As a senior rider, not only did I find the close ratio physically tiring, I found it mentally tiring. Trying to remember which gear I was in coming out of a sand corner or landing from a table top took away from my concentrating on the track.. These were 30 minute motos. and the looser the track the...

Unless you have a ton of excess energy while racing the close ratio transmission in the 97 motor will wear you out. I could never tell if I was in the wrong gear, spinning the rear wheel or slipping the clutch. All 5 gears are very close together. I would put the SC cylinder, piston, reed cage and 3...

I raced a HIGHLY modified 97 and to keep things simple, increase airflow and double the breathable filter area, I believe I used a stock KDX 200 filter with the internal birdcage. It fit in the SC air box configuration with no mods. The stock setup requires air to turn 90 degrees before entering car...

Since you say the neutral light is blinking instead of the blinker indicator, you may have power going to ground somewhere in the circuit. This is a roundabout system that goes into the headlight shell before going anywhere else. An easy to read Road Toad wiring diagram is available on the Hodaka Pa...

Problems with these blinkers are very common. It is a simple system and the trouble is usually with the ground inside the blinker assembly. They are easy to test. Clip the ground side of a six volt source to the blinker post and the positive to the one wire that goes to the bulb socket. If the bulb ...

There is a very active Facebook group of Hodaka collectors. Bikes sell there very quickly. Follow the rules for posting and you will get a good price.

I mentioned air cleaner and exhaust removal just so you could eliminate these from the equation. Removing the pipe completely eliminates puddled fuel and wasp nests. Exact carbs showing same symptom should eliminate this. Unless your making the same error on each. Needle retainer washer under spring...

I always start with the basics. Air goes in. Air goes out. In between is spark. Try running down the road with no air cleaner. Then run it with no pipe. I like to put a longer fuel line on and remove the carb and float bowl. Open the petcock. Is the petcock itself and needle and seat flowing enough ...

I have used Dan Killian from the east coast area to ship bikes to Hodaka Days. Very popular with the Hodaka family. He's very active on the Hodaka Facebook page.

Sounds like your plates are sticking. They usually do this after sitting unused for long periods of time. The stalling when dropping into gear and not rolling free lead me here. I've had a few Hodakas that the plates would stick every time I took it out. Take the clutch pack apart and clean the fibe...

Play Dough also works. I use it on top of air cleaners when checking the hood clearance on custom cars.

I like to slip in a late model voltage regulator from a Road Toad on my Ace or Wombat restorations. The charging systems seem to get more aggressive as they get older. Especially now that original headlights are getting scarce and pricey.

Your bike frame is either a G or F model as they are almost identical. Yes the L motor is the later model. Your pipe has been modified to fit an Ace motor so an early Rat motor is a direct fit. A 93 top end is a direct bolt on and with the bigger carb and porting can be made very competitive. The Ac...

The model 98 rat motor used in the model of the bike in the photo is entirely different from the early model 93 SR based on the Ace 100 motor. The later 100 had a CDI ignition, reed valve and a close ration transmission and was more closely related to the 97 Super Combat engine. Both 100 engines wil...

I found it easier to just fab up a 97 chain roller bracket using some flat steel stock and welding it to the 03 swing arm. A lot less welding and leaves the swing arm integrity intact.

Yes it will bolt right into a Wombat frame. You would need to swap to an Ace exhaust and probably an Ace throttle cable. Wombat cable may be too long. The damaged area is cosmetic and very common. You can put a piece of tape behind it as a backer and just fill the missing area with black silicone. I...

Many moons ago I bought an early model Hodaka that had a twin cylinder Yamaha engine stuffed in it. I bought it for parts and while tearing it down found an aluminum tag about 1 inch by 2 inches with the word SUPER embossed in it. I remember asking Paul about it but he had no info. It appeared to be...

Nice tip, I use a carton knife blade slid in behind the rivit head. Like your method better.

I have bought and sold dozens of Hodakas over the last 50 years. The story i heard most was it lost spark, so we fooled with the points but never got it running. Thats why so many barn finds are missing the shift covers or have buggered up flywheel threads. . On oil injected models it was piston sei...

The defination of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. What are the odds that you got a defective heat treated main shaft, and by some odds got a second defective heat treated main shaft, when no one else seems to have?. I restored a SL250 this summer for a...

You could try cutting the center out of a countershaft sprocket and welding it to the face of the regular sprocket. Kinda like a splined washer. This would spread the load on the spline. The splined washer may have to be shaved a little on a surface grinder to give you enough threads to keep the spr...

I enjoy any post that adds interesting information. Thanks for the tip on the lipstick.

Maybe they were thinking black was easier for average Joe to touch up the frame?? All the other Japenese bikes had black frames and they wanted to fit in?? Now days red is the most expensive of the automtive colors. Cost issues? I have seen pictures of the prototype Wombat with a red frame and I wou...

Sounds like classic pipe plugged syndrome. A lot of baffles and screen in these later pipes. Bugs love to crawl in and get stuck in the spooge collected in there. I would spend a couple minutes and take the pipe right off. Its gonna be loud but you will get an answer in just a few feet.

Check the SC parts list showing the swingarm assembly. There is a spacing collar between the bushings. This may be stuck to the shaft. Your heat and penatrating oil may need to be concentrated on this area.