The Hodaka Club Forum

My latest project is this nice little rat, I picked up about 15 years ago with the idea of a full restoration. After a discussion with Greg at California Hodaka I decided to just preserve it because it is a complete original with age.

Parts that need to be replaced like front brake cable and foot pegs would be swapped from the Wombat pegs to the rubber stock with good old stuff with the correct age patina. Finding a
Period correct silencer from the bone yard. At some point the PO change sprockets and they were non dished with out a spacer as what was needed. So a new NOS set of dished sprockets were put in place with a good amount of years of shelve life patina. One thing that is so valuable is the part book to see the correct hardware and how to properly mount stuff on the bike. We found hardware that was replaced with wrong sizes, kind and orientated wrong. So for any project this is a must. Last the tank had no badges so I was able to find an old tank from the hundred or so Greg has and took off a set of old badges that I could use with just the right age. Took them off the junk take and mounted them on the Rat. I forgot to mention that a good carb clean and new fork seals this baby ran great. So my plan now is to put a lot of elbow work into getting it real clean and leave it as is, a good used preserved Hodaka.

I forgot to mention I'm looking for a used non refreshed chain guard for it.

Good for you. As someone much smarter than me said "they only look that way once". Good honest age on that one and a fine example of an early Rat. Nice!

Matt

Hey Kelly, thumbs up on the notable project and nice to hear from you. Keep up the good work!

Max

Matt, I went back and forth a bunch on what to do. I wanted the challenge of a full restore and they look so nice of all the ones I see at Hodaka Days. Cost is big also, you can have $3000 or more into it after chrome, paint and other parts. And like you said it will only be this way once, so it stays aged.

I rather like the approach of a "daily rider" style of refurb instead of an off-the-showroom restoration. That is how I keep my 1973 BMW R60/5. It also helps to ride it frequently. And that is how my Hodie is evolving from the alleged resto. Proper Patina is really really hard pull off.

I'm with you Kelly. While I marvel at the skill set and ability folks like you can bring to bear on the full-on "concourse" restoration and really admire the results, all my Hodakas see dirt regularly and three of them are raced. They are dirt bikes and I ride the living crap out of them as was intended. I also maintain them routinely and without fail. Mechanical and functional correctness is a requirement. Assessment of weld integrity is too. Beyond that, I like my 40+ year old dirt bikes to be a bit sweaty. Your Rat looks like it was well cared for and probably not raced hard, but it has that "look" that can only be achieved by being around for over 40 years. I'd bet those were the original Nittos fore and aft. I put up a few pictures of my SR pipe on your '03 Lighting thread so you can see my aesthetic when it comes to restoration. I'm really happy you are taking that tack with this totally cool SR. That bike wants to be rode hard - not adorn someones man cave. Great call!!

Matt, I was wondering the samething about the tires. They are both Nitto and the back worn pretty good and there is evidence of the bike being rode as the steering stop was broken and welded, not the original air cleaner as it should be the early one and handle bars have a very little tweak. Now how the steering stop and tweak bars happen without a wrinkle or dent in either fender or tank was lucky.

Interesting mystery. Do you have ant provenance or chain of possession history on the bike? The flat wear pattern on the rear tire suggests gravel road commuter vs MXer. My side knobs look a bit more chewed after a season and those are relatively preserved peripherally. Are the inner fender surfaces dinged up? I would think taking a bad line into a rut might provide enough torque to result in the findings on the steering stops and bars - not that I've ever done that . Have you put it through its paces enough to reveal any additional PO surprises?

Kelly. I have a "patina'd" chain guard which has not been repainted. Not sure if it's an Ace 100, 100 B or 100 B+. If you want it, it's yours for postage. I can take a pic or two and post if you're interested. ; D Victor

Thanks Victor, yes a photo will help ID. Super Rat
Guard is small

OHHHH . . . I really like how you have handled the rebuild of this machine. It is a CLASSIC!

Ed

Sorry Kelly. No Super Rat guard, just an Ace guard. Went back & looked at it again and it was my mistake. ; D Victor