The Hodaka Club Forum

I've been thinking about getting into vintage motocross recently. Always been a fan of ringing out smaller bikes, so the 100cc class sounds like my in. Now the '75 Road Toad that is in question is no concourse quality example, so I feel it would be a good candidate for a track bike. Would it be a bad idea to move forward with converting this bike into a vintage racer? Can this bike be at all competitive?

Any input is appreciated, Thanks.

No, yes, and go for it. Strip off the lights, turn signals, horn, and rack. The Road Toad mill, in stock trim, is a surprisingly perky 100cc engine as is. You would want a more high-performance expansion chamber. You would also want to remove the oil injection pump and run premix. Also, consider adding a tooth to the drive sprocket. Installing a fork brace is a good idea. You also might consider removing the stainless steel rear fender and replacing it with a plastic one. Ditto the metal fuel tank. Also, a 21" front wheel is advisable. I have one that is completely stock and that bike rips. There are a lot of things you can do to pump up the performance of the RT engine (high compression Super Rat head, port work, larger 28mm carburetor, etc.) but I'm telling you, as is, the stock motor is quite impressive. Maybe Ivan "Pop" Beattie will weigh in on the subject. He campaigns one very successfully and I recall it is basically stock. Also, if you are a member of the Hodaka Club, check the back issue index of The Resonator Revisited. I recall an article about modifying the Road Toad for MX work. I also recall the subject visited on this forum some time ago.

matt glascock wrote:No, yes, and go for it. Strip off the lights, turn signals, horn, and rack....

Thanks Matt, I located that article on building up the toad. That was exactly what I was looking for! Contacted my friend Mike Lake today and told him my plans, He's going to share some insight during the build as well.

I’m still amazed at the power this little 98cc motor has! And great handling with the Toad frame and the 18” rear & 19” front wheels. Wish I had a 21” for it! Victor

Cool Beeker. That will make a great race bike. You can also remove the keyed main switch and battery box as the bike will run just fine off the magneto. You'll also want to remove the red rotary switch and front brake perch and throttle housing and get a standard throttle (Moose makes a good one - cheap). You will need to place a kill button in the usual left bar position. Let us know how it goes. I'm interested in the racing potential of the Road Toad - hare scrambles in this case. I have a line on a stripped Road Toad that I will pick up if the price is not too high and a hare scrambler would be its destiny.

Never owned one but rebuilt a friends 99 a couple of years ago. What a neat cylinder, something we would like to have had in the early days of racing! Big ports, large aluminum fins, big exhaust. This thing should respond to even bigger carbs and porting. It should work well in my opinion. Have fun!

Maxie

In my opinion, the biggest weakness you will encounter when racing the Road Toad is the gearbox. I have broken third gear twice on mine, once in a motocross and once in a hare scramble. Strictly Hodaka used to sell improved cush drive rubbers that reportedly solved the problem but they are no longer available. If you shift carefully, use the clutch, set up the bike to minimize chain slack, and keep your fingers crossed you should be okay. In addition, assuming you switch to an 18" rear tire, make sure that the tire cannot contact the underside of the rear fender when the shocks are fully compressed. Any contact will transmit shock loads to the transmission promoting failure.

Brian

And one more thing, my Road Toad racer (Super Toad) is my favourite Hodaka.

Brian

Mike sent over the schematics for a pipe design. I'm thinking that I will build that first. Doesn't do any good making this motor suck, squeeze, and bang better if I can't blow better....

Ah yes - the four important skill sets of any race-ready ride.

Exciting things are happening!

Acetylene welded the cones yesterday. First time welding sheet metal with gas. This probably won't be the only pipe I make, practice makes perfect.

Sweet pipe, Beeker.

Made some more progress today. Got the pipe mostly mounted. Moved the air filter housing to the other side of the bike because I can't ride without the Toad. Pulled the fenders, lights, and all of the wiring. Trying to figure out tank and seat options. Currently sporting a DT2 tank and a cut down pw80 seat. Removed unnecessary weight from the flywheel and stator plate. Slotted stator plate mounting holes to adjust timing. Having plenty of VW parts lying around, I swapped in a 12v Bosch coil and remote mounted a condenser under the tank. I'll be bringing two batteries to the track. One will sit on the charger while I'm running the other. I removed the cylinder today, need to decide if I'm going to do the port/head work myself or send it out.

Neat Project! Just one thing: my brother did the same mod to my flywheel and it EXPLODED! Before you fire up your bike, remove the shifter assembly and chain. That way IF it does explode the shifter mechanism wont get damaged. Fire up the Engine and rev it up HARD until the flywheel shows no signs of cracking. Be sure to be standing on the Right side of the Bike and that no people or low flying Planes are near by. Take it from someone that saw what a flywheel that came apart at around 10 Thousand RPM`s does to concrete!!! Joe Ormonde.

I will keep that in mind. That sounds exciting! And potentially gruesome... in communication with Rich at Rich's Taylor'd porting. Can't wait to hear this thing when it's done!

Your Flywheel will probably be just fine! I`m not ashamed to Post LAME things that I did back in the day searching for more revs. My Brother was on the Right side of my Super Rat when the Flywheel came apart so he didn`t get hurt. Keep things safe and make it FLY!!! Joe Ormonde.

Progress has been made on the engine. I tore it down and sent the required pieces to RacerClam. Almost have everything finished up with him. Engine assembly is next

Man-o-MAN! This bike is gonna rip!! Carb veins, giant polished ports, grooved combustion chamber. The whole schmeer! That guy sure knows how to pump up a motor!

My jaw is on the floor! Wow! Keep us posted!