Yamaha RD 350

U

unitedguitar

New Member
Hello. Back in November of 2010 a very unlucky Yamaha became the next victim of a run in with a grinder. It fought a little bit but in the end it just couldn't resist a face lift.

Here are some pics.

This is it when we got it home. Well worth $50 to me. Came with an extra front end, rear end and engine.
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Here is another shot after we unloaded it.
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We didn't take a lot pics in the ensuing weeks but did get some after we did the initial mock up with some of the new parts.
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We changed out the front end and the swing arm for a setup from a XS400. The swing arm is two inches longer than the original so it gives it a little bit longer look. The mag wheels help dress it up too. This also allowed us to go from a rear drum to a rear disc brake setup.

We've done a little bit more work to it but I haven't shot any pics yet. Hopefully that'll get done soon though.
 
There is a rash of cryogenicaly cool RD/pre RD's coming up on here.
I'm jealous. V.nice build.
:)
 
Thanks Erskine. I never really appreciated them until I saw an RD400 built by motofiaccone. It was what really got me thinking about what could be done with and RD.

Here are some pics I just shot of the RD in its current state.

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We decided to go with the single gauge and some clip ons to really clean up the front. We polished up the headlight bucket for something a little different that what we are used to. We also cut away all unnecessary brackets and junk from the frame. Got rid of the oiling system and plan to just premix gas. Could cause a problem if you run out of gas away from home but I may try to build an auxiliary fuel tank to hideaway. The seat has been chopped up and reupholstered. We removed two inches from the middle of it and had it welded back together. It still fits the factory hinges. Not totally happy with the recovering but it might be ok. It has all new padding and marine vinyl so it will be better protected in the weather. It is a whole lot more comfortable than it used to be. And it only cost $35.

Now we have to clean the inside of the tank, clean and rebuild the carbs and wire it all up. We also have to put together out trick new braking system. It will be a one lever design. No more foot brake. It will clean the right side of the bike up immensely.
 
You meam like the motoguzzi type system of combined braking, I think the braking was proportioned between the front and back disks/. can't remember whether it was back brake working one front disk and back, and front brake working the other front disk. Sure someone will correct me.
 
I'm not really familiar with how motoguzzi did theirs but I talked to an old biker friend and he said he had seen it done on trikes for handicapped people. We got a proportioning valve and some brake lines with a dual disc master cylinder.
 
I like the all black mag wheels, did you paint them yourself(s). If so, was it rattlecan'd or what? i was thinking about doing this to mine with gloss engine paint.

also, this may be a little premature for me to ask, but where are you gonna put your key ignition switch. I like how cleaned up the front is. I have an xs400 I'm (slowly) working on and have been thinking about getting rid of the rpm gauge....
 
don't use engine paint on your wheels. Engine paint needs to be baked (which can either be done in an oven or simply by running the motor) and until it is it will be brittle and easily flake off.
 
jmj166-The wheels were a home job and we used rustoleum engine enamel in gloss black. We have a secret as to how to get the paint to "bake on." As far as the ignition switch, we plan to put it under the tank. My CB750 is that way and I think it will work with the RD. I like the cleanness of the single gauge and once you get used to it you can just hear what RPM to launch at and what not.

boomshakalaka-So I assume you mean to say that a person could paint their wheels with engine paint if they had a way of heating the wheel after the paint has been applied?
 
It has been a really long time since I posted anything here and it probably seemed like another lost cause build but, a great deal of work has been done to the RD and it runs!

We tend to do a lot of work without taking any pics so all I have is a current pic of it but it is definitely a transformation from where it started.

For reference:

Before
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Now
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There is still some work to be done. It needs a battery, shift lever and brake pads before we can ride it. All of these things should be in in a few days. I'm excited to try out the braking system with the one master cylinder running the whole system. We'll get it out and do some test and tune an then its out for paint. We are also taking the seat back and having it cut down some. It is just too incredibly bulky and looks out of place.
 
Linked brakes are an idea that has been tried but it's hard to get it to work properly because the front does most of the braking and the harder you brake, the more work it does relative to the rear. It's not impossible, but if it's right for a hard stop it won't be ideal for a slower stop.

But those tires aren't made to go fast, so maybe it won't be too much of an issue if you don't ride it too hard.
 
That's a good point you bring up teazer and definitely something we'll have to work around. I can't really say that this will ever be run at super fast speeds. It is being built as kind of an homage to the 70's and while we want it to function properly the visual aspect is just as important to us. I will however have to keep the concerns you have brought up in mind.
 
We all have different vision of where we want to take our bikes. To my eyes fat front tires are reminiscent of dirt track bikes where the RD was a canyon racer or road racer. That's why my image of a seventies cafe is all road race.

I'm not sure where the brat seat, fat front tire look that's popular now, came from. I have seen it on German streetfighters and it has become quite common with the latest surge of popularity of old bikes. The look is almost like a bobber look from the immediate post war era, but I'm no historian.

And just to mix genres, my flat track inspired bike has high bars etc and regular street tires. It all comes down to a personal vision that we're trying to create. Your bike looks quite different to most RDs with the stretched swingarm, pleated seat and off-road tires it looks interesting. I would probably have used flat bars or bars with a slight rise to go with that look, but my "come from" place is probably different to yours, so I see things differently.
 
I my memory serves me, old Moto Guzzi used the footbrake for the rear and one front disc split 70% rear, 30%front. The handlebar lever operated the other front disc. This was on a Mark 3 Le Mans.
Great looking project.

Crazy
 
We have it set up basically like a car. The hand operated master cylinder has a line going to a splitter mounted under the seat. From the splitter one line goes to the front to operate the front disc and another line goes to a proportioning valve to which should help get the desired 70/30 (front/back) braking. I think a lot of people assume that we are just going with the double banjo fitting on the master cylinder like some of the old dual front disc setups but this is hardly the case.

Crazy, that is a bizarre setup. I wonder how well if worked. Thanks for the compliment by the way.
 
Correction to my previous post - 70% front 30% rear as unitedguitar posted.

The system worked fine on the early Le Mans but you had relearn your braking technique.

Crazy
 
Brake pads finally came in. We're going to get that finished up tomorrow. The tank is going out to be painted today. A painter that went to school with my buddy is going to hook us up. It's going to be sweet. After that we'll be done and ready to ship it off to the new owner.
 
Been a while. Got the tank painted and I really like it. Tried putting the chain on and it was too short so I'll have to get another one. That is basically all that is keeping it off the road now.

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hacked?




as to the brakes... i'm not a fan of linked braking systems. there are times i just want to just the front brake and there are times i just want to use the rear. hope it works for you.
 
Nope - contacted him and it seems legit. Just waiting for some clarification to be posted here.
 
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