The Hodaka Club Forum

Guys, I am helping a friend out who lost his brother last year and was a rabid collector of '70's motorcycles. These are a couple of parts that he had in his shop and I think the pipe may be Hodaka since it is very close to the pipe on on my 73 Dirt Squirt but the connection at the head appears to
be smaller. The pipe says "Torque Engineering Model TQ 1000 US Forest approved Cat No 2-124"
The cylinder head looks like possibly a 175 or 250 head by the size of the chamber and the stud holes. Only identifying numbers are 251 with 1-1
underneath it. It has 2 spark plug holes side by side with the cooling fins cut away for exhaust to cross over.

more pictures of the cylinder head.

The cylinder head looks like an aftermarket head for the 250 Hodies with a boss for a spare plus or compression release fitment. The pipe looks to be a Torque Engineering "Whisperin' Smith" probably for Yamaha application. The TQ1000 model designation refers only to the spark arrestor. They are great pipes. Ace wrench, Hodaka guru, and all-around great guy Hodaka Dave Rozier modified Torque pipe for my Super Rat so they can be modded for Hodaka bikes. That one can likely be modded for Hodaka work too.

I just measured the exhaust nut on one of my Super Rat's (model 93 - iron cylinder) and it was just about exactly 1 1/2" - the same as the exhaust nut you showed with your exhaust pipe. You might want to check it again as it appears to be a pipe for the early Hodaka 100's. I don't remember many other bikes that had a screw on exhaust nut like the Hodaka had. And I second the opinion that it is a Torque Engineering Whispering Smith pipe.

Torque Engineering was one of the first companies that tried to make a truly quiet "performance" pipe. In their ad it showed a gut sitting on his bike and a second guy was standing next to him. The guy standing says "Fire that bike up." The guy on the bike says "It is fired up, you blockhead."

That head might actually be for a Suzuki TS250. The 250 Hodaka head is an 8-bolt item (4 studs and 4 head-to-cylinder connections).

Agreed. I believe a Whisperin' Smith was manufactured for bolt-on replacement for the 94 and 94A Wombat, chrome tank Dirt Squirt, and Road Toad. Super Rats had a threaded, knurled exhaust spigot that mounted to the cylinder, but the pipe was slip-on and secured to the exhaust outlet by springs. They didn't have the nut integrated into the pipe like the Torque pipe under discussion. My Super Rat has a spring-mounted slip-on Torque pipe mated to a smooth exhaust outlet. That may be the Wombat, etc. pipe. Can you see if there was a hanging bracket on it at one time (other than the one integrated into the heat shield)?

I did notice a catalog number on the pipe of "2-124"

Anyone have an old Torque catalog tucked away??

The super rat cylinder had the same exhaust threads as the Ace 90, and the Ace 100. ---------Clarence

Help me out here Clarence. My Super Rat has a threaded exhaust spigot that mounts to the cylinder but the pipe itself slips onto the spigot and is held in place with springs. The pipe in question posed by Norcal49 has the nut already fitted to the pipe similar to the pipe I have on my Wombats. Will a pipe with this configuration also work on a Super Rat if you remove the threaded exhaust spigot from the SR jug?

Old and forgetful says yes, same threads ----Clarence

That's good to know. Thanks Clarence!

This pipe looks like it would go right on my dirt squirt. I have never had one of these but it doesn't look to be all that complicated to try this on my
squirt but a little hesitant on removing the flange nut without messing the nut up. Is there any trick to removing the nut?

Thanks Doug

This thread has got me thinking now. My (96) Squirt has the threaded nut on the end, but the parts book shows the nut separate.
So from the above posts the nut must come off the pipe then? I thought mine was a part of the pipe and the springs were to stop the nut unscrewing

I'm thinking the nut has to be removed after the header pipe is disassembled from the exhaust? Just a guess. Right at the weld following the curve in the header? ; D Victor

So if the nut is captive, what do the springs do?

Just an improvement the old Ace 90 and Ace100 exhaust nut would come loose causing a air leak. That could overheat the engine not good. In a cross country race who would want stop and tighten a exhaust net without the proper wrench. The springs allowed a little bump and tuck and roll "flex" a big improvement. -----------Clarence

Thanks.
One more silly question then
What do the springs connect to?
I can certainly see the tabs on the pipe, but what do they hook to on the other end. The nut itself?

There are small holes drilled into the cooling fins on the cylinder that the springs mount to. From there, the springs attach to a flange on the header pipe.

The captive exhaust nut was seen on earlier bikes - 90's and the Ace 100's. The Dirt Squirt exhaust nut is not "captive". Since the cylinder casting required a nut, the Dirt Squirt has an exhaust nut . . . but it is a "free" nut. Any other "free nuts" in this group?
Ed
PS: The pipe shown earlier sure looks to me like it is for an Ace 100/Super Rat.
PPS: Keep the rubber side down!

Free nuts? I'll take a bag, lightly salted, please! Pecans are my favorite, or cashews, or hazelnuts! ; D Victor

Well speaking of nuts...
I've had my cylinder blasted, then in for boring, washed it all down and painted with barrel paint.....
And never even noticed those little spring holes
In my defense I'll say I'm very new to both two smokes and spring held pipes, but quite good at hijacking threads

I did a little eyeballing on the Torque pipe today and it looks like cutting off the flange nut and welding a new stub on it could be made to fit my
Dirt Squirt. The u-bend on the pipe is more than 180* so it would take a little customization to make it work I think. I still have the stock pipe on so
everything is just eyeball at this point. More to follow......

Not to worry, Zeek. The holes are quite small and well-hidden. Norcal, Hodaka Dave Rozier modified a Torque Engineering low pipe to a high right-side mount. Its neatly tucked in and out of the way. I'm sure he would have a few tips and tricks for you. Check out his website for contact information. Search for Hodaka Dave's Vintage Service. He's the nicest guy you'll ever hope to meet.

There is a possibility that the pipe is for an Ace 100. The guy who had it had an ACE 100, the 73 Dirt Squirt and another Hodaka but I have not
been able to find out what it was since it is now sold. He rode the Ace on a regular basis and it may have been on it at some point in time.
As far as trial fitting I'm going to have to back burner it for a couple weeks due to a family vacation next week. I'm sure that it can be made to
fit with some minor fabrication. It may even fit right on once I get the stock pipe off but time will tell.

My wife's 96 DS has the nut and flange type.