The Hodaka Club Forum

Hello from colorado,
I have purchased my first bike a ace 100 for $200 that runs, so far i have rebuilt the carb and adjusted points, put new
Oil in,i tore the bike apart and repainted the bike black cherry and reassembled it and it runs great and looks great to me, my only problem is it will go into fifth and nuetral but will not go into any other gear, if you play around with it it will sometimes go into 1st and maybe what i believe is 3rd, but it always slips right back out of those gears, same when down shifting, the bike will slow down as if it is in gear but once i give it gas it slips out of gear, i am confused as to what could be wrong, any help is greatly
Appreciated, thanks
Dillon

First, I suspect the shift mechanism inside the left side cover is either very dirty or out of adjustment, or both. The Hodaka has a constant mesh transmission so all gears are always engaged. The secondary gears ride free on the secondary shaft, each gear traps four small ball bearings in pockets in the shaft, and there is a control rod that runs through the center of the shaft, drawing a small ball receiver back and forth. The receiver picks up the four balls when drawn in line with the gear, and the gear then drives the shaft by virtue of those four balls each gear has. The receiver is spring loaded in both directions, so there is a spring on each side of the receiver, on the end of the control rod. If the shift mechanism is out of adjustment, or dirty after all these years, it can misalign the receiver so that it doesn't stop directly under one gear at a time, but instead, will fall between the gears, engaging nothing. Also, if the shift springs on the control rod are done, it lets the receiver drift around a bit, which will cause missed shifts too.

No doubt this all sound very complex, but it isn't especially compared to a five speed motorcycle of typical design with sliding forks and sliding gears. Locate and study the exploded diagram on the Strictly Hodaka website. It will likely make more sense if you see the transmission parts laid out in relation to each other.

There are three screws holding the left cover on. Remove all three and take off the cover. Put the bike up on a crate so the rear wheel is free to spin, then move the control rod sticking out of the countershaft sprocket. It should move all the way in against the sprocket, which is fifth gear. Then pull it slowly back out and you should find all gears along the way. I suspect there is nothing wrong inside.

Take the inside cover off of the shift cover. This is what looks like a piece of sheet metal stamped to match the inside of the cover. Once removed, the shift mechanism is there to see. If it is full of gunk, clean it out. That may be all it needs. If it is also out of adjustment, you will have to take the shift parts out, and for this I would suggest having a manual to follow. It isn't difficult, but it isn't obvious either. Study it before you take it apart. You will need snap ring pliers, a Phillips #2 and #3 screw driver, a ten mm wrench, and not much else. The problem I have with adjusting the shifter is that the manual tells you to set the shift end piece a certain distance from the inside cover, but never shows just where that "inside" point is. But then, there is only one correct adjustment to make, and if it works, it's fine, and if it still misses gears, it isn't. While that is not a lot of help, it is one of those things that is easier shown than described. But your best bet is still a shop manual. I would also suggest printing out the relevant pages of the exploded diagram for reference.

I think this is the second new member non shifting bike this week, so it is a common problem. I have been working on mine for 44 years, and I still struggle a bit to get the shift right. The good news is that it is very unlikely you will need to open the transmission. If working on the shift mechanism doesn't do it, it needs a rebuild on the control rod, which can also be done without taking the transmission apart, but let's wait to see if you need to go there.

The most likely scenario for causing the shifting problems? Excessive wear of the shifter components.

Grab the end of the shift lever (engine dead) and move it up and down while looking at the end of the shift shaft (the shaft the lever is mounted on). I'd bet dollars to doughnuts there is a lot of slop/freeplay of the foot change shaft in its bore - and that a shift cover rebuild is needed. While that is being done, the control shaft components need to be checked out and/or replaced. (Do you have an Shop Manual?)

The gears are probably just fine - and it is quite likely that proper shifting can be restored without even removing the engine from the frame. (However, we are ignoring the age of the various seals in the engine . . . those little items are um, nearing the end of their effective service life , and a full engine tear down is going to be needed before too long.)

Ed

Thanks ill look into the shifting mechonism, i have a shop manual the guy gave me when i bought the bike, im glad to here it may be fixed without tearing into the motor, sense im only 19 and working at a restaraunt my budget is a little short, haha, thanks for all the advice i will definitly look into it all thnks,
Dillon

Here is a picture it , the seat still needs upholstered and new tires

I was 21, finishing my last year of college, 5 months short of getting married, and unemployed when I bought my 100B. I understand the not having money part because I rode it and even raced it without any real money. Learned how to fix it myself and how to modify on the cheap. It can be done with basic hand tools plus a few specialty items acquired as the need arises. The big ticket item so far will be the seat. Do you have the metal seat pan?

The shift shaft bushing is not hard to deal with. Adjustment is not hard to deal with. Rebuilding the control rod, not hard to do. By the time you have done these things, you will be a lot more familiar with your bike. I started the same way but with a new machine in 1971 and by 1972 I was working as a motorcycle mechanic, so a Hodaka is not a bad place to start.

here is a pic before i restored it I have the sear pan it just needs wrapped and ii adjusted the shifter and i now have all gears working, thank you for all the advice it runs like a dream

Dillon

You can get a seat cover from Paul at the home page. Just look up the bike and then look at the schematics for the part number! Sounds like it's coming along nicely! ; D Victor