The Hodaka Club Forum

Well it took me a little longer than intended but I guess life will do that to you. As promised photos of my newly acquired model 94 Wombat. My father bought her brand new and now I have the pleasure of owning her. I decided to leave the engine, exhaust, wheels/tires, and forks on but removed the rest and cleaned it up. I used Metal Restore on the inside of the tank and it came out great, absolutely no rust remaining. The original brass petcocks needed cleaned and smoother up. All new fuel line with the addition of a fuel filter and cleaned up the carb. Pressure tested and seals are good for now but I will be keeping an eye on them until I do an engine rebuild. Cleaned and polished all the chrome as best I could, a little bit of it is in need of being redone but it still looks good. New runner mounts where needed and replaced a broken fuse holder under the saddle. New battery got the electronics running. Still has the original tires with no checking. This baby purrs like a kitten, not bad for a bike that sat for at least 20 years without being fired up. It is safe to say I am in love. Now the hard part, I need to get my endorsement as any of the riding I have done has been on the trails.

Maybe in a year or two I will do a complete tear down and paint the frame and rebuild the engine. The bike is by no means a show winner but she couldn't look better to me.
The DOL let me keep the original license plate. I know it is silly but I really like the idea of running the same plate my dad did.
The only dent on her whole body, back right side of the tank just in front of the saddle.

Hope you all enjoy the pics.
Dale

Beautiful and I'd run that plate, too. It'd be great to have that heritage on the bike.

Very nice.

Danny

Dale,Thanks for posting your pictures! We always enjoy looking at treasures from the past. Family bikes are even more special and I'm sure you'll have many great moments and adventures not even counting the memories. Good job on the re-furb!

Maxie

PS---How many miles is it showing?

How could I forget one of the most important items? Thanks for the reminder Maxie.
These are original miles. There is a minor scuff on the face that I plan on lightly polishing out.

Thanks everyone,
Dale

Very nice Wombat.

Mike Perrett

Dale, Here's my 94A the day I brought it home. I thought you might get a laugh out of what can go wrong in long term storage!

Max

Wow, no offense intended but it looks like I got much luckier than you Max. I would however take that for my second project if you are tired of it.
Dale

This one's done and I've started another Hodaka project. I do like the historical part of our machines. When you buy a new motorcycle it has zero history. Most Hodakas running today are on their second life of fun! My discovery of the old 94A in a barn has been a great adventure and rewarding experience. It sounds like you too are caught up in the fun of history, restoration and the rewards of bringing back a piece of motorcycle and family history. I'm starting to piece together a bit of history on my 94A from the friend I bought it from. It belonged to his new son-in-law's uncle who, when hearing of its restoration, has decided to travel quite a distance to see it! I can't wait for him to ride it! Anyway, just a little rambling today---

Max

Hi, Dale. You mentioned "Metal Restore" to remove rust from the inside of your tank. Did you mean "Metal Rescue"? --Brian

Brian,
Absolutely correct, I should have written "Metal Rescue".
Thanks for the correction,
Dale