The Hodaka Club Forum

I am restoring several model 93 super rats at the moment. I have a 93, a 93A and a 93B. I have been looking high and low for some NOS original Nitto knobbies. The sizes I need are 3.25 x 18 and 3.00 x19. These are the sizes of tires the bikes originally came with I believe. If anyone has any that are NOS or close to new I would sure be interested in acquiring them. Another brand such as Yokohama would be all right also. Thank you Gentlemen.

3.50 x 18 is all right instead of the 3.25 x 18 rear tire. Specs on the bikes differ on the tire size slightly

I'm assuming that Nitto no longer manufacturers bike tires, or dirt bike tires and you are looking for NOS or good used ones? Nitto still makes tires of course, I think they are more of a specialty market high-end/high-performance tire maker these days. You probably won't find them on a Chevy Malibu from the factory.

Yes, I am looking for NOS or really good used. I want these bikes to have the correct tires they came with back in the day if possible. I have reason to suspect that they came with Yokohama tires also. So if any one has any Nitto or Yokohama tires laying around that are in usable shape, that would be great. I know there are still some around. I did manage to find one on Ebay months ago and snatched it up, but other than that they are hard to find. Thanks for reading my post Gentlemen.

If using the chain guard a 3.25 in the rear is almost a must...i'm currently restoring a model 93 and have a cheng shin 18x 3.25 on the rear and it just BARELY clears the guard..a lot of guys have shaved the knobs off the left side of a 3.50 tire to clear the guard....swap meets are where i found mine..took me about a year to find front and back for one bike....good luck in your search

Thank you so much for that info, I will stay with the 3.25 x 18 rear tire as I do not want to have to shave off knobs on a 3.50 x 18 to get it to fit. That's really good to know. Thank you Sir.

This Forum is the best thing for information and help.

I hope you aren't intending to ride on any Nittos you find. It has been years since they were produced for sale in the US. The Japanese company sold the motorcycle line to China a long time ago, and I don't know if they are still branded as such or have a new name. Google search leads back to a Quindang China firm.

NOS at this point is going to be ozoned into unusable condition for anything beyond showpiece bikes. Even if an unused tire at this point shows no sidewall cracking, it will shortly after placed in use.

Actually, just finding any brand of common knobbie tire in an original size is going to be difficult. Most these days are metric, and the metric sizes do not cross over to SAE inch sizes of years ago. For a while you could get King tires that were Nitto knock offs in inch sizing. Don't know if they are still out there. Paul had some for sale on the Strictly Hodaka website in past years, but I suspect his inventory is gone.

There is an outfit somewhere in Washington State that deals in vintage tire sizes. Don't recall the business name. Someone here will probably know how to find the website, but they won't be Nitto branded. But even if you find a tire sized to fit, it may still not fit well, as mentioned. There is no real standard in the industry for physical width limits on tread. Carcass sizes are what is shown on the sidewall, and knob styles can make width vary even within the same size of tire.

Good luck with your search.

Yes the outfit in Washington does not have knobbies in the sizes I need, I have checked with them long ago. Paul does not have any tires either. I will just have to keep looking. Thanks

Are you going for a rider resto, a man-cave resto, or a full-on concourse job?

yeah, A full-on concourse job is what I believe I am doing. In other words everything like it was back in the day.

I'll do some checking on the tires.

I have a nice new 300 19 , but I havnt decided if I should sell it yet , maybe . Hmm!

Rich

Email me with a price and include shipping if you decide to sell it.

If anyone needs one of my case repair parts that came out in the reasonator I would trade one for a new Nitto knobby.

My 93B Rat purchased from the original owner came with Riken tires, which were installed by the dealer. The Nitto knobs are not very deep so some dealers swapped out for the deeper knobs of the Riken or Yokahama. The rear Riken is the correct 3.25x18 and in near NOS condition. The front however was rotted. I purchased a perfect NOS Nitto from Bill at Hodaka Parts about 3 years ago. At the time he had 3 NOS front Nitto's left in inventory but was going to keep one for the future.
Check with Dan Jennings at Hodaka Parts. Maybe a Nitto tire was put away somewhere.
Indeed a 3.50 rear will not clear the chain guide.

Have a 300/19 Nitto here too......being in Australia isn't going to help the cause though.

If anyone has a Nitto they would sell me contact me at; [email protected] thank you

Well shoot. I have brand new, never mounted 3.25 x 17 and 3 x 21 Nitto knobbies. Sorry.

Dad gummit, that's close, but not close enough. thanks for trying

I'll keep my eyes open. I know and swap parts with a lot of vintage bike guys and NOS Nittos do turn up from time to time.

thanks brother, I appreciate that

Glad to do it, Bro.