Where to go with an RD400 and not lose my a$$

DannyMotor

Blood, sweat and beers.
As many of you know I just picked up a 1976 RD400 in Geneva Green... basically a mouse-house for 10+ years under a tarp outside. Ive got it stripped down to the point that I know it's worth fixing up... good compression, 100% complete, no glaring issues...

My conundrum is on what to do with it. I'm a perfectionist... which is why I stay away from restorations and stick to resto-mods instead... Custom paint, graphics, etc... chop the frame... you get the idea. BUT, this is a unique bike, a good candidate for resto, but it needs a frame-up, nut-and-bolt resto... I'm talking strip the paint and start over.

I, personally, would like to paint what needs it.. leave the tins and accesories as they are and just get a solid rider/survivor out of it... BUT... part of me wants to chop it.

At this point, I dont know if its a keeper or a flipper, so the least amount of investment is preferred... I paid $200 for the bike and it needs $250 in parts before I even start to tear it down (gaskets, seals, m/c rebuild kits, grips, mirrors, brake pads, hardware, battery, etc...) And who knows if it wont need pistons, rings, points, condensor, oil pump... etc once its gotten into... and I know it will eventually need tires, brake lines, and other rubber parts as well...

So, lets say I get into this for $1200 price of the bike included... in a worst-case scenario.. and it still hasnt been painted, or been customized or hopped up... just maintained, repaired, running and roadworthy... would I get my money back?

Another worry is that 2strokes may be outlawed in a few years.. lol.

I know im thinking myself into a circle here, but lend me some direction.

Everyone says "its yours, do what you want with it" but is this more of an investment piece, or a blank canvas?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Hard to say, if you want to make money you're probably better off breaking it and selling the parts, turning it into a ride able bike you'd be happy to sell on could cost a fortune.

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IMO you'd easily get 1200 back out if you went that route.
Hell if you're patient you could almost get that now. It's a very desirable bike.
I bought one for 350, rebuilt the engine and got it running (poorly I might add) , didn't do anything else and sold it for 1000. And that was the first guy that called.

Cleanup and paint costs almost nothing assuming you're doing the work.
If you're paying someone to do the work then go ahead and sell it as is and pocket a few hundred bucks.
 
SONIC. said:
IMO you'd easily get 1200 back out if you went that route.
Hell if you're patient you could almost get that now. It's a very desirable bike.
I bought one for 350, rebuilt the engine and got it running (poorly I might add) , didn't do anything else and sold it for 1000. And that was the first guy that called.

Cleanup and paint costs almost nothing assuming you're doing the work.
If you're paying someone to do the work then go ahead and sell it as is and pocket a few hundred bucks.

True, all the work will be in my shop, in my spare time... Geneva Green paint costs a pretty penny... but if I spray it myself itll save a ton.

I think im overthinking this...haha.
 
julian.allard66 said:
Hard to say, if you want to make money you're probably better off breaking it and selling the parts, turning it into a ride able bike you'd be happy to sell on could cost a fortune.

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I will never part out a saveable bike in the name of money... but I will double-down a bikes worth to get it where I want it.

But is the bike itself worth it? I have $1000 all-in to my KZ400 build and feel I would be lucky to get that back... so Im going to daily it until I either break it or someone wants to give me what I want out of it.
 
Luckily this is a very desirable bike, you'd have no problem moving it when you want to.
 
Been looking for one of these or H1/H2 nonchalantly for a few years so you stole the bike in that condition. I would do a mild port job, oil inj. delete, and make it look and perform exactly how you want it.

Desirable? Not many people have 2T knowledge and the youth to enjoy something like this anymore.

*Disclaimer-I'm all or nothing on the throttle so a variable oil ratio pump is nothing but a possible failure mode.
 
Garc said:
Been looking for one of these or H1/H2 nonchalantly for a few years so you stole the bike in that condition. I would do a mild port job, oil inj. delete, and make it look and perform exactly how you want it.

Desirable? Not many people have 2T knowledge and the youth to enjoy something like this anymore.

*Disclaimer-I'm all or nothing on the throttle so a variable oil ratio pump is nothing but a possible failure mode.
I run pre mix in mine. Be my luck the oil pump fails in the middle of a ride, and some friction welding occurs.
 
Ok, im feeling better about doing what I want with this bike.


To those of you who oil injection delete... what mix do you run? 30:1? 35:1? My dad told me to do the same thing... "If you're gonna run it... just run pre-mix!"
 
J-Rod10 said:
I run pre mix in mine. Be my luck the oil pump fails in the middle of a ride, and some friction welding occurs.

Exactly, and if the cylinders are FUBAR $$$$ or downtime. They make 3.2 oz bottles of 2T oil and you know what you're putting in at the pump so it's not rocket science to premix. I run closer to 40:1 on my high output triple snowmobile engine but had to tune jets closely for safe EGTs as liquid cooling makes things a little more complex due to air density being substantially different near and under freezing temps.
 
Keep the oil pump. They are dead reliable and rarely fail. Carrying bottles of two stroke oil went out 50 years ago and ain't ever coming back into style. Not a good idea - except for race motors and that's just to save a few ounces. Water cooled motors are way easier to jet and so on, but air cooled RD's are pretty basic. You absolutely must replace the crank oil seals though. If you don't you will melt pistons.

I would keep the body paint and see if it will buff up a little. Clean the chrome parts, paint or powdercoat the frame and swingarm. Almost any part you need inside the motor is available and I would also recommend new shocks, tires and an electronic ignition.Rebuild the brake system and fit braided hoses. Check out Dyna from Nick at Vintage Smoke or Powerdynamo from John at Economy Cycle. Will you get your money back? Probably not. If it's a financial issue, I would sell it now for 400 - 500 bucks and get something else.
 
+1. You already have it fairly well disassembled, I'd simply take it apart, clean up all the parts and carefully put it back together. Lube up all the appropriate parts and rattle can the few rusty bits after de-rusting. Clean the carbs and put them back together. VERY likely you can do so with no money involved except for carb cleaner. Don't waste money on rebuild kits. The bowl gasket is all you are likely to need. Likely a petcock rebuild kit will be needed. And crank seals which you have ordered. I bet for about $100 on top of the purchase price you can end up with a very nice bike. If you are going to ride it around, buy some tires and new ignition coils. The originals were crap when new, the reproductions seem to be much better. And keep the bulletproof oil pump!
 
Sounds good! I think keeping the pump and upgrading the consumables will be a must. Did just buy all the gaskets, all the seals, bowl gaskets, new petcock, brake pads, new front master, rebuild kit for the rear, mirrors, grips, and a few other odds and ends.

It's on!
 
I agree with keeping the oil pump. I wouldn't doubt if some reported failures are people running it dry and getting air in the lines. Never had trouble with mine even when it did leak(before I noticed) it put out enough oil to get by until fixed.

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Pickup an oil pump rebuild kit from John @ economy cycle and run the pump. Premix is a hassle. I rebuilt mine and its good to go.
 
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