The Hodaka Club Forum

Hey guys, Steve here. I am trying to wrap up the restoration of my '74 Super Rat and the KYB finned shocks are toast. The shafts are pitted and springs are also. Are there rebuild parts for these or what is a good replacement shock (that won't require a second mortgage)? Thanks

There was a company offering replacement seals, but I hear they sold out. No more being offered. Not sure if anyone else knows a resource. I’ll watch this myself…

Progressive shocks are great and reasonably priced. I have them on all my race bikes and they have worked flawlessly for years.

Thanks, I had thought about Progressives but didn't know if there was a better choice, not that they are bad. I will see what I can find from them.

If you ride at a level where a wider range of load and damping adjustability of your suspension is a concern, WPs are expensive but great. You can spend a zillion dollars on period works shocks and have the best ride as of 1972. You can always spend more money for modern works-level shocks if you like to compete with the Marty Tripes 100 cc Works Revenge guys. But if you are a weekend warrior that likes a consistently reliable ride that can take you through a serious hit, Progressives have to be leading the "best bang for the buck" race. 0.02

Has anybody tried the Vintco air shocks?

https://www.vintco.com/VintCo-Air-Shock-14.25

I wrote an article about rebuilding the KYB shocks that was published in the Hodaka Clubs "Resonator Revisited". If you are a member of the club look in the back issues of Resonator Revisited, it is in V2-36, starting on page 27. I have been told that the rebuild shafts that I used are no longer available, but the ones just a little shorted were still available. Worth a check.

Dirty_Rat. What about the seals? Are seals still available? And I’m still looking for a spring for one. Victor

The kit I refer to in the article contains the shaft, the seal head with new seals and the damper piston. The damper piston is incorrect so I used the original. Check the article for instructions on how to do it.