Wear and tear report

[Darrell]

After 4,200 miles on a 94 Wombat, mostly off-road, I assumed the original clutch bushing, control shaft ball receiver and springs would be significantly worn.

Sticking to a predictive maintenance schedule (replace the part(s) before they fail way out in the middle of nowhere) I ordered a new bushing and a Space-Age shift kit.

Upon disassembly and to my surprise the original bushing and ball receiver presented no measurable wear -- and the springs looked alright too. Regardless, I installed all the new parts anyway and the transmission does shift a bit better than previously. I've always used old school Castrol Hypoy C in the transmission -- which is also a longtime recommended oil for BMW Airheads.

Sprocket wear on the Wombat seems to be a different story as I've replaced them twice now. However, the original sprockets on my 250SL have no visible wear after 7,000 miles.

Oh yeah, front wheel bearings on the Wombat were shot at 1,400 miles even though the grease was fresh. Rear ones are still tight at 5,000+ miles now.

Everybody's mileage may vary but I thought these observations were worth sharing.

[matt glascock]

Hi Darrell. I'm not super surprised regarding the sprocket wear. Essentially all my local off-road riding involves a very heavy dose of sand which is absolute murder on the secondary drive train. I would be interested in hearing about your chain maintenance program. Also, when it comes time for replacement, do you change chain and sprockets as a set? I'm sure you probably know this, but for the few who may not, either putting new sprockets on and running a beat up old chain, or running a new chain over worn out sprockets will negatively impact the durability of both. As for the lack of visible wear on the shift mechanism components, many times I've heard and read the term "bullet-proof" when describing the Hodaka shifting system.

[Bullfrog]

Darrell,

I (for one) am not surprised that your control shaft springs and ball receiver were in fine shape. And I now am sure that you snick your shifts . . . no stomp and hold for you. NO. I replace springs and ball receiver every decade or so. (I'm not kidding.)

Folks, please do not "stomp and hold" when shifting a Hodaka. No. Please do snick your shifts. Yes.

Ed
PS: Darrell, you likely will not notice any difference in control shaft spring longevity by installing the "space age" springs (since you snick your shifts). Folks who "use up" control shaft springs and ball receivers in pretty short order will be the ones to notice an improvement in spring life and possibly in ball receiver life by using the "space age" springs.

[Darrell]

Hi Darrell. I'm not super surprised regarding the sprocket wear. Essentially all my local off-road riding involves a very heavy dose of sand which is absolute murder on the secondary drive train. I would be interested in hearing about your chain maintenance program. Also, when it comes time for replacement, do you change chain and sprockets as a set? I'm sure you probably know this, but for the few who may not, either putting new sprockets on and running a beat up old chain, or running a new chain over worn out sprockets will negatively impact the durability of both. As for the lack of visible wear on the shift mechanism components, many times I've heard and read the term "bullet-proof" when describing the Hodaka shifting system.

Hi Matt. There's not much sand in my territory, but there's lots of wet gritty dirt, followed by dusty conditions as the seasons change.

For every sprocket and chain replacement I usually go through two chain only replacements -- standard non o-ring chains. Whenever there's a heavy buildup of grime on the chain I do a solvent brush and wash then dry it out with compressed air. I think the air ensures that the abrasive "fines" are blown out from the pins and rollers.

I think I've earned Capt. Ed's approval as a snick-shifter

[matt glascock]

Hi Darrell. I would guess both sand and wet, gritty dirt ultimately become an effective grinding paste so we probably put the same hurt on our secondaries. Your post prompted a bit of discussion with a few of my riding partners. Here are a few odds and ends from the discussion. Mind you, everything that follows applies to non o-ring chains only. There was good support for a solvent brushing to remove the cake of old lube and dirt. Power washing was well-supported, followed by compressed air and a good coating of WD-40 for water displacement (only). Then a proper lubrication is required before the next ride. I have been using Motorex Off-Road chain lube. It doesn't fling terribly and seems somewhat resistant to attracting and holding a lot of grit. One fella has been using a "dry lube" which is a teflon-based product that attracts little dirt and doesn't really fling at all but that would be better for dusty vs. muddy conditions. Another lubrication option mentioned was bar and chain oil for wet conditions. One guy uses Motul chain lube and top-coats the chain with Bel-Ray waterproof grease, and finally a chain soak comprised of a gallon of 10W-40 oil with a jar of melted vaseline blended in was used by one. I was surprised at the variety of suggestions and all these guys are A-class SX/MX/hare scrambles riders on modern SX bikes. The one constant was to maintain proper chain tension and alignment which is imperative on our vintage bikes. Lots of suggestions here, I know, but a little experimentation may be in order with a used chain/sprocket set to see if one option runs cleaner that the rest for your riding style and conditions.

[Bullfrog]

Matt,
I think you missed one major commonality amongst your buds. To a man, they actually engaged in chain cleaning and lubing. THAT is the important thing. I don't know what the "best" chain maintenance/lube program is. But I think it is safe to say that ANY chain maintenance/lube program is better than no maintenance program.
Ed

[matt glascock]

Agree 100% Captain. Routine chain maintenance is probably the most neglected task on a dirt bike with air filter maintenance coming in a close second. The power lost, especially on small-displacement motors, by neglecting these essential tasks is a performance killer.