4 of the wackiest-ever motorcycle names come from an outfit focused on fun

[Bryan]

Naming conventions for many motorcycle companies amount to a mish-mash of letters and numbers more befitting of a Star Trek ship than a bike. Few marques break free from these cumbersome alphanumeric conventions. Hodaka—a small bike brand from the mid-1960s—did it very best.

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https://www.hagerty.com/media/motorcycles/4-of-the-wackiest-ever-motorcycle-names-come-from-an-outfi...

[sharkguy48]

Every friend of mine that had a Hodaka loved their bikes.  Two-strokes died but, they are still much loved due to small displacement size, big power output.  

[golfnut53083]

In the early 70's I had a Chapparal dirt bike that I rode on one wheel as much as two. Had actually not thought of it for many years until I was watching an episode of "The Pickers" when they came across an old barn find Chapparal. Great fun for a 15 year old!

[BobA]

I had a 1973 Combat Wombat. I recall three glorious summers ('73 - '75) when a couple of friends and I would spend a day each weekend riding the Ganaraska Forest trails here in Central Ontario. One of them had a Can-Am 175 and the other a gonzo (and to me, unrideable) Honda CR250, but when the going got tight, the Hodaka was king! Fond memories!

[jhall4945]

Never knew much about the brand but they must have sold a lot of bikes because Hodaka's, especially Super Rat's, were everywhere in the 70's for little money. Almost got one used but after a test ride my father chickened out! He tried to steer me towards a much less cool Honda Trail 90 but, disappointed, I ended up with nothing!

[Real_Life]

Hodaka in the early seventies was the off-road standard bearer.  Their reputation rested mainly on their importer (who? I wish I knew!).  But in that time, they were the kings!

[sorrktm]

Hard to beat Hodaka when it came to naming a bike. Back in the day when a buddy was trying to get me off road I went to a local garage thaat happened to be a Hodaka dealer. I was going to get a Combat Wombat but he told me about the Thunder Dog. We were starting to get into enduro riding and that bike looked great to me. I was riding a 238 Kawasaki at the time, which was awful, and told him to get me one. Long story short, he couldn't get one for whatever reason and I ended up riding a Puch 175 for the following year, then went to Husky's. Got to ride some buddies Hodaka's though while trail riding. But never saw a Thunder Dog. Wonder what I missed.

[llawrence9]

Ossa Plonker, for an observed trials bike, was well named.

[Buckshot]

I had an old Harley Shovelhead that I called "Old Shep" because it would "mark it's territory", bite me when I kicked it, and loved to ride in the truck.

[TimK]

I don't know how good the bike was nor how wacky one would find the name but I think one of the coolest names given to a bike was the 1967 Suzuki X6 Hustler.