Most of you vintage motorcycle fanatics have heard of Hodaka, a Japanese company with a distributorship in Oregon that made several fantastic dirt bikes. You may not have heard of this very rare model, one of the last ones from this once-famous company. This 1976 Hodaka Thunderdog 250ED can be found here on Facebook Marketplace in Bluffton, South Carolina, and they’re asking $4,300. Here is the original listing, and thanks to PRA4SNW for the tip!
Athena, Oregon was home to the company that distributed Hodaka’s small but serious off-road motorcycles with fun names around the world. The bikes had names such as Road Toad, Dirt Squirt, Super Rat, Combat Wombat, and others. Hodaka, named for the mountain near the Japanese factory, made motorcycles from 1964 until 1978 or so, and before that they made Yamagushi motorcycle engines. The Pacific Basin Trading Company (PABATCO) in Athena, OR, distributed Hodakas, and in another unusual ingredient for this company’s soup, Shell Oil Company owned Hodaka for most of its existence.
So the name Hodaka makes more sense now, with its Japanese roots. Founded by the two Oishi brothers, they took a trip to Europe in the late 1950s and brought around 50 motorcycles from various manufacturers back to Japan with them to study. They made engines for Yamagushi and started their own line of dirt bikes in 1964. This was the era when trail bikes were becoming popular in the U.S., and some give Hodaka credit for being one of the first to jump on that bandwagon.
The 250, sometimes seen as 250ED and sometimes with its other name attached, the Thunderdog, is one of the last models offered by Hodaka and was their biggest effort. Much as Rokon’s unusual dirt bike, the RT340, came at the worst possible time and pretty much bankrupted the company, such is the case for Hodaka’s 250. By the early 1970s, the tiiiiimes, they were’a chaangin’ as far as the economy, gas crisis, Vietnam War, and the climate also shifted enough to put several dozen snowmobile companies out of business. Hodaka invested a ton of money into their 250, and sadly it never paid off. Only 1,800 examples of the 250ED were made, and the seller lists this frame number as 1,351 and the engine as 1,381.
The engine is a Hodaka 246-cc two-stroke single-cylinder with oil injection and around 18 horsepower. Unfortunately, this one has had the oil injection system bypassed by a previous owner, so they mix gas and oil the old-fashioned way: in a can and dump it in the tank. Speaking of that, they say the tank has been replaced as well. The transmission is a 5-speed manual, and the seller says it starts, idles, shifts, and runs great, and they’ve owned it since 2005, storing it inside when it isn’t being ridden. These are very rare motorcycles, but even with that, Hagerty is only at $2,800 on the high end of the scale, so I’m not sure if the seller will find anyone willing to pay $4,300. Have any of you heard of this unusual Hodaka 250?
Bet its a fun ride. Cool looking bike. Wonder what the fuel/oil ratio is to have this beauty running in top order..
20:1 was common back then for ‘2 smokers’ I recall using a quart of oil for 5 gallons of gas. Castrol Bean Oil created a distinct odor. Later, 40:1 and then 50:1 became common in lawn equipment and chain saws.
32:1
Early models like I own actually had it on the gas cap because they were mixed in the tank and no autolube…. I don’t have it in my head….first one I rode was the little Ace 90 and then after I got my Bonanza 5hp the richie neighbors dad came home with the Bonanza with the Ace 100….have a few out back with a nice Super Rat in the bunch…..there is a big following for these so it might bring close – $2500 I’m betting…
Hodakas were great first bike,plus they sold for a lot less
than the competition.They also had a great sense of humor,
when they brought out a new bike,they had an ad in magazines
that said something like “Announcing the New Four Slicer”,
referring to the chrome gas tank.They also have an annual
get-together in Athena.
Anyone remember WEBCO?
Never heard of WEBCO, angligt-something else new today so thanks! And the same goes with you, Scotty, had no idea Shell Oil had a stake in PABATCO. Too, excellent history lesson about Hodaka! Good stuff.
It’s priced out of the game with the bypassed injection system. Not too unusual though with 2 Smokers of the time. More than a couple guys thought their own premix was a 100% guaranteed solution to the rumored issues with oil injectors of the day. Never came across any personally but there was always some guy who swore his sisters boyfriends uncles next door neighbors boss had one quit and it smoked the engine so it must be true..
Very cool find, PRA4SNW-keep surfin’.
My friend/neighbor had an Ace 90 when we were growing up,
& sent in a dollar to get one of their catalogs.They sent him a card,
but no catalog,so he wrote them a letter saying –
“I’m sitting here,my arteries getting hard,I sent you
a buck,you sent me a card”
“I’m sitting here like a bump on a log,
when are you going to send me a WEBCO catalog?”
WEBCO as in hop up parts ? Saved my money up and bought a WEBCO hot head for my HT-1…..
By gar, here’s a blast from the past,,,us old timers past, that is. I can just see the board room at Hodaka, “Silly Americans, let’s have silly cartoonish names, why not?” Their cars already had unusual names, why not the bikes? Wombat( what the heck was that?), Road Toad, Dirt Squirt, oh, they all had a good laugh, but again, all about timing, and it was the perfect time for corny names. I seem to remember a few Hodakas, certainly not as many as the H-Y-K-S brands, but they had a reputation of being reliable bikes. The chrome gas tanks for the street/dirt models was unique. The pre-mix is nothing unusual, as early oil injection had its issues. I never heard of the “Thunderdog”, sounds like a US cartoon character, but looks like a lot of fun left in it. Oh, if these old bones could handle it, but looking at this makes old injuries ache once again. It was worth it.
You meet the nicest people on a Hodaka.
Oh yeah I had two!
Beauty!!
This isn’t going to last long. If nothing else, it’s in amazing condition; these bikes were ridden really hard.
That was Hodaka’s Last attemt to stay in Business. Too little too late. They are rare . Great Name, although my favorite was ” The Road Toad” ! :)
Mine was a ACE 100 1967 or 68 trail chrome tank! I worked at a Yamaha shop that sold these! We got a lot of engine parts from WEBCO mostly piston etc
I had this same Bike in 1979 it had loads of power but the shifter housing kept breaking with any impact I bought 2 when I finally found some and sold the bike when I had to put the second housing on
Thanks for picking this one up and writing about it, Scotty. I know of Hodaka, but not much about them.
Thanks for the informative article!