BLACKPIPES

Keep steppin’ yo game up

So last year I ran the PHBG 21, which was a great carb. I don’t understand anyone’s issue with PHBGs: I didn’t have to rejet constantly for temperature swings, it was pretty easy to tune, and it was easy to work on. That being said, a 21mm carb is good for 10-12 horsepower, so it was time to make the move to the TM24 to see where that took me.

The primary issue with getting the TM24 on there is that I don’t run a chopped frame, custom-built subframe, or a top-tank frame swap ala a Magnit or a Batavit or whatever, so there isn’t a lot of room for 24mm of intake due to where the case opening is and how the frame and subframe come together. Also, the stock Hobbit intake can be bored out to about 20mm (not even 21, really), so I needed to figure out a way to get 24mm of capacity into a low-profile intake. The nice big tall Dio reed setups that some people run on non-top-tank converted Hobbits require either too-tall shocks or metal rods in the place of shocks altogether, and that wasn’t really an option for me due to my being obstinate and also not wanting big stupid euro shocks.

My first plan was to get Julian to weld extra material to an extra stock intake, so I could grind it out to 24mm, and then use that big exhaust header treats sells, cut down to essentially be like a larger version of the 21mm intake I already was running. Before I bought the big header, though, I heard rumors of MLM making 21mm and 24mm intakes for the stock reed block, ones that would be sized to fit on a stock Hobbit. So I was patient for a few months, and the 24mm intake from MLM became a reality, and I snagged one the other week in preparation for this seasons upgrades.

The issue with the MLM 24mm intake is that it technically works with a stock Hobbit, but you pretty much need to run 300mm shocks or you risk hitting it with your frame as your shocks bottom out. Additionally, I didn’t like where the path of the intake made the carb come out - it sits perpendicular to the bike and I couldn’t imagine any way to run an air filter due to pedal clearance issues. And the floor boards wouldn’t really work anymore, which I think looks really ugly on Hobbits. Ryan posted some good photos of the intake on his bike on MA, and I realized that I could cut it down to act like my 21mm solution, then run a big rubber tube out from it to connect to the TM24. So I measured a whole bunch, then took an angle grinder to my brand new $50+ intake.

The first line I marked was what I thought would work, but after mounting it up and checking it more closely, I had to circumcise even more. And no offense to MLM, and maybe mine was messed up, but I had to grind the upper mounting holes on the intake like 2mm down to make it fit correctly - not what I imagined having to do for an expensive, custom-made, intake. Here’s how it looks with the hose:

Man, the bike is getting pretty grungy and some surface rust is forming. Whatever. Then I ate a burger from Kuma’s in my new city of Chicago. It was absurdly good.

I’m also working on a new seat idea to replace the gramma seat, which I have realized looks pretty cornball with the rest of my bike. Chopped up a PA-2 seatpan (thanks, Cap’n) and cut the foam in half. I’m going to have a local guy weld up the back and then I’ll recover it with the stock cover for some OG looks. Hopefully it works out. Right now it looks like meatloaf on a pan, according to Taco.

My TM24 is still in Ann Arbor, so my new local buddy Seb let me bum a TM24 from him while he does his casematch and engine build on his Puch. I went to his garage last night and got it fitted to the hose, got the throttle cable sized up right, put the air filter on, and everything fits better than I could have imagined.

So of course I had to start it…..

- ShaneB

Tags: hobbit. project. honda hobbit.