The Hodaka Club Forum

Hi-
I have begun rebuilding my Dad's old Super Rat that's been collecting dust in the shed for the last few decades, and was hoping someone might have some insight onto which combination frame/motor this actually is. The frame is A-50794, and the motor reads F1034. Also I don't know what it means but there's another number stamped 921001-01 on the motor for whatever its worth. He thought it was just a 93a model super rat, but the wiring doesn't match the diagram for that bike. According to the diagram the super rat motor should be wired to have a kill switch, but this has four wires coming out of the ignition that look like the diagram for the Ace 100, with the coil and ignition wire setup. The box of parts has no kill switch or ignition switch, so I'm trying to figure out if I can wire up a switch or cross some wires (without frying something) to get the ol' girl running again. Any advice/insight would be greatly appreciated, I'm very excited to get this project going, I'm hoping to surprise the old man with a clean running bike for Hodaka days next year!

Also- someone installed a reed valve and appropriate piston in this motor as well, if that helps in the ID

Rob

The early super rat frames number would start with B37205 the early rat engine would begin with M1001. What part of the country are you in?? Clarence

Clarence he has a replacement early Super Rat engine with the "F" ID so things are a little changed up on this bike. I will try to respond in better detail later right now off to an appointment.
thanks
Paul

According to the model charts, frames starting with the letter A are Ace 100 models. A-50794 slots in as a model 92. The Ace 100 did not come equipped with a kill switch, instead the ignition key was used to kill the engine. If you want to wire up a kill switch (and you really should!), connect it across the black and blue wires that go to the ignition coil. Pressing the kill switch shorts out the primary side of the coil thus killing the engine. You are correct when you said that the 4 wires coming from the magneto indicate an Ace magneto, but over the years many parts could have been swapped out to keep the bike running. This is especially the case with Hodakas as many parts from different models were interchangeable.

Inspect your cylinder where the manifold bolts up. 2 studs were used on Ace 100 engines and 4 studs secure the manifold on Super Rat motors. This is the sure way to the difference between the cylinders. Another easy to spot difference is that the Super Rat head is larger than the Ace 100 head.

Brian

Thanks for the info BrianZ , I really appreciate it. It definitely looks like a bitsa bike. Luckily the parts it does have look to be in great shape!
I plan to wire a kill switch into it- however, I am wondering what I can do with the wiring coming from the magneto, will it run with that group unplugged? I know it should go to the main switch (which looks to be out my current price range), but I'm curious if the way the wires are now will allow it to fire up if I leave them in state for now. Electrical wiring is not my strong point, as you might have guessed. Also- it's got the Super Rat cylinder and head according to your descriptions, which is good to know.

How much of a performance upgrade did the reed valve kit add to these bikes? I'm pretty happy someone installed one on this bike.


Clarence- I am in Wilder, Idaho. Someone was telling me there used to be a fellow in Wilder who sold Hodakas back in the day

Rob

Rob, the extra wiring from the magneto can be left unconnected. The bike will run fine without it. Just tie it off to the frame somewhere. You may want to wrap the connector in tape or something to keep the muck out of it, that way it will be usable in the future should you decide to add lights.

In regards to the reed mod, the biggest advantage was an increase in power lower in the rev range making the bike more "rideable". I can't give you any HP figures, but perhaps someone else on the forum with more first hand experience can. There have been many people reporting poorly done reed mods where the reed cage and reeds were installed, but no cylinder porting or piston mods. It would be a good idea to check to make sure that additional port(s) have been added from the intake area, and that the piston has had holes drilled in the skirt on the intake side.

Brian