1975 Yamaha RD350(LC) Preservation-mod Hellride

[irk miller]

A bit of a photo dump as I finally get around to printing some parts for the RD.

I needed a bracket to hold the Vapor to get it off the handlebar and to clear some space for the ignition key.

I also needed a bracket to allow me to flip the coolant pump and give a more seamless install (I still think I need to eventually go back to mounting the coolant pump under the oil pump cover like I did the first time).

I also printed a couple of side covers. The plan here is to eventually create a three-piece compartment, with each side cover serving as the sides of the box.

And finally, a half ass wrap job on the seat. I overstretched the film, but got a decent newbie cover to give me a placeholder until I can fabricate a copy out of actual aluminum to match the tank.

 

[ridesolo]

Nice work, Eric, hard to believe that's the same bike that left Ohio.

 

[Luugo86]

I like the bracket on the dash, looks good and tidy up there

 

[irk miller]

Nice work, Eric, hard to believe that's the same bike that left Ohio.

All pieces/parts.

 

[Maritime]

Nice, until you mentioned the seat was wrapped i thought it was alloy at a glance.

 

[irk miller]

I finally got around to designing the rear brake around the shift to rear sets.

 

[Flugtechnik]

Sexy. Was there enough swingarm movement to cause the brakes to grab? I've considered going hydraulic on the 450, but just to be different.

 

[irk miller]

Sexy. Was there enough swingarm movement to cause the brakes to grab? I've considered going hydraulic on the 450, but just to be different.

Nah. Never felt a thing on the rear brake, but figure a big bump or dip would grab.

 

[jpmobius]

I really like cable actuated brakes. Solves a lot of problems, lots of design flexibility, and super cheap and reliable. Your setup is really interesting. Fantastic idea mounting the brake end cable housing mounting bracket to the brake stay/torque arm! Seems obvious now that I see it, but I've got hundreds (!) of hours making various mounts of different designs but same function.
That upper mount attached to the swingarm is less ideal as you are aware. Should be mounted on the chassis - though it's pretty far away. That would make the brake actuating system completely independent from suspension movement.
I've built rather a lot of cable systems, and recommend considering alternative cable end fittings. In your case, just take a bolt with the correct threads for the heim/rose/rod end/spherical/clevis(!) joint you have, cut to the length you want and drill a hole for the cable through it axially. Figure out the cable length, and silver solder in place. This is the strongest and most reliable cable connection, many times stronger than the cables breaking strength or the threaded connection to the end joint. Principly though, this saves a LOT of open cable length (if wanted - sometimes you want a lot). In your case, you could move the upper housing mount much closer to the frame, mount it there, and eliminate the kinematic issues. Not to mention making a much stronger cable via the silver solder. It is surprising to me how seldom I see silver soldering anything being done these days (unless you're building steam engines). It's incredibly strong, and easy to do. And cheap! Shockingly expensive if you're thinking soft (plumbing/electrical) solder, but you generally use small bits at a time.
And as for drilling through bolts the hard way, if you don't have a lathe, put the bolt in your drill, and your drill bit in a vise and get busy. Works like magic!

 

[irk miller]

I really like cable actuated brakes. Solves a lot of problems, lots of design flexibility, and super cheap and reliable. Your setup is really interesting. Fantastic idea mounting the brake end cable housing mounting bracket to the brake stay/torque arm! Seems obvious now that I see it, but I've got hundreds (!) of hours making various mounts of different designs but same function.
That upper mount attached to the swingarm is less ideal as you are aware. Should be mounted on the chassis - though it's pretty far away. That would make the brake actuating system completely independent from suspension movement.
I've built rather a lot of cable systems, and recommend considering alternative cable end fittings. In your case, just take a bolt with the correct threads for the heim/rose/rod end/spherical/clevis(!) joint you have, cut to the length you want and drill a hole for the cable through it axially. Figure out the cable length, and silver solder in place. This is the strongest and most reliable cable connection, many times stronger than the cables breaking strength or the threaded connection to the end joint. Principly though, this saves a LOT of open cable length (if wanted - sometimes you want a lot). In your case, you could move the upper housing mount much closer to the frame, mount it there, and eliminate the kinematic issues. Not to mention making a much stronger cable via the silver solder. It is surprising to me how seldom I see silver soldering anything being done these days (unless you're building steam engines). It's incredibly strong, and easy to do. And cheap! Shockingly expensive if you're thinking soft (plumbing/electrical) solder, but you generally use small bits at a time.
And as for drilling through bolts the hard way, if you don't have a lathe, put the bolt in your drill, and your drill bit in a vise and get busy. Works like magic!

Always great to get your feedback, Mobius. Funny enough, I use silver solder quite often for custom throttle cables. Dip in acid and solder. Works great every time. Never have done it for brakes, though. The swingarm mount was mostly for simplicity and minimal fabrication, though I wholeheartedly agree it isn't the optimal design. Improved over the pushrod, but still room to improve. My biggest gripe is the length of sheething. I feel like it's short and tight. Because of the location of the rear set's actuating arm, I'm stll trying to wrap my head around a frame mount location for the front end of the cable.

 

[jpmobius]

Here is one where the foot peg is really far back similar to yours. The cable mount is on the foot peg bracket, not the frame because it's so far back, but technically it's chassis mounted. There is zero cable showing because the threaded cable end is resting on the housing fixture which acts as the stop for positioning the lever when the brake is not applied. Sort of cool that it somewhat seals off dirt and water from getting into the works as a bonus. Kind of a lot of small fiddly parts with the return spring and all, but aside from the monstrously heavy Bates foot peg (super beefy all steel and lifetime rubber cover) it's all pretty light. It's admittedly overbuilt, but it's on a street bike, and I was super determined to not have anything bend from standing on the pegs or have the folding pegs 'droop' from the stop wearing over time. There is some wear though: you can see the where the spring is wearing a slot in the little aluminum tab.

 

[Maritime]

Here is one where the foot peg is really far back similar to yours. The cable mount is on the foot peg bracket, not the frame because it's so far back, but technically it's chassis mounted. There is zero cable showing because the threaded cable end is resting on the housing fixture which acts as the stop for positioning the lever when the brake is not applied. Sort of cool that it somewhat seals off dirt and water from getting into the works as a bonus. Kind of a lot of small fiddly parts with the return spring and all, but aside from the monstrously heavy Bates foot peg (super beefy all steel and lifetime rubber cover) it's all pretty light. It's admittedly overbuilt, but it's on a street bike, and I was super determined to not have anything bend from standing on the pegs or have the folding pegs 'droop' from the stop wearing over time.

View attachment 242107

That's slick.