccoons and zucchini. After the Day One Project I did a few models which is a Winter filler but I really needed something to use real tools on. What's fun on the motorcycle project is I walk by it several times a day on the way to my office which is really a place where all projects seem to be centered. Each time I go by I briefly visualize what's to be done next or what the next modification will be. I tell my wife that it gives me a feeling of well-being with a project associated with things I did most of my life. She is always supportive and was even asking people and friends if they knew where any old Hodakas were and that Max needed a project. She says I always seem happier when these projects are underway or at least present. A Zen thing maybe.

I have been working on this cool Space Shuttle Orbiter for quite a while. My wife jokingly says that it keeps me out of bars at least in the daytime. Just kidding. Here's a shot of the 1/72 shuttle project that was filling in while the Hodaka hunt was on. It will look cool in my office/museum when finished. I'm bogged down on this project for now with new thing in the shop. One should be versatile, I'll work it in.

Well, today I'm just rambling on a bit to mention what motorcycles or any rewarding projects are all about. They even are social things with talking with new friends with like interests on Forums or even competitions like model and motorcycle shows.

The only thing negative about all of this is it sometimes keeps you behind in responsible type projects such as my repairing the house and servicing the wife's Camry. Ah, but all work and no play can make Max a dull boy. Moderation I say.

My wife is a retired Journalism teacher and she's helping me to become a more proficient writer as another hobby. I turn in assignments and this is one. I trade out photography lessons in exchange. A good deal for both!

That's it for now and thanks for listening!

Maxie

I like projects but like to limit myself to only a couple at a time. Otherwise I'm spread too thin. The Hodie is being slowly honed to near-perfection.

Plastic models are wonderful. For children, they teach coordination and critical reasoning skills that will last the lifetime. For Elders they continue these thinking and coordination skills.

What a mess. Ya gotta start somewhere. Nothing like outdoor storage with crud to lock all the parts together. Part of the process and a report. Thank goodness for penetrating oil and impact wrenches.

Max

Although many items of the work done on my Wombat resto were overlyoptimistic, at least I got a rolling collection of parts in approx. the right order, and mostly cleaned, polished and wirebrushed. So I've had the blessing of not needing to disassemble everything all at once and to work on relatively clean parts.
Following this with interest.