You might call Hodaka the Mazda of the Japanese motorcycle companies, a little niche-market giant killer. After the demise of Yamaguchi in 1963, Hodaka rose from its charred tiddler ashes in '64 with its single model, the Ace 90. Unlike the Big Four, Hodaka concentrated all its energy into the small recreational dirt bike market. That first Ace 90 came only in one color, red, with what would become a Hodaka signature, an all-chrome tank. Changes to the Ace in succeeding years would be as carefully controlled as those to the legendary Beetle, and its advertising scheme would follow a similar pattern. The company was somewhat ahead of its time with its soft, long-travel suspension systems for off-road motorcycles. All Hodakas except the Ace used Ceriani-style front fork legs with uncovered rear springs. Models prior to the 100B had painted front spring covers or rubber gaiters. Hodaka owns the best model names in tiddler history: Road Toad, Dirt Squirt, Thunderdog, and Super Rat.
Let's examine the perspective of the motorcycle market during the Hodaka's approximate lifetime of 1964-79. Some people credit Hodaka with launching the off-road motorcycle boom, but I'm not one of them. Was the brand a booster rocket for a trend already begun, yes, but certainly not the pioneer of the genre. I took my own first off-road excursions in 1960, so you could say that I was there. Those first trips to the dirt were on a Harley-Davidson Super 10, and the trail models of that same machine, the Scat and Ranger, would be released in 1962. Honda and Yamaha were both producing several trail tiddlers prior to the release of the Ace 90. Hodaka's big distinctive difference was that the Ace 90 was never just a trail version of a street-only model, and many design features were incorporated from the beginning, such as the double downtube frame, long-travel suspension, upswept exhaust, and high, skinny fenders. In the early Hodaka days of 1964-67, the company did have a nice jump on the market while most of the competitors were still utilizing pressed steel frames and stiff suspension. The engines were pretty much comparable to those produced by Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki. Since this was prior to the launch of the Elsinores, all the Hondas were four-strokes at this time. The main differences among the bevy of two-strokes were the choices of regular or rotary shifters, automatic or manual clutches, and single or dual rear-sprocket arrangements.
We all know that Yamaha took charge of the party with the release of its DT-1 in 1968, and I think this is most likely what finished off Hodaka. All the new Yamaha Enduro and Motocross models had the same off-road attributes as the Hodakas with the piano-builder powerhouse operation behind them. Of course the whole trail riding fad was beginning to wane, too, but all Yamaha had to do was to go in the opposite direction and start building big four-stroke twins such as the XS-1. Hodaka never had that level of corporate diversity to back them up. The tiddler that I have now owned for more than 35 years has obviously always been my favorite, the AT-1 Motocross. This little bike had already been produced in very large numbers and even starred in a movie by the time mine was built in '71. The mood struck me a few days ago and I dragged out my copy of Little Fauss and Big Halsey and watched it for the umpteenth time, and it's still good!
This brings us to the subject of this post. Hodaka released its first 125, the Wombat, in 1972 and followed up with the motocross version in '73. This model was lovingly named the Combat Wombat, and it was a direct competitor in every way to the Yamaha motocrossers. Although Hodaka's first competition machine had been the 100cc Super Rat, the company really released the hounds with the Combat Wombat into the highly competitive 125cc racing class and marketplace. The technological design changes for small motocrossers were developing furiously. Yamaha released its second generation AT-2 in '72 and the first Elsinore blasted onto the market in 1973. The original 250 Elsinore was joined by its 125cc little brother in '74. The Combat Wombat ran against the Yamahas in 1973, but its souped up Super Combat successor was surrounded by Yamahas and the new 125 Minisnore on starting lines all across America in 1974. This was a very competitive market in which Hodaka was trying to survive!
See also: Hodakability
Hodaka at Wikipedia
The Hodaka Experience
Ode to Hodaka
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