I wanted to show something that we are working on. This post is to show the modified original Hodaka reed cage while using new custom made V-Force reed pedals. This is a simple modification that can easily be done at home with a dremel or other tool.
You must be certain not to ding or gauge the reed pedal seating surface when modifying the cage.
These are a series of photos I took while getting ready to attach this test part to my Super Rat 100cc racer. I along with Kelly McKeirnan and Greg Watkins will be all racing with this new setup. In early testing with thicker reeds the results have been great. But I feel that using these new V-Force reeds will be even better yet.
Steve Tassinari owner of V-Force along with Harry are working with us to build the best setup we can at a reasonable price if you can modify your own cage.
We may also offer modified cages with the reeds mounted for those we do not want to do the work.
Retail for this set ( 2 ) reeds will be someplace around $ 55.00 or so when available.
Photo of stock reed cage on left and modified cage on right
Photo of original Hodaka reed stop and one that has been modified for screws to go through.
Photo of new reeds mounted to modified cage
Inside of reed cage showing screws ground down for better fuel flow.
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Bullfrog - 03/20/08 at 11:46am
Um, shouldn't that say something like, " . . . showing screws which have been shortened, but not yet ground down for smooth flow." ?
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Forum Admin - 03/20/08 at 12:35pm
YES Captain !! I left them up a bit to show how I shortened them . Yes once finished the screws are actually flush with the inside surface of the reed cage.
One for the Captain
Thank you for keeping it straight in what I was trying to say. You da man, man.Paul
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oldmxracer - 03/20/08 at 5:30pm
Paul, have you ran the engine with this setup yet? What is the powerband like compared to a stock set-up?
My "tuner" wants to build a BIGGER reed cage to try. Any experience with that yet?
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eicho1 - 03/20/08 at 5:41pm
Give Tommy some credit. He's not a "tuner", he's your "factory mechanic".
You should see the welded on cage, on the bike I think Paul calls the "Wolverine". It's beautiful.
Mark in Illinois
VMX # 492
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Forum Admin - 03/20/08 at 6:06pm
Thank you Mark ! OldMXRACER yes we have had some great experience with larger reed manifolds and large V-force reed cages.
What are you trying to build ??
125cc or 100cc racer ?
I assume Motocross is that correct ?
The reason I ask is that not always is larger better. Depends on a lot of variables like cc's, porting, pipe, ignition etc..
I would be interested to hear what you have going. Will you be at Diamond Don's with the bike ?
What I am trying to achieve here with this manifold and reed setup is an inexpensive easy much improved reed setup for Motocross and most likely a cross country bike also.
This setup is currently on one of my Super Rat racers but using Boyesen reeds which are thicker than these V-Force reeds.
The response for me was better off the bottom pull. Better mid-range and even top end. It was most definately noticable but again with thicker carbon fiber reeds. I have not yet run the V-Force reeds but hope to before Diamond Don's. I expect better results with these reeds but that is only a good guess until they are actually tested. Even when they are tested it will be a seat of my pants descision if it is better or not. I will keep you posted . If you are at Diamond Don's I can let you know after the race depending how Greg Watkins, Kelly McKeirnan or myself do. Greg Watkins has been testing them also with very favorable results. Kelly is mounting his at this time and will have them on for the race. Stay tuned ......
Thanks
Paul
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oldmxracer - 03/20/08 at 9:21pm
Yes Paul, 98 Rat for MX. And I will be at DD's. Just went by to show off my newly purchased 100 B (I think!) and 71 Sachs Enduro and told my "tuner" (Hey Mark!
) what you were doing. He said that's exactly what he wanted to do to mine. I'll be anxious to see which reed material you prefer.*EDIT* By Pauls's id chart, I now have a 92A Ace 100. Very original and a little rusty!
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bobwhitman - 03/21/08 at 1:44am
Hey, I too have a 100A - maybe we should start a club! I'm thinking of setting mine up as a"Pseudo Rat." Since I'm a BIG guy, I'll likely look funny on it, but it sure is cute! Currently painted mustard yellow, with the tank to match in a "Husky" style (chrome knee patches.)
Paul - you indicated more bottom end - would that only apply to pipey Supers? What might be the effect on trail/cross-country bikes for mere mortals (rather than faster than a speeding bullet MXers?)
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Forum Admin - 03/21/08 at 7:03am
Mornin' Bob. Have you thought about flower decals for your tank ?? Don't let Patti near it or she will stick some on. When I bought that Bonanza Typhoon a few years ago the first thing she wanted to do was put sunflower decals on that "pretty " yellow tank
When I was mentioning the response that I had from the single stage Boyesen reeds I am not sure if I would mean " bottom end " but more rather how the throttle response was quicker, snappier off the bottom.
It was not like the bottom end pull I would get from using an 03 Wombat cylinder versus a Super Combat cylinder.
The 03 wombat exhaust port is much lower which does give much better bottom end .
I will be trying these reeds in Chris's and my ISDTR bikes as soon as the weather breaks here.
If Ken can make Athena by Wednesday night ( June 18th ) I will have him on one of our ISDTR bikes with this reed setup for the Bad Rock trailride. I hope to be on my Anfesa/ Hodaka 175 but even that one we are replacing the reed cage with a new V-Force.
My thought is to work in the short term with Steve Tassinari from V-Force for the MX bike setup and Cross country best setups which may be the same.
Then work on what might be best for the Hodaka Trials bikes with Ed's involvement. Oh yeh Ed did I ever mention that yet ???
The best part of what I do is working with Harry, Ed, Hodaka Dave, Greg Watkins etc.. to work on the R&D stuff. It keeps everything interesting and new.
Although I know that the Captain and I both are over our heads with things to do and no time to do it.
This is going to be a GREAT year for Hodaka !
I mentioned the Bad Rock trail ride. It looks like this idea may actually come true. When Ed gave me the news the other day on the phone he asked why was I in such a good mood ? Dang I love when a plan comes together.
If there was ever a time to come to Hodaka days this WILL be the year. The possibility of a forty mile trail ride on top of the beautiful Blue mountains does not get any better. Some of the most beautiful riding I have ever done. Be there or be square.
Paul
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SocalHodaka - 03/22/08 at 2:12am
I just did my Reed Valve Mod. I use a hack saw blade and dreamel tool to polish it up, it took about 30 min. ...
...I also installed a PVL but the coil bracket that came with the kit was to small, so this is how I mounted the coil and black box. ...Now I'm ready for you Paul. -Kelly
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Forum Admin - 03/22/08 at 8:47am
Kelly you did a great job !! Especially if Aiden wasn't there to direct you. Does my little buddy want his daddy to win or uncle Paul ??
Win loose or draw I love a challenge and I have your number
We will be focused on watching each other and we will get spanked by everyone else. Mark and Jared are just sitting back and laughing.
Modifying the stock Hodaka reed manifold can be done but not easily or cheaply. So I am investigating into making a new reed manifold to accept a KX-80 or maybe CR-85 V-Force reed cage. Roger has the Hodaka manifold modified but I am going to race Diamond Don's with the same set-up you have Kelly . I will play with this set-up versus the modified manifold with KX-80 V-Force reeds some day when the weather warms .
Stay tuned
Paul
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Forum Admin - 04/09/08 at 10:20am
Back now from Diamond Don's race in Texas and hot dang we all had a blast !! The Hodaka pits were a real hoot with some of the best Hodaka folks you can find that were there.
On the subject of this new reed pedal I wanted to post the information as soon as I had it all figured out. Two days before leaving for Diamond Don's I was able to take my back up 100cc Super Rat out for testing. The first day I was able to get the bike perfectly jetted. The ambient temperature was 48 degrees with low humidity. After twenty minutes of jetting I nailed it. I felt the bike screamed and the plug had great color ( the color of a cigarette butt ).
The very next day I took the same bike back out to the same test area the only difference was I replaced the reed cage and reeds with the modified one and V-Force reeds.
I needed to go from a 240 main jet to a #260 main jet and also raise the needle by one clip for the bike to pull right. This reed setup seems to demand more fuel.
Once it was properly jetted I made some very fast and long runs on the bike. I called Harry on my cell phone after fifteen minutes to tell him the great news. It felt like I had gained at least 20% to 30% in performance by this simple easy modification. No doubt this is a plus and now we shall be stocking these reeds for the general public.
Thanks
Paul
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joebat - 04/11/08 at 8:37pm
Would these reeds be available for the DK Industies (or is DG?) reed set up? Would they help on a reeded 94 Wombat? looking for the quicker throttle response you talked about.
Thanks
Joe
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Earl - 04/14/08 at 2:13am
Paul, What was the perception on "Low End"?? Do you think it would be good on Reeded "Torque" motors or only good for a topend boost? I am sure the Super Toad can use a little more fuel, but I really like a Torque motor for my riding style. See you Friday!!! Earl 8)
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Forum Admin - 04/14/08 at 7:57am
Good question Earl thanks for that. Using this modified Hodaka reed cage and V-Force reeds had testing done a few weeks ago. The bike ran great ,really great when I had the jetting dialed in at this practice area I have near me.
The following day I switched to using the V-Force reed set-up.
The improvement in power and response was obvious to me .
Once the bike was rejetted immediately as I rolled the throttle on.
The bike pulled like I had done some porting or had gone to a larger carb so at 1/4 turn of throttle I had to be ready for the rear wheel to break loose.
Continuing to turn the throttle there was not any hesitation as I had normally found while coming onto the needle or needle jet area of the carb. Also running the bike back and forth in a loose soil, uphill off camber section I had always needed to work the throttle and gears to get the right combination getting through this tough area quickly and smoothly.
After switching to using the V-Force reeds with the modified cage the bike pulled exceptionally strong through this area. I went back and forth through this many times to be sure what I was feeling was really happening. I was running through here at between 1/2 and 3/4 throttle. There was no hesitation or " bogging down of the power" with this new reed setup .
Earl I cannot honestly say if it improved greatly on top as this bike already pulled hard wide open. But getting to the top of the powerband felt like it was coming stronger and faster.
I can tell you that they will be going in all the motors that I run that are reed valved.
I have a call into V-Force to see if there is anything they suggest for the Hodaka trials riders that may be different than what I am using now.
Diamond Don's was not the best place for me to test the reeds. I was really never able to get my bike to run clean on top. I had expected to raise the main jet when I got there. Seeing the last time the bike ran was Arizona at 900 ft. Diamond Don's was sea level . This should have required a one larger size main jet. I started at a 260 main jet in practice and by the end of the day was down to a 230 main and most likely should have had a 210 main jet in the carb for the 2nd moto.
This weekend in Perris California is forecast to be 75 degrees and sunny so this will be a very good test for us. Kelly and I plan to hit the practice Friday afternoon.
Earl if I get the next order of reeds in before I see you this weekend I will bring a set for you to try. Modify a cage and get ready to test it. I would love to hear what you have to say about the new reeds.
Joe I have DH and DK reed assemblies here and they both use the same shape reed pedal as the GEM and Hodaka reeds. So yes I believe that these new reeds will fit your cage. But to be sure send one and I will match it up for you.
Thanks guys.
Paul
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Forum Admin - 04/15/08 at 9:28pm
The V-Force reed for Observed Trials has arrived and has been sent off to Mike Lake in Oregon for testing. Mike really knows his stuff and builds some great Hodaka's. Ed and I are anxiously awaiting his opinions if the reeds work as well on his trials bike as they have done on the MX bikes. This is going to be a great year for Hodaka's or have I already said that yet ?
Thanks
Paul
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END OF THREAD