The Hodaka Club Forum

Thanks SoCal. I have a trusted machinist here in town. I'll see if he can retool the boss.

OK! I'll bite. How did you do an "x-ray" image????

Ed

Easy. I snagged it off the Internet (I'm thinking from a post I saw here). And found a photo of a shifter case. Resized to match and combined the two.

Actually, this was tacky of me-- I should have noted the source of the images and attributed. Let me dig around for a credit-- but at least I'm sharing the two where I found them.

--Bill

Hey all, does anyone have a good, safe technique for removing a petrified exhaust flange gasket? I've left it now two days in the parts washer and it still won't budge. I've cranked on it with a hard, sharp plastic scraper - nothing. I worked on it a bit (gently) with a brass-edged window ice scraper with little result as well. Its as if it was fused to the metal. The cylinder is in remarkably decent shape for an horribly abused and neglected machine. There was an up to 5/16" layer of carbon in the exhaust outlet and this process seems to have melted into the gasket. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks all,

Matt

Matt. I had the reverse happen. My exhaust manifold was stuck on the end of the pipe and broken. Fortunately I had spares.

However even with trying the acid soak, I ended up having to take it to my son in law's brother at the Meineki shop and have them heat it with a torch and pound it off with a drift and hammer. Yours should t be as hard to deal with since it is stuck on the aluminum. Just try heating it up with a propane torch and tapping it with your brass hammer. I'm guessing that is all it will need.

I also pulled the studs out on my Wombat exhaust and replaced the studs with Allen cap screws. They could be tightened better and more evenly and I could even torque them if needed. ; D Victor

Sounds like it is time for a craftsmanlike attack on the gasket with a sharp chisel. I think I'd use the wood chisel I have dedicated to the task of "metal work requiring the assistance of a sharp chisel as opposed to brute force" if I were working on your project. While appropriate care is needed to keep from gouging the gasket surface on the cylinder, that surface can be dressed flat with a large flat file later if needed.

Ed

Thanks for the responses fellas. Unfortunately, I have had no luck with the muffler and radiator shops around here when it comes to pipe decarbonization in their caustic apparati so I'm not holding much hope for a cylinder dunk. I'll try the marriage of a gentle yet meaningful application of the torch followed by a hammer/chisel sesh and report. I'll have to retrieve my sharp chisel from the "Go-to devices to be used when perpetrating chaos, mayhem, and irreparable damage is the call" drawer and see if it can be reassigned. The studs appear pristine so I may let those sleeping dogs lie. Thanks again!

Best,

Matt

Is it safe to put a bunch of tools of that sort all in ONE drawer? I tend to keep tools of that ilk spread about all over the garage so they can't get together to hatch chaotic plots. (Which, unfortunately, makes them harder to find when needed.

Ed

I keep mine segregated in the tool box by type! No cross tooling or other chaotic nonsense in my garage! LOL!!! ; D Victor

AAAAHHHAAA (the sound of epiphany). So malicious tools in proximal confinement conspiring against my best intentions could actually explain a lot of the shenanigans around here? I thought by keeping them in the same drawer I would be forced to make a seriously conscious decision whether or not to deploy one. Hmmm... Fortunately I put my homemade "wreck-it-himself" oxy-MAPP torch in the "stuff that theoretically should work great, but in practice could completely level a city block" bin on the other side of the shop. Now where's that Model 95 cylinder... Thanks for the laughs, friends!

It gets worse as you get older. All tools have a special place and I can find anything---If I put it back after use. When working on a project with enthusiasm I never put anything back until I can't find anything. See what you have to look forward to.

Max

Looks familiar, Max - except the tools look clean and well-cared for. What really caught my eye was the header on your exhaust system. That should allow you to ride it straight up a cliff. What's the story, if I may ask?

Hey Matt, The header is an experiment to see if I can gain any noticeable torque by lengthening the pipe as is done on trials bikes. The header has been lengthened about 8 inches. We'll see what happens. There's more about it earlier in the Day One post below.

Max

Thanks Max. I'll check out the thread. I would guess the torque advantage would be most apparent in the "low-end grunt" department like a trials set-up. I'll be interested in learning how it performs. I have an Ace 100 basket I'd like to turn into a trail tractor. Our riding area here is quite hilly with a million log crossings. I don't want to have to scream it all day long nor generate any significant speed lofting the front end. Looking forward to the performance review of your set-up.

Best,

Matt