The Hodaka Club Forum

Hello,
I've posted a few other times on the forum, and looked around for a few of these questions, but I figure they might be pretty easy for most of you on this board, so thanks for looking

1. I have an ace 90, how do I tell what year it is? I have the serial number

2. The rear tire it came with kept tearing valve stems, I believe it was spinning. This tire is very old and also a little warped, so I am guessing this caused most of the problems, but..... Do any of you use rimlocks for this type of bike, or would a new tire solve the problem most likely. The rear tire it came with was 3.00-17, the diagram for the original shows a 2.75-17 tire. It barely rubs sometimes, but i think this is due to a slightly mishapen tire and maybe a bent chain guard, would I be okay otherwise running this size tire on this rim?

3. can any of you tell me the metric (i think) size for a 3.00-17 and 2.75-17 tire (something like 100/80-17?). I'm trying to shop for a new tire but this size is difficult to narrow down. Also, I can use a slightly smaller tube, but not larger, correct? Also, does leaving the outer locking nut on the valve stem allow for a slight bit of movement to avoid tearing? I've heard some people deflate and reinflate tires once they see slippage has happened. I have the air pump under the gas tank and it still works really well!

4. Am I fine using a dead battery to complete the circuit? Also, would a sealed lantern-type (6v) battery work for this application? I have a bunch of these batteries lying around and they seem to fit the same spec http://www.wingsupply.com/decoys-access ... jo-decoys/

5. Have any of you tried electrolysis with these tanks? I've removed a lot of the rust in the tank, and am running a filter, but the tank is still rusty. Run it or should I try this since it is going to be a few weeks before I can ride it anyway?

5. As far as a headlight bulb, i was told a 30/30 12v bulb would work since the application is 15/15 6v, I've cut the old bulb out and could easily make a bulb fit, has anybody tried this?

Thanks

Alright, after shopping around for some other things I need, the only 2.75-17 tire I can find is a shinko 241 trials tire, which is dot approved. Since I have a pretty agressive knobby on the front (2.75-17), I am also looking at shinko 244 dual sport tire which is only available in 3.00-17, this one looks like it would match better but does that really matter? I'm mainly going to be using the bike about 50/50 dirt and street. Does having a slightly bigger rear tire make a difference, I'm pretty big myself.

2 other things I forgot to ask:

I'm assuming a 20w50 motorcycle oil would be alright in the clutches, that is what I'm using right now. Also, for fuel mix my bike calls for 20:1, I'm thinking a semi synthetic snowmobile oil (likely mystik sea and snow) at about 30:1 should be safe?

Again, these posts are a little long winded, and shopping online for tires at 1:30 in the morning is more confusing than it should be, but then again its for a hodaka so...

Hi there,
1. If you have a Shop Manual, there’s an index of frame/engine changes over the years - you can use that to determine the year of the bike by serial number
2. On tires, neither of mine have rim locks - would not be hard to add, but probably unnecessary if you keep your pressures up and stay off the tracks! One of mine has a rear Golden Boy 3.00x17 - definitely a dual sport tread. Not sure if these are still around. The other has a new Michelin Gazelle 3.00x17 on the rear. Closer to a street tire, but in my opinion enough tread to get along fine on dirt. Great price to boot.
3. I’ve seen metric/alpha conversions online - a google search might solve that.
4. Off-hand, I think a dead battery would not be a problem just to run the bike - electricals are not my strong suit - someone smarter will probably chime in. You can get a correct replacement battery easily from our Hodaka sellers.
5. I’ve never used electrolysis on the tanks - but others sure have. Rustol (available from Paul) Prep&Etch (available from Home Depot/Lowes) work very well. Helps to agitate with something like ball bearings or nails or screws. Not a tough job - on mild rust, shouldn’t take more than an hour or so - maybe less, maybe more. Be sure to flush the tank well with water after. I usually then follow with straight gas or acetone, then blow it out real well with air to get things good and dry.
6. Again, I’m no expert on electricals - I mounted this light into the Ace 90 bucket and it works well: http://www.ebay.com/itm/330992935255?it ... 23&vxp=mtr
7. Gear oil and gas ratios are the pandora’s box of topics on most forums. Personally, I use Belray 80w-90 gear oil in my gear boxes (any good gear oil is just fine). 40:1 with a good quality motorcycle 2 stroke premix works just fine.
Hope this helps, stay tuned for other opinions/advice
Laurie

Thanks for the info Pep, I think I'm going to order the 3.00-17 shinko 244 for the rear, it looks like it would be a better match and perhaps a little more durable according to some reviews. I think i'm going to clean up the tank today, parts should be here thursday and I ordered extra tubes just in case, hopefully riding it by this time next week!

Sounds like a fun project!
If you're a Hodaka Club member, you should have received the latest issue of the Resonator by now - pretty excellent article on choosing and sourcing tires.
Have fun!
Laurie

Try this website for metric tire conversion.

http://www.csgnetwork.com/tireinfo4calc.html

Rick

AceHoodrat wrote:I think I'm going to order the 3.00-17 shinko 244 for the rear

This is the rear tire I have on my Ace 90. It has performed well and with careful adjustment I can get it straight so that barely clears the chain guard. I wouldn't go any larger then 3.00 x 17 though.

Roger

P.S. This is the same tire I'll be putting on my newly rebuilt Wombat.

Thanks for the information guys, Laurie,I'll have to look into the Hodaka Club. Rick, The tire information calculator is really detailed, I wish I had it earlier! After scouring the internet for sizing information i found the info right on the dang tire order form http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/Tire- ... /Dirt-Bike. I decided to go with the shinko 241 (i think) trials tire in 2.75x17. Like Roger said, it takes some work to get the tire to fit exactly, and after looking at my bike I noticed the old tire had rubbed the paint off of the chain guard, and since my chain guard looks like it is missing some hardware I went with the trials tire. It is DOT approved, and looking at some of the articles on year I recall reading for one of the years that "all now come with rear trials tire". I'm wondering what the front tire looked like! I'll have to look into that later, I would like to have a knobby, but this should work well and I may end up putting another on the front.

I am wondering if among the reasons for having a slightly larger rear is to avoid riding in the front tires rut? Not a big deal however. One thing I was thinking about last night is if there is fork oil in this bike? It looks like there is a drain screw on the bottom, but i'm not sure. If there is, the fork seals are likely junk, right?

Pep, I'm sending you a P.M.

While we're on tire sizing. What would you guys recommend for a rear tire on a Wombat 94? 3:00 x 18 OR 3:50 x 18

I have a 400 X 18 on my bike and would choose the tire size again.

I was wondering if any of you have tried the zip tie trick on a tubed tire, I know people do this with tubeless tires, but the link shows a picture of someone doing it on a dirt bike tire http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=893403. I'm a little worred about pinching a tube even though the handful of times I changed a tube ended in a torn valve stem and no problems otherwise (begining to think the tire itself was too weak thus spinning). I have 4 motorcycle tire irons and am not afraid to try it again, I just want to see if this would work, it sounds like the main reason people don't do this is because they 1. know how to change a tire and 2.this does not work well with most rimlocks. I've heard of people zip tying flats to get back home and I think carrying 6 or so along would be a great idea anyway. Just wondering what you guys think.

Yes, there are drain bolts at the bottom of the forks. To me, the Ace 90 forks are a bit more of a pain to service/change seals than the later 30mm forks.
You'll want a shop manual. You'll also do well to fabricate a T-handle tool (can't think of the thread size) to draw the forks back into position. Yes, your seals are probably shot, and I'm betting all the fork components could use a thorough disassembly and cleaning. Driving seals out of those fork nuts is a bit of a pain - patience, heat, and care is needed.
If you have everything apart, it's a good time to take some measurements on the springs - they may be sacked out and shorter than spec. You can replace, and/or fabricate a spacer. A little preload will help stiffen up the front end - keep things from diving under braking and handle bumps a little better. I cut down fork bushings from 30mm forks to create spacers - I can send you some details on that if you get to that point.
Have fun!
-Laurie

Heres a bit of an update on the bike. I replaced the rear tire with the2.75-17 shinko 241 trials tire, it does say Golden Boy on it, but is no longer advertised as such and the ride is much better than before, not so good in the snow , but I will soon be replacing the front tire once the title is sorted out. The zip tire method worked very well and I would suggest trying it. 6 to 8 zip ties should do the trick, Just put the tube in the tire with a little air, tie the beads togather, I put the valve stem end of the tire in the drop center of the rim first and easily spooned on the rest of the tire, once on it is easy to locate the valve stem, but I would suggest marking exactly where it is located in relation to the sidewall to make things easier, but it is really no big deal. Once the valve stem is lined up, put the outer nut on, cut or release the zip ties and the tire is on the bead. This method is A LOT easier than the traditional way and seems to minimize the chance of pinching or slicing a tube.

I used an STI 70/100-17 heavy duty tube and it appears to be thicker than the other heavy duty tubes of other brands, and only 5 dollars to boot, we'll see how they hold up. One thing I should mention is the valve stem gasket was partially sticking to the threads when i first took the stem out, and leaked air with the slightest touch after I aired it up but after I cleaned it up it seems to be working well, just a word of caution to make sure your stem are tightened with something other than the cheap plastic tool in the dust cap it came with.

In regard to the outer lock nut, I've read that not tightening it to the rim, but snugging it against the dust cap instead allows you to see if your tube is out of place and allows you to correct the tire by deflating and resetting the tube. Also, if nut is not tight against the rim but the dust cap instead it allows you to easily see if your tire is flat or losing air while riding. A quick look back to see if your stem is starting to disappear or the nut is touching the rim lets you know you have problems possibly before it is too late. Again, I will likely be carrying the tools to change a tube and at least 8 large zip ties with me from now on, it makes the job so much easier and less risky. Most of you know these things, but I've read on many other forums people discussing this and it not making much sense to some of the readers, maybe this will help.

As far as the front fork oil, thanks for the detailed information Pep! After looking,the front suspension seems to work correctly and does not bounce around, so I'm asking, is there anything in there that is going to break that isnt already at this point (assuming very old or perhaps no oil, likely dried for seals). I'm not going to do any serious off roading with this, maybe a ride around the woods or some gravel here and there and I feel safe with the amount of suspension it provides right now, so I will probably hold off on this until later if it is safe. Any suggestions or advice? Will adding oil help some even if the seals are dried out?

Other things
-How many grease points are on this bike, I see handlebars and shifter, how much grease in the shifter? A pump or two or does it come out somewhere?

-What PSI do you run your tires at for road riding Pep? It sounds like you have the same tires

-Wiring the bike for for turn signals seems expensive and almost unecessary for the nature of the project, but has anyone used a bicycle turn signal kit on their hodaka or other bike? It seems reasonable enough and I'm sure there are magnetic and easily removable kits out there

-Does using a bigger sized bulb than suggested stress the electrical system, or does the bulb just not burn as bright? the stock bulb is 6v 15/15w, which I've heard is the same as a 12v 30/30w bulb. These are hard to find in a standard version but led and similar "new" super bright bulbs are easily available, so, are these safe to use or am I missing something. I will probably follow Pep's suggestion, which is double the calculated amperage and seems to work well, but I can likely make this work immediately and perhaps have a pretty bright headlight, as I plan on riding this bike at night.

-What are the baseline screw settings on the carburator? I'm assuming 1 1/4 turns out from lightly seated, I have universal paper canister small engine air filter rigged up until I can get a foam one. I do also have some foam lying around, I would make one out of that but I heard they can be tough to glue, probably will get a uni from this site, but for now this is what I have. Anyway, it is right around freezing lately, so I'm thinking slightly in from the base setting(3/4-1 turn out) is a safe setting to account for the colder air?

-my tail light lens was broke when I got the bike, so for now until I can get a reproduction I'm using a round boat trailer style light. They use the same wiring and have a simple ground, use the same bulb, are waterproof and provide illumination for a license plate. But a reproduction lens is likely in the future, just for now this was a quick and practical fix to get street legal

- there is one wire sticking out of my wiring harness with a male fitting near the battery which seems to have nothing to plug into, anybody know what this is for, turn signals? nevermind I'm gonna dig up those wiring diagrams...

Thanks for bearing with this long winded post, I know that sometimes details do matter, especially once a thread is inactive, its also 2 am and I may be a little sleep deprived, but happy hodakaing

Hi there AH,
Thanks for all the tire change info.
--As far as the forks, bare minimum I would advise draining the oil and replacing with something fresh:
Remove the 17mm bolt at the top of each fork, remove the drain plug (phillips - might suggest you use a little heat, maybe an impact driver to avoid stripping the head) - pump the forks a little to help empty the nasty old oil. Replace the drain plugs, add 4.5oz (135cc) of fresh fork oil. Personally, I’d go with the heaviest you can find - 20 or 30 weight, as my experience with these front ends is that they are always too soft. The bushings that the top nut goes through might be chewed up and rotted - a new set is easy to obtain through SH. If you ever make the time, a thorough disassembly and cleaning of all the fork components would be really beneficial - as would replacing the old seals and o-rings.
--The best thing to do on the shifter is to remove the cover (might need to rock the cover around to get the shift arm off the control shaft - it will make sense when you see it). There’s an inner cover, remove that, and the shift mechanism (all the stuff that needs grease) will be exposed. I suggest cleaning out the old grease and replacing with fresh stuff. You can easily remove all the parts and grease fittings to get the passages good and clean too. Remember when you replace the cover back on the bike, remove the small shift window from the cover, and use that window to view lining up the shift arm with your control shaft - this is all incredibly easy stuff.
As for other grease points, yes the steering stem, and if your feeling up to it, you can pull the swing arm axle out and grease it, I’d certainly check those wheel bearings too...
--I run my little road tires at 25 PSI. Others might have better advice or reasoning for tire pressures. My “big” road bikes run around 30 PSI, dirt riding takes a lot less, and I don't weigh much, so 25 seems right.
--I’ve never tried any aftermarket turn signal stuff - others might know something about it. I think these little bikes look pretty sharp without orange projections sticking out of them - I just use my hands to communicate with drivers.
--There’s some real educated discussion on bulb selection on this forum - try some searches, you can probably get those questions answered.
--On the baseline screw settings - I’m guessing your referring to the air screw - if so, about 1 1/2 is a good starting point The idle of course best set while the engine is running. For idle circuit tuning, start with a CLEAN carb, including the pilot jet and idle mechanism on those Ace carbs, and be sure the bike is good and warm before you start making a lot of judgements about jet selection. Fortunately, Ace’s are pretty non-finicky about jetting.
--On your tail light, originals are out there, whole assemblies and lenses (not sure if your hunting the small rectangular light, or the upright vertical version). I found a nice replacement for the rectangular version - mounted up easy and wired in just like the original. Sticklers for “correct” bikes might not like it, but it’s functional and good-looking to me. -The wiring diagram is super easy to understand - no doubt you’ve already figured out what that wire is.
Hope all this is helpful - have fun with the project!
Laurie