The Hodaka Club Forum

OK, to make a restart, I removed my exhaust, BBQ’d it, sanded/stripped the turquoise tuner off the pipe, Naval Jellied the rust, and ended up with the stripped pipe below.

Next, I hung the pipe from my garage door, and gave it 3 coats of the Enamel Ceramic High Heat engine paint.

After painting the pipe, I pulled off the air box. I needed to weld the lower portion of the bracket which holds the screw to bolt on the covers. Then I sanded off the rust and lightly sanded the old paint to give it some tooth for repaint, and shot the air box black again inside and out. My welding still isn’t retail quality but I’m improving.

I removed the zinc bracket from the back of the air box before painting, and while the paint dried, I cleaned the bracket with a brass wire brush on my drill. I also replaced the old 6mm nuts & lock washers with new ones as they were rusted badly.

Finally, I removed the mud apron from the frame and figured I would wash it clean & lightly paint over the old vinyl. But to my surprise, after removing the dried mud, the apron was in pretty good shape. So it’s just going back on clean.

That’s it for now. More to come as I move forward! Victor

Looking good keep it going!

will do! Victor

Pulled the seat & tank off today to find there was no coil under the tank. Now I’m really glad I bought 2 of those coils posted in the other thread about getting no spark!

Also found the left front tank bolt had its head twisted off. Victor

Looks like you got lucky with the tank bolt. I’ve had to deal with at least 3 of those that were broken off flush and well rushed in, not fun.

Could have been too long and hit bottom, good and snug not super tight. -----Clarence

Yep. I did have to lock a pair of needle nose vice grips on it to start it turning. Then my screw extractors pulled it out easily. Victor

Fenders are off. Next the lower chain guide. Then the motor comes out.

BTW. Is this the correct kickstand for a Combat Wombat? It seems very short. Even if I straighten it out it doesn’t seem to be the correct length to me. How long is an OEM CW kickstand? This one, IF it was straight, would be 12” long.

Victor

Handle bars off.
Shocks off.
Rear wheel off.
Motor out!!!

Front end comes apart next. Then the frame gets pressure washed and rust removed. Victor

Everything is off. Down to the frame w/ swing arm and the brake pedal, & the foot peg bar. Tomorrow she gets pressure washed to get rid of the dirt, grime & oil!

Need to clean it to see how the brake pedal comes off. If someone wants to tell me how to remove the rear pedal, that would be cool! It’s getting dark, so cleaning happens tomorrow!

The CW has a different rear motor mount than the Aces & Toads. ; D Victor

Oh, and to satisfy my curiosity about whether or not I found all the steering head ball bearings, how many does the Combat Wombat have, top & bottom?

There was virtually no grease on them any more & they developed a slight magnetic charge. Enough to hold 2 of them together until you raised them both off the steering stem! From my quick count I think I have either 21 lower & 22 upper, or it might be 20 lower & 23 upper. How close am I??? Victor

Edit. OK the parts fiche says 23 on the bottom & 25 on top. Guess I’m missing a few of each. May have been the D.P.O. put it back together without them all. But I’ll check the floor again tomorrow. - Victor

Hi Victor, The brake pedal comes off quiet easily. First disengage the return spring. The actuating rod is already off if you removed the rear tire. Otherwise, remove the actuating rod that connects the pedal to the brake arm on the rear hub. There is a cylindrical liner/sleeve that runs through the pivot point on the brake pedal. It is flared to the outside so it cant pass through the pedal and drilled on the inside to allow a cotter pin to secure it once in position. There should be a washer between the cotter pin and the brake pedal frame boss. Simply remove the cotter pin and the whole shootin' match will pull out. I'm sure you can figure it out once you get the grime removed and see the assembly in the light of day.

Thanks for the play by play Matt! I’m going to power wash it this afternoon. Victor

Glad to pitch in, Victor. Us Combat Wombat brothers have to stick together!

As to the kickstand length, I've worked on a couple of different models that I've stuck a 2x4 under the stand to get it to sit more upright. So if it seems short I'd say it's normal.

Well it’s got about a 30* bend in the top as well. I’m going to heat it up with a torch and see if I can straighten it back out. Victor

I worked part time at a local Hodaka dealership back in the day. There were no Hodakas in the showroom that had 2X4's under the kickstand. 2X4's are not "normal". Something is bent, worn or mismatched.

Mike Perrett

When folded up it should be close to the frame. On mushy ground a 1" block of wood is a good deal as is a 2x4 on a side hill. -------------- Clarence

Vic,the side stand on my CW is13 1/4" long, 12 3/4" center of bolt hole to end of stand. There is about a 20 degree angle in the mounting bracket at the top of the stand,but the shaft itself is straight.

Larry S

Thanks Matt. After getting it cleaned, I found the cotter pin and pulled it apart just as you described! Victor

I’ve now cleaned and removed the rust with Naval Jelly. Next step is sanding it smooth and a coat of primer followed by a couple of coats of satin black. Victor

Good show!

Well, I finished sanding & got the first coat of satin black on the frame. I contemplated drilling out the VIN tag rivets, but decided to just tape it instead.

But she’s coming along, slowly but surely. I think I put in 2 hours of hand sanding on this frame.

And this time I tried the Rustoleum Satin Black paint & primer in one. It was only a dollar more than the regular Rustoleum, so I’m hoping it looks as good. Building it up in 2 coats, slowly. Victor

Looking good and coming along nicely Victor. Compared to me I,d say it,s anything but “slowly” but surely.

Looks good Victor, I will be painting my 01 soon so I'm looking for a black that I can use without using a separate primer. Is that a good choice for motor covers too or do you need something that is rated for higher heat? I might stick to the same color scheme for the motor as I did with my rat so I would assume you would need something that is higher heat for the cylinder?