The Hodaka Club Forum

G'day,

My neighbour has a '73 Combat Wombat which needs a lot of love. Engine may be seized, not sure, didn't turn over when i tried, rear shocks seem seized, etc. Hasn't run since he owned it, may not have ran for decades.

My questions is, is this worth trying to get going and spending a bit of money on?
How hard is it to find parts? I am located in Brisbane, Australia

Getting it running would only be for a bit of fun, not looking to make money off it.

Thanks,
Pete

Without a doubt, restore it. Very cool bike. Perhaps if you get a free minute post a picture of the bike so we have a better idea of your starting point. They are insanely fun to ride.

I'm with Matt. A CW is arguably the most sought after Hodaka model. Parts are available here stateside but not sure what shipping would cost to Australia would be but you can always email Terry at Hodaka-Parts.com. I'll second on the request for pictures too, its always great to see what sorry state old bikes have been revived from.

Bev

I love mine. It came to me quite by accident! Was a great & fun restore! Victor

Hi Pete,
I’m in Adelaide and restored an Ace and currently on a Wombat. They are expensive to restore over here as postage from USA is expensive and given our exchange rate, parts are very expensive. It’s very hard to find even second hand parts here. It was cheaper to buy a second bike and strip it of parts needed. I was lucky to find it. It still cost a few thousand to restore. Check that you’ve got most of the wheels, frame and fittings first then research the parts required. The motors generally fair better than the body parts. I don’t know if many wombat gear/engine parts swap over to the Combat (piston, barrel definitely not) but I have some gears, cranks, clutch parts if you decide to go ahead. If not, I’d be prepared to give it a go.
Hodaka-Parts are excellent to deal with as they’ve got just about every part you’d need and their Schematics and Technical web pages are excellent.
Bert

G'day All,

Thanks for the replys. The only pic i took was of the engine, not sure if the pic will load.

Not looking at spending thousands so might see if i can get it running atleast and go from there. It's not mine after all but the owner may consider selling it, especially if it doesn't run. What do you think it might be worth in a non-running condition?

Thanks


https://imgur.com/a/laqgd9r

Here’s your pic! Save this bike!!! Victor

Wow! Nice!! The only problem I see with your bike is neglect. I'd bet the bike was never raced. No broken fins, pipe dents, down tube frame dings. Nothing. Its probably on its original bore. Yes, definitely worth the effort to restore. Not many (any) of these left lying about and VERY desirable. Especially ones this complete and unmolested. They were only made for one year so their relative rarity makes them that much more coveted. Great score! Any possibility of snapping a picture of the starboard aspect and a full view of port?

One thing to consider is which part of the bike you plan on restoring first. Organize your work so that you can order as many parts as you will need to complete the job at hand. One thing which always drives me crazy is ordering a bunch of parts and then, only after disassembly do I discover I need a part or 2 or 3, that I didn’t think to order or knew I needed. Victor

As the others have said, it looks complete. A full engine strip and rebuild should the the first job. Look closely at the piston as I understand standard size rings for most Hodakas are unobtainable so even if the bore and piston look good, you may need to go up a piston size if the rings are worn/stuck.
Bert

I have a friend who may be a hook up for a piston & rings. He may even have a set of Std rings if that’s all you think you will need. Doing the measuring is the best way to go! Victor