The Hodaka Club Forum

Hi all, just got my Road Toad running again. All seems to be running right until I drop it in gear and take off. I manage to go a few feet and it bogs out and stalls like it's out of gas. Will fire right back up with no problem. Not sure where to look next. Any help or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

Check fuel flow and float level.

Thanks for the reply. Just put on new fuel line and can see it flowing good. Will have to pull the carb and check float level.

Check the main jet and pilot tube for varnish.
Sounds like a gummed up carb.

CZ

Will it sit and idle nicely all on its own? (no throttle tweaking to keep it running)
Ed

Just got back in town, thanks for the replies. Yes Ed, it idles great, no tweaking at all needed.

To me if it quits it is running out of gas, if it bogs and quits it has too much fuel. When it bogs pull the plug, if is pitch black and a little wet you are too rich. If it is whiter and super dry you are probably lean and have a lack of fuel, float level?? ------------ Clarence

Exhaust pipe plugged up? Remove the insert to see if there is any difference.
Air cleaner condition?
Any carb changes since it last ran?

I'm making some SWAG (Scientific Wild A$$ Guess) assumptions regarding the situation you report.

1. Machine ran OK when stored. Been stored quite a long time.
2. You did typical prep work to get it running . . . but may have skipped an item or two hoping it would all work out (don't ask me how I know a person might do that ).
3. You've confirmed that it idles just fine without special attention to keep it running.

OK.

4. Starts and idles just fine - pilot circuit seems to be working just fine.
5. The problems start immediately when you try to start moving . . . this is when throttle gets advanced and revs start build -- seems like onset of problems is wayeeee too fast to relate to float level (and why would float level be different than when stored - other than the possibility of failure to control excessive fuel delivery, which would cause problems you are NOT having).
6. Let's look for things which go bad as a) throttle is advanced or b) engine revs build.
6a. As soon as you advance the throttle to 1/8th or 1/4th, you are asking for fuel through the main jet. Is it clogged? (Didja check it? )
6b. As soon as revs start to build, significantly more exhaust needs to be expelled. If the exhaust system is clogged up, things go bad in a hurry.

That's my six cents for now,

Ed

I would take your pipe off , build a fire and BBQ the pipe. Something I always do with a painted pipe (but not chrome ones). BBQ’ing the pipe burns out the carbon & oil built up inside the pipe. If the pipe is really bad, you may actually see it torching out both ends of the pipe.

Once it’s done torching, you can let the fire burn out and allow the pipe to cool. Then put it back in the bike & test how it runs.

If it runs better after BBQ’ing the pipe, then you can remove the pipe & paint it with satin Ceramic High Heat Black Engine paint.

If there are still issues, pull the main jet & clean it. Normally I would say pull the pilot jet as well, but since it starts & idles OK, your pilot jet sounds OK. Victor

P.S. The standard main jet for a Model 99 Road Toad is a 170 main. If it’s an O2 Toad then the standard main jet is a 160 main.

Thanks a ton for all the replies! I probably can't get back to it for a few days, and will report back on what I find. Plenty of good advice here! This is a really useful site.

Was just able to get back out there. Here's what I found so far; Removed pipe insert first, still bogged out and stalled. Removed carb, it is remarkably clean. Checked all jets and they are clean. Looks like my float level is within spec of 14-15mm (has independent floats). Air cleaner is good. Not sure where to go next. Maybe pipe is restricted?

Sounds like classic pipe plugged syndrome. A lot of baffles and screen in these later pipes. Bugs love to crawl in and get stuck in the spooge collected in there. I would spend a couple minutes and take the pipe right off. Its gonna be loud but you will get an answer in just a few feet.

Just removing the spark arrestor insert is not a complete test for pipe plugging. If you can't do the traditional "pipe barbecue" - at least run some chain (or a plumber's pipe snake) through the header bend - and poke a long wood dowel or metal rod in from the rear of the pipe to break through any wasp nests/mouse nests which might be in there.
Ed

BBQ…. Get the pipe hot! Burn up what’s inside. Oil, carbon, or like Ed suggested, bird nests, rodent nests, etc. You can remove your spark arrester and you can toss it on as well. Just remove any fiberglass packing. Victor

Just now getting back to this. BBQ'd the pipe for a couple of hours, remounted the carb and it fired right up, ran well. Went through the gears but then right back to bog/stall. Thought the clean pipe was it, now it doesn't want to run at all. Will fire up cold after it's been sitting but simply won't run. Looks like it's getting plenty of gas, pulled the new plug and it's wet. Not sure of next steps. Sorry for the amateur hour. Thanks for any help or ideas!

A review of the messages suggests to me that you did two things to get it running. 1. Cleaned carb (reported jets looked amazingly clean) 2. Barbecued pipe.

Then the bike ran for a brief while and then suddenly got worse than ever.

My SWAG (Scientific Wild A_ _ Guesses) A. Barbecuing the pipe is what allowed it to run for while - if only briefly. It was a good thing to do. B. Grunge has been newly delivered to the carb and has plugged the pilot circuit. Do you have an in-line fuel filter? I highly recommend one. Disassemble carb and watch closely for grunge, be sure pilot jet AND ALL PILOT CIRCUIT PASSAGES are clear. The pilot circuit passages are the smallest and easiest to clog in the carb - AND the pilot circuit delivers fuel at ALL throttle settings, so it must be made to operate correctly.

Ed

Sorry for not getting back sooner. I was just now able to get back to work on this. Bullfrog was spot on. I pulled the carb and the pilot was gunked up. Must have picked up some loose crap from last cleaning, and yes, I have an inline filter. Anyway, blew everything out and the bike runs great! I didn't know that pipe was plugged up that bad. BBQ worked fine. Thanks for everyone's advice here!

Always good to hear there’s a happy ending! Victor