1970 Black ace 100

[taber hodaka]

June 26 1970 Taber Hodaka sold a black ace 100 hodaka to Donald Loveless in Kalispell Montana. Everything was black except for the chrome. Frame, mud skirt, chain guard, headlight, gas cap and dip stick. The sticker price $379.00 and as you would know I gave 1 can of Bardahl and a spark plug the spare plug was in case they used a brand of oil other than Bardahl . I found the original receipt, the ace 100 is in my shop not for warranty work but for a few general repairs battery, lights, wiring. It has been garaged well cared for in nice shape. The serials are A36634 and engine P39328, I sold about a dozen of these at the time. We the dealers were told a Prince from some foreign country ordered 1000 and then refused the order?? I never seen the black parts on any thing before that time. Some have said the black was painted over the red this is not the case on this hodaka the only piece that had red paint under the black is the headlight brackets. Kinda fun working on something I sold so many years ago. Mr Loveless bought it for his son and he still owns it today " Get It On The Road"----------Clarence

[admin]

Clarence the one I have in the museum is only 30 numbers off of the one in your shop. I am sure these were part of the same run.
Records we have and are written about in the new Hodaka Book show there were only 200 of these black Ace 100's. Some went to Nigeria and some stayed in the U.S.
My mud apron is black as is the plastic wiring cover. My bike has 400 miles and is in original condition but I have spots of red frame paint underneath the black paint. This is seen on the chain guard and the frame itself.
I am very happy to have put you and Robert back together again! It will be nice for him to have this bike back after you have gone through it for him.
Cool stuff.
Thanks
Paul

[Bruce Young]

Hello, Clarence, I too have one of those black frame, frame only, serial A--36644, Clarence, as you saw at HD this year we think I have one of the headlight buckets as well. We also have a few Black dip sticks, you saw them also at HD. What other pieces on the machine where painted all black, I would like to see if we have other items that are Black as well. , The frame I have shows also no signs of being double painted, solide black all the what thru, to the steal frame. The serial number plate on the front say OCT 196, the last number is very very hard to determine, the area where it would have been was brushed by sometime, like maybe a mishap in the past.
Thanks guys. Bruce Hodakaparts.com IDAHO

[admin]

The bike upstairs is A-36665
It is easy to take this shot of my chainguard as is.
Thanks
Paul

[Bruce Young]

Hello, Paul, I have the frame, black rubber mud guard, black chain guard, black head lite shell, and I even think I have a black wiring plastic cover,
black dip sticks, do you know what other body or frame parts where all black. What is color of tank, front and rear fenders, and fender braces, and swing arm.

As I see what we three machines have in common is the close frame numbers, what would be the eng. # A-366-- number range used on these bikes.

Thanks Bruce Young

[taber hodaka]

Bruce every thing that was red on the ace was black gas cap and all. Everything else was the same as the ace chrome. The engine number on the one I have in the shop is P39328 frame A36634. This one has the frame date of October 1969. I also have one in the back shed, I will look and let you know. ------------Clarence

[admin]

Mine is also manufactured in October of 1969. These black Ace 100's were all part of a single production run for a Nigerian customer.

[Bruce Young]

Thank you Paul and Clarence, it would be nice to know which Hodaka Dist., or the dealers that got these machines. Would like to hear from other Hodaka owners whom might have one. That would give one an idea of distribution within the Hodaka Dist. program. Mine I know came from the Sacramento area, probably from Levitt Motorcycles in Sacramento , he was the early dealer in those years. There where three other dealers in the area over the years. Thanks for all the in put. Bruce Young,

[admin]

My understanding was that they were sold to dealers for dealers and not to be sold to the general public. But Clarence sold many of them so my theory does not hold water. Someplace in all this gray matter I had thought that I was told that these were sold to dealers at a reduced price and were to be kept for the dealer or his or her family. This information was provided to me by a Hodaka dealer in PA who still has one of these bikes brand new.
But Clarence should know better as it seems he was more involved.
Bruce they were sold all over the country to dealers. Our records show as seen in Ken's Hodaka Book that there were 200 of these bikes and only possibly half of them made it to Nigeria the other half came here in the U.S. as half of the purchase order was cancelled from the Nigerian side after the bikes were completed. The bikes were shipped directly to Nigeria and to the U.S. from Nagoya.
The person who was in charge of this purchase with PABATCO passed in 2002 and I never had the chance to ask him.
Thanks
Paul

[taber hodaka]

Hodaka Doug Douglas Wilson called this evening letting me know he has a black ace 100. The date manufactured October 1969, Frame A36708. Doug said it is black with no red under the black paint. I believe the black bikes were sold to dealers at a reduced price, but no reference that they couldn't be sold I ordered 4-6 at a time. We were told that they were ordered and upon completion the order was canceled? . ---------------Clarence .

[admin]

Clarence 200 of the black Ace 100's did make it to Nigeria I had been told and our records verified this. So my black Ace 100 is the only one out of the six we know of with red frame paint underneath the black paint ? Bruce, Clarence, Doug and Robert your bikes show no signs of red paint even at the chainguard ?
My bike has 400 miles and seems to me to be all original except my reproduction seat cover.
Interesting....
Paul