RD400 - Back from the Dead

Been plugging away. Got all but the clutch-cover in paint... still have to strip and blast the clutch cover. Replaced all the seals, and will have to flush and check the oil pump. New lines were ordered in clear so I can see what's going on.

Split the cases, cleaned up the mating surface and all the old gas from the crank case. New seals in, transmission and shifter dogs look brand new! Not bad for 12k miles!

Got my new tires in as well as painted and polished the fins on the heads... next will be the cylinders. Got the rear MC pained and threw some new guts in it... almost looks new!
 

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Crank is fine. No play in inner bearings or lower rod end bearings... so it stays.

The oil pump on the other hand... sheesh. I had the bright idea to take it apart... stupid me. Lost one of the tiny detents on the manual pump bypass. I ordered some 2mm x 10mm rods from England a couple weeks ago... they should be in soon, going to cut them down and make a few extra 2mm x 3.5mm rounded detents just in case that happens again.

I also painted the frame... I am NEVER using PJ1 paints again. The nozzles clog constantly, and the finish is really poor on the gloss black. I am leaving it, as the worse parts won't be seen... but it's not worth $15 a can for the finish it provides. I'll stick to VHT Engine/Caliper/Rollbar and Chassis paints from now on.

Parts are coming together nicely...
 

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Those oil pump pins look just like lock pins. I have some in 2mm x 4mm in brass. A locksmith would have the size you need.
 
Right, those little pins come out like bullets if you don't know they are there. Trick is to do that part of the disassembly inside a clear plastic bag. Be sure to inspect the check valves. They are under the brass nipples pressed into the pump case that feed the two carb oil supply lines. Probably they are fine, but check with WD40 or something similar while you have the pump apart. Don't use compressed air. If they don't seem right, pull out the brass nipples. Usually they are fairly easy to twist a bit while pulling on them. There is a spring and check ball inside so be careful. Rusty spring is the only problem I have seen which is rare as the thing is always full of oil.
 
jpmobius said:
Right, those little pins come out like bullets if you don't know they are there. Trick is to do that part of the disassembly inside a clear plastic bag. Be sure to inspect the check valves. They are under the brass nipples pressed into the pump case that feed the two carb oil supply lines. Probably they are fine, but check with WD40 or something similar while you have the pump apart. Don't use compressed air. If they don't seem right, pull out the brass nipples. Usually they are fairly easy to twist a bit while pulling on them. There is a spring and check ball inside so be careful. Rusty spring is the only problem I have seen which is rare as the thing is always full of oil.

Good call. The first thing I did was drain, clean with parts cleaner, then threw my new clear lines on and ran the pump slowly on a drill from the plastic gear (a small flat-head fit in the hole by the cotter pin). I manually held the pump at wide-open and spun the drill... a bunch of old oil and gunk came out. I then threw a little 0w-20 I had laying around in and it pumped it out nice and clean with no air bubbles. Drained, cleaned again, and now it's in pieces waiting the pin.

I never thought of using a lock pin... the original are steel, so I want to keep them steel if possible.
 
Cut down a 2mm dowel to replace the one I lost. Back to putting this fiddly thing together. Just waiting on the gasket and oil seals to come in.
 

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BIG progress this weekend. Closed up the cases, new sprocket, all new seals, re-painted the cases to a more stock-color... semi-gloss black instead of satin.

I was also able to get the clutch side closed up, and put the piston and jugs back on, but haven't taken pictures yet.

Everything going together smoothly so far.

Also re-did the forward controls for the handlebars.

I checked the run-out on the pump at "idle" with no cable on the pump, and it's got about .007" of throw... manual says it needs .008-.012, so I'm probably going to order a new shim.
 

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And we are back together. Starting to look good. Much better than when I picked it up. I think it'll get tossed back into the frame before going any further.
 

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In the frame! Now I just have to finish painting the engine mounts and peg mounts to finalize.

I was able to get everything plumbed as far as Tach cable, throttle/pump cable, alternator harness and points (with new points and condenser), all the breather tubes for the carbs, transmission vent, etc. I'm waiting on getting the mounts in before I finalize the airbox boots and torqueing the heads to 15lbs. Then I will do a squish test. I'll have to wait to clean up the harness and install the battery before I can time the thing. I don't have a dial gauge that will rest in the plug hole. I could, however try to make something work. We'll see.
 

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Lots of progress this weekend. Decided to do something a little different with the wheels and do a hybrid XS650/Daytona sort of look... polished the ribs, taped them, and spray-bombed them gloss black. I absolutely love how they look... also re-finished the disc hubs the same way (like stock).

I also got my shims in for the pump and it's now gapped to .010 at full swing at idle. Once that was sorted I threw the pegs and exhaust on, as well as both of the kickstands and springs... now it's finally held up under it's own two wheels for the first time in a few months!

Lastly, I got the brakes rebuilt, but the front one leaked like crazy out of the pistons. There was simply too much corrosion damage to keep a tight seal, so a brand new front caliper is on order. The rear one is holding up well so far, looses a little pressure over night, so there's probably still an air bubble in the master cylinder or in the top of the line. Going to vacuum bleed it after the rear wheel is fully installed.
 

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New front MC and Caliper with steel braided line installed. Not getting the feel I want, going to take a while to bleed I think. Might try to reverse-bleed, or take the pads out and make sure there's no air behind the pistons.

Wiring harness back in. Made a new dedicated ground out of some 10ga wire from the engine, to the frame, to the negative on the battery.

Got everything to work, all the bulbs are good... only problem is the flasher isn't really doing anything. It'll flash left, sometimes, but won't flash right, just stay on. Took the flasher unit apart, seems to be OK... might just be to low voltage with the bike not running.

I bypassed the resistor on the new coils (as suggested by the manufacturer) and I'm getting spark... all-be-it a small-ish purple one. Again, may be due to the point gap... condensors and points are new, so should just be in the adjustment. Waiting on a 2-stroke adapter for my dial gauge to come in so I can properly time it. Going to shoot for 1.8mm BTDC as everyone seems to have good luck there.

Tank is currently soaking in vinegar, already looks amazing... just going to drain it and coat it with some 2 stroke oil on the inside until I'm ready to install it. New petcock will be fitted as well.

Getting there! Oil in the trans, bled the oil lines for the injection system... it's been sitting 3 days and no bubbles have occurred, so hopefully that means the ball-valves are good and there are no air-leaks. Battery is fully charged. Carbs are synced, pump is adjusted.

Only electrical problem I have is that the kill-switch is dead... so I just taped a jumper into the connection. I'll deal with this down the road.

Last on the list:
-Set the tire pressure.
-Set the points and timing.
-Get the dent out of the speedo housing and refurb the gauge bracket and housings.
-Nut-and-bolt check the entire bike.
-Try to start it.
-Adjust idle, carb balance, air screws if it starts and runs.
-Check for gremlins.
-Break it in.
 

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