The Hodaka Club Forum

Here is the second tank that Daniel Gromm at dent dynamics repaired for me and then Salt Lake chrome rechromed for me. Another beauty!. I think I will coat it inside with Caswell gas tank epoxy. I have used that stuff several times now and it has worked very well for me.

No signs of any dents, Gromm is a master craftsman, he must have the patience of Jobe. Kevin Williams at Salt Lake chrome is a master plater also. Cost me $200.00 for the rechroming. That's a steal compared to what I was paying in Houston, Texas before I found out about Salt Lake chrome. KC Titze from Eugene, Oregon recommended Salt Lake Chrome to me.

I will try some of that Permatex right stuff this time to adhere the tank badges with this time. Seems like pretty good stuff. Coming along

That's a beauty. By the way, Kruger, I used a timesert to fix the loose spark plug hole in the cylinder. Worked out well. Cheers

"timesert" thread repair, looks good. I learned something new. Thanks!

Very Sweet

thanks man, I am going to end up with diabetes! too much sweetness going on!

Just got these back from being rechromed, they were expensive though about $35.00 each piece. But they sure are pretty. Usually I pre polish y parts that I send to be rechromed but not these. Maybe that's why they were pricey. Zoom them up. Thanks guys

I just got in a set of wheels from Buchanans spoke and rim in Azusa, California. They installed polished stainless spokes and laced it all up. The rims Salt Lake Chrome in Salt Lake City had done previously. That's a little bit more shine than when they came from the factory but what the heck. They are just lovely. Zoom up

Here are a group of Hodaka parts and fasteners going to be zinc plated soon. Most of them I got from Bruce Young. They will be used for projects coming up. First I clean them in a vibratory tumbler to remove all rust, grease and dirt. Then I send them to the plater. They come back very nice. Just a beautifull shiny silver color of zinc. Some of the parts I will bead blast also if they are really dirty or scratched up. Remember the 7 p's; Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance

Here are some pics of the fasteners that I have replated in the past. Look at how bright and shiny they look, almost like chrome. Note the kick starter and gear shifter. They look great also. I have also chrome plated kick starters and shifters but its a little more money for rechroming. The zinc plating is usually very reasonable.

Here is a before and after pic of one of the triple tree top clamps for the 93A's I am restoring now. I polished it on my polishing bench using Brownells Polish O Ray polishing compound and then finishing it using Mothers aluminum polish. It will look a lot nicer now than before.

Here is a pic of two triple tree top clamps for my twin rat resto project and a pair of fork caps. The other pair of fork caps I all ready installed on some forks. All of this polishing was done on my polishing bench using a stitched eight inch polishing wheel using Brownells Polish O Ray compound and then at last using Mothers aluminum polish for the final polish. I went through about four triple tree clamps until I got two that were not cracked next to the pinch bolt right side. I guess I am going to have to invested in a Lincoln TIG welding machine. These cracks could be welded, ground down to where you could not tell they were welded. I have several pair of engine cases that need a W.A.R. done to them. I just keep having to many uses for TIG welder. I have many years experience welding and know what I am doing. So why not have a machine?

Here is a pic of the aluminum polishing kit sold by Harbor Freight. You can use it to do what I have done to those aluminum parts. Its cheap, I don't remember how much, and you can use an electric drill that most of us have. Works good, I have used these when I ran out of the Brownells compound I normally use for the big polishing wheels I use.

Also, another method for polishing things are these 3M scotch brite roloc discs. The different colors represent different grits. They have quite a few grits available. You can use these also with a drill. Notice the holder tool for the pads. It has a 1/4 inch shank for a drill also.
I have used scotch brite pads on a 4 1/2 inch hand grinder years ago to polish stainless boat propellers. Any thing 3M makes is an excellent product. Harbor Freight has their copy of these also. Harbor freight has quite a bit of polishing equiptment for sale. Go check it out when you get a chance. Thanks Gentlemen.

I will for sure. Thank you!!

Here are some wheels that just came in from Buchanans Spoke and Rim in Azusa, CA. They are for number two. They have polished stainless spokes, and nipples rather than zinc plated. If they ever need repolishing, its easy to do. Never will rust either. The hubs are painted with Mr. Pauls Hodaka grey that he sells. The rims were rechromed by Salt Lake Chrome. Everything has come out very nicely with these. I have a nitto NOS knobby tire for the front and an NOS 3.25 x 18 Barum for the rear. There are two pics for each wheel. Zoom the pics to see them better. Thanks Gentlemen

I want to get into what my 93A looked like when it was brand new. You have several options on how to build the front wheel. The drum: 3 options. It can be painted, raw satin finish or polished like chrome. Mine came polished like Chrome. There were 2 front backing plates used: #909218 and #929218. My Rat came with #909218 and was highly polished. Some #909218 plates were raw satin finish,some but very few were painted. Backing plate #929218 has the 2 holes drilled in it. MOST were painted, some had a raw satin finish. So, you have several options to choose from. Highly polished drum and highly polished Ace 90 plate like mine was or any combination of what I mentioned above. Put away that paint can for the front wheel!! It can all be polished! Precious jewelry can also be painted! Joe Ormonde.

This is all reminding of uncrating shiny new Hodakas in the time. Two in a crate. The first crate of Model 93 Super Rats was like opening the best Christmas present ever! Actually it was. A friend and rider out of the shop took possession of one and me the other. What Fun! OK, I'm digressing but I just had to mention uncrating Hodakas as a great memory in life! It's good that some get a second chance to be new and shiny. Carry on!

Maxie

PS---That's actually it in the picture on the right. Not so shiny but the workhorse of the time.

Wow, I never got to uncrate a Hodaka. That would be something to remember that's for sure. I do definitely remember going to a Hodaka dealer in Weslaco, Texas back in the day. My father and I went. He sold Hodaka's and Ossa's. I have always wondered what happened to his inventory of parts when he closed it down. Thank you Sir.

Eric, do you reember the name of that dealer. Bruce

Bruce are you back home or still in the warmer world? ----Clarence

I am trying to make these bikes original. What I have seen from my research on original unrestored bikes is that the front and rear hubs were painted. I know that some were a satin finish also but I could not duplicate that. I even have some with original paint on them still, so that's why I did it. The ones in the pictures above, also had paint on them before I bead blasted them. I don't want to polish anything unless it came from the factory that way. I have never seen a hub that came from the factory polished. More than likely somebody polished it later. Polishing is very labor intensive, which translates to expense, and I suspect that's why the factory did away with polished stainless fenders and went to painted fenders in later years. Thanks Gentlmen.

Hey Bruce, No I do not remember, But he was located on Highway 83 in Weslaco, Texas. I have heard that one of the other brothers in Hodaka has a dealers list. I don't know who that was but maybe he will see this post and respond. Hope you are well and doing good.

Eric: The rear hub and rear brake plate on my 93A came painted. I bought it Brand new, still have it and still ride it. The information I posted is 100% correct! All I`m trying to do is to let the guys and gals in Hodaka land know ALL of the variations that these bikes came with to make it easier to restore one. I wasn`t and will not put down anyone or their work in this site. I know that I`m one of the few guys in this site that bought a Super Rat off of the showroom floor and still have it. I hope you did`nt take me calling your bikes FINE JEWELRY a putdown. Joe Ormonde.