The Hodaka Club Forum

I had to watch the Red Toad fall over while on the rack. The handle bars caught it & it just laid on its side, there on the lift. Later, I discovered there was a brand new dent in the chrome headlight ring I had spent so much time polishing! Argh! At least I had another in my box of parts.
So pull the headlight off, disassemble from one ring & reassemble on the other ring & put it back on the bucket.
I'm sure glad I wasn't sitting in her when she went over. Probably would have been a lot more damage! Victor

Maxie, here's me with the bike on the lift table. About two and a half feet off the ground. Bars lashed to the table with tie-down straps. I just mounted the pipe. Why bother letting it down before firing the bike? Right? So I hop up on the lift table and give it a good kick. The right tie-down strap s-hook falls off the eye bolt on the table and the bike starts to tip to the left. No problem. Just take the left foot off the peg and catch the bike...and...uh...TIMMMMMMMMMBERRRRRRRRR. I feel your pain, brother.

Funny, I was just looking for a picture for Victor showing what possibly could clog his pilot jet and I ran across this picture from a while back. Same shoes, same accident. We had discussed this before.

Slow learner

Max

One thing I've learned to do over the years is to swing the left leg up and forward to be sure it hasn't snagged on the carb *as I slow down and before I actually stop*.

I wonder if a "brush guard" would help Max?

Every time I see a picture of max he has new shoes.

Would all those new shoes be "Max Trap" shoes?

Glad to hear there were no major injuries as a result of the zero-speed crash! I do have to admit that the write up on it all was quite effective! It was hard to breathe between the "uh-oh, I know what's coming next"s and the giggles.

Ed

"Max has new shoes".

Guess that means he's well-heeled?

Bullfrog wrote:Would all those new shoes be "Max Trap" shoes?

Glad to hear there were no major injuries as a result of the zero-speed crash! I do have to admit that the write up on it all was quite effective! It was hard to breathe between the "uh-oh, I know what's coming next"s and the giggles.

Ed

Thanks Ed. At first I didn't want to admit this happened. Old wise people should share their experiences, that's how they got wise. Even though I was on the floor wounded, I was still laughing, not ho ho, but more reserved like I'd cheated death once again and how dumb was that. As I said, too funny event not to share even though I was the victim. A Darwin thing, survival of the fittest or the elimination of the stupid. That is how it works. Be careful out there!

Maxie

hodakamax wrote: Slow learner

Max

You would think that after 50 years, those darned shift levers would learn to keep out of the way.

Those shift levers are just stone cold dumb for sure! As Scotty on Star Trek used to yell, "You need to learn to be smarter than the tool!" Victor

Speaking of being smarter than the tool, I'm guessing you've noticed I use the green Smiley Face a lot before my name at the end of most posts. I learned the characters for are a colon, followed by the word mrgreen followed by another colon. I've learned to type this each time as a reminder to myself that I'm still Mr. Green at these restorations and to remind me to be thankful for all the help provided here! Victor

Here's the preliminary plan for anchoring a plate to accommodate the rear foot peg. A plate will also give me a place to anchor any linkage if needed. The plate and mount will be fabricated from 1/4" aluminum. It looks like it will work I always say.

Maxie

Max. What's holding it in place besides the single bolt at the swing arm? Victor

viclioce wrote:Max. What's holding it in place besides the single bolt at the swing arm? Victor

Victor, Neither the spacer or the plate are bolted to the swing arm bolt. Both the spacer and plate will slip fit over the swing arm boss. Two bolts attach through both the plate and spacer into the swing arm boss braces. The spacer is needed to make the footpeg plate parallel to the frame centerline. The final shape of the plate has yet to be determined. I'll get a better picture when I get this all sawed out.

Max

Ahh. Now those pics look a lot different than the first 2 pics! Now I see how the extension will be held steady! Good job! Victor

Good practice to use a template/mockup in the design phase. Ordinary poster board works well, but I like photo matte board.

Hey Bill, I've started hacking (yes hacking) some of the aluminum parts out and it's slow and crude with hand saws and hole drills. I think I'm going to get this more organized and go to the machine shop and cut this out with more speed and precision. One of my last projects I used a metal fab shop with computer driven plasma jet who did a really good job and was quite reasonable. I'm about to get the proto parts figured out and drawn up. They're the same for both sides and it would be easier to knock them all out at once and a lot more precision. That's the plan at this stage anyway!

Max

That works. Although I know CAD-drafting programs and have had access to the usual lathes, mills and saws, I prefer to draw with paper and pencil and use handtools. I'm not a complete Luddite, I have an old lathe and use oxycetylene.

Looks good.

I've finally completed the first mount/spacer for the foot peg plates. Slow go with hand tools but I wanted to get it right the first time. I beveled the mount adjacent to the down tube for a contact fit as on the back side of the hole to conform to the welds. By fitting/tapping the mount several times and filling for fit it now has multiple contact points which should increase overall strength. It looks "hell for stout" as my dad used to say.

I also got to test my safety glasses while drilling through the frame as a 1/4 inch bit shattered and a large piece struck my glasses. It seems as though this project can be dangerous and I'm on guard and aware after two potential accidents. I'll never drill again without eye protection. We all get slack or at least I have in the past. Be safe I say!

Maxie

Glad you had that protection on! I'm reminded of the time I stuck a spray can of carb cleaner with the red tube on the nozzle, and sprayed it into a carb opening, not realizing it was going to right back out another passage, right into my face! Thankfully, I a lease had my corrective lenses on and it stopped the carb cleaner from spraying directly into my eyes. Safety Glasses are made for a reason, and we are lucky ebenvits drmonstrated WHY they are needdd without getting seriously hurt!!! Agree. Safety First!!! Victor

The above two posts serve as a good reminder to all of us who use tools on a regular basis. Its so easy to become complacent. You only have two eyes. Same goes with hearing protection. I developed tinnitus (ringing in the ears) a few years ago, and have to blame it on using chainsaws, weed trimmers, guns etc, without ear plugs in. Thanks

Max,

Looking at the design pieces, I am going to predict that the foot rest arm, the part that will bolt through your spacer with two small bolts, is going to flex inward toward the wheel when you push against it with your foot. I would add a third bolt at a minimum on the opposed side of the swingarm pivot housing so that there will be three bolts in a uniform triangle around the swingarm boss. This would require welding a tab and making the arm a bit larger around the swingarm boss. Even then the footrest arm may bend inward unless it is quite stout. If that happens you may need an additional tab behind the swingarm boss on the frame downtube, with an additional bolt or two there.

We are still kicking this pipe around with no results. It looks quite acceptable from the top but the bottom is awful. All the dent pullers are shaking their head and willing to try but with no guarantees. I tend to agree with them. Today the clever guy who built the Day One project and I decided that it was time to roll a new cone and do it right. This guy does good work on such things and I have complete confidence all will be well.

By the way, my second Dewalt 1/4" bit also broke while drilling the frame on the other side. Scary, I had a face shield on this time and it did stay in just two pieces rather than the tree of the other one.

A small but non-the-less report from the Cycle Shop.

Max

Hey Maxie, Do you think that chamber might be a candidate for filling with water, capping, and freezing or were you thinking of cutting out and welding in new divergent cone?

Oooch, that is unusual. I rarely, if ever, break a larger "Letter" drill. Smaller "Number" drills, all the time. Don't 'spose it's a bad run of the bits?

One of my design criteria revolves around repairability in the event of a mishap.