Update on orange RD (1975 RD 350 C).
I rode the bike last night around the nieghborhood.
Still may not have ridden it long enough to warm it to the point that it makes the noise that Evan, the PO, heard. My younger brother said that he heard some "piston slap", not unusual for a two stroke (both these bikes have 13,000 + miles showing, and obviously piston and rings are called for on the "B" model now, but I figuire I am only half way to new rings on the "C").
Since my initial starting session, now it always starts on first kick, will roll-on wheelie in first, others I have owned would do that in the first few gears, but this one runs better everytime I ride it so that may still be happening at some point. That wheelie anytime it feels like it (and not always when you want it to), was what endangered my base driving privileges back in 1975 when I owned my first RD..an orange 1975.
Evan had mirrors in a drawer at his condo, don't know if those were RD mirrors or not, niether of my new bikes have mirrors, or batteries. I have extra mirrors here and I had one adapter for the right hand mirror to allow use of a regular mirror, Yamahas have a reverse thread on the right mirror. The left turn signal was missing on "C", so I have already put the one from "B" on it..the signals still don't work, and the bike only has one fuse..the main, so I am going to have to look around for a wiring problem. All other lights work just fine, and the bike seems OK with the NS 3 AMP battery in place.
I will be putting the luggage rack from the "B" model on the "C" model...the "C" is a keeper as it is like my first RD, I owned my "B" model several motorcycles after I owned the "C", and my "C" had a luggage rack. Also thinking about a SUPER BIKE bar swap, it was something that I thought about when I owned the first one, my R5 had CLUBMAN bars, upside down for some reason..I guess I didn't know at the time that they were supposed to emulate clip-ons.
James Franklin
2411 Pine Summit DR. E
Jacksonville, Florida 32211
808-225-0994 (cell)
From: "Pete Cordell" <plkkc@...>
Reply-To: W650riders@...
To: W650riders@...
Subject: [W650riders] Re: Yamaha RD 350 Content
Date: Wed, 04 Jul 2007 12:29:41 -0000
Hahaha...super bike...no, Superbike! Had a '74...bought it brand
new in the middle of winter, the only bike I've ever had delivered
to the house. Had no car that year so rode it to work mostly
dressed in a snowmobile suit with a set of Hippo Hands...talk about
freezing you a** off...I'm shivering now just thinking of it!
I put a set of car coils on it, per an article from (I think) Cycle
mag, to make the plugs spark hotter and last longer. Never had a
problem with it...reliable, cheap-to-run, tough bike that could take
a lot of abuse as long as you kept the oil tank full.
Pete C
--- In W650riders@..., "James Franklin" <jimw650@...>
wrote:
I bought two RD 350s today, a 1974 RD 350 B (purple) and a 1975 RD
350 C
(orange). OK, so I am lonely/bored and this is what I do.
The plan is to use one for parts and make one a runner, however,
both seem
to be intact..the 74 has a holed piston, but everything else is
there..the
74 is kinda rusty too.
Anyway, not a big investment yet, it should be fun getting them up
and
running...or at least, getting one of them up and running.
James Franklin
2411 Pine Summit DR. E
Jacksonville, Florida 32211
808-225-0994 (cell)
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