Paul Stannard astride the 175 prototype.

Kickstarter is on the right side and the bike lights off easily.

Single shock rear has linkage similar to a Honda.

Paul Stannard is the owner of Strictly Hodakas and a certified Hodaka junkie.We ran into Paul at Hodaka Days in Oregon this summer and he had an ear-to-ear grin and was straddling a strange bike that didnt look at all like one of his beloved Hodakas.We wondered just what this thing was, so we grilled Paul about this.

BY PAUL STANNARD AS TOLD TO RICK SIEMAN

In about 2005, I received an email from Portugal by someone who was wanting to sell a very, very large Hodaka inventory. The only previous Hodaka/ Portugal connection that I was ever aware of was in this article from 1980. Prior to and after this article, I had never heard of a Portuguese connection at all.

The email from Portugal stated that these people had many new Hodaka motors, including hundreds of new cylinders and heads, thousands of gears, etc.

Being very wary, I asked for photo's and saw them, along with a 30 + page inventory list.

A week after receiving the photos, I was racing at Woodland just north of Portland, Oregon. I had most of the original PABATCO guys coming to watch and spend time with us. During a break at the race, I had huddled them together and showed them the photos and inventory in Portugal. I asked if any of them had known about this and their response was "NO".

PABATCO was the worldwide distributor for Hodaka motorcycles and parts, so any parts and motors should have gone through them, but obviously did not.

What happened was the owner of Forvel motorcycles in Portugal was building bikes with a 50cc Portuguese motor. But he needed larger motors for his bikes. He went to Nagoya Japan in 1975 where he tried to buy Yamaha motors, but they would not sell to him.

He then went to Hodaka, also in Nagoya, who under the table did sell him 200 175cc motors and spares and 200 (03) 125cc Wombat motors and spares for his bikes.

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Right side of engine is sleek and tucked in nicely.

Front brake is light and powerful.

He made a very few 125cc Forvels in Portugal and sold them only in 1979 when the market was dying. Before going out of business, he sold the Hodaka inventory to another Portuguese bike maker "Anfesa." From what I have been told, they made these bikes in 1986 and 1987 for the Portuguese market only.

In 2007, we met with the folks in Portugal to see the parts for real. Everything was exactly as they said. It was a kind of time-warp looking at these new motors and parts stacked to the ceiling. They had several of the Forvel and Anfesa models to show us and we were floored. We ended up negotiating a deal and had a container of bikes and parts shipped to our old shop in Rhode Island.

It has taken 18 months to get this one bike finished, but it is a beauty restored for me by "Hodaka Dave" Rozier in Missouri.

Right now, there are four of the RX175 Anfesa Hodaka's (water-cooled) left, with one I am keeping to make a hot-air-cooled 175 Hodaka with great suspension. Mono-shock and 38 mm upside down Marzocchi forks really help these old bones.

There is an almost-complete frame left in the jig and we do have the jig to possibly make more. There are also many water-cooled cylinders and heads here for us to make more.

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