The Hodaka Club Forum

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I have still been lurking here and there
I’m thinking about converting my Ace 100 trials bike back to trail bike mode for the upcoming ISDT RR in Combs Arkansas this summer and I have a few questions on set up.
1) Is it better to use a 21 inch front wheel ?
2) what is the best gearing ?
3) What is a decent rear shock that fits correctly and doesn’t break the bank ? Maybe NJB ?

Thanks !

I had a little more time this morning to search the forum and pretty much found all the answers to my questions.
I will probably keep the “dirt bike” wiring with the battery, lighting and ignition switch deleted.
I read Matt’s discussion about the 21 inch front wheel on his DS and taking into consideration what the Captain had to say I’m going to stick with the stock wheels...just have to see what knobby tire is available for the front. The rear will remain a trials universal for clearance issues.
Any other set up tips are greatly appreciated.

Groovie. You'll have a great dirt bike. If you were going to 21", you'd need to up-size the rear wheel accordingly or your steering geometry would be off and handling would suffer. Also, keep in mind the benefit I described was in the context of northern Minnesota riding. Deer trails, fire roads, log crossings, deep sand, water crossings, and the most amazing mud anywhere. In other words, nasty. Probably minimal benefit for lighter trail riding. Progressive Suspension makes great bolt-on shocks that are consistently great yet don't break the bank. Gearing will be based on the range of terrain you intend to ride.

Does your bike currently have 19" front and 18" rear wheels. If so and you want to go with a 21" front wheel, there are a couple of things you can do to help with handling. One is to get longer shocks. This will balance out the bike as the 21" front wheel will raise the front end about 1", so if you get shocks about 1" longer steering will stay the same. The second is you can lengthen the swingarm 1" to 1 1/2". This will make a bike a little more stable at higher speeds.

Finding narrow knobby tires is a real challange. You can sometimes find NOS tires but will likely have hardened over time. A really good choice is the IRC GP1 tire. It works well in a variety of terrain. Not a knobby but the next best thing. You can usually find these in the narrow sizes. If not, the Shinko 244 is a good 2nd choice. It has the same appearance as the IRC, but not quite the performance (in my opinion).

Thanks for the input guys ! It does have a 19” front and 18” rear. The front is a 2.75 Shinko trials and the rear is a 3.00 Shinko “ Golden Boy” which is a trials universal. They seem to work pretty good at a somewhat fast trail pace, but I would have more confidence at race pace with a knob on the front and the longer shock and 21” front might be the only option for that.
If I knew it was going to be dry down there I would keep the stock set up for the grins of riding it like a stripped down Ace in 1970.
Thanks again for the help !

Your Shinko Golden Boy is the 244. It is a good all around tire. Just doesn't have quite the gription of the IRC.

Thanks Dale. I will look into the IRC.

I just noticed the link you posted Gearboy. Thank you !