Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

• Cross-country handling is pretty good. The front end doesn't shake around but the rear, again with the stock shocks, gets aU interesting and provocative over the whoop-de-docs. The steering geometry makes for very quick but predictable handling. We really liked the front end on the little 125. We men tioned the five-speed trans before . It performed faultlessly until the last h ou r of testing. (No, wise guy, that 's not why we en ded the test.) First gear , we nt away when the selector became covered wi th slimy m ud . Up in H odakaville , Orego n where slimy mud is no t un known, th ey p ack th e whole thing solid wi th lube grease to keep water, etc. out. We fooled ' em and found a whole bunch of mud and water in sunny Southern California. The clutch is grabby and we suspect Hodaka Wan ts it that way since they're using the Wombat clutch and slipping it with 19 horses attached wouldn 't help longevity. Either the clutch is completely disengaged or - wh am - it's engaged and you're long gone if you have the throttle on, or you killed the engine if you didn't. Actually, it's right ni ce for mo tocr oss starts against the other 125s. Other nice thi ngs that won't send you to the accessory shop are levers that be nd back, p lain simple grips that see med to work OK, alloy rims with a new knobby patterned Nitto (looks like a Barum) on each one, a waterproofed kill button, very good serrated pegs, and the faithful two gallon Hodaka aluminum tank that is adequate for about anything and Iigh t to boot. The cap is wei rd but doesn't leak. The . petcocks are straightforward simple. Go power is impressive; stopping power is n o t super b u t the single leadi n g shoe brakes do the job. T hey (used together) will h aul the very fast C ombat d own fro m speed if you re ally get on th em. T hey d o n' t h ave m uch progressive feel and there 's n o t much subtletly to using the m. J ust grab a handful and get yo ur weight on the pedal . The Combat Wombat prefers "power on" handling anyway so just scrub off enough speed to stay on the track and throttle through the tum. The rear brake pedal still has a rubber cover, which is surprising in view of the nifty metal folding pegs, etc., but the Wombat should lose the last of its street b ike vestiges soon. Detailing is, overall, very good. Little ite ms like double mudflaps on the fenders. Too bad plastic fenders cost mo re th an the shi ny kind on the Wombat. That wo uld be a perfect finishing touch. The tuck-t hrough pipe has little perforated shields on it wherever it might contact a rider and, supposedly, is tu cked up to ge t it out of . the rider's way . The pipe still touches the rider's leg and gets worn shiny but nobody was burnt b y it . The 28mm Mikuni is pretty much foolproof but, surprisingly for a carb of this make, will cause the engine to burble at low RPM an d require cleaning off. This bike much prefers going fast, where it never seemed to be out of gas or air or RPM. T he hig h speed co mbo works but there h as been little co mpro mise for tractability. T his is a racer and Hodaka wa nts you to b elieve it. The down tub es and a ski d pl at e , c o m b in ed w ith the h igh ground clearance, do a very good job of protecting the engine t hat is doing aU these go -fast things to the Comb at Wombat. T he re is no complaint abo ut Pahtaco's provisions for keeping th e th ing running. They have even included the foam air clean from the trail Wombat in an olive drab, whi te stenciled still air box that re mi n ded me of an o ld foot locker from basic days. It says on the side ...you guessed it!: " COMBAT WOMBAT". Hod aka's la test is a very fas t, nearl y comp le te budget-min de d 125 motocross racer. It w ould h ave been eve n more budget-minded but Pab atco got caugh t in the doll ar/y en resh uffle and the price ca me o ut to $825 in New American Do llars. Bu mmer but still cheap. I t is civilized without being mil d, fast without being too scary an d quiet with a monstrous silencer th a t can be replaced by one just as quiet and you pick up a few more p on ies in the bargain. If you're buying a Comba t Wombat to start racing 125 class motocross or cross-country, you won't need the extra horses. The Wo mbat will attack just about anything and, rider willing and ab le , give a good account of itself. Like the time it b lew past the 4 00 MXer on thi s twisty SoCaI mo t o cross track or caught the 250 Oriental Sc reamer in , the turns or ... Bonzo; Charger on MX M Tra~~s •••from Oregon? ." '" C>. M .... '" .. N Vl ;;= w Z w ..J U >- U The Carrtlat Wombat was a jet. It was very q uick on the pi·poand light weight made it easv to toss around. It perferred tight, twiny eourses, COMBAT COM PUT ATIONS Engine 25 deg ree ine lined sing le A lum ife rr ic a lloy cy linder two cy cle a ir cooled engine. Loop seave nged, piston po rt indu ctio n . Bore .56m m , .. . . .. .. .•..... .. .. ...... . . . . .50mm Stroke Piston Disp laeement 12 3c c Compression Ratio 8 .0 : 1 Miku ni 28 m m Ca rb uretor Flywheel/Mag neto single co il Ign it ion Clutch 5 plate wet type , crankshaft mounted Tra nsmission S-speed, wid e-rati o constant mest Down l-N -2-3 -4-S Up Rear Wheel Sprocket 62T 14 T Co untershaft Sprocket Final Dr ive Rat io , 4.43: 1 Suspe nsion . . . F ro nt: Oil dampe ned , telesco pic forks wit h 29 .3 deg rees rake . Rea r: Pivoted sw ing a rm w it h sprin gs on single action hyd raulic shock a bso rb er s. 3-way sp ring and 2 po sit io n adjustme nt feature. · Wheels & Tires . . . . A lloy rims with 3 .00 x2 1 f ront, 3 .S0 x 18 rear, motocr oss 4- ply Nitto tires, Nitto but yl rub ber tubes. 22 psi fr o nt, 25 ps i rear (rid er on ly ) Brakes Drum t ype with sing le leading shoe front and rea r. Wheelbase ...... ... ... ...•.. . ...... ... ... .. .. .......... . S3 in. Hei ght at Sad dle 3 1.33 in. , 192 Ibs . Weight (d ry ) .9 .72 in . Gro und Clearanee Fu el Capacity • . . .. .. .... . .... . .. . . ... . .... 2 .0 U.5. Gal (7.6 lit ers) w o m bat Pi a I< olomi rstnus ':~ _. A ._ ... _ .. .. • _ .~-""". ". ' "' ''': .,11: .:.. ' ,", >Ai ':" "" .jp_;" - ~ ~ .or' • 1973 125 Combat Wombat brouqht to you by those friendly folk. who gaveyou the Super Rat . Well,actually they made you pay for it.

• Cover