The Hodaka Club Forum

Hi All,
Just introducing myself and bike. I bought a 1968 Ace 100 recently at a swap meet. All complete and straight but definitely in need of work after sitting under a tree for many years. The frame is being painted at the moment (after matching the colour from inside the headlight shell) and I've zinc plated all nuts, bolts and brackets that I could find. Chrome work is also away being done. All that leaves me with at the moment is painting the engine cases, reboring the barrel, rebuild carby and rebuild the forks. I
I think the gearbox is ok as I've checked it using info from a few posts on this forum.
Parts are almost non existent in Australia although Hodaka's were sold here. I haven't seen one on the road since the 1970's.
thanks to the web and eBay I've got a lot of parts from the USA to get this little gem going.

Welcome to the Asylum. I don't know the parts situation in Oz or Asia, but in the US the Hodaka parts sources are Strictly Hodaka, HodakaParts and Hodaka-Parts (all .com ). There may be reliable eBay sources, but I think it's hit and miss.

Nice looking zinc plating. Are you using a commercial kit to do your plating?

Bit of a mixture. A friend made up the power regulator box and I bought the plating bath and passivate chemicals from a local supplier. The activating acids were pool acids from a hardware shop. It works quite well.

I can't find low-volume (and cost) commercial plating kit, so I'll put my own together. Good info!

I've finally got the frame painted and most zinc plating done. The barrel is off being bored and I'm waiting for the chroming to be done. At this stage I have two queries:
Where does the return spring for the rear brake lever anchor? The right angle end seems to go on the brake lever arm but I can't see where to hook the straighter end. A photo would be good.
Also when I dismantled the rear wheel I forgot to measure the offset for when I respoke it. My measurement probably wouldn't be correct anyway as three spokes had torn the hub flange off and were hanging loose. If anyone has height measurements from Each high side of the hub to the rim I would appreciate it.
I read that most of you chaps are experiencing extreme cold in the shed - I've just come inside because it was 37 degrees (centigrade that is) about 98 in your money.

Hi,

I've just got my barrel back from being re bored to .040 oversize and was starting to fit the new rings. I see that one is shiny and the other a duller cast iron color. I measured them and they both seem to be the same size but the box they came in lists two different part numbers. Anyone know which on one goes at the top? My gut feeling is the chrome one is at the top but I'd like to know for sure.

Yes the chrome one goes on top. Nice looking plating

Rich

The short end of the brake pedal return spring should register to a corresponding hole in the engine mounting plate while the long end is retained by the short mushroom-shaped stud on the brake pedal fulcrum arm. Do you recall if the pedal was functional before you stripped the bike. I'm wondering if the spring is broken and I can't tell from your photo if the spring is intact.

Thanks Rich. It's all gone together very easily. Piston rings compressed with 50 mm PVC pipe slit down the side and a zip tie.

That motor looks DAMN NICE Bert!!! Amazing job!!! ; D Victor

Good progress on the Ace now that I've got some chrome work back. The tank is a pearler.

WE need to start an Australian chapter! i'm in Adelaide SA, where are you Bert?
And that bike is looking really really nice.
I started out on a Deckson Eagle (i would love to find another, I think all grown men, should-by law- own the first bike they had again).
Moved onto a Wombat, had a few then had to sell all due to money/family/wife.
Recently bought a Thunderdog (250ED) of the man who sold me my first bike! (no wife now, yeh)

Wayne

Here's a pic from the pats fiche. The horizontal end of the spring with the 90* bend pushes into a small hole on the frame. The hooked vertical end goes into the corresponding hole on the brake pedal. Then the brake rod goes in the top hole with the washer & Cotter pin. Victor

Wayne,
I'm in Adelaide as well. I'm aiming to get the bike finished by the Balhannah swap meet where I bought it last year. I'll have it on display up there. Sort of a before and after thing.

Bert

Greetings from Tasmania
You're bike is looking great

Looking good bert . Who did you use to re chrome the tank ..

Oh why oh why did I sell my Wombat, Dirt Squirt, 100B and my pride and joy, the Super Combat Wombat all those years ago? oh yeah, young family and seemed like the good idea at the time, grrrrr, wrong, so totally wrong
You fella's are doing some beautiful work there, love them both.

Wayne in Adelaide.

Hi Thunderdog,
I had it done at Delway Brass in Edwardstown, Adelaide. It took a while but it's the best chrome tank my mates have seen and they're into vintage bikes with chrome panels. I'm hoping to have the front rim and headlight rim back soon to finish it.

Any of you Oz guys have any information on road registered Hoddies?
Seems I've hit a snag with the actual identification of Hodaka's in Australia??
The boffins want proof they were legitimately sold here.

Hi Zeek
I remember seeing an article online with a breakdown of worldwide sales for Hodakas and Australia was a large part of the export market. Oddly enough there were also some sold in one small country in Africa as well. I just tried to find it again and couldn't find it. Maybe someone else knows where it is.
You could try browsing second hand shops for early 70's Australian dirt bike magazines as Hodaka advertised in them, full page ads from memory. Wave one of those in their official faces.

Hello Zeek,
Just curious, what boffins would they be and why do they want proof that Hodaka's were legitimately sold in Australia? The wording sounds a bit suss, legitimately sold, is someone intimating they were bought in illegally??
I will be a hard one to prove but I do know that Trade Service here in Adelaide sold me a Deckson Eagle then my Wombat in 1973, they were out at Windsor Gardens, then moved into Pirie St in the City, I think it was taken over by Carcycle Honda. I am still personnel friends with the saleman who sold me my bikes, I recently bought his 250ED of him (he's now 87). I'm pretty sure the importer was Bert Flood in Melbourne, old Ron maybe able to confirm this but doubt he would have any documentation. But I still have to ask why?

Wayne from Sth Oz.

Milledge Brothers were the distributor in Victoria (and I think they also did South Australia) while Phil Young was the distributor in NSW. There were over a thousand Hodakas sold in Australia. My Wombat is registered in NSW and was easily done as I got the bike from the original owner who bought it from Phil Young and it had been previously registered in NSW. The original owner still had the old rego papers.

Irrespective of all that, I also have no idea why rego authorities would want proof that Hodakas were sold here back in the day. Email me at [email protected] if you need any further info. Oh, and it would be remiss of me to not encourage you to go out and buy the wonderful book on Hodaka that is available! In Oz get it through the VMX Magazine website under Merchandise or of course through Paul at Strictly Hodaka.

I understand what Zeek is on about. I have done battle trying to register a Heinkel and a Peugeot moped. The problem begins if you don't have any idea of the previous registration number. Bikes that are imported nowadays must have a certificate of approval to import from the Federal Government and unless you can show that the bike was imported prior to the introduction of the "import approval" they are reluctant to register it. Bikes after 6/76 are easy because they were fitted with a compliance plate but before that can be problematic.

Trying to find a record of the engine/frame number is almost impossible as old government records prior to computerisation would need someone to manually search archives and then you probably can't be sure in which State the bike may have been registered. If you are in Oz you will know that these records are not cross referenced from State to State.
Zeek, keep trying, be logical and remember that the pen is mightier than the sword.

Well I've gone further up the food chain to the Dept. of Infrastructure
They are supportive of what i want to do and have put me in touch with some really helpful people. Had a Transport guy offer to (and done) come out and look at it...which was great.
So now with sensible guys on the case things are looking a bit better. Should have an answer next week

Makes sense now Zeek, I have to re register my recently purchased 250ED soon, the plates had been surrendered many years ago and old Ron had no idea what the rego number was. If I have that it smooths the way thru our local rego mob, I know I have photos of the bike when Ron bought it so I hope the rego number shows up in one of them. Rego departments can be the pits to deal with and seem to relish in hiring particularly antagonistic SOB's.

Wayne from Sth Oz.