The Hodaka Club Forum

Yes, the first Toad is almost done! And the 2nd one has been under way for a while. Mostly parts gathering & motor work.

But, a few days ago, my nephew, Jonah, came over and we "officially" started his bike with the sanding & painting of the frame!

Here we go again! ; D Victor

A little more work done. Got the foot pegs from the previous owner! Painted & installed along with the voltage regulator, horn & coil on the bike. Also added the painted brake stay and the newly acquired brake activation rod.

Steering head with all new upper & lower bearings mounted & the OEM shocks cleaned and mounted. The tires I ordered arrived today but still waiting for the tubes to come.

And the tank had been stripped, dings filled with glazing compound & first coat of primer us on the tank & rear fender. Still need to strip & primer the air cleaner cover. Also waiting for the fork rebuild kit to arrive.

Another thing discovered with the tank was this. I thought there was a large chunk of rust sliding around in the tank. Shook & shook but couldn't get it to brake up & come out. Turned on the flashlight and looked inside the tank. Turns out it was a gas cap seal which was too small and fell inside the tank!

Anyway, here's a few pics! ; D Victor

With 7 bikes in a 20x20 garage, and the lift, I only have room to work on one bike at a time!
; D Victor

Good old primer. It always shows flat spots or irregularities after you've sanded the glazing compound. Last coat of glazing now, to get the contours correct in the curved edges of the upper tank! ; D Victor

Forks are done! Also assembled the bottom end today! Just need to go get screws to hold the stator on. Tomorrow I can add the pirimary gear, clutch & kick lever to the right side & mount the flywheel! The nephew was absolutely amazed that one could put together a tranny from just an exploded diagram! Thanks again Danny Cooke for the stator! ; D Victor

Had problems with the crank end being hammered by a PO. It mushroomed a bit and the nut wouldn't go on. Had to file it back and taper it off today till I got to better threads.
Flywheel mounted. Working on right side assembly now. Looks like it will all go together nicely. It does, however, get a bit befuddling when you spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out why the clutch nut won't thread back on, until you remember the darned thing is left hand threaded!

OK. So it's gonna be a Red Toad this time! Damn! I sure do like the Chevy Victory Red! Just like my truck! ; D Victor

So what do you think of the Red Road Toad? ; D Victor

The red is going to be real sharp, Vince. I've been toying with the idea of painting the air filter outer housing Hodaka Red to add a color accent to my all-black W'Bat 94. Does anyone have an extra Wombat air cleaner that they could part with?

Gee Whizz,

You stole my idea. I was thinking about making a "Red Toad". Replacing the Road with Red on the air cleaner graphic.
Hope your project comes out great!

Hey Victor, that red really pops. I dig it. Are you going to paint the tank and fenders the same or use the red air box as an accent. I've thought about channeling the all-red look of the late 70's Elsinores on a model 94 play bike I've been working on. I'm looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.

Matt, they are already painted. It's all Chevy Victory Red! But this photo was before the clear & graphics! Nephew wanted red & black instead of the Toad green. ; D Victor

Something inside the tank was banging around but it didn't sound like metal! I was afraid it was going to be a big chunk of rust that broke off from inside the tank. But I figured out it was actually a gas cap gasket! It was smaller in diameter than the stock one so it just fell inside! RELIEF!!! Fished it out and put the right sized Gasket in the cap! ; D Victor

Clutch assembly on! It's amazimg what you can do when you turn the nut In The Correct direction! Need to pack the shifter case with grease and remount it. Then it's time for the clutch cover gasket and the top end!! Yippie! Getting close! ; D Victor

Victor, consider me inspired. I love it. Two questions - where did you source the paint and do you think it would adhere to the cases and cylinder/head with reasonable durability.

Matt. I did ALL the paint! The frame is Rustoleum Satin Black. The motor is painted with high heat engine paint I bought at O'Riley's Auto Parts. The red, is the Chevy Red "match" from O'Riley's as well along with the clear coat they sell to go with it. Since the tank is the biggest thing painted, I just use enough gloss coats, probably 5-6 coats of clear, so there is enough to buff back smooth. So far, only $25 in paint for the tins and another $21 in black Rustoleum.

I could have bought paint from an auto paint store, but, my compressor gave out on me and I decided to try this rattle can stuff, since the compressor was non-functional. Graphics are the same I got earlier for the Green Toad. The guy made me several sets no extra charge so I had more than enough for two bikes and it's why I didn't have any color behind the black on the graphics. ; D Victor

Awesome!! We have an O'Riley's here in town. I'll check it out. I've seen some really nice rattle can paint jobs. It takes a steady hand and craftsman's touch to pull it off. You certainly have that covered. Great job!!

PS - I wish I had an uncle like you!

Drilled the piston like Danny described. 1/16" drill bit at the distances he gave me. Just waiting for the rings to arrive.

The first set I bought were in an NPR box labeled 100 50.50mm .020. But it appears the rings were in the wrong box. They were 125 sized rings. Seller refunded my money and told me to keep them, not ship them back. So if anyone needs a set of 2 rings for a .020 125, I have a set! ; D Victor

Richard Mott, it is funny you should mention that. I had thought the same thing but already had the graphics made from the last bike. The Red Toad has a good ring to it!

Another BUMMER to overcome.

I bought a set of tires for this 4th RT, with the assumption that the wheels I bought for it were stock wheels.

We went to mount the tires. The 19" went on the front wheel with no issues. However, the 17" tire I purchased for the rear wheel didn't fit. It didn't fit because the rear wheel sent to me was a 19" rear wheel instead of a 17"!

My poor son in law! He spent an hour and a half fighting with that tire. He decided to take it to work with him in the morning and use the tire machine at the shop. He said he darned near broke the bead trying to get the tire over the rim. When he finally measured the rim it was 19"! Now I have to send 1 17" tire back & exchange it for a 19". I'll keep this 17" for the green RT & send the other new 17" back. That way they won't tell me anything about the tire! ; Victor

Shocks came in the mail today! Got the same kind again in black. They are all mounted.

I also finished the shifter assembly. Turns out the shifter key didn't drop in between the spring posts, so it wouldn't move until I got it to drop in correctly. Now it's all packed with grease and mounted on the tranny.

Also got the tire on the front wheel and installed the wheel as well. Just waiting for rings to show up in the mail. ; D Victor

Turns out that rear wheel was an 18" not a 19". My son in law measured the rim from edge to edge instead of shoulder to shoulder.

Called the place I bought the tire from. It would have cost me about $20 to mail a $40 tire back, so I decided to keep it as a spare for the green Toad or the Ace. Ordered a replacement 18" X 3.50 rear & corresponding tube. Should be here in a few days after the weekend!

Great dealing with Motorcycle-superstore.com! They are always helpful & have the best prices on tires I've found for just about any bike! I bought the Kenda Trials tires for both bikes. It cost $100 a pair with tubes, for each bike! And free shipping on orders over $100.00! ; D Victor

Got most of the wire harness back on today.

Question. Those plastic covers which go over the bullet & female single & double connectors. Is there a place to buy those in bulk? Online maybe or a type of store I might find locally?

I used a lot of shrink tubing today, and over wrapped the main harness sections with fresh black electrical tape. The wires weren't too brittle, so I won't be replacing very much of it. A bit faded is all but u can still make out the insulator colors fine. Now to go get a second set of keys made for another ignition switch. And I can do it locally using the pad lock blanks they figured out last time! ; D Victor

Thanks to Greg, Zyx, for pointing me to them! ; D Victor

What is a good off-the-shelf paint match for the Hodaka frame red? I got my red Wombat air filter cover today and it may need to have the patina toned down a bit. Doesn't need to be a concours match, just close.