74` Hodaka Dirt Squirt Do`s and Dont`s

Getting a Hodaka to shift properly is the main hurdle , I believe. If you ever pull the gears off of the transmission counter shaft, be ready for about 20 loose ball bearings to start dropping everywhere. Kind of like the old Zundapp 125 Rickman I had.

http://www.strictlyhodaka.com/

Simpest motorcycle you'll ever work on, from wheels to motor.

I had restored a 1970 Super Rat and a 1973 Wombat, back in the day (1987). They were a joy to work on.....IMHO.

Fear not the transmission gear locking devises (ie the 20 ball bearings), must be, again, the "simplest" method ever to achieve gear selection.

Enjoy your new ride. Pics would be cool too, good luck.

The Super Rat was my first bike and first racer. They were nearly bulletproof. I learned a lot keeping that bike in shape
week after week, probably the best bike (from an ownership experience standpoint), a new rider/racer could have back
then.

Back in the day, I was riding in the first practice session for a race. I came out of a deep rutted corner and went to shift and
realized my shifter along with the whole left side case cover was gone. I pulled off the track and motored back to that corner
and found my case cover in the dirt, it had been knocked off by a big ol' root sticking out of the side of the rut. I picked it up,
rode back to the pits and bolted it back on with some spare bolts (the old ones were either missing or bent). Worked just like
nothing ever happened.

I've been thinking about trying to find a Super Rat 93 and restore it back to showroom condition - would be a sweet project.

Like others have posted: http://www.strictlyhodaka.com/ is one of the best sources for parts. Also, the chrome tanks are
prone to rust from the inside so you need to check it out and take appropriate steps if needed. I'm sure there are other areas
of concern that somebody with more recent experience can tell you about.

One of the nicer mods I made to my "Rat" was a kit that changed the gear selection to one down four up. I don't remember
who made it, but it was a simple bolt on that worked great.

Good luck with it and post some pictures along the way.

dogger

Biggest difficulty I faced on the engine rebuild was finding the correct blasting media to clean up the cases and cylinder/head. There was a small area where the chain had derailed that had been welded up and ground down. That case half had been sand or bead blasted around that area pretty rough and trying to replicate the original semi shiny finish of the bare aluminum was a complete pain.

That Would be a tough fix. How did you deal with it - wet sand and soda?

dogger

A lot of fine hand sanding and scotch brite work before finishing up with a fine glass bead if I remember correctly. Turned out quite nice considering how stained and dingy everything was to begin with. Never tried soda blasting although I've had a few cars stripped in that manner.