The Hodaka Club Forum

Hello all... new here. I’ve got a 1977 road toad that I got from my father, because he couldn’t keep it running. Just started poking it over, fluids are good, plug is new, fuse is fine. It’s got no spark though. Now not messing around with these for years, my memory has gotten foggy... the battery, do I need to have a good battery installed? It was New about 2 years ago, but not used much and pretty much was riding on the back of a camper the last year and a half. I am going to dump all fluids and refresh that all, even a new plug just because. But, the battery, it needs to be in good shape, yes?

It's a magneto ignition, will run with or without the battery. Clean the points, check for good ground.

Thanks. The points crossed my mind too. Ground more so. It has absolutely no spark! Poor old thing needs to come back to life tho. I’ll try and get picture up soon too. It’s all original to boot!

Wouldn't hurt to install points and condenser.

Check the kill switch....disconnect and see if you have spark..

You could have a bad coil if its corroded, I bought a 30 dollar coil off of Amazon from a power sports store and put the terminals I need on it to match my motor. The coils from Paul are very high priced at around 137 dollars. Other options can be bought and modified to fit your bike depending on your price range. If your still not getting spark then you could have a bad kill switch , maybe need a new startor rotor or you could have a short in your wiring/ a loose connection. I've had alot of fun working on these bikes I recently just joined the forum for help and trust me these guys will give you plenty of help I'm only 16 years old and I've learned a ton about these bikes. Good luck to ya ! Post a picture of you get a chance!

- Rylan

Rylan, Please don't take this as anything but friendly advice and some historical perspective. Many very knowledgeable people consider Paul Stannard, owner of Strictly Hodaka, to be nothing short of the savior of the Hodaka Marque. He has dedicated thousands of hours and many many many times that in dollars to the cause of keeping Hodaka off the slag heap of dead bike brands. This includes retooling, design, and the manufacture of critical and unobtainable parts which is a very expensive proposition. Incidentally, he personally owned and financed this forum at great personal expense to him and at no cost to us prior to donating it to The Hodaka Club. While $137 dollars may seem to be high priced compared to a $30 piece of Chinese crap, you can be sure it will be original Hodaka equipment that has been tested and confirmed to be fully functional and up to specification and if there are any issues, he will make it right. Therefore, and with respect, I suggest you consider abstaining from comments suggesting that the parts we depend upon Paul providing the Hodaka community which allow us to keep these bikes alive are not worth the very reasonable amount he charges.

Very well said

I never said nothing about Paul, I have no problem with him I was just saying there is cheaper options. Sorry if I came off differently

Me being 16 I have to be careful with my money and I'm sure its nicer quality but sometimes on a low budget you can get by with other options that can fit your price range. I've already bought over 400 dollars worth of stuff from Paul and I am grateful for his site

I think the line people are having an issue with is that Paul's coils are $137 and you said they weren't worth that, trust me. That at least on the surface looks like a dig on Paul whether intentional or not. Paul has made his life about Hodaka and keeping the brand relevant and parts available. He has great respect from the Hodaka community, and he's earned it. I'm happy you're having fun with your bike(s) and hope you continue to learn about them. Make plans to get to Hodaka Days at least once.

Ryland. I have 2, 1975 Road Toads I brought back from the dead. Sitting for a long time can cause many parts to deteriorate even without use.

As mentioned, Spark is not contingent on a battery. But if you have an ignition switch, for it to start the switch must be functional & the key in the on position.

I’m assuming you’ve tested it for Spark by removing the plug and held it against the cylinder or head to see if the plug does in fact spark or not.

If you have both the switch and the key and it does not get spark, try unplugging the switch from the harness first, and see if you then get spark. If you do, it could be a loose wire in the ignition portion of the harness, or the switch might be damaged internally.

Do you have a Toad wiring diagram at your disposal for reference? This will assist you in tracking down any electrical issues.

Old points with an improper gap will cause weakened or lack of spark, and a fried condenser will cause no spark at all until replaced with a functional condenser.

Start with these 2 items first. Then move on to the switch if they check out or get replaced & there is still no spark. Victor

Well sorry for the comment if I offended anyone. I hope you guys understand where I was coming from and I hope we can move past it and go back to talking hodaka's

Don`t be concerned Rylan. I`m still trying to understand what EXPERT means. The Engineers that designed the Titanic were EXPERTS. My brother Andy`s Brother In Law was an EXPERT at one time. He put ATK in the record books. Greg Zitterkopf is his name. Fastest Desert Racer on planet Earth at one time. That is what a true EXPERT is. He started out on a Hodaka too!!! I have the bike! See! I know an EXPERT too. Let the insults FLY! Joe Ormonde.

Ha ha thanks Joe, keep on hodakin !

I understood Ryland’s comment to mean it wasn’t “worth it” to him, based on his ability to pay. And I understand why. Just like there are good friends of Paul’s who buy their nuts & bolts and more common objects at local hardware stores. Give a 16 year old kid a break! He wasn’t even born when Paul was doing some of the things listed. So he is blissfully ignorant of that history and folks shouldn’t hold it against him. Victor

No offense taken Rylan. I was certainly not trying to be insulting. I was just trying to give you a little background on Paul and what he has done to help us keep these bikes going. I am thrilled that a young man such as yourself is interested in a bike made by a company that went out of business 25 years before you were born. And I'm sure Paul appreciates your business. You will be the coolest cat on the block when you get that bike rockin!

Victor, I wasn't holding anything against anyone. I was just sharing a bit of background with our new friend.

True Matt. But sometimes people can get just as miss understood about these kinds of issues as he may have seemed. I just wanted to cut him a little slack. Good job on the history lesson. Maybe he understands it’s intent! Victor

Hey Joe, you commented above that you didn't know what an Expert was. I can tell you - an EX is a has been and a SPERT is a drip under pressure !!!

we all good everyone , lets get back to helping this guy with his bike instead of turning his question into an arguement

I dig, Victor.

Far out, Matt!!! Peace & Love!!! Victor

Like right on, man! Hard to believe I still talk like that after almost 50 years. Cool!

Cool, Dude, Cool! Hang loose Bro, and get a groovy time on a bike! For reals!!! Victorio!