The Hodaka Club Forum

Why is there a difference between the throttle housing & throttle tubes on an Ace vs. a Wombat? I thought Hodaka didn’t chang things unless it was a necessary change? Since both bikes used a single cable & 7/8” bars, anyone know why the change? Thanks! Victor

I do know the Wombat throttle has a shorter throw (goes to WOT with less rotation required). Elliptical cable spool. That a big improvement.

That's it, slightly larger "wheel" to take up the throttle cable - to match the larger carb size.
Ed

I see. I was thinking it was something like the supplier went away. Didn’t think it made a difference in carb size. The slides all seem close to the same length…. Victor

OK. Wait a minute…

The Ace & the 96 Dirt Squirt have the same motor & carb. So, why does the DS have the Wombat part numbers for the throttle housing & tube? It would seem that bigger carb was not the reason…. Victor

Back in the day it was a trend to install a quick throttle. It would make no difference to the average person, it would make the slower rider go faster but only in his mind. But the real question is why will it snow tomorrow but not the day before?? ----Clarence

Backward compatibility is a thing

I have one on my Super Rat. Its great in that you can rip it open without hyper extending your wrist and getting out of shape on the bars.

If red worked so well for hodaka why did they paint the wombat black? world climate change resulted in failed crops causing the loss of people and stock. Cows blood was used in red paint so the cost of red paint went up so high it was less affordable and costly, Hodaka saved money by using Black paint?? ----------- Clarence

Maybe they were thinking black was easier for average Joe to touch up the frame?? All the other Japenese bikes had black frames and they wanted to fit in?? Now days red is the most expensive of the automtive colors. Cost issues? I have seen pictures of the prototype Wombat with a red frame and I would have left them red. Red really makes the chrome pop.

My memory tells me that black was chosen for the 125cc intro partly to make a visual/notable "break" from the years of previous 90's and 100's. Plus, it may indeed have saved some on production cost. A bit later on when the Dirt Squirt came out, Japanese industrial red paint standards had changed - that's why toaster tank Dirt Squirts were more of a tomato soup red than the earlier "fire enginey red" of the 90's and 100's.
Ed

Well this has gone way off track….. Victor

Very off track - but only after answering the original question.
Ed

Sorry I didn't realize how far you wanted the tracks to go. Who made the decision, was it voted on, was there debate, was it done early in the morning, was everyone in agreement, was it decided on in America, was PABATCO in the decision loop. we probably weren't there, we are kinda guessing and presume it to be . you seemed to be second guessing our guesses? I guess i don't know the absolute, correct, exact, precise answer. And sorry for the hijack. I just try and add a little dry humor during this drought year. -------Clarence

And now you know why the price of lip stick is 11 cents higher in Tucson.

I enjoy any post that adds interesting information. Thanks for the tip on the lipstick.

Clarence! No worries. Not second guessing. It just seems weird to me, that the same motor wouldn’t get the same throttle. Matt’s answer seems to make the most sense. Now if I can find a Wombat throttle housing so the Dirt Squirt will be ‘correct.’ Victor

Question: Why . . .
Answer: Because . . .
Response to answer: Nah, that's not it . . .

The only way to find out why anything is done is for the person or persons that made the decision to tell us why. Why. Why were the best foot pegs ever made installed on the 1972 Wombat BUT the 1972 Super Rat came with the crummy rubber ones? Why was the Wombat throttle tube short like the early throttle was BUT had a new style of Grips? Finally the Combat Wombat had the same length throttle Tube that the other Japanese Race Bikes did. Then in 1974 Hodaka came out with the Super Combat and only made it for one year. Why? All the Hodaka Fans wanted something faster than the Honda CR 125 Elsinore and Hodaka had it so what did the Brilliant minds at Hodaka do? Discontinue the Super Combat. Why did Hodaka go out of Business? Joe.

why o why did I ever leave Wyoming
why o why did I ever have to go {% /o0=/_=gg}
The song of long ago. ____________------ Clarence

PQ Clarence

Joe,

With the wandering astray this thread has taken, it needs a new title. Perhaps something like, "Mysteries of the Hodaka Universe - which aren't all that mysterious"

Joe, answering your questions would require a book length response . . . but since that has already been done . . . I think I'll go a different route.

The specs for the final batch of toaster tank Rats were finalized BEFORE 125cc Wombat production started. Chronology is important. One can opine that the serrated steel pegs "should" have been on the Rat . . . but I think that falls into the realm of 20/20 hindsight.

And now for a few questions in return: While I don't have time to go check . . . is the cable "take-up wheel" on the CW throttle a bit bigger than on the Model 94 Wombat? (I think maybe it is . . .???) When operating a business group involving R&D, product engineering, complete "vehicle" component manufacturing and international supply chain connections and a national distributor/dealer network, how far in advance do decisions like closing up shop have to be made? How many small motorcycle companies went head-to-head against the "Big Four" with competition machines and survived to tell the tale? For that matter, how many small motorcycle companies (globally) existed in 1970 but were gone in 1980? You are going to need a big sheet of paper for that list. Have you read the "Hodaka" book by Ken Smith? (I highly recommend it.)

Ed

By the time the Super Combat made it through design, prototyping, tooling, and production, the big "4" had the coin to turn out mid-year models that featured significant performance improvements compared to the same bike built six months earlier. That the PABATCO designers had the foresight and juice to design a bike that would come alive through such an arduous and time-consuming sequence of events and still beat the Elsinore hole shot after shot is a remarkable achievement and an indelible page in MX history. If Shell Oil took this into consideration and put even a fraction of R&D bread into Hodaka that the big 4 spent, Hodaka would still be churning out a$$-kicking race bikes to this day. Says me.

I guess in a sense, they still are.

To answer the question Ed asked how many motorcycle companies in 1970, there were 39. Some I do not remember American Eagle, Dot, MB, MV Augusta, MZ, Pederson, Puch, Sachs,, Honda had 20 models, and Hodaka had three. In 1980 there were 25 companies and some I have never seen Carabela, Cosmo, ItalJet, Laverda, Moto Morini, SWM, Honda had 41 models and Hodaka was out of business. If you need more info let me know. ------ Clarence