I'm New - RD 400 Daytona Build

C

Captain Jay

New Member
A buddy of mine said I needed to check you guys out and post my build.

This is my first full on build from scratch.

I always wanted to learn to weld.

So Here tis:

1979 rd400 daytona, $400 with title and complete (almost)

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So with the help of Big Dan, Expert of Shamrock Enterprises (my dad) We decided to tear it completely down and start from scratch.

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Turns out the motor was siezed and full of water.

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At this point we were still undecided as to build a tracker or a cafe. Decided to go cafe racer.

Started detabbing and chopping

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My son Joe helped us work on basic seat and bar ergonomics....

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Decided to build a seatpan using the daytona tailpiece and dyvinicell foam, epoxy and fiberglass (I am a boat builder and this is in my boatshop)

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More.....

Got the seat foam and a set of Moto Carrera Rear Sets

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Tail light and plate holder fabbed from a street sign.

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Tore down the wheels.

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At this point my wife pondered: "So, how much does it cost to buy a motorcycle a piece at a time?"

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to quote my good friend Milo: "You can't put a price on awesome!"
 
i got a turner welded 400 crank in good working order i may consider sellin if you need one it. all my stuff is 350 so it is just sitting on the shelf pm me if you need it. looks good man there is a lot of rd's poping up lately nice bike and welcome
 
Going back together.....

After locating a good crank and having it rebuilt, painted the cases, and jugs:

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Actually went a little too far with some of the detabbing and had to do some retabbing!

Just learning to weld so it is pretty ugly, nothing the grinder and some paint won't fix.

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That's as far as we have gotten so far.

I have most of the parts to go together, so I will be updated as progress progresses.
 
Right on, man. Welcome to the site.

We love a good RD, and we love pictures, so you're spot on so far!
 
Glad to see you have arrived Capt Jay. The build looks great. Members, Jay is a good friend of mine and the former owner of my Triumph Bonneville 750, currently under construction. He is a master deep sea fishing captain and quite a talented craftsman. Big Dan, his dad owns approximately a dozen classic British bikes including a 750 Commando, many of which are fore sale :) They are both enthusiast and I give Jay the credit for my earliest interest in the cafe look. I am looking forward to seeing this one through. Welcome Capt!
 
Welcome to the site and cant wait to watch this one ! 2 stroke 4 stock more YAMs showing up :)
 
Probably the best looking RD400 with that LC styled tank.

Unfortunately, it looks like a little too much frame was hacked off the back end. Fortunately you can weld tube and brackets back on, to mount the seat and anything else needed back there.

Did the side stand also go? That's a shame if it did because some exhausts require the main stand lugs to be shaved.

Hope that isn't an issue for you. Great bikes but the Daytona really needs replacement carbs and exhausts to work like an RD is supposed to work.
 
Big dan has started to put the motor back together, clutch and ignition (new battery less).

We decided to set the motor (top end still not done waiting on pistons .5mm over) just set the jugs on so we could see how the pipes will mount with the rear sets etc.

mounted the left side to the rear set mount, with a little pipe mod.

Mounting the right side to the frame. That's just how it worked out and is symmetrical.

Finally figured out if we hung the frame from one of the roof chain falls, we could work at it much better.

I don't think I cut to much rear off the frame, I already fabed seat mounts on the frame.

Yes, I cut of the side stand, gonna weld on a the old mount in a new position. Ground off the center stand mount, and gonna loose the old pipe mounts.

I can weld as good as Japanese robots.

Big dan had to quit around 3 in time for his Nascar nap.

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Nice shiny DG pipes. Not a bad pipe for the price. That frame still looks so short to my old eyes compared to a race frame for example where we have a reasonable rear loop. Check out a TD3 frame to see how Yamaha did it.

Should be nice when it's done. Any thoughts on color scheme yet? You could do worse than to check out custom LCs for ideas.
 
Paint, I have got a lot of paint in the boatshop.

Gonna use what I got.

Frame and swing arm are gonna be super Jet Black.

Wheels and fork lowers are going to be super jet black with flattening agent (matte finish)

Tank / seat. Carribean blue metallic.

Awl Grip brand paint.
 
This is Great.........

"The Yamaha RD 400 is a noisy, polluting, unreliable motorcycle. It’s also wonderful. I know that 2-strokes are frowned upon in the modern age of melting ice caps, vanishing glaciers, super-sized hurricanes and acid rain but if we put all of that aside for a moment, we all know that 2-strokes represent a high water mark on the amount of fun it’s possible to have on two wheels."

Yep, that pretty much says it.
 
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