The Hodaka Club Forum

Hello,

I have a 1973 Model 95 Combat Wombat with an intermittent problem that has me stumped. The bike has had a recent rebuild from the crank up. I built it with the intention of riding in vintage hare scrambles events in New England. I have had 2 dnf's in my last two races due to the following symptoms:

At the beginning of the race the bike is running fine and after about 20 minutes, the engine starts to cut out and die.
I pull over to the side of the trail and am able to get it restarted, it will run and I can rev the engine at a stand still but it will not run under load.
If I let the bike cool a little bit it sometimes will let me get a little further down the trail then it starts to spit and pop and stall again.

By the time I get home and try the bike, it will start up and seems OK while riding for a few minutes around my yard.

My thoughts are that something in the ignition system is failing when it gets hot and then healing itself when it cools down.

I took the flywheel off and I can't see anything obviously wrong with the coil or wiring and the points are not burned or pitted.

Has anybody experienced similar symptoms?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill

Hey Bill, a bunch of us are going to say "Condenser" first. Try changing that.

Max

Condenser, fuel flow and tank vent should all be checked .

OK, Thanks for the quick replies. I can see thru the hole in the gas cap so I know the vent is OK, the petcocks and needle and seat in the carb are new, so it looks like I should try the condenser. I'll get one on order. Bill

P.S. I just saw the recent post about the Road Toad and someone mentioned mounting the condenser under the tank with the coil to keep it cooler. Sounds like a "cool" idea. I may do that too. Bill

There are other possibilities that can be temperature-sensitive. Temperature-induced exciting or high-tension coil failure or a temperature-induced air leak come to mind. Leak down and coil testing AT operating temperature could sort it out. That said, I'm throwing in with the condenser fault crowd. Get a Wombat Shop Manual if you don't have one. It has allowed a schmoe like me to feel like a real dirt bike mechanic and there are secret pictures of The Captain to boot.