1975 rd350b

[boars]

So I bought myself an RX125 (http://www.600riders.com/forum/non-fz6-motorcycle-section/43269-yamaha-rx125.html) and have been tinkering with it a little and it was bought with intention of doing a lot of things to it... well that was the idea of buying the bike but it's in such good condition I don't have the heart to do much to it...

And after a moments consideration I went and bought the biggest rust bucket I could find... so it didn't matter what I did to it... it wouldn't be destroying something... but would be more akin to reanimating a corpse for a new lease of life in a way I want Hopefully this way I also learn more along the way... wont be afraid to break anything (it's already broken!) and I can just rip into :thumbup:

So without further ado... here's my new project (this one will take me a long time to complete haha!)

Those are about the only parts I have haha!

So first on the agenda is stripping everything down and seeing what is actually usable... lots of surface rust... was told to just get it sand blasted or some such but as I'm trying to do most of everything myself I REALLY want to give Molasses a shot, didn't even know it was an option till I saw this: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZCFcxf5IBw&feature=related]Remove Rust from Metal and Panels the Easy Way: Video 1 - YouTube[/ame]

Since we live near lots of sugar cane farms around here, that cannot cost much I'd imagine! Just need to find myself a cheap plastic drum :rockon:

The only thing I possibly wont be doing myself is the painting... I could rattle can the whole thing... but I'm not sure I'd be satisfied with the result

Anyway a LOT of work to do in the meantime before I even get to that stage... and between finishing off my FZ6 front end modifications and some minor RX things... it might not happen too soon anyway. Plenty of time to muse over things

 

[Nelly]

Good luck with the resurrection. Post lots of pic after each stage.

Nelly

 

[2006_FZ6]

1978 RD400, my favorite bike of all time! Stolen...

Good luck and post some pics along the way!

 

[ebster1085]

Looks like a lot of work, that thing is beat! Good luck man, happy wrenching, and keep us posted with pics!

 

[callmegandhi]

Cool! I see a cafe racer in the works! Keep the front fender off of it! That looks cool!

 

[2-stroke]

Before my FZ I had a 75 rd350. Fun bike, easy to work on. Before you go crazy on the outside of the tank check inside. They rust bad and when you take care of the rust on the inside you might find you have holes in it.

 

[red_rock_beetle]

Looks like fun, never heard of the molasses thing, you may be able to get the molasses and a tub big enough at a farm supply store

 

[boars]

I'll be sure to take pictures, far too many pictures...

Cool! I see a cafe racer in the works! Keep the front fender off of it! That looks cool!

Would that I could!! Don't think I can do that legally, unfortunately. Altho in reality all it would hurt to have it off, is me! :spank: Flicking stones up at my face haha and the underside of my bike.

Before my FZ I had a 75 rd350. Fun bike, easy to work on. Before you go crazy on the outside of the tank check inside. They rust bad and when you take care of the rust on the inside you might find you have holes in it.

I haven't gone crazy on it yet... did have a bit of a muck about with some Alfoil, water and some elbow grease tho! I'd never heard you could use alfoil to polish steel and remove surface rust before.. so had to try it. Works well but requires far too much elbow grease when items are as rusted as my tank!

I have tapped around the tank a bit and it seems quite solid... the seat on the other hand is another matter. :spank: Sidewalls of the base have some serious chunks of rust, don't think it is salvageable sadly.

Really need to rip the remainder of the engine out and inspect the frame, from what I can get at tho, it looks good.

Looks like fun, never heard of the molasses thing, you may be able to get the molasses and a tub big enough at a farm supply store

I was also thinking I could get a pond liner, dig a hole in the yard the shape of X part, fill it up with molasses, drop the part in, put a cover over it and leave it for a couple of weeks. :thumbup:

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

A used, 1975 RD 350 (bright orange with white stripes) was my first street bike!! Bought it used, fairly low milage back in early 1977.

It needed a carb cleaning back then but it was pretty quick.. Drag racing my friends Harley 1200 sportster, I'd take him up to 70 MPH...

Unfortunatly, Sept 30th, 1977, an old man pulled a left turn in front of me (coming home from college, 12:00 noon on a Friday) and totaled the bike (I think I was doing 35-40 as I lost memory until the following Wednesday). Just about died (in the hospital for a month, broken femur 2 places, broken jaw-4 places, dislocated shoulder, numerous other injuries).. Didn't ride again for awhile, first dirt bikes, then in 1981, a Yamaha XS650 twin..

I miss that RD..... Good luck with the restore.

 

[Norbert]

cool!!!!:thumbup:

 

[boars]

That's no fun at all Townsend.

What is fun is this guide to rebuilding a RD350:
Aircooled RD Tech Forum: Ed's 350 Engine Rebuild

The amount of imagery and steps to this make it seem even achievable for someone like me! If only all manuals were this detailed! Outstanding work.

Makes me want to save it all and archive it... just in case something goes wrong with that page!

 

[2-stroke]

for get rebuilding the RD motor upgrade to the liquid cooled RZ like this guy
Yamaha : RD350 LC Yamaha : RD350 LC | eBay

 

[boars]

I'm kind of aiming for a minimalist build, if only to keep it simple for me Water cooled is nice tho, no doubt.

 

[degake]

Hi Will,

So you DID buy that piece of $*%`@#??

(sorry for the late response Vacations.... )

Grtz,


Degake

 

[boars]

Haha :thumbup:

Yes, yes I did... something to keep me busy... well... another thing :spank: The man cave looks a bit like a wreckers yard at the moment

Hope you had a good vacation/holiday!

 

[ebster1085]

That's no fun at all Townsend.

What is fun is this guide to rebuilding a RD350:
Aircooled RD Tech Forum: Ed's 350 Engine Rebuild

The amount of imagery and steps to this make it seem even achievable for someone like me! If only all manuals were this detailed! Outstanding work.

Makes me want to save it all and archive it... just in case something goes wrong with that page!

Awesome build thread! Very enjoyable read.

 

[boars]

Yeah Ebster, it is a great thread - the amount of effort gone into it is outstanding.

I've been trying to find a complete RD350 engine to ship it to Australia.

Finding them isn't too bad, there's a few about... come up in Craigslist a lot... but getting someone to actually ship it here? Painful. Had the intention of tearing down my case, sandblasting it if salvageable and ripping the internals of a donor engine into it so I can continue to have a matching engine number and frame number...

Is there a craigslist type site that is popular in europe? Haven't seen any complete engines listed in ebay yet sadly.

 

[boars]

Bought a donor engine on the weekend...

New engine:

I'm sure it's had an interesting life...

It's very rough around the edges... but not as rough as the old engine... yes, that's plant matter in the pic below...

Old engine:

I want to pull the old case apart... but I wonder if it's even possible. Got a week off in a few weeks, so will spend a day or two tinkering with the old girl.