Search Results for: hodaka

Hodaka Combat Wombat, motorcycle restoration

Restoration Project: Hodaka “Combat Wombat”

Posted on by David Russell
Restoration Project: Hodaka "Combat Wombat"
05
Jul

Hodakas incorporated competition-proven frame geometry, while at the same time attending to required street-legal equipment—though with minimalist (lighter weight) treatment. Built from 1964 through PABATCO’s demise in 1977, Hodakas were loved, at least initially, by the press and the riding public—possibly for relating to buyers as riders rather than simply customers—and filled a role in motorcycling not unlike American Motors Corporation in the automotive world: a small energetic competitor nipping at the heels of a sometimes deaf and monolithic establishment.

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Motorcycle Culture

Great Collections: Scott Fetterolf

Posted on by Occasional Road Rider
06
Dec

In the past we’ve looked at several motorcycle collections on the east coast (including, most recently the collection of “Yankee Bob” Fornwalt), enjoying a walk through both the artifacts particular enthusiasts have chosen, as well as the manner in which they’ve elected to display them. Most of us seem to have assumed that The Garage […]

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Hodaka

Combat Wombat Restoration Project

Posted on by Occasional Road Rider
Hodaka restoration
25
Jan

Part 2: Combat Time If you haven’t read Part 1 of our series, where, as mostly Maico restoration guys, we ‘Enter the Combat’ zone with equal parts excitement and trepidation, you can read the first installment HERE. Planning “A little planning never hurt anyone.” I don’t know whether it was the US military or my […]

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Motorcycle Culture

Back to New Jersey: Nesco 2021

Posted on by David Russell
Hammonton, NJ
27
Oct

Recently I’ve encountered many grateful motor enthusiasts from the Northeast area. They recognize how fortunate we are, not only to be finally post-COVID, but to be in such an epicenter of vintage motoring activity. After all, (and especially if you’re in the southeastern PA area, as we are) we’ve got the The Big One—the Fall […]

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Motorcycle Culture, vintage motorcycle days

Vintage Motorcycle Days 2021: Back to Normal

Posted on by Occasional Road Rider
Vintage Motorcycle Days 2016
04
Aug

After 2020’s COVID-induced cancellation of VMD, we were back to Lexington, Ohio for 2021 to enjoy the biggest non-Harley vintage bike and swap meet gathering—to my knowledge—in the United States. Although now rivaled by the Barber Vintage Festival, VMD is still the king of all-around old bike events. Here’s a walk through the event, as […]

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American Journalism, Motorcycle Culture

There’s a Club for that:

Posted on by David Russell
AMCA's Perkiomen Chapter Annual Oley Meeting
19
May

Up front, let me state that from nearly any direction you arrive from, to reach the small town of Oley, the ride will almost certainly be beautiful. The old villages of southeastern Pennsylvania, settled by German immigrants in the early 1700s, contain surviving period stone houses and original hardwood barns that continue to be studied by historians and sociologists

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Uncategorized

SMALL MAICOS: THE 125s

Posted on by David Russell
Maico 125
29
Nov

Chapter 2.3 Part 1 SMALL MAICOS: THE 125s             Although known primarily in the United States as a producer of large, powerful, off-road motorcycles, Maico was certainly no stranger to smaller bikes and road motorcycles. As we have seen, the company began by manufacturing small motorcycles, 200cc-and-under, which were initially used as personal transportation in […]

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Motorcycle garage

“Every Tuesday…”

Posted on by David Russell
vintage motorcycles
03
Jul

Every Tuesday: Stacy’s Garage Every Tuesday. It’s a clearly understood reality. Every Tuesday evening Stacy Clark will walk the 100 feet or so to his garage behind his house, and be there. Not just sometimes—every Tuesday. In fact, Stacy does not eat supper on Tuesday evenings; he goes right to the garage, because that’s where […]

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Early Motocross, Early Motorcycle History, Gig Hamilton, Maico, Motorcycle Culture

The Shop Owner: Gig Hamilton

Posted on by David Russell
20
Nov

An examination of the unique business model of retail sales, as the “motorcycle boom” of the late sixties and early seventies reached the United States. This was a time when hardware stores, used car dealerships, individual racers – and, nearly anyone with a few hundred dollars and some extra space – could become a dealer. […]

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