Hodaka
Encyclopedia
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
company that manufactured motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s in the 1960s and 1970s.
The company also went by the name PABATCO, for Pacific Basin Trading Company. Its headquarters were in the rural town of Athena, Oregon
Athena, Oregon
Athena is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States.The population was 1,126 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Pendleton–Hermiston Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. Pabatco was owned by Shell Oil Company
Shell Oil Company
Shell Oil Company is the United States-based subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, a multinational oil company of Anglo Dutch origins, which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 22,000 Shell employees are based in the U.S. The head office in the U.S. is in Houston, Texas...
from 1965 to 1978. The name Hodaka is rumored to have been borrowed from a mountain near the factory. Opening its doors in 1964, Hodaka is credited by some with starting the trail bike craze in the United States. Hodaka models included the Ace 90, Ace 100, Wombat, Combat Wombat, Super Combat, Super Rat, Dirt Squirt, Road Toad and Thunderdog.
In the late 1970s, a combination of events led to the demise of Hodaka. Falling US dollar exchange rates against the Japanese yen, a shift in demand from dirt bikes to larger road bikes, and general economic weakness fatally wounded the company. Hodaka attempted a purchase of Fuji Heavy Industries
Fuji Heavy Industries
, or FHI, is a Japanese transportation conglomerate most known for being the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles. It traces its roots to the Nakajima Aircraft Company, a leading supplier of airplanes to the Japanese government during World War II...
—the Japanese company which manufactured most Hodaka engines—but were rebuffed. Around 1980, Hodaka ceased all operations. Its tooling was later sold to the Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n company Daelim
Daelim
Daelim Industrial was established in 1939, and its E&C and Petrochemical Groups are the main lead of the Daelim Business Conglomerate.Since 1970, Daelim has completed numerous projects in the Middle East and Southeast Asia...
.
List of Hodaka motorcycles
- Hodaka Ace 90
- Hodaka Ace 100A
- Hodaka Ace 100B
- Hodaka Ace 100B+
- Hodaka 100 Dirt Squirt
- Hodaka 100 Road Toad
- Hodaka 100 Super Rat
- Hodaka 125 Super Combat
- Hodaka 125 Combat Wombat
- Hodaka 125 Wombat
- Hodaka 175SL
- Hodaka 250SL
- Hodaka 250ED
- Hodaka 80 Dirt Squirt