Easy way to remove the VIN plate without damaging it is to push the rivets out from inside the frame neck using a right-angle hose pick. Locate the back of the rivet with the pick and wedge a screwdriver or something against the back of the pick and push out the rivet. The rivet can be reused. A set...

Yes, the Herter's Minibike from Waseca, MN. George Herter's inch-thick mail order catalogs provided hours of entertainment.

More scooters!

Rabbit scooter from Fuji Heavy Industries
Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon scooter
Powell scooters and trail bikes

And from a Ghost Motorcycles ad:

Centaur
Danuvia
J-Be (Actually Hercules imported by Joe Berliner)
Mobylette
Moto-Rumi
Steyr

A few more:

Heinkel
Komar
MDS
Mondial
Motobic Seata
Osa scooter
Panther
Rajdoot
SFM Junak
SHL
Tohatsu
WSK

I have replated several Wombat parts and many fasteners with great success. I looked at several videos and found their electrolyte formulas lacking. My best results came from Tom Gugliatta's formula. http://www.southsandia.com/forum/website/zincplating.html . Inexpensive but very time consuming due ...

I wonder if a repop Honda CT70 coil would fit that mount? CT70 coil.jpg Specifications: Mounting Stud Spacing: 56mm (2.2") (measured center to center) Overall Width: 97mm (3.8") Coil Length: 62mm (2.5") High Tension Wire Length: 22" (spark plug wire) Low Tension Wire Length: 10&q...

On my 94A, there is space for four wires in that connector but only three brown wires - toggle switch, main harness and dimmer switch.

Let me say that now I'm not sure about the 94A keyswitch being different. And I'm not sure about daytime running lights on the 94A either. I'm doing the final assembly on my 94A now (I haven't ridden it since the late '70s!!). Memory fades in 40 years. So I won't know about operation with AC until I...

Is your keyswitch 94 or 94A? On my 94A, the toggle switch DC position turns on the headlight in both 'Day' and 'Night' key position. The 94A is a lights on all the time bike and the keyswitch is different internally than the 94. Day and Night positions are essentially the same on the 94A.

Hodakas back then used aluminum straps to secure the wiring harness to the frame - part 909445. By the time the Wombat 94A came out in the '70s, both aluminum and plastic ties were used - the plastic ties to secure the turn signal wiring. Similar aluminum ties are made today for the India-manufactur...

My 94A Wombat (purchased new) came with all grey cables.

Harnesses are 18 gauge stranded.

Free services such as Google Drive work very well to transfer large files without email issues.

Perhaps try a pneumatic air hammer with a hammer attachment. Use a small block of hardwood as a buffer. Get some good vibration working for you.

Perhaps that was why you've been pulling the trigger on all the orphan Hodakas in the southwestern U.S. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Both of my new Ace 90s came with the 32 tooth standard sprocket and 46 tooth overlay. The owner's manual recommended breaking in with the 32 tooth.

The '60s were the days of the street/trail bike. The later Honda Trail bikes had a dual-range lever that made the switch inside the transmission.

In contrast to the beautiful Ballards micrometer timer, this is a simple TDC indicator built by my late brother in high school shop in the mid '60s. That's an Ace 90 NGK B-7 plug base! I would ride my Ace 90 to school during the week then strip it down for the Sunday scrambles outside of town. The t...

Not a homebrew tool, but an inexpensive adjustable holding tool for clutch, flywheel, counter shaft sprocket, etc. Assembled my Wombat engine with it, worked great. Currently only $12.60 on Amazon. Item B01N1LJDZH.

Counter shaft compressor made from scrap. Counter shaft fits between plates into 1/4" holes. When compressed, snap ring protrudes and can be easily removed or replaced when changing O-ring seal.

I stacked em up and moved on also. Put the thinner thrust washer on the lever end of the kickstart shaft and sealed up the can of worms.

I looked for a wear pattern and sure enough there is one. It doesn't show that well in the picture but there are shiny and duller portions of the 2nd and kick gear teeth that indicate the original alignment. The gears definitely came out of the factory this way, so I won't worry about it. Wombat Gea...

I rechecked the countershaft gears, control shaft thrust washer is on the bottom and all gear shoulders face up. The thrust washers on the kickstart shaft are identical OD & ID, 24.8 & 16.2mm. The bottom thrust washer is 0.5mm thick, the top 0.2mm. Perhaps I had those reversed. I reassembled...

I am resealing my 94A Wombat engine. I bought this bike new and this is the first time the cases have been split. Upon reassembly, I noticed that the kick start gear was sitting high on 2nd gear and was very close to 1st gear. Hodaka Gears 002a.jpg Everything is assembled as it was originally. The c...

Wish I had a dime
for every time
someone called mine
a Hondaka....