The Hodaka Club Forum

Is there a site that I could look up when my ace 100 was made ?

First, welcome to the Forum. Just go to the Strictly Hodaka site and click on FAQ and you'll be set.

Max

Yes there is. Check here:

http://www.strictlyhodaka.com/Articles.asp?ID=251

Brian

Perfect thank you both ! Many more questions to come found a ace 100 in my father's barn looks pretty cool !

Geez. What is it lately with barns? Must be the gradual passing of a generation, which is spooky because I am in that generation.

Blessings on your father for hanging on to the Hodaka. My wife has asked for 30 years for me to sell mine, but I refused even though it was just sitting on the deck in Alaska. Now, it is a running bike again, stronger than before. Hoping your will be the same. Good as new if not better.

Post photos. Lots of us older guys just read the comics.

It does sound as you have taken the bait and are almost hooked!

Oh I'm definitely hooked!!! The bike looks like so much fun . I already started looking for parts I remember asking my dad about it a few times when I was younger. He always said the only reason he stopped riding it was because it needed a head gasket. Unfortunately it's sized up but I'm inthe works of ggetting it running again ! Oh and I'm only 22 this bike is like nothing I've worked on before Iit's going to be great !

Just A Few Quick Pictures

One more

So I have the frame number ( A21960) and engine number (P24579) but I noticed on the identification portion of the site it says it should have a riveted tag on the frame mine is stamped but I could be misunderstanding it any one who could clarify?

There was originally a U.S. DOT required manufacturers tag with a bunch of stuff on it about fit for use on the road, or off-road only, plus frame number (VIN) and date of manufacture, which would have answered your question up front.

The tag if still there is on the steering head in full view. If someone has removed it, so be it. That's why there are also stamped numbers on the frame. The Strictly Hodaka website has photo examples of what these look like, and instructions on where to find them, under FAQ.

The photo of your bike is from the side, but from what I can see, there is no VIN tag on the steering head. It would have been right behind the headlight.

Your engine was manufactured about April 1 1968. In Montana the date of the motorcycle would be the date it was registered. Back from the sun in Arizona.=========== Clarence

According to the website info, the DOT data plates came into use in 1969. So yours was perhaps made before they were required, which would be why you can't find one. If there was one which is now gone, there would be two small rivet holes in the steering head, one above the other, 3 3/8" apart, center front.

Are you planning a restoration or just a return to use? Unlike some cars and trucks, the head gasket on the Hodaka is not very much prone to blowing out, but if it was loose or it failed, that might have contributed to seizure. Or more likely, your Dad stopped riding it because the head was leaking, and after many years of sitting there, it rusted a bit inside and stuck the rings. Easy to repair. If it is just a small amount of corrosion, squirt a dose of Blaster in the plug hole and leave it sit. Also good for penetrating rust is differential gear oil. I have returned to use mechanized tools that were rusted shut from sitting in the woods for 25 years, just by leaving them in a pan of gear oil for a month. The rust basically went away or wiped off. If you know what a brace is ( wood boring tool handle, i.e., brace and bit) the brace ratchet drive was locked tight. Now it works perfectly. Didn't do anything but soak it for a month.

I have done the same with an old Johnson 5 horse outboard that sat in our garage for ten or more years back in the 70's. Seized tight. Pulled the plug, squirted in a health dose of gear oil, and left it sit. When I tried it a few months later it pulled freely, and started and ran without taking it apart. It is still working today. 1948 Johnson Seahorse.

Yours may do the same, or most likely will benefit from either a clean up of the bore, or a rebore. If you have not yet taken the cylinder off, try some penetrating oil or gear oil and be patient. Let it sit for a week. If it won't break free with a reasonable push on the kick start, go to plan B, but don't jump up and jam down on the kick. It isn't a Harley and won't take kindly to excess force. But keep in mind that it is far easier to remove a cylinder if the piston is not stuck tight. Either way, you will have to free the piston to get it apart.

Keep posting progress reports.