The Hodaka Club Forum

Hello,

I bought a Combat Wombat over the weekend. It had been sitting for a few years and didn't run, but I had planned on going through the motor anyway so I was not deterred. Someone has installed a reed valve setup on it. I pulled the cylinder jug off to inspect things. It looks pretty rough; the boot was missing between the air filter and the carb and it looks like it has been ran this way (scoring inside the cylinder). The tunneling from the intake port to victory port doesn't look like the depiction in the Hodaka technical instructions (see photos). Does anyone know if this porting method is typical or is this a shadetree mechanic version? This cylinder walls at the bottom tranfer ports are knife thin (see photos); is this normal? In short, is this cylinder salvagable with some chamfering and honing or is it a gonner? As far as bore, it appears to be 30 to 40 thousands over.

I have also attached a photo of the carburetor. It looks like the stock original 28mm. Can someone confirm this? Thanks.

Any help, input, and suggestions are appreciated. I am trying to plan out the next steps; salvage this cylinder? pick up a NOS reed valve cylinder? or pick up a NOS orignial piston port Combat Wombat cylinder and ditch the reeds.

That boost porting would be the way a enduro cross cylinder would have come from Hodaka. It aint the best but it made it reed valve compatible. If you want to get serious about getting your port work done right give me a call 702-858-9177 you can also check out my web site and see some Hodaka port work richsyaylordporting.com

Rich

rich I think you forgot the T in richstaylordporting

Yep I did miss the t oops!

Zombat,
Just from the pictures, it looks to me like someone drilled the victory ports and did a homemade job. I have come across several cylinders done this way in the KC area over the years. Cant tell, from the pic's but it doesnt look like one that has been through my hands.

Some of the homemade cylinders worked very well, others, not so much. I always try and test them when I find em. If you want a proper setup, talk to Rich, or find a stock endurocross cylinder.

Combat came non-reeded but the Hodaka Endurocross kit was a nice addition to the Combat (especially if used for competition) and made them way less prone to loading up when chopping the throttle going into a tight corner.

Adding the reed setup makes it necessary to mod the stock boot to make it fit. Probably why its missing.

Nice find!

Andy, make a mental note of what was mentioned earlier. The cylinder in the photos appears to be genuine, for real, "Enduro/Cross" cylinder - modified for reed valve in downtown Athena, OR in the 1970's. The top of the intake port was pierced in two places (a jig located machining operation) to allow flow directly to the "Victory Port" - certainly not a full race modification. But it did bring the benefits of the reed valve - especially much more precise mixture control at lower RPM and elimination of loading up.

Ed

Thanks Ed. I had always assumed that the cylinders with the "non consistent" placement of the drilling between the two ports were done after the fact.

I think you are correct about the "non-consistant" ones. The "Enduro/Cross" cylinders were jig done -- so should be quite consistant. But there was no hand porting to blend flow lines or maximize port flow.

Ed

Adding the reed setup makes it necessary to mod the stock boot to make it fit. Probably why its missing.

Nice find![/quote]
When I installed my enduro/cross kit, it was not necessary to modify the boot.

Thanks everyone for the feedback on the porting. It is good to hear that the porting done is similar to the original factory Enduro/Cross cylinder porting. Too bad the tunnels are not consistent though; the remaining cylinder wall for one of the tunnels, between the intake port and victory port, is pretty thin. My thought at the moment is to try to reuse the cylinder after a bore job. Although after the bore that thin part is going to be thinner yet. Can the cylinder wall, between the intake port and victory port, be removed if necessary?

Now for the piston??? What to use? Would it be best to get a Combat Wombat Wiseco piston and drill the holes required for the reed valve, or would a 03 Wombat or Super Combat piston, be a better choice? Did the CW Enduro Cross piston have specific size and dimensions for the holes? I attached a photo of the current piston.

AndyL,
I see you are located in KC; I am as well. Who in the KC area would you recommend for cylinder boring? From caliper measurements the current cylinder bore appears to vary a fair amount from ~56.8mm to 57.2mm; there is also vertical scoring on the cylinder walls; and there is some pitting from sitting. So I think a bore is going to be required; I am guessing it will need to be bored 50 to 60 thousands over.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

Boy, look at that big dent in Rick Mott's pipe!!!!

The 03 Wombat piston will not work in your engine....the piston pin hole is in a different location. You could use a Super Combat piston but I am not sure if that is the best choice.

As for the cylinder bore you could send the cylinder out to Power Seal. They can plate the bore and can build up the surface to maybe go down a bore size or two. It is more expensive but the plated bore is more durable. That would keep from thinning out the cylinder bore further.

Danny Cooke

Fairfield Motor Sports in Independence is good. They have their own shop and do the work on site. They are a carting shop, so they have lots of experience with small bores. Never had a problem with a job from them. Just east of Noland on 24 Hwy, at Dickinson Road. 1112 Dickinson Rd Independence, MO 64050

K&M Sales in Raytown is also a place I use alot. Kevin, the owner, is a top notch machinist. He has been doing machine work for me since just after highschool, everything from ACE100's to KZ900's to super high compression 396's and a wicked 440 Super Commando motor. They are just west of Woodson on the north side of 350 Hwy. 11230 E State Route 350 Raytown, MO 64138

Thanks Andy.

Danny,

I checked out the Power Seal website, and this looks interesting. I am considering sending off the cylinder to them for plating and honing. Are there any Power Seal testimonials, or warnings, out there from the Hodaka community?

Thanks,
James

I had an 03 cylinder ported by Rich Gagnon and sent off to PowerSealUSA about 2 years ago. It is on a Super Combat with a HT3 pipe. I have not raced it but have ridden it twice in the Bad Rock and practiced with it quite a lot. I have not taken it down to look at it but it runs great. One reason I chose the NikaSeal coating was to keep a standard bore. It had about .005" wear and their process filled up the wear and they honed it back to .0015" clearance. Paul still has standard size pistons for the Super Combat. Paul has a story about a piston coming apart in a NikaSeal cylinder and it didn't hurt the walls. It ain't cheap, but neither is good Hodaka cylinders. It would have cost me over half the cost to buy an oversized piston kit and have it bored.

I had Power Seal perform a NikaSeal on my 98 Super Rat several years ago, per Paul's recommendation. They did a great job. The cylinder was set up to .002 tolerence with my piston. I shipped my new piston with the cylinder to get that right. I also dimpled the piston per the information under the Technical Tips secion here at Strictly Hodaka.

Like Bill, I have not ridden this bike hard since having this work done. I have ridden it on occasion out on the desert trails and have not had any issues. I would expect it to last a long long time for me.
Dale

By the way that is a super combat piston you have pictured here. Not a drilled combat wombat piston , the horizontal hole at the top is wider on the super combat

Rich

Thanks Rich,

I believe you are correct in stating that the piston in it is a Super Combat piston. Inside the piston there is an "S" and a "4"; I am assuming that the "S" stands for Super Combat, and the "4" stands for 40/1000's over-bore. Is this a correct assumption? Regardless, as Rich stated the skirt hole design looks to be like the Super Combat piston.

An interesting tidbit: The bike had a Wiseco sticker on the air breather, so you would think that the piston would have been a Wiseco; but no, it says Hodaka, Made in Japan. I removed the Wiseco sticker anyway.

I talked to a guy at Power Seal, and liked what they had to say. They knew of Strictly Hodaka and Paul; said they had done a fair amount of business with him. They were good to talk to, and discussed details like the importance of chamfering the ports, etc…. I have decided to send the cylinder off to them.

I am planning on putting another Super Combat piston in it. The distance from the top of cylinder to the victory and transfer ports appears to be the same for the Combat Wombat and the Super Combat. The exhaust ports differ between the two; the Combat being 28mm from TOC, and the SC being 26mm from TOC. On the intake side the main difference between the CW and the SC appears to be the reed valve; since my CW has been converted to a reed valve I am thinking the intake is very similar to the SC, so the SC piston should be the correct choice. Any objections?

Again, thanks for everyone's help. I am just getting back into Hodakas after a 38 year break, and I am pretty enthusiastic about it at the moment. I had a chrome tank 100cc Dirt Squirt as a kid (back in the 70's); it was the most fun motorcycle I ever had. I have bought two Hodakas within the last couple of months; a 1973 94A Wombat and the Combat Wombat. They both need work.

James

I am not sure about the "S" inside the bottom meaning "Super" but the "4" does not mean .040" over bore as it appears to be a casting mark. The oversize is stamped on top of the piston. The Super Combat also has thicker skirts than the Combat Wombat.