Victor’s Ace B Project!

[taber hodaka]

Victor I grease my clutch gasket then is seems to not stick and tear. ----------------Clarence

[viclioce]

OK! I’ll give that a go this time around. Thanks! Victor

[viclioce]

Well, I finally got on the Ace B today & rode it up & down the street! The top half is running great! But, at first she shifted from gear to gear just fine, but on the way back, as I was adjusting the clutch for proper engaging, she stopped shifting between gears and would no longer down shift.

Am I correct in guessing it’s in the counter shaft? I did not replace the springs, seals & ball in the inside of the counter shaft. Could weakened control shaft springs cause this issue???

Let me know what your thoughts are. Maybe it’s something with the shifter cover assembly. This is a 1 up 4 down shifter cover which I bought from Bruce, so it would have standardized shifting for my nephew who has ridden other dirt bikes before. So I’m open to suggestions. It got cold and the sun was setting so I had to stop & come inside! Thx! Victor

[matt glascock]

What is the freeplay on the clutch lever and arm, Victor? What does it feel like when you disengage the clutch? Too tight? If the springs are sacked on the control shaft, they might not be centering the ball receiver properly. When you say "standardized shifting", are you referring to standardized HODAKA "Ace" cover shifting (1 up/4 down) or "Hodaka" cover pattern - like virtually all other dirt bikes I've ridden - which is down for 1st and up for the rest? Any strange sounds when you disengage the clutch?

[viclioce]

I set the free play perfectly, I believe around 3/32”, prior to installing the motor in the frame. I also noticed that the clutch was not releasing initially, but that after running it down the road about 1/4 mile the plates all loosened back up and started releasing. I had to crank the cable tensioner on the clutch cover WAY down to get it to stop slipping under acceleration. Then it slipped in & out of gear fine using the clutch lever. But when I was about 100 yards from the house, I couldn’t get it to down shift at all, from I think 4th gear.

I’m going to pull the shifter inspection cover and make sure the shift arm didn’t pop loose from the control shaft. Victor

[matt glascock]

Interesting Victor. I'm putting my money on a control shaft assembly problem. Looking forward to what the pros have to say on this one.

[viclioce]

I put the clutch case back on and filled with oil again. No more leaking. Still need to inspect shifter aspects. May do this today.

Now for a separate issue. There are small exhaust leaks on the pipe. One is at the yellow arrow, it’s leaking where the mounting bracket is welded to the pipe, & that’s an easy enough fix. But it’s also leaking exhaust where the screws hold the chrome spark arrestor cover on the end of the pipe. Is this something to be concerned with? Or is it a normal occurrence? Is there something which can be done to remedy the leak at the chrome spark arrestor cover bolts? Thx! Victor

[Dale]

Is the spark arrestor gasket in place? Part number 929181A.

[viclioce]

Ahh. Just saw that and no. Gasket is missing. I’ll get one from Terry! Thx! Victor

[viclioce]

Well I pulled the shifter assembly, and it’s looking like the shifter sliding pin is worn and won’t stay in position between the rings on the end of the control shaft.

So, I ordered a new shifter sliding pin and also ordered the rear exhaust pipe gaskets previously discussed by Dale. I’ll let you know if the new sliding pin remedies the problem. Victor

[viclioce]

It also has the clutch slipping a lot. Very inconsistently and while under load. I have a brand new clutch pac so I guess this will be my first clutch rebuild. So far, I’ve been lucky that all the clutches have been functional. Is there any other issue which would cause a clutch to slip erratically? Just checking in on this one.... Victor

[viclioce]

Does anyone know if the special snap ring tool for the counter shaft control rod will work on the snap ring for the shifter slide pin? I acquired the tool in the boxes of parts received from Paul! I was Phyched to receive that little jewel!!! Victor

[viclioce]

Still dealing with clutch issues on this bike. Had to clean up the garage & wash the lift with soap & water to remove the oil leaks on the top surface of it! Back to work now.

Will be removing the current clutch and resetting the free play, blueprinting the clutch with a new clutch pack & checking the cable at both ends for proper tension/free play as well! Wish me luck!

Question. How many clutch disc spacers are usually required with new a new clutch build, and which size? I have no clue on this! Victor

[gearyoliver]

Vic,
Replace them all. Inexpensive for peace of mind.

[Bullfrog]

Geary,

I'm not sure I understand/agree with your recommendation. Simply replace the clutch pinion bushing? Check. Replace clutch friction disks? Well, maybe. Replace steel plates? Only if warped. Check EVERY part and repair/replace as needed? Check. Clutch "throw-out bearing" shims are "life time" items. At least I've never encountered a damaged one. (and no Vic, I can't tell you how many are going to be needed)

Ed

[gearyoliver]

Ed,
I agree there shouldn't be an issue with the spacers. However since they are under $2 ea. it would be an inexpensive way to eliminate them from the troubleshooting process.

[viclioce]

I caught a bug from my granddaughter. She had it from last Monday to last Saturday. Wife & I both caught it. I started symptoms one day earlier than she did. But, runny noses is not part of the Corona virus. So I’m not too worried. Had my flu & Pneumonia vaccines so I should be fine.

It rained all day today and temps stayed fairly low, so no garage work for me until the coughing and runny nose stops. Victor

[taber hodaka]

Victor luck doesn't fix the motorcycle it is mechanical skills. learned from doing, studying and from others.?? Blizzard here in Montana too cold in the shop, will have to hook up another heater. Victor you can do many things that I cannot ski, sing, probably play piano. You have probably completed a half dozen hodakas. -------------------- Clarence

[viclioce]

Clarence. All true. Luck doesn’t fix anything but it can shorten or lengthen methods of trial & error.

Not knowing something also can have luck lead you to the right or wrong answer. It’s why having a knowledge base like this collective group helps people so much! If you don’t believe in luck, consider how lucky others who joined this group & asked questions and got the right answers on how to do something correctly the first time, rather than trying several different alternatives which didn’t work until they stumbled across the proper solution. Having access to this group, Clarence, IS a form of good luck! Victor

[viclioce]

Well, here’s the almost final post, I hope, on the Ace B clutch adventures! It took a .005 and 2, .003 spacers to get the free play to 3/32”+/-.

Then I removed the seat & tank so I could reroute the clutch and throttle cables and amend the wire connectors so they would take 2 bullets to wire in a kill switch.

I disconnected the clutch cable from the leaver to reroute it. Upon reinstalling the cable to the leaver, the tensioner proceeded to crack the perch. I had 3 front brake perches but no clutch perches remaining. So I had to buy a new perch. Got it on eBay for $11.95 free shipping. Will be here in a few days.

Damn thing has given me quite a clutch building experience for sure! Hopefully, I won’t have any more ‘bad luck’ and I can actually ride this Ace B without the clutch slipping any more! Victor

[viclioce]

Looks like she’s still leaking fuel from the left petcock. It left about a 6” diameter puddle on the garage floor over night. It’s got a full tank of fuel. I’ll have to siphon/drain it & try replacing the petcock gasket. I’m pretty sure I put new gaskets on it. But I’m rapidly becoming not a fan of the older style crush gaskets. The old Toad petcock gaskets leaked also, until I got the new rubber ones from Terry. I may try to find rubber gaskets to fit these older brass petcocks. And I still need to make the new headlight work Victor