pidjones' bicentenial build - a '76 RD400

After fixing fuel leaks (mainly leaky float bowl drain), took Geneva for a 7 mile loop through the valley. Hell Yeah! I'll work in longer runs as the new rings break in. Need to get her ready to ride to the Time Warp Tea Room on Tuesday. In other news.... got word from iMotorsports that our new Spyder RT Limited should be in from the warehouse next week, then expedited to us! The new touring beast for us.
 
Finally pulled her out of the shed. Had been kicking her over four times throttle closed and four throttle open daily for over a week. Today I turned on the (new) petcock and on first kick she sputtered, third she fired and ran. Pulled her up behind the house and removed the rear master. Ran my battery powered drill with a 1/2" dowel rod rapped in 2000 grit silicon carbide flushed with isopropyl through the bore for about five minutes. Rinsed all of that out with more isopropyl and blew it out with compressed air. Reassembled with brake fluid for lubrication of the seals. All back together and bleed, bleed, bleed until partial petal achieved. Led brick bungeed to the pedal now and about an hour ago I checked on it. Much better, so put the squeeze back on it.

There is an indoor car and bike show Saturday. I was planning to take my custom GL1000, but now I think I'll take the RD.
 
Took her to a car/bike show put on by the Knox county sheriff's dept today. Four of the six V-Twins made their top 75. None of the other seven bikes were recognized (including a custom WW2 vintage BSA single). Our vintage club had fun, though. I'm really looking forward to riding the little smoker, but the weather this week is forecast to be pretty sucky.
 
Oh, YES! Took her for ~50 miles of flat, grades, curvy, straight roads and she ran great! First kick start (choke ON) and quick warmup to choke OFF and idling. Stopped twice and she restarted first kick both times. Still breaking in new rings, so up & down in RPMs and keeping them below 7k. Still need a few things sorted. Rear brake is still not really right but front is great. Horn stopped working, think I'll just buy a better one instead of working on this one. Front tire was never balanced and I never put beads in it. Well, I have now. It needed that. Pulled the plugs once she was cold and they looked perfect.
 
Rode her to the Time Warp Tea Room this evening. Ran great, just like I remember my first one in the 70's. Has a slight gear oil leak on the left side - could be shifter seal or drive sprocket seal, but it is very slight and I think it will wait for next winter.
 
Took Geneva to the Mossy Creek Cruisers show in Jefferson City, TN today. Won Antique class. Was a nice, although a bit warm day. Rains held off until loaded and gone.
trophy.jpg
 
Today, Geneva won a trophy for Best Paint Motorcycle at the Street Dreams Car and Bike Show in Knoxville. The paint is RSBIKEPAINTS water borne Geneva Green over Rustoleum and Duplicolor etching primer, a can of Spraymax 2k Glamor clear, decals, and another can of Spraymax Glamor clear (and of course sanded and polished out). I love the color. The finish? Meh.
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She's been marking the floor with transmission oil. Pulled the left side cover and found one of the blanking plugs working out. Tapped it back in, and a week later the same issue except this time the plug was almost all the way out. Pulled it, cleaned plug and case with brake cleaner and isopropyl then Hondabond 4 on its periphery and tapped it back in again. Rode it last Saturday and so far it hasn't spotted under where I parked it. I put some UV dye in it last week, so I'll pull the cover again this week and check with a UV light.
 
The two blind caps over the selector forks should not move. Are the other ends of both shafts properly located by E clips?
Sounds like a clip is missing or loose. Another possibility is a selector fork binding slightly and forcing a shaft sideways. Last thought is excessive pressure in the transmission but as long as the breather outlet is clear, that shouldn't be an issue.
 
teazer said:
The two blind caps over the selector forks should not move. Are the other ends of both shafts properly located by E clips?
Sounds like a clip is missing or loose. Another possibility is a selector fork binding slightly and forcing a shaft sideways. Last thought is excessive pressure in the transmission but as long as the breather outlet is clear, that shouldn't be an issue.
Click to expand...
The shafts appear to be in correct position, flush with the bearing (although might be returning there in use). I've read on 2T sites that this can be an issue with replacement plugs. I had the tube for the vent pinched earlier, but have it open now. The dip stick shows ~2 cm over-fill, but it was carefully measured when filled after reassembly.
 
I don't think I ever used aftermarket caps, but that's a possibility. Pop the caps out and clean them and the bores and wipe on a little 3 bond to stick them in place. 2cm over fill is a lot of excess oil. Is that after the bike was running or had it sat for a while? Maybe it was slightly overfilled and frothed up. What oil are you using? I always use 2 stroke transmission oil - usually from Honda.
 
The worst one has been pulled, cleaned, and reinstalled with Hondabond 4. I carefully measured the oil when I put it in. I've measured the dipstick and compared that measurement to other RD400c photos. I measure it after the bike has set at least 5 minutes and always on the center stand. I seem to remember that it is Castrol 10W30 4T oil. Considering draining and filling with Rotella T6 5W40 that I used in the GL1800. It is MA2 rated also.
 
I pulled the cover today and checked carefully with my UV flashlight. Not a sign of leakage now. The Hondabond seems to be holding well.
Also, as promised here is a photo of the plugs. One is hidden partially behind the drive sprocket.
 

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