RD350 YPVS 1983 Cafe

Yamaki

Been Around the Block
Hi i have been lurking here for some time now, thought i'd share my bike with my fellow bikers here.

Posted here because its a constant work in progress :) Mods feel free to move if this is the wrong section

I started out with a bone stock RD350 ypvs from 1983, got the money from building a cafe/bobber XS500.

Heres the day i got it, was in pretty good nick and i got it for a good price. (And purists should look away now)
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I drove around on it in that shape most of last year, except for the mirrors, blinkers and horn.
Even the cops liked it ;D
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Then i started playing with skateboards and the anglegrinder
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Welding in a rear hoop
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Painting the rims
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And some much needed general cleaning and regreasing, new footrests etc.
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Here it is back together again, minus the rear hoop and some other minor stuff.
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But i wasnt happy with the result so i went for another look with a glassfiber cafe style rear end and some clipons + i mounted some fresh BT45's in one oversize front and rear.

Painted the rearend gloss black rattle can style and cut out some 10mm hard foam to rest my ass on. Not comfy in any way.
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Seat version 1.0
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So i tried making my own tuck and roll style seat and for a guy that hasnt tried sewing for 15 yrs i think i got away ok.
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Disregard poor paintjob in this pic.
Seat version 1.1
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Only thing is, now its too damn slippery for my taste so i will do it all over again when i get my hands on a leather needle for the sewing machine and some real leather.




Here it is today, still a work in progress. Next winter or sooner its time for the engine to look like its running.
Hope you guys like it and i am open to suggestions for future projects on this bike. Bear in mind im doing this for very little cash, hence making my own stuff whenever i can. Everything on this bike was made by me in my backyard and i like it like that 8)

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Will try to snap some better pics sometime soon
 
Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

Second seat looks much better imo.

And the smoker crew gets bigger ;) Welcome to the Zoo :D
 
Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

Agreed. That first seat was all wrong. Second one has potential. Wish we could get our hands on these bikes here in the States for less than a truckload of money. Looking forward to seeing how it comes together, and welcome to DTT.
 
Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

Yea, the first seat was a mistake, but i use it for two-up driving now, its one-bolt interchangable so it wasnt a complete waste of a good skateboard and the work involved :)

Considering going back to superbike handlebars, i mostly drive in the city so the current riding position is tiring in the long run.

I like the looks of the clip-ons much better tho, so its a dilemma.

Fabbed some reed spacers from a cutting board in 6mm last night.
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They are nylon and i dont know if they will get to hot/melt into the reeds so i might pull them off again today.
 
Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

A lot of cutting boards are delrin and not nylon, and if it's delrin you'll be fine. It won't melt.

Nice bike! Wish these were more plentiful in the states. Saw a basket case sell at barbers last year for waaaaaay to much money.
 
Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

Kanticoy said:
A lot of cutting boards are delrin and not nylon, and if it's delrin you'll be fine. It won't melt.

Nice bike! Wish these were more plentiful in the states. Saw a basket case sell at barbers last year for waaaaaay to much money.

Ahh perfect, but i dont know if i want to risk an engine rebuild right before riding season with limited cash flow :-\

Was planning on a light portjob/engine rebuild next winter or if it breaks down before that, and some much needed painting/styling of the engine. Last summer the hose for the Dial-a-jet
came off and it took away the paint on the clutch cover, and the PO painted the barrels black but that peeled off too. Luckily i found out right away so no piston damage :)


Good news is that the BT45's are really sticky compared to the old AVON's i had on so now i dont drift out from every corner, was kinda fun though. And i feel like i have much more available lean angle so at the moment i have 1-2 inch chicken strips.

Thanks for the input. How much do these bikes cost in the US on average?
 
Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

If you can fins one, more than they're worth. Usually.
 
Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

Yea. When I see them (which is rare), I've seen turds go in the $3500 range. Decent runners go in the $5000 range. And clean, well maintained, unmolested bikes go for more than the cost of a new liter class sportbike.

They're pretty rare and very collectable here, and sadly, people know this. Which makes each of them think they have the Holy Grail when it comes time to sell.
 
Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

That is some insane prices :eek:

With the 180% registration fee here in Denmark they go from about 800 US Dollars(private sale) and up to 3500 when sold from dealership in really good stock condition.


I took off the centerstand today, its getting lighter every day.

Heres my box with some of my "leftovers"
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Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

The other price issue here in the States is that most RD people think everything they have is made of gold. When good condition aircooled RDs from the 70s go for $3000 the way more rare LC models go for really crazy cash.
 
Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

VonYinzer said:
The other price issue here in the States is that most RD people think everything they have is made of gold. When good condition aircooled RDs from the 70s go for $3000 the way more rare LC models go for really crazy cash.

Same goes here for the CB750K, way overpriced in my opinion.

Anyway i got a package today, a very nice Boost bottle
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Time for some polishing i think. Or maybe leave it flat aluminium?

Also took out the spacers again and i found out the Reed valve was not stock, part ID help please? They are fiber reeds and its some kind of "two stage" design with the ordinary big blades and some smaller ones on top.
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Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

Boysen two stage reeds used to the the only reeds that worked in an RD/RZ, but they are now considered to be pretty poor. Get a set of TDR street (fiberglass) reeds to freshen it up. I have never looked at the reeds in my RZ, but it runs nice with whatever is in there.
 
Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

So an update in this project.

Today i crashed the little RD, went around a bend and the chain jumped off the front sprocket and jammed/blocked the rear wheel, making me lowside the bike.

Some small bruises and a bent ego was what happened to me, the bike got it worse: Dented tank, slightly bent forks, crushed gear lever, both brake and clutch lever bent/broken.

Havent cared to look for more damage, this just happened 30mins ago, so now im in the couch drinking coffee and licking my wounds.

I owe this to my own stupidity, i saw the chain had become way too lose, but i took the chance and i lost, "i just need to drive 3miles".

I'm just thankful nothing required stitches or plaster, the bike can be rebuild easier than me hehe. Lesson learned.

Anyway, this all happened after i talked about selling the bike, i think the RD heard me and disagreed LOL.

So now im going to strip her down for some tlc, more specifically, replace or repair the broken/bent parts, detab and paint the frame, tank and rearend(open for color scheme suggestions for now)

Not in a hurry with this as my other bike is 90% done so i can drive that while i fix up the RD.
 
Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

Shit man that sucks glad your ok
 
Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

bradj said:
Shit man that sucks glad your ok

Thanks man, That and that i didnt hit anyone was the first thing on my mind, I got away really lucky this time round. First crash too.
 
Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

Hello again Mr.
Heres the shock, it`s from a 00 gsxr 600 superstock.
The measurements are:
-Lenght:33cm
-with/bottom:4,5 cm
-with/top 3.0 cm
Let me know if you need it(can use it), its your for shipping.
 

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Re: RD350 YPVS 1983 Daily driver cafe project.

It started snowing today so i dismantled the RD and took it into the basement, im going to change some small things here and there:)
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Starting to run out of space
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