RD350LC Project

G'day, well i finally took the plunge and purchased the RD as a project for me and the youngfella, my xj650 is such a good bike all i have to do is change the oil and filter,i have polished it(as much as i can do without stripping it down) to within an inch of its life and just want to keep riding it so here is my project, i will pick it up sometime this week and assess what needs doing and get a plan going. i have to admit im pretty excited about this and cant wait to get started although it will take a long time due to money restraints,one way or another im going to do everything myself and thanks to some previous restoration jobs here that i took an interest in feel confident to do so.

 

hmm are we related. I just picked up an rd myself it has to be shipped to me going to start a thred on it. Glad to see the yamaha 2 strokes are still going strong. keep us informed and good luck with it

 

gday cutlass,wouldnt say were related but great minds think alike,good luck with yours aswell,is it a runner? i purchesed mine sight unseen, but am hopeful,seems unmolestered but i would say i had to cough up more dough than yours seeing we are here in oz.will post a pic after i get it

 

You may be down under where everything costs 4 times as much (for those that didn't know it) but you've save tons by doing your own work. I'm happy for cutlass for his RD and am for you too. With the consistant cooling provided by the LC, you'll be able to take yours into territory that would endanger the a/c model.

Have fun and if you have any questions or just want to bounce an idea or two, I'd be only too happy to help.

Long live the two strokers!!

jeff

 

yea mines a runner 5200 miles almost show condition not bad for a 38 year old bike.

 

well, i have the bike, a bit rougher than i wanted but it starts 1st kick and has no rattles and just feels really tight, the frame is spot on and i wont need to touch it, it is nearly down to just the frame and motor and at times i think i have bitten of more than i can chew but have given myself a couple of years to do this and hopefully get it right, my young fella(12 years old) is onto me all the time to do something with it,but this week we purchased a new fuel cap,its a start,lol, so much to do with so little money.

 

Take it from an older dad, your boy doesn't really care about the bike.....he is loving doing something with his dad...he knows that he gets you all to himself when you guys work on it and he's loving being able to spend time with you ...very, very cool!!

Enjoy it!

jeff

 

spot on jeff,and im having a ball aswell, i have to say he doesnt like getting covered in grease and i wasnt thinking the other day but it looks like i got the grease off his school uniform, wifey doesnt know that. i lost heart abit not long after i got it and started to price the parts that i THOUGHT i needed and quickly got up to $3000 and still counting that was for all new parts but have adjusted my way of thinking and can do it for half of that if im patient.regards ken

 

I know what your talking about. That is why im thinking of selling my gt750 project parts are not cheap. Nice used exhaust over $1100 Re chromed fenders $250 each Headlight bucket $175 fork ears $150 Airbox covers $150 seat cover $50 Paint and decals $500 plus the cost of rebuilding the motor plus all the other little things that can add up quickly. I figured between 4k and 5k to get it the way i want would look better then stock but it will loose value just for not being original anymore. Would be better off buying 1 in much better shape that needed much less work in the long run. But thats just me the father son thing is priceless and would be worth it alone.

 

gday cutlass,when i started pricing the parts,everything i based my prices on were for new parts,i started to think wait a minute,things like bearings, cables ,braking system need to be new,rebuild kits(master cyclinders etc) and so on,but after reading the "naked boy"rebuild it proved to me that you can make old ,dirty and rusty bits look almost knew again,im looking into electrolisis and will borrow a mates sandblaster,at first i wanted my bike to be a showcase type of thing but started thinking if it is a good bike to ride i can go for the cosmetics later, when i got my bike of ebay there was another one that got passed in at $7100 and is back up now for$8100 buy it now, i wanted my bike to be like that and discovered i was dreaming, it was a bit like that orange county chopper show were they figure out what they want and get all the bits sent to them for assembly.but this is a 2 year project so when i can get parts cheap i will pounce on them.good luck with your bike.

 

i agree with you there. An rd is a good candidate for customizing. They are simple have you looked at the prices that older air cooled 350-400 are bringing the built up ones are going for more then the stockers are. I don't know if you read my first post of my water buffalo. I believe what the guy did to me is why i lost interest in it. The parts for it i was pricing off ebay were re chromed most of the parts they don't even make anymore and you have to pay 3 time what you have to pay for other bikes. The guy lied big time to me told me speedo shows 12k he didn't bother to tell me he pulled the guages off it and put broken ones on it. The guy deals only with gt 750s even has a store on ebay. Every good part that was on the bike he pulled off and put junk stuff on it. He knew i could not come to his backyard to see it. Just had surgery on my ankle and couldn't walk down there so i sent my brother. I asked before i made the hundred mile trip over there if he had the airbox he said he did. He did just the box no rubbers for the box to carbs no filter no covers nothing it was in a box. Was supposto be un molested never wrecked. Didnt tell me he had the head off cut the upper hose broke a stud in the head never completely bolted the radiator back on. The only thing he told me the motor was locked up because the previous owner used motor oil in the injection. Heck he even swapped carbs . This is all stuff i found when it came home only took 10 min to find it. I know all this was done because he never tightend up any bolts they were all loose on everything. I wrote him as soon as i found out he told me i was going to restore it anyway. But he sure made it look pretty in the pics. It had a key the speedo was on zero . He told my brother it was the last key he had but he put an ignition sw and seat lock under the seat He even painted the rusty spokes with chrome paint. I think from all his lies it put a bad taste in my and quickly lost interest in it. Its not like the guy was hurting for money for gods sake he is a piolet for Delta and runs his bike parts business on the side. I am going to be putting it on ebay as a parts bike or fixer upper. But i sleep at night i will not lie to anyone that asks questions.
Thats why i bought the rd its almost perfect rounded up everything to make it that way. I am going to to the 350 top end swap chambers ect but i will have all the stock parts to return it to stock should i ever sell it. I am older now so the bike will not get abused should work out good. They are bringing it to me in april. No freight thats why its taking almost 2 months to get it. That way i can get rid of the virago the 750 and have plenty of room just my maxim x and the rd. I am hoping to have most of the maxim done by the time it gets here

 

sorry to hear that, its terrible when people lie and cheat,i see your point to get rid of it, everytime you look at it you feel like hitting him over the the head with a pipe, good luck.

 

Its ok my rd more then makes up for its sweet

 

gday, well finally got the frame,swingarm, sub-frame and a few other goodies back from the powder coaters and slowly puttin it back together,very happy with the job they did,but i have to say everytime i have a spanner or any tool for that matter in my hand i somehow bang the frame, the harder i try not to the more it happens,buy the time im finished i will have to re do the frame ,lol

 

Nice start Ken always wanted an RD but when the crunch came took the safe option CB250,I did look for one a couple of years ago thinking it would make a great sunday twisty's bike but the prices for a good or even poor average one were just silly.
Will be watching with interest.
Glenn.

 

gday glenn, your right ,they dont give them away,just got a quote to rechrome the forks,$150 a side plus 140 to polish the bottom bits, i will get another couple of quotes i think,this bike is going to cost heaps but spread out over a few years will make it a bit easier,see ya,PS did you see the one on ebay a few months back (RD350lc White) with about 7000kms on it, didnt make reserve at well over $7000 .

 

gday, just finished trhe wheels, they were painted white and ugly, i had them sand blasted then i painted and polished them, happy with the result but just about worked my fingers to the bones.

 

Tip for polishing those crudely-machined spoke highlights:

Use a mini-buffer in your Dremel, held at 90* to the spoke itself (so the buffing wheel is spinning the same direction as the machining marks.)

Cuts down on fingertip wear. I use it on the rims too.

 

gday bigfitz, i will use my dremil to buff them up abit more, they havent got that well cut look to them, after they were sandblasted they were almost white and had the same texture as sand,but the hard bits done so hopefully everytime i go near them they will shine abit more.as its my 1st attempt at a full on resto i can tell you the 2nd one will be a piece of cake compared to this.

http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz63 ... /001-5.jpg

its a bit further along than this,just put the yoke on yesterday, need to get a few oil seals ,dust covers etc to go abit further.

 

these came up beautifully, but alas i cant take credit for them


http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz63 ... /006-4.jpg

they were beyond my ability/ know how, they had some deep gouges in them that are all but gone.

 

Looking good Ken,remember it's like eating an elephant,just one bite at a time.

 

thanks gunna, ive never heard that one,you are spot on, at the end of the day as long as you get the joy out of it all , then i think you have won the game, a few times i questioned the costs of it all, but when im finished im going to have a very desirable old 2 stroke thats a real buzz to ride, only recently ,a fellow here in my own town did the the same thing im doing ,tried to sell it a couple of times on ebay, the same bike as im doing at the moment with a reserve of around 6K and both times only got offers of around 2200.its about the journey i think not the destination.all up this bike owes me 4and 1/2 grand ,it will cost another 2 to finish, it will be a family heirloom if ive got a say in it.

 

these came up nice,had some deep gouges and are all but gone



but i cant take the credit for them, matts metal polishing here in brisbane

 

I bet thos fork legs would look REAL good in black nickle or black chrome. Very nice work. I plan to build a DT-based street tracker with either a Banshee or YZ/IT490 engine. Im leaning toward the 490 due to simplicity....Basically take a DT175-250 frame, mod it to fit 490 engine, yz250 swinger and forks (lowered to 4" travel) and yz disc brakes. I have the wheels, shock, forks, brakes, switches/lights now just need to find 490 engine and a DT frame w/clean title. Keep up the updates!

 

good luck with it badfish, when you get going do the photo thing, put new seals ,15 w oil and new springs in the forks and mounted them, the new springs had about 40mm hanging out of the stanchon, took a bit of re assembling but finally figured it out with an old sash clamp, another set of hands would make it a bit easier, see ya

 

NICE!!!
Good show there Ken!

 

thanks Hvnbnd. bloody big job(money pit) but its worth it i think

needed new switchers, refurbished the torque rods onto the engine, new dampers,sand blasted it and painted in caliper paint.happy with the result



the ruff patch next to the switch will be hidden by the master cylinder

 

slowly getting there,abit more done



still waiting for the rear sprocket but couldnt resist putting the wheel on




my young fellow wants to finish the bike so he can have his ping pong table back

 

Absolutely brilliant work Ken, spot on mint keep it up.
Al

 

thanks for the comments Al,its a labour of love,it will never leave the family while im alive i hope,put the tank,mudgaurd and panels in today to get painted in clean white,with the blue stickers,the bloke doing it is going on holidays for a week or so next week so that will slow it up, i was thrilled to bits when i got the frame and swinger etc powdercoated but im really chomping at the bit to get these back, i will post up the pictures when done,see ya

 

well its finally on its feet, have a heap of goodies coming hopefully in the next couple of weeks, enough to finish it off , then i start on the motor rebuild, its not for the faint heart these nuts and bolts rebuilds,

 

Going well Ken, looks like your racing through it.

 

thanks gunna, i feel like im racing through it at the moment but im about 6 months into it, when all my orders and painted tank and panals get here,i will have enough bits to just about finish it ,but havent started on the motor, have spent a fortune on it, with about 25-30% of it going into postage to australia, cant get many bits here and its usually cheaper to import them here unfortuneately, it will be nice when its finished,i think it looks better than the photos , my cameras not very good,anyway will post some photos when made more progress,it will boil down to how much money i throw at it and i havent much to spare at the minute, see ya

 

Did you mill the slots in the discs or where they on it when you got it?

 

This looks unbelievable. I have one of these in the shed and still debating real hard what to do with it. This almost makes me want to start it again. My problem though are my forks....badly pitted at the top. i just cant seem to find parts for it. My bike is complete except for the kick start that has gone missing. Are these the original inner tubes? If not did you source them in Australia?

Gonna
The brakes looks the same on one of my XJ750...whic is in a state of rebuild. Like the LC have to source everything from overseas....and sometimes you wonder if it's worth it.

Mate keep the pictures and progress coming.

 

Mate, did you 2 pack th eframe or powder coat it?

 

hi, that is a problem here in australia,not many parts available, can get them from the dealers at mad prices or overseas, its not a cheap hobby,the slots in the disks came that way, i had to replace them both as the ones on it were 2 different disks both under 4mm thickness, the company that sold them is in the next suburb to me so i can get them in person ,of ebay there name is metalgear, the frame and swinger is powdercoated gloss black,some other parts are powdercoated but i have painted many bits aswell, these rd350lc in good nik are worth abit over hear,if you wanted to do one up and sell though i doubt you would even come close to getting your money back,i love the look of them and the fun 2 stroke factor,to me its a modern classic,i am biased,lol, regards ken

 

gday, the forks on mine were badly pitted aswell, a company hear in brisbane(RAD) hard chromes them, they come up better than new with a thicker layer of chrome, 150 a side though,on ebay i seen a good set for 200 with no rust from sydney that didnt sell, just gotta keep looking and dont count the money or it will never happen, im doing up this bike to keep forever not to sell

 

gday, harness in,now its time to start on the motor, will have to wait for more funds.




see ya

 

gday, painted calipers and fitted new seals,piston,nipples and well everything,am waiting on new mounting bolts but just had to use the old ones for a photo, should have wiped all the finger prints and polished before photos



should get all bodywork back painted in a few days, cant wait,seeya

 

gday, tank and stuff painted, very happy with it

 

the bloke who painted it said the tank was originally white, then over the top blue,then silver ,then yellow then white again and there were two sets of stickers on the tank,

 

looking real good bro.

 

gday, put a few bits on to get a feel for it,starting to look like a bike again

 

Brings home what a great looking bike they were/are.
165 km/h just standing still,eh Ken!
Seriously,just looking at those last pics i was about 16 again, you must be itching to go Ken.
Said it before and you will hear it a lot more in the future,'looking good Ken'.

 

thanks for the kind words,still trying to track down some good pipes,i have a deadline of about 3 months to get them, a contact in the UK is coming home to australia, i will just have to bid more, eveything elsi is on track, motor is really tight,am going to strip it down ,repaint and new seals and gaskets,do carbies and hopefully be right to go,your right they are a nice looking bike, i spend a bit of time just looking at it,the family thinks theres something wrong with me .lol.

 

Hi ken, great work on th 350, know what you mean about just looking at 'it'.

 

If you aren't set on it being bog stock standard get the later RZ350 pipes for it
The second generation RZ has more of a expansion chamber, a slight mod to the rear mount and they bolt straight on, probably easier to find to

 

its coming along really nice. Wont be long and it will be a runner. One nice thing about a newer 1 like you have lots more plastic then mine the more i clean on mine the more i seem to find that needs cleaned 39 year old chrome and nuts and bolts takes a bunch of time

 

hi, i have thought of getting pipes from the later model,not sure though if they will fit without removing centre stand,will look it up and yes there is hardly any chrome at all on these,fork stanchions , grab rail,centre stand handle and the head light rim,only a little polishing to do on the front forks and peg hangers,but as we know if you are into it ,its a labour of love.