The Hodaka Club Forum

I feel like I’m missing the rationale for having holes in the air filter cover on my 03 Wombat. It would seem to just allow air to bypass the filter media. I cleaned (ultrasonic) the carburetor before taking it on the bad rock and when I pulled the air filter to clean it afterwards and looked in the carburetor it was caked with dirt.
I initially thought that maybe the cover had been modified because none of the other covers from my Dirt Squirt or Super Rat have these holes in them. But after looking on Terry’s site it looks like that how they came from the factory.
Am I missing some other piece of the system or are you just supposed to clean the carburetor after every exposure to dust??

You need a filter for the 03 Wombat or the modified race filter that is listed under the filter section of Terrys, Hodaka Parts Inc site.

With that style of inner cover, there needs to be a layer of foam air filter material that covers the inside of the cover. On the original air filters of that design (original Wombat model 94 & 94a, the Dirt Squirt, etc.) the inner cover was solid, without extra holes. They didn't require the extra foam as no air was introduced through the cover. To supply more air, the holes were added, but the additional foam is required if you want your engine to last.
So, you can either buy the proper filter element for that inner cover, or get some foam filter material and cut an inner piece (and don't forget to oil it).