The 2 the Max Project

[hodakamax]

Hey Matt, It takes a generic and universal set up as shown. You can buy anything for it or or use the 1/4 or 3/8 conversion and work from there. Sears has a deal with the drill and hammer driver, 2 batteries and charger for just over $100. What a deal!
Max

[matt glascock]

Thanks Maxie! I'll check that out. I'd say the impact drill/driver is my most used power tool. So much so that it is always left on the bench ready for action. The Craftsman hammer drill is another winner. You can blow through granite with those things! They make great stuff at a great price.

[hodakamax]

Some standard stuff accomplished today. I'm still in the de-grease/cleaning mode. Engine halves cleaned, even Dremel polished, stripped of seals and bearings. The rod wouldn't move on the crank and the cause was some ring land piston pieces jammed in the bearing. I got those tapped out and the rod spun nicely. I thought I'd saved it but it had about .017 side play which seems excessive. I get a little more enthused as the crud comes off of everything. Now I can start a mock-up and try to determine a seating position for a hi-speed run which will require rearsets for brake and shift and clip on bars I'm envisioning. Minor report and dreaming of mods---

Maxie

[Bullfrog]

I'll be watching as the plans develop on the rear-set pegs and brake and shifter. My son and I have a project which has been languishing for a while which will have the same sort features (rear-sets). I thought it was interesting that Murphy's Law held true . . . the crankpin was at near bottom dead center on your "new" engine to assure that it was underwater!

[hodakamax]

I got out the air driven die grinder out today and attacked the crude welding. It looks like we'll have to re-weld a few places but things are looking better. Some blasting and Bondo skim should fix the problem. Minor report.


Maxie

[viclioce]

So Max. No kick start? How did they start it? Bump start? And are you going to leave it that way? Victor

[hodakamax]

Hey Victor, Really good question. In the day kick starters were removed on our short track racers as a way to get a teeny bit more power out of the engine and a teeny weight saving. The kick starter gear spins in the crankcase lubricant creating drag. The shaft, gear and kick start weighs something and every little bit of weight removed adds up. The short trackers were bump started. If I was real clever, I'd build a lift/starter where you could lift it and start it with a battery powered motor with a device against the tire. In reality it would be much more practical to have the traditional kick-start. All things to consider and see what direction the project goes.

If I was really trying to set some land speed record or do serious road racing I'd pitch the kick starter. In reality it's a long time project with a theme to keep me entertained. Still up in the air!

Maxie

[viclioce]

Great info! Thanks. I have to pull the Ace apart and repair that kickstart! Victor

[Bill2001]

Of course, you could build the kickstart lever out.of ths new transparent ceramic, outasite. It would be unvisible and functional at the same time.

[hodakamax]

Here's a quick shot showing that the mock-up has started. The pipe is coming off to to see about dent pulling. The major dents are on the bottom and it doesn't look too bad from this angle. I'm finding quite a few needed parts from cleaning out the Hodaka shed, all good!

A concept is slowly forming. Road racer and top speed attempt. Ceriani forks either borrowed of the Day One Project or a friend has another set I could probably borrow especially if I shined and rebuilt them. Mostly a model 93 Rat 100cc engine with a close ratio 5-speed R-transmission and some to be designed battery ignition and removing kickstarter, shaft and gear. Carb will be a 32 Amal concentric on a GEM reed assembly. Tach will be electronic and/or be used with GPS to calculate top speed. Rear hub will probably revert back to an Ace 100 4-bolt for weight savings. Probably aluminum narrow wheels will be used, size not decided. A fairing is in the long term plan while dreaming but it could race without one. Just wishin' and dreamin' at this point but I at least have direction.

Don't hold your breath on this one, it could play out for months or even years.

Maxie

[hodakamax]

I was considering using the funky Webco head that came with the project because it just looked cool. I just had a weigh in with a 93 Rat head and the old Webco. head. The Webco weighed in at 3 3/4 pound while the Super Rat head was 2 3/4. Wow, one pound saved with the Rat head is substantial along with its obvious less air drag makes the SR head the choice. Hey, one pound could increase the bike weight by 1/2 percent. The Webco is still cool looking, I may try it on the Day One Project.

Max

[Hydraulic Jack]

The extra weight in the head results from more material used in making the head. I would say mostly in cooling fins. Having a larger heat sink and thermal mass isn't a bad thing. Plus you should compare closely the combustion chamber configuration between the two. I think you will find the Webco has a better squish band design. If losing weight was the only consideration here you could cut all the fins off, but the outcome would be predictable. So if having no fins is bad, why isn't having more fins good? I always found the Webco design to be superior to the stock Rat head. Make or find a flush plug for the compression release hole, or weld it shut and remachine.

[taber hodaka]

Max throw away the brakes, backing plates, brake rods, pedal everything, remember you are going for the top speed attempt, back to the future. The stinger looks bigger like it would come on the pipe at a lower RPM, but longer like it could be high RPM. Rich would know about all of this. Back in the day before rats a high school kid made all of our pipes. Also go on the zaquini diet sliced, diced, riced and pealed. It takes about one horsepower to move every 60 pounds 60 miles per hour just my theory so a 300 pound rider will go slower on the same bike as would a 160 pound rider? Everything over 50 is affected by wind, rider profile, wheel and tire size. I think Harry used Yamaguchi tire and wheel sizes and the front forks. Need anything just ask I might have it. Very interesting project ------------Clarence

[taber hodaka]

Max I think that head is to valuable to modify I think it was made for a aluminum cylinder is yours cast iron? Is the head a super rat head or the ace 90/100 racing head? HJ probably has more modification experience on the newer hodaka engines, I just was not that fond of the webco heads but they looked very cool------Clarence

[hodakamax]

The old Webco head may well be for the Webco aluminum cylinder but appears to have been used on this engine with it's cast iron 93 cylinder. It's been seriously fragged and I'm working on it with the flat-end punch method. I personally have some misgivings about the design of a hemispherical head with the plug being in the back or intake side rather than centered at the top. Even though it does look cool, the design and the one pound weight penalty along with added frontal area and being less aerodynamic has me going with the model 93 head. All these factors may seem trivial but everything adds up to weight and drag particularly on a small displacement machine.

Max

And Clarence, The 300# rider would not only have more mass as Force equals Mass x acceleration, F=ma, and probably much more frontal area. Yes rider diet is the most effective way to reduce weight and go faster once the machine has reached the lowest weight possible. In this case, zucchini could be effective.

[Hydraulic Jack]

Doesn't matter how much the bike weighs if it overheats trying to squeeze an extra couple miles per hour out of a 100. Frontal area is not the only variable in determining drag, and you can lose more weight by changing boots than the one pound difference in the head.

Having raced that Webco head back in the '70's I can say it performs better than the stock head, even if the spark plug is off centered. But if the off center plug worries you, machine, drill, and tap the center of the head for a plug, and fill in the two other holes. I wouldn't spend as much time worrying about 16 ounces as I would how the engine breaths and performs at very high rpm, because if you are going to try to break 100 mph you are going to have to seriously spin the motor. You can trim all the brackets you want, but the power plant is the heart of a speed attempt. First consideration goes to making a two stroke that can sustain 10,000 rpm or better for several minutes at a time, while maintaining oil film on the cylinder and while keeping piston crown temps under control. The Hodaka head has virtually no squish area, the Webco had tons to work with. Figure out which one will best support 10,000 rpm on modern fuel.

[hodakamax]

Well, I must say there's a lot to discuss about heads and design. All is usually well if compression goals are met without detonation or melt down. Fins are needed but the main cooling of the engine in this design is from the fuel/air mixture. Compression tests and cc capacity are starts. We didn't have much if any instrumentation in the day but we tried about everything. A dyno and temperature data would have been helpful then and now. I also have a Webco head with the plug in the center that we could test. We did run the first Hodaka R heads that became the model 93 Super Rat heads on all the race bikes with great success. Squish can be cut and heads milled and a pound is a pound and a square inch frontal area really does slow the effort on a truly competition bike. All are factors. It all adds up. All fun to discuss and it makes the new project interesting.

This all brings to mind the historic picture of the motorcycle land seed record being set in a leather helmet and shorts. After several attempts in leathers he removed several pounds of weight and drag and did set the record. I'm personally not that determined!

Maxie

[Hydraulic Jack]

Rather than salt surfing at 100+, find a 70 pound girl to ride the bike.

If you are not averse to having the head milled, have the Webco head reconfigured as a toroidal combustion chamber.

[hodakamax]

[quote="Hydraulic Jack"]Rather than salt surfing at 100+, find a 70 pound girl to ride the bike.

Now your'e talking! Relieving the project of 100 ugly pounds would be quite the increase in performance or would reduce the force needed or required in the equation; F=ma.

Maxie

Whoa! Those heads look cool!

[Hydraulic Jack]

Heads are modern Webco but made by a newer company, made for Yamaha RD350. They look enough like yours to give you an idea of what can be done.

Here's a photo or two of a speed record bike set up by Greg Watkins (I believe) and Rich Gagnon. Photo credit to Rich's Taylor'd Porting.

Lot of similarities to what you propose, Rat roots, low pipe, etc.

[hodakamax]

Really cool Jack! I wonder how fast they went. In reality I'm not off to the salt flats but it would be fun to see how fast my old technology of the day would go. This line of thought does make for an interesting project and some goals to pursue! It keeps me out of trouble my wife says.

Thanks for the pictures!

Max

[viclioce]

Maxie. The Salt Flats wouldn't be too far out of your way heading for Hodaka Days Next year! Just a thought! Victor

[hodakamax]

Ah, another PO, previous owner story if you haven't experienced this one. I had some Ace 100 forks left from the Day One Project and thought that I might use them on the new project. Small, light and narrow. A serious de-greasing and tear down for clean up ensued. Bent tube of course but not too bad, fixable. Hmmm, these seals are in there for real. The PO had replaced the seals with metal outers and drove them in the outer nut. Not my first experience with this but always a fun one. I've finally got one out and the battle continues on the second. I'm on it!

Maxie

[JackM]

I used a 24mm socket to get the seals out of the 98. They also had the metal outer band and were a bear to remove.

[hodakamax]

Maybe I'm losing my memory fifty years later but I remember the first seals had no metal to metal contact. Same on the Cerianis. Anyway it was a battle that I finally won. The replacement on the Strictly Hodaka shows metal to metal. What's going on here?

Maxie