The Hodaka Club Forum

After a 13 month search ..I picked up a Combat Wombat last night. Time to start restoring. I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions and be looking for everyone's advice.
Thanks in advance
bob

Nice. You're off to a great start.

Wow, brings back memories of breaking a new Model 95 out of the crate and riding it on every trail. Looks to be a great project! Keep us posted.

Max

Nice catch! You got a bike with the "normal" alloy rims (not the "H" section "mud catcher" rims) and the later silencer/spark arrestor (not the "flame thrower" style) . . . just right!! I always liked the look of the later production units with those features. Love it. Y'all are going to have some fun!

Ed

Nice posters, too; did they come with the Combat?
Bob

Cool looking Combat Wombat and nice man cave!

What Bob really meant to say is.... Great MX riding style in the poster behind the bike. When motocrossing it is always good to get your shoulders over top of the bars.
Right Bobby????

I believe the young lady is trying to get squared up over the bars, but is having access issues...

Ok guys here is where I'm at.

Stripped to the frame, all bolts being de-rusted and cleaned. Anyone do any home electro plating that they can comment on for fastener rehab? Rear wheel dissembled . Evaporust in the tank (no leaks so far). Everything came apart pretty easily so far but i have not dissembled the forks yet. Frame, swing arm and other black painted parts will get stripped an repainted next week some time. I'm planning on going about this is some sort of organized fashion so I don't lose focus and would like the opinions of those that have gone through it as to the approach I'm taking.. First things first. Get the frame swing arm, air box, chain guard and lower triple clamp stripped and painted black. Next Goal is a rolling chassis. Polish, paint and rebuild the rear wheel with new spokes, bearings, sprocket, tire etc. Get new red wings for the rear. Clean polish and rebuild forks.triple clamp and front wheel next. Then fenders, tank ,seat ,and controls. Finally the engine/transmission, exhaust and carb.

As far as the hubs go any suggestions on the brand/specific color silver I should use? Strictly Hodaka Pweter? Any tips on the hubs? Anyone ever had the hubs ball burnished instead of painted?

For you CW owners what color/brand green for the air box cover?

Thanks
Bob

I finally gave up on finding an original color for the CW air box and used a primer with clear coats to bring out a gloss. The primer was Dupli-Color Automotive Primer Self Etching #DAP1690 and the clear was Dupli-color Acrylic Enamel Crystal Clear #DA1692. I used 2 coats of primer and 4 coats of clear. The last coat was sprayed over the decals which I got from Strictly Hodaka.

It ended up pretty close: After decals;

I did much the same process last year and this spring on my old Ace 100B, although when I painted it, I painted it to Super Combat scheme because I was upgrading to that motor and chassis dimension. Anyway, I had a heck of a time getting paint to stick to the bare frame parts. Rattle can paint is just not what it used to be. I ended up using two part epoxy primer and 2K automotive paint, and that stuff by gosh works.

I tried just about every primer found in a can these days, and nothing stuck tight. It turned out looking nice, but you didn't dare touch the painted surfaces with a tool. I tried Dupli-Color and one or two other brands available at the auto stores, and also Rustoleum paint/primer combo. Nothing stuck. What I ended up with is extremely durable, but requires a spray paint tool kit and compressor. If you have an automotive type spray gun, I recommend using it and stay away from canned spray paint. (I used canned paint on some of the small parts, but on the frame, it just didn't work).

Strictly Hodaka has some paints available, and Paul has gone to lengths to get the colors right. I don't remember if he offers black, but keep in mind that black is not just one color. There have to be a hundred shades of black on the market, not counting the special effects stuff. Paul's paint, I believe, is enamel, but he knows more about it than I do, so if you want to source paint from him, ask first what you need.

There are several kinds of silver paint, including some that look very much like bead blasted aluminum when done. Here again, I primed the wheel hubs with epoxy primer before top coating them, and it has stood up to abuse so far.

Another option is powder coat if you like that sort of thing. Some do, some don't. Engine cases can be ball burnished to excellent effect.

Here is how mine turned out:

Bill,

Funny thing is I used the same paint combo as you on my '68 Kaiser CJ-5 to reproduce an army drab green. Same products. Worked fine. Why I could not get those products to stick to a Hodaka frame I do not know.

Nice shot of your bike Arizona Shorty. Can you tell me what your swing arms mods consist of and is this the SC motor you are using a 28 mm carb on? I want to use the same carb combination to smooth out the model 97s powerband on my sons race bike. Can you review your carb specs again.

After 391 days, unknown hours, and a blown budget, I am considering the project done.
Thanks to Danny for the engine work viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2260
Paul, the Strictly Hodaka Staff and Dan for sourcing the parts...
Next in queue, the 70 Super Rat!
Bob

Very nice!

Mike

Congratulations! That is one fine looking Combat Wombat.

Wow! That did come out nice! Thanks for keeping us posted.

Max

It takes all the fun out of a project when you have a budget! LOL No cutting corners on this combat wombat, it looks great! Richard