The Hodaka Club Forum

Hello all I am looking at my grail bike, the Road toad. I found this on Craigslist listed for $1700 I’ve got the seller to consider $1500. Seller says the bike does not run but does turn over smoothly. Said it needs “top end rebuild, compression is at 60lbs” the bike looks very clean however it looks like the frame is from a super rat or painted blue for some reason, also appears like the seat isn’t original. Odometer is over 2k miles. Would you say $1500 is fair for this? I don’t mind tinkering within reason, do you think seller is overvaluing? he keeps emphasizing its rarity and I’m thinking “yea, rare with all original parts and running” he’s also about 3 hours from me. Also does anyone know if I could get this registered as street legal in California? Thanks for all your sage advice.

With nothing to go on but the pictures and your description, I'd say worth it. A nice, complete Road Toad which looks like it was never beat is a great score. The coffin tank is a bonus to some. I'm guessing that is a Road Toad frame with a nice blue paint job, but check the head badge. If it says something like off road only, it is a SR/SC frame. That would be really unlikely though. Road Toads are an absolute blast to ride and for a 100cc bike, they rip. I love mine. Its a great 'round town blaster that has awesome trail chops. Great bikes!

If you have been following the market for Hodakas they aint getting cheaper. Probably the original frame as the battery cover side plate would have nowhere to be mounted on an SR/SC frame. Looks like oil injection bypassed, wrong tail light, chrome rack, ignition switch and dash missing as are the very hard to replace blinkers. Pistons and rings can be sourced. How strong are those original features in your plans? 1500 would be max value to me. Most likely cost you approx 300 for top end rebuild. Puts it at 1800 as a runner. Fun play bikes for sure.

Thank you for these responses, exactly what I was after. I see them so infrequently in my area and if I do it’s just parts or the engine alone. I have a feeling I might kick myself later if I let it go. Couple more questions, so I’ve never actually seen this bike in person, do you think it would fit in a 2002 short bed Tacoma? Also when you say a rebuild would run me around $300, is that if I did it all myself or if I took it to a shop? Also about legality, I am in California would I get a ticket for riding this around town? Register it? Title change? Any further info is greatly appreciated.
More pics:

300 is a best guess with you doing the tear down and reassembly. Budget 175.00 for top end rebuild kit which includes piston, rings and gaskets. Budget another 125.00 for machine shop services. This assumes this is ALL that's
wrong. Since you cant hear it run, spark issues or dried seals, clutch or shifter issues can lead you down a path to more costly repairs. These bikes are some of the easiest to rebuild and lots of technical advise and parts are available. They are physically smaller as dirt bikes go, so they fit in most trucks.

Because of the year, 1976 it 1977, it will require a full set of turn signals. Find out if he has them and is the wiring harness & Switch in place, because it looks like they are missing. Also has the incorrect, earlier Ace/Womvat tail light. The correct one is the rectangular one found on the Toads & 03 Wombats! Victor

Echoing olddogs excellent advice, and I would advise you to just presume you'll need new seals, it is cheap insurance against damaging a new top end, especially if you don't know exactly how old the old seals are. If you are at all mechanical, the Hodaka engines are a delight to work on. In fact, to me one of the joys of owning a Hodaka is how much mechanically you can do yourself.

-Stever

You guys are fantastic thank you
Calling the seller tonight armed with some
great info.

A lot of the missing bits are readily available and, unless you are a stickler for authenticity on some of the hard to find stuff like blinkers, cheap.

You've asked about registration in California.

I'm from Ohio.

But I can tell you if it doesn't have a title that can be transferred it's going to be difficult to get a title.

No title, no register.

The engine:

2 k on the odometer, oil injection and 65 psi compression do not add up.

The parts you want but don't get: expensive.

I've done a couple 100cc bike "restorations".

I'd pencil in a grand.

On the other hand, I have the stuff to measure your cylinder if you buy it and I'll do it for free if you are a hodaka club member. I also own a Lysle cylinder hone & I'd do my best on a hone & re-ring for you, or a hone to plus .010 for you. Also no charge if you are a hodaka club member. You buy parts, pay postage.

aharpster at copper dot net

And you’ll need the rear rack to be able to mount the rear turn signals. And the tool box mounts to it as well!

Did you buy it? Victor

Yes I bought it!
I am the 4th owner, but the second that is serious about riding it.
I don’t know much of the provenance other than the original owner passed away, and used it primarily as an enduro race bike, so he shed as much weight as he could, unfortunately the blinkers, rack, and turn signals basically all the stuff that’s hard to find. The second owner was the original owners brother who knew nothing about bikes and stored it until 3rd owner bought it, rode it 2-3 times and then stored it for 8+ years in a climate controlled garage. I do have a title registered as an off highway not street legal bike. It’s missing an ignition switch, the hose between the air filter and the engine, blinkers, signals, rack, toolkit, mirrors, and probably other things I have yet to even know about.

I bought an illustrated parts manual on eBay and am excited to delve into this restoration. At least to make a runner out of it. I am on a budget and OEM parts are a luxury I can’t afford at the moment unless they are actually affordable so I am very open to any tips or suggestions. Thanks all for responding to me and helping me make this dream a reality. My neighbor is convinced all the bike needs is a carb clean to make it a runner but I want to do this the right way and not damage other components rushing the job.

PS just became a full fledged club member

.Welcome to the asylum. Sounds like your biggest expense is going to be that low compression. You could get lucky and it may just be some stuck piston rings from sitting for years. Its hard to run an engine to that low of a compression reading by simply riding it. It would become difficult to start once it got to 100 psi. A light seizure on its last ride may also be a cause of stuck rings and low compression. Keep us posted.. We love a mystery.

Here’s where to get parts! New and/or NOS parts from Terry Larson at Hodaka-Parts.com. Things like new pistons & rings, bottom end seals & bearings, air intake boots etc.

For used parts contact Bruce Young at HodakaPartsIdaho.com. I am pretty sure Bruce has your tail light, rack and maybe other used parts at very reasonable prices.

Let us know how we can help! Victor

You guys are such a huge boon, I will definitely keep you all posted on my progress, ups/downs. Bear with me if my questions or terminology might be nonsensical. I’m going to be learning as I go. I will definitely look into replacing some of those parts, and I am gearing up to start the tear down. Thanks for giving me those sources that was going to be my next question.

PS: Also I forgot to mention that the seller told me 2k miles on the Odometer in error. It is actually 26k miles on the OD which may explain why the compression is so low.

Does anyone know if there's a Hodaka Workshop Manual for this model?

If there is, the owner should get one. Soon.

A parts diagram and parts list is good, but a workshop manual would be key.

I’ve been looking, but haven’t found an actual owners/service manual yet, unless the illustrated parts list works double duty as a manual. This is the one I bought and says it’s about 32 pages long... not exactly comprehensive but will probably still be very helpful.

There is no official workshop manual for any model after 1973 with the Wombat/Combat Wombat manual. That said, the Wombat/Combat Wombat Official Workshop Manual has much valuable information which similarly applies to the Dirt Squirt. A good investment.

What Matt said! Terry has the Wombat manual. It contains a lot of good info. The Toad parts list is basically like the fiche parts lists on Terry’s website! Between the two, you’ll have great resources!

I have the Ace 90/100/100B/100B+/100MX manual and the Wombat 125/Combat Wombat manual, and the parts manuals for the 03 Wombat, the 99 Road Toad and the Combat Wombat! Handy stuff!!! Victor

and if you go to Hodaka-Parts.com look in the upper left hand corner there is whats called the hodaka library , lots of good reading . welcome aboard ...albert

Hi all, I started some tinkering. I figured I would start by cleaning the carb. Here is some more things I discovered about the bike. The badge and some of the markings on the frame. I also noticed the battery cover? The green L shaped bracket with the 100 decal seemed to have just been held on with one long bolt to the frame just sort of floating there. Note the missing elbow from the air cleaner to the carb. Also the exhaust pipe is missing it’s too bolt and doesn’t appear to have anything to bold to. Am I missing a battery entirely? There is nothing behind that L shaped bracket. Is this a confirmed 02 Toad frame? Someone mentioned if it wasn’t a toad frame that battery cover would have nothing to bolt to. Is the fact that it’s kinda jerry rigged and just floating mean the frame may not be a toad? Thanks all

Diagram Q on the HPI website parts list show you the parts of the battery box and how that ties things together. That green cover is the battery cover. Its loose because the battery box is gone. The pipe can be mounted solidly without the battery box if you find all the parts. Since so many parts have been removed, some creativity may be involved. You indeed have an model 02 RT.

Thank you, the battery controls the headlight, taillight and blinkers I take it?

I have an extra battery box is you're interested.