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Difference between revisions of "Hodaka"
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'''Hodaka''' in actuality began in 1961 as Pabatco in Athena, Oregon. Pabatco (Pacific Basin Trading Company) was a division of fertilizer distributor Farm Chemicals of Oregon which did business through trading goods with Yamaguchi of Japan. By 1963 some 5000 motorcycles were distributed by 480 dealers. In April of 1963 Yamaguchi went backrupt leaving Pabatco and Yamaguchi's engine supplier, Hodaka Industrial Company of Nagoya, Japan in financial difficulties. Pabatco, knowing the market of trail riders, designed the motorcycle and Hodaka adapted its factory to to manufacture and assemble it. | '''Hodaka''' in actuality began in 1961 as Pabatco in Athena, Oregon. Pabatco (Pacific Basin Trading Company) was a division of fertilizer distributor Farm Chemicals of Oregon which did business through trading goods with Yamaguchi of Japan. By 1963 some 5000 motorcycles were distributed by 480 dealers. In April of 1963 Yamaguchi went backrupt leaving Pabatco and Yamaguchi's engine supplier, Hodaka Industrial Company of Nagoya, Japan in financial difficulties. Pabatco, knowing the market of trail riders, designed the motorcycle and Hodaka adapted its factory to to manufacture and assemble it. | ||
The initial Hodaka trailbike was designed and tested in the Oregon mountains and in 1964, the first [[Hodaka Ace 90]] came off the assembly line. It was a street-legal, single-cylinder, two | The initial Hodaka trailbike was designed and tested in the Oregon mountains and in 1964, the first [[Hodaka Ace 90]] came off the assembly line. It was a street-legal, single-cylinder, [[two stroke]] engine, a double-downtube frame, and utilized the features of other makers such as Dot, Cotton, and Greeves. The cost was modest at $379. | ||
Pabatco/Hodaka did not create models yearly but kept the same basic design and changing only by engineering innovation or public demand. Simple machines, Hodakas came in only in the color red to eliminate overhead in paint and storage. In 1965, Shell Chemical, a division of the Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company, purchased Farm Chemicals of Oregon. | Pabatco/Hodaka did not create models yearly but kept the same basic design and changing only by engineering innovation or public demand. Simple machines, Hodakas came in only in the color red to eliminate overhead in paint and storage. In 1965, Shell Chemical, a division of the Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company, purchased Farm Chemicals of Oregon. | ||