@@deborahchesser7375 had so much fun with it . Was red and black . Can still picture it after all these years . Thinking one of my sisters will come clean someday .
@@glenmclendon9209 damn brother, so everybody was clueless huh? If someone swiped it they’d have said hey ! Somebody stole your bike right ? At any rate, you were away serving that makes it even worse to me sorry man I served too AF 90’-94’. IT’s life as usual when we’re gone trust me, I came back on leave, some people were genuinely glad to see me, some were the same ol POS’s they were when I left. Sorry got off topic. Find ya an older XR they are bulletproof no oil mixing and less injuries, at least for me at 57 I’m getting up there but I’ll always love trail riding.
The Wombat in my profile photo was stolen about ten years ago, the thief or thieves may as well have stolen the Mona Lisa because at the time according to a trusted authority it was believed to be the only road registered Hodaka in Australia, and they were riding it around town as if they thought they'd get lost in the crowd of Wombats I put in a massive around the clock effort producing and distributing hundreds of pamphlets and in the end I was actually following my own tyre tracks and had it back 48 hours after it was taken
My 1st bike was a Hodaka dirt squirt 100cc big chrome gas tank in 1982. I loved it! I traded a pool stick for it as it wasnt running. I fixed it up in 2 days at 15 years old. It was FREEDOM! I wish I still had it
My brother had a Race prepped Super Rat. It was faster than most 250 at the time. It had a major port job and a bigger carb.If you didn't go WFO,it would foul the plugs.Major fast for a 100.
My best friend Tim Erchul had a Dirt Squirt and I had a Yamaha MX80 (1973). We rode those things for hours after school. The Hodaka had a unique sound. Dale Swineheart, DeKalb, IL
Beautiful video! This is the style I wish anyone of today's manufactures would do for a retro. A good 350, 400 cc motor , a fun run about. No one seems to remember the days when even little 125's used to roam the roads. My last bike (had to sell two years ago) was a RT/DT Yamaha 360. Loved that bike :(....
Great to watch. I bought a 1976 bultaco alpine that was in its crate. But had ridden 14km before the crank bearing broke and was returned to its crate. I took it out in 2012. . Rebuilt the engine.
Oh man, I would love to get my hands on one of those. Or any of those street legal 2stroke singles. What a blast from the past. Couldn't afford one back in the day. Left home at 17 and it was a struggle to survive so to speak. I had my pickup, my clothes, and a 2.10 a hour job. So, these were out of the question even after I joined the Navy. An now in my mid 60s I still want one. Congrats on this bike.
My dad & I would go to a non-sanctioned TT scrambles track in Bear Deleware. With none of those crazy rules saying you can't run across the track during the race. You could stand right next to the track & you would walk into the pits & talk to the riders. I had been in the pits & saw (for the first time) a Hodaka Ace 90. It had a chrome tank with a green shamrock painted on it. They had the under 100cc race & the bike was a no-show. (We didn't know the guy flooded it & couldn't get it started.) Then they had the 125cc race & the Hodaka showed up & to everyone's surprise, that little Ace 90 blew them all away. We were in shock & now, there was a huge crowd in the pits, as everyone who realized what just happened was crowded around that little gem. It was a great day!
It's totally awesome, I remember the Hodaka's, Gemini's and the Chaparral's from the early to mid 70's, I had a 73 Chaparral 100 and my neighbor had 2 Hodakas a 100 and 125.
Back in my younger days, I did have an Ace 100B and an Ace 90 . Great to see there is still such a following. I do still have a few artifacts. Playing cards, book of matches . Will have to dig through some drawers to see what else.
How about finding a few more. I'll buy one!! We owned a Dirt Squirt and a Road Toad (BC -before children) back in the mid-70's, and have too often wished we had them still. Finding practically any bike like the Hodaka still in a crate would be a dream come!!
Nice! I wanted one of those back in the day! I had a 69’ Ace, but wanted a bigger machine. But I was 16, already had a 68’ Chevy pickup I was making payments on, insurance, gas, the usual. Working minimum wage and going to school. Thanks for the great video, it really brought back memories of the “good old days”!
Had a 75 250 off showroom floor. Took it to my father's engine builder, Lee Scott, of Hayward Yamaha. He said"other than a compression release, there is literally NOTHING I can do to make it any better" thing was a beast, often mistaken for a 500. Disappeared when I was in service too!
Damn man we should have hidden those bikes, a lot of my shit disappeared mysteriously too. While we’re gettin our heads shaved and serving they are having fun and selling our shit, nice. I lost a 76’ CB400F Super Sport lacquer blue💨 gone. I know my brother wrecked it, but if he can’t tell me I’ll keep playing dumb. ✌️🇺🇸
@deborahchesser7375 my 69 sporty too, ditch cylinders, 1200cc. Had 42 mikuni, just like 250! Came home 8 years later, parents sold, gave away, everything.....said needed $ for bussiness they bought. Everything registered in their names as I was a minor. Well, sporty was, hokaka was NOT street legal
My first bike was an ace 100, big chrome gas tank aka the toaster.. I got lucky later and found some great parts at the wrecking yard, a webco head, gem reed and curnut shocks on a discarded Combat Wombat. Wish I still had it 😢
In ‘73 dad bought a 125 wombat for us to play with in the desert. Lots of fun memories. That 250 looks fantastic. The cylinder bears a strong resemblance to Suzuki dual purpose bikes of the era.
I bought one of these off my friends dad back in '03. I miss that thing. It was slower than my friends new at the time kx125's but it was a tank. Ended up selling it back go them when we moved from Oregon back to florida in 05.
In the early 1970's, there was a Hokaka dealer in the small northern california town I was raised in. People seem to like them well enough. Most of us rode 2nd hand Yamaha DT 250s.
The bike was purchased new from Hodaka and the prior owner left in its factory crate as a collectors item...until one day a buyer decided it was the bike for him and decided to un-crate it !
I didn't either. In 1980 I was looking for a 250 something and ended up with a Yamaha DT 250. It was fine, but had I known about the Hodaka, I would have looked a lot harder. I got the 90 in 1965 about a year after they come out and rode that into the ground.
The 250 we had in our Hodaka shop was all orange. Might have been a 75. We built the most bad ass Super Combat to race in District 7. It was an upgrade kit from the factory, snail pipe, a bunch of motor mods. A real works bike😊. It would have been really competitive in 1973. Unfortunately, this was in 1976. It was a good bit shorter in wheelbase than the YZ, and shorter in suspension travel, but it made competitive power. It kept you busy trying to keep the front end in front. That’s the thing I remember. Well, that and those YZ’s with the big cans on the forks going by me like a missile. I believe it swapped ends so badly that we did a 360 on one of the long straights and kept right on going. Two moto’s was my works rider career. I think I finished third overall on it, but the dealer was not happy with anything but a win. I got back on my RM after that discussion. Safe space.
I had a few as a kid 100 and 125. Ball shift transmission was an issue. Otherwise cool play bikes. Not sure if 250 had that ball shift dog design ? I graduated to RM 125 and 250 in 1978 for racing MX. My girlfriend.rode the dirt squirt. Cool funky bikes .
Hodaka's predecessor was Yamaguchi Bicycle. The mark on the tank and seat is a design of the kanji for 山口. It was not sold in Japan and was exported only to the United States.
I've never seen a 250cc Hodaka, loads of 100cc 125cc, rats, wombats, squirt and Ace but never the holly grail of Hodakas, I've got a feeling you don't really understand this bike's relevance and true value, before Honda and their TL XL bikes this was the worlds best production off-road motorcycle you could ride legally on the road, upgrade it with SKF bearings and seals, Wiseco piston, flat slide thumper carb, Pirelli tyres & tubes and that will be one awesome machine
Please tell me where I can find a bike this old give or take a handful of years STILL IN THE CREAT...where are all you youtubers finding these bikes......@stanforadventure
I road a few other people had back in the day - They were cool and unique but as I remember very heavy and underpowered compared to the Honda XL and Yamaha DT
Copy of a Suzuki TS250. My brother was friends with a guy who bought an ex Hodaka shop. There were chrome tanks and parts everywhere. It all went to the garbage tip.
Not quite a copy. Used the same suspention and electronics as that was available. But the engine is 100% Hodaka. Want to know why Bridgestone quit making motorcycles? The big 4 companys threatened to quit buying there tires if they didnt stop making them.
The bike was purchased new from Hodaka and the prior owner left in its factory crate as a collectors item...until one day a buyer decided it was the bike for him and decided to un-crate it ! Bikes being kept in their factory crates as collector items is in some ways common for certain collectors !
"No dry-rot on the tires?...".....every seal, o-ring...anything rubber has been attacked for 50 years by ozone....that thing will leak like an old Harley.
had one,of many hodakas,would have been better if they just enlarged the wombat instead of a completely changed bike,not their finest moment,imo....interesting note, hodakas vin plate on steering neck claims "fiji"industries.......isn't that "subaru"?????
![ลองสุ่มไอโฟน 990 โกงมั้ย? [ โกงมั้ยครับ ep.101 ] | DOM](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bfsWe0j492k/mqdefault.jpg)
I bought one brand new in 1978 , was actually a really nice bike
A startup would have been icing on this cake!
Had a 250 Thunder Dog . Went into the navy in 1976 and it dissapeared mysteriously while I was away . Still heart broken .
That sucks ! Nobody knew anything huh ? They sold it man I’d be so pissed, those are rare as hens teeth and worth big $ not to mention so much fun.
@@deborahchesser7375 had so much fun with it . Was red and black . Can still picture it after all these years .
Thinking one of my sisters will come clean someday .
Ya. Thanks for your service!😢
@@glenmclendon9209 damn brother, so everybody was clueless huh? If someone swiped it they’d have said hey ! Somebody stole your bike right ? At any rate, you were away serving that makes it even worse to me sorry man I served too AF 90’-94’. IT’s life as usual when we’re gone trust me, I came back on leave, some people were genuinely glad to see me, some were the same ol POS’s they were when I left. Sorry got off topic. Find ya an older XR they are bulletproof no oil mixing and less injuries, at least for me at 57 I’m getting up there but I’ll always love trail riding.
The Wombat in my profile photo was stolen about ten years ago, the thief or thieves may as well have stolen the Mona Lisa because at the time according to a trusted authority it was believed to be the only road registered Hodaka in Australia, and they were riding it around town as if they thought they'd get lost in the crowd of Wombats
I put in a massive around the clock effort producing and distributing hundreds of pamphlets and in the end I was actually following my own tyre tracks and had it back 48 hours after it was taken
My 1st bike was a Hodaka dirt squirt 100cc big chrome gas tank in 1982. I loved it! I traded a pool stick for it as it wasnt running. I fixed it up in 2 days at 15 years old. It was FREEDOM! I wish I still had it
I really appreciate the straight forward presentation here. No BS "reveal" or suspense. Thank you. I look back fondly on my Super Rat 100 days.
My brother had a Race prepped Super Rat. It was faster than most 250 at the time. It had a major port job and a bigger carb.If you didn't go WFO,it would foul the plugs.Major fast for a 100.
My first bike was a 125 Combat Wombat. I was 15, and had tons of fun with that bike...
My best friend Tim Erchul had a Dirt Squirt and I had a Yamaha MX80 (1973). We rode those things for hours after school. The Hodaka had a unique sound. Dale Swineheart, DeKalb, IL
Really you’re going to show all this greatness and not let us hear it run man you know your sleep is not going to be good
Beautiful video! This is the style I wish anyone of today's manufactures would do for a retro. A good 350, 400 cc motor , a fun run about. No one seems to remember the days when even little 125's used to roam the roads. My last bike (had to sell two years ago) was a RT/DT Yamaha 360. Loved that bike :(....
Great to watch. I bought a 1976 bultaco alpine that was in its crate. But had ridden 14km before the crank bearing broke and was returned to its crate. I took it out in 2012. . Rebuilt the engine.
Oh man, I would love to get my hands on one of those. Or any of those street legal 2stroke singles. What a blast from the past. Couldn't afford one back in the day. Left home at 17 and it was a struggle to survive so to speak. I had my pickup, my clothes, and a 2.10 a hour job. So, these were out of the question even after I joined the Navy. An now in my mid 60s I still want one. Congrats on this bike.
Awesome. Wish we could of at least seen it fire up.
My dad & I would go to a non-sanctioned TT scrambles track in Bear Deleware. With none of those crazy rules saying you can't run across the track during the race. You could stand right next to the track & you would walk into the pits & talk to the riders.
I had been in the pits & saw (for the first time) a Hodaka Ace 90.
It had a chrome tank with a green shamrock painted on it.
They had the under 100cc race & the bike was a no-show.
(We didn't know the guy flooded it & couldn't get it started.)
Then they had the 125cc race & the Hodaka showed up & to everyone's surprise, that little Ace 90 blew them all away.
We were in shock & now, there was a huge crowd in the pits, as everyone who realized what just happened was crowded around that little gem. It was a great day!
It's totally awesome, I remember the Hodaka's, Gemini's and the Chaparral's from the early to mid 70's, I had a 73 Chaparral 100 and my neighbor had 2 Hodakas a 100 and 125.
I found one of these on Craigslist with 2200 miles. The red paint turns orange in time. Great running 250.
I have an SL 250, its a really fun bike and feels very competent in the dirt
WOW !…I Didn’t even Know Hodaka was Made in Japan !….Great Vid✌️
Back in my younger days, I did have an Ace 100B and an Ace 90 . Great to see there is still such a following. I do still have a few artifacts. Playing cards, book of matches . Will have to dig through some drawers to see what else.
i had a ace 100 was a kid bad ass bike in atlantic city
The Preston Petty fender brings back good memories.
Would have loved to hear it run
My brother has a Wombat Combat. Went with him to some place in Oregon to buy it. He still has it disassembled in a box.
Would have loved to hear what it sounds like
Beautiful. The only Hodakas I remember were the 100cc motocrossers.
How about finding a few more. I'll buy one!!
We owned a Dirt Squirt and a Road Toad (BC -before children) back in the mid-70's, and have too often wished we had them still. Finding practically any bike like the Hodaka still in a crate would be a dream come!!
Nice! I wanted one of those back in the day! I had a 69’ Ace, but wanted a bigger machine. But I was 16, already had a 68’ Chevy pickup I was making payments on, insurance, gas, the usual. Working minimum wage and going to school. Thanks for the great video, it really brought back memories of the “good old days”!
Had a 75 250 off showroom floor.
Took it to my father's engine builder, Lee Scott, of Hayward Yamaha. He said"other than a compression release, there is literally NOTHING I can do to make it any better" thing was a beast, often mistaken for a 500.
Disappeared when I was in service too!
Damn man we should have hidden those bikes, a lot of my shit disappeared mysteriously too. While we’re gettin our heads shaved and serving they are having fun and selling our shit, nice. I lost a 76’ CB400F Super Sport lacquer blue💨 gone. I know my brother wrecked it, but if he can’t tell me I’ll keep playing dumb. ✌️🇺🇸
@deborahchesser7375 my 69 sporty too, ditch cylinders, 1200cc. Had 42 mikuni, just like 250! Came home 8 years later, parents sold, gave away, everything.....said needed $ for bussiness they bought. Everything registered in their names as I was a minor. Well, sporty was, hokaka was NOT street legal
@@briansharp4388 I hope they at least cut you in on the business.
@deborahchesser7375 nope, moved away and raced unlimited supermodifieds, until I got married.
All good things must end!
@@briansharp4388 i know how you feel, brother is 54 and still lives at home while I struggle, shit happens, or not I guess.
Gorgeous find and I hope the owner actually rides this machine. Joan Claybrook is long gone but here's one she didn't get.
Wow ! that's all I can say is Wow !
OMG this was my first bike still remember the rue Goldberg shifter mechanism
My very first dirt bike!
My first bike was an ace 100, big chrome gas tank aka the toaster.. I got lucky later and found some great parts at the wrecking yard, a webco head, gem reed and curnut shocks on a discarded Combat Wombat. Wish I still had it 😢
How in the heck does one find a crated Hodaka of all things ? Wow unreal! I need a garage full of classics
Musta found an old dealership, new old stock.
@@briansharp4388 some people have all the luck I could look for a certain bike for a year and never see it. Hell I’d settle for an 85’XR350R
@@deborahchesser7375 xl650r flat track project waiting in the wings....probably last project, getting old
@@briansharp4388 I hear ya man, I can barely keep up with grandkids and my dogs lol. Tinkering is good therapy so we’ll stay at it as long as we can.
In ‘73 dad bought a 125 wombat for us to play with in the desert. Lots of fun memories. That 250 looks fantastic. The cylinder bears a strong resemblance to Suzuki dual purpose bikes of the era.
Amazing! This was my first street legal bike that I owned. Bought it leftover in '79 for $999!!
Never knew they were still around by 76, nice!
What a jem. I'd love to see the little Hodakas make a comeback.
I bought one of these off my friends dad back in '03. I miss that thing. It was slower than my friends new at the time kx125's but it was a tank. Ended up selling it back go them when we moved from Oregon back to florida in 05.
In the early 1970's, there was a Hokaka dealer in the small northern california town I was raised in. People seem to like them well enough. Most of us rode 2nd hand Yamaha DT 250s.
At one time the msrp on that bike was close to the cost of most 100 c.c. bikes incredible !
Some preface to this video would have been nice. Like what's the back story on this bike.
How does it survive unmolested 45 years in a crate?
The bike was purchased new from Hodaka and the prior owner left in its factory crate as a collectors item...until one day a buyer decided it was the bike for him and decided to un-crate it !
Sweet! I would have sold my sole to have one of those when I graduated High School.
Awesome find
Man, that would be so cool to find one like that.
How cool is that!!
Didn't know Hodaka made a 250 street bike. Knew about the Thunderdog...wanted one of those!
I didn't either. In 1980 I was looking for a 250 something and ended up with a Yamaha DT 250. It was fine, but had I known about the Hodaka, I would have looked a lot harder. I got the 90 in 1965 about a year after they come out and rode that into the ground.
The 250 we had in our Hodaka shop was all orange. Might have been a 75. We built the most bad ass Super Combat to race in District 7. It was an upgrade kit from the factory, snail pipe, a bunch of motor mods. A real works bike😊. It would have been really competitive in 1973. Unfortunately, this was in 1976. It was a good bit shorter in wheelbase than the YZ, and shorter in suspension travel, but it made competitive power. It kept you busy trying to keep the front end in front. That’s the thing I remember. Well, that and those YZ’s with the big cans on the forks going by me like a missile. I believe it swapped ends so badly that we did a 360 on one of the long straights and kept right on going. Two moto’s was my works rider career. I think I finished third overall on it, but the dealer was not happy with anything but a win. I got back on my RM after that discussion. Safe space.
ive been there many gems like this at his shop
Great job..nice video
Very cool Bob…
That's a find!
I had a few as a kid 100 and 125.
Ball shift transmission was an issue.
Otherwise cool play bikes.
Not sure if 250 had that ball shift dog design ?
I graduated to RM 125 and 250 in 1978 for racing MX.
My girlfriend.rode the dirt squirt.
Cool funky bikes .
Gorgeous bike ! It’s about my age too ! 💕👍
Excellent!
Thanks for sharing
I note its fitted with a final drive chain tensioner....
That's crazy.....I want to go fire up my 72 wambat 125 out in the barn
nice bike.God bless.
I wish you would have started it!!!!!!!! That was very disappointing not to fire it up!!!! Bummer!!!!
i had hodaka combat wombat 125 as kid in 77, and puch 125
How the heck do you find bikes like that!
Hodaka's predecessor was Yamaguchi Bicycle. The mark on the tank and seat is a design of the kanji for 山口. It was not sold in Japan and was exported only to the United States.
Did it run
Yeah excellent
Fantastic
I never knew of a 250.
How did you find a crated bike?
love it
Nice 👍
Love the 250 but i own a 72 125 Wombat
I had a 250 ED wish it looked this good. But once it is fired off its not new any more
🤩🇺🇸👍Sweet! Incredible!🤩🇺🇸👍🇯🇵
Does it run?
I’m sure that at an auction, this is going to bring a pretty penny
Should have left it inthe crate and taken it to barret Jackson auctions
how did run into this?
I've never seen a 250cc Hodaka, loads of 100cc 125cc, rats, wombats, squirt and Ace but never the holly grail of Hodakas, I've got a feeling you don't really understand this bike's relevance and true value, before Honda and their TL XL bikes this was the worlds best production off-road motorcycle you could ride legally on the road, upgrade it with SKF bearings and seals, Wiseco piston, flat slide thumper carb, Pirelli tyres & tubes and that will be one awesome machine
That air in tires are factory from 1976
Should have waited three more years and opened it for it's 50th birthday party!
WOW 🎉
If I was rich, how I wish I could find a 1975 HONDA CR125M ELSINORE also in a crate.
Please tell me where I can find a bike this old give or take a handful of years STILL IN THE CREAT...where are all you youtubers finding these bikes......@stanforadventure
So is this unrun?
I road a few other people had back in the day - They were cool and unique but as I remember very heavy and underpowered compared to the Honda XL and Yamaha DT
tires still had air
Copy of a Suzuki TS250. My brother was friends with a guy who bought an ex Hodaka shop. There were chrome tanks and parts everywhere. It all went to the garbage tip.
What an idiot. He could have retired early.
Not quite a copy. Used the same suspention and electronics as that was available. But the engine is 100% Hodaka. Want to know why Bridgestone quit making motorcycles? The big 4 companys threatened to quit buying there tires if they didnt stop making them.
So this long time customer bought this new and left it crated for 47 years, and then let you uncrate it? Did he buy it from you?
Looks as clean as any Hodaka that came off the Montgomery Wards showroom floor.
A brand new 47 year old motorcycle just popped up outta the blue. Uh huh
The bike was purchased new from Hodaka and the prior owner left in its factory crate as a collectors item...until one day a buyer decided it was the bike for him and decided to un-crate it ! Bikes being kept in their factory crates as collector items is in some ways common for certain collectors !
Had a combat wombat 125 back in I think 73 I was 14 and thought I was cock of the block
Never new Hodaka made a 250
🆒😎👍!
Didn't start it , that sucks
I owned and raced 3 Hodakas.. The 250 was never very competitive. It was more or less kinda ho-hum.
Totally original, factory air in tyres 😂😂😂😂
What I want to know is why someone keeps a brand new dirt bike in a crate for almost fifty years?!
"No dry-rot on the tires?...".....every seal, o-ring...anything rubber has been attacked for 50 years by ozone....that thing will leak like an old Harley.
More like a new Harley.
Plastic bags existed back then?
had one,of many hodakas,would have been better if they just enlarged the wombat instead of a completely changed bike,not their finest moment,imo....interesting note, hodakas vin plate on steering neck claims "fiji"industries.......isn't that "subaru"?????
Incomplete. Did not attempt to run it. No info as to how such a rare old bike turned up new crated.
Doesnt look like a hodaka
My dream