RD400F Rebuild - Only Taken me 2yrs to get me finger out !

[muttsnuts]

Right, I've had this bike for over 2yrs now, its been waiting very quietly in the corner for me to get round to doing it, anyway, after some soul searching I decided to get me finger out and start building it

This is what it looked like when I first got it, then I stripped it into parts and then over the last 2yrs I've been getting stuff powder coated etc





So I started on it yesterday ........































and this is what it looks like now.....




Progress will slow down again now as I've got a few other bikes etc to fix, but I am hoping to keep going and get the damn thing finished before Christmas if I can........

[lcyoungboy]

Cool bike

[stfocus]

Mmmmmmu looking good is that dave 

[arrow]

Nice work.

[tout]

Awesome buddy
keep up the good work !

[muttsnuts]

well not managed to get much more done at the moment, but I have been doing the clocks, so they are now ready to assemble and put on the bike and then I can finish the wiring, so another job ticked off anyway

[dusty350]

Looking good Dave, I do like a nice 400 !

Dusty

[tommo]

im thinking it would look a treat in my garage when its done hint hint

[muttsnuts]

managed to do a bit more, nearly dropped a clanger though as I nearly fitted thw wrong rev counter clock, so got the proper one sorted, here is the correct clock.....



and the clocks assembled and ready to go on the bike



and I even managed to get my barrels and heads blasted and painted ready for fitting......



so hopefully when I get a quiet hour or two I'll have chance to fit them

[muttsnuts]

well I've been so busy on other peoples bikes I've not had much chance to do anything on mine, but I have made a little progress, here's some photo's to keep the interest going..........















The engine is in as you can see, the brakes are nearly built etc, back wheel is waiting on me to polish it and put new bearings etc in and I need to sort out the chain and sprockets etc, also carbs are done (give or take) and I need to rewire the stator etc, but its getting there slowly.........

[tommo]

may be for sale when finished

[rsvr1000]

Very nice, cracking job on the clocks

[muttsnuts]

Dec 9, 2014 20:09:05 GMT 1 tommo said:

may be for sale when finished

I might be raffling it off for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, I haven't decided yet as its costs me an absolute fortune so far, from buying the bike 2+yrs ago to collecting all of the right parts and buying loads and loads of new parts, plus the brand new paint job etc, the build will be in excess of £5k !

[muddyfox]

looking good there, and a good cause!

[tommo]

where we upto im intrigued ?

[muttsnuts]

not much further unfortunately, pesky customer bikes keep getting in the way and need fixing !

Hoping to get a bit done this weekend though all being well

[wolfboy1]

a job well done ! looking very nice
one of the bike from my youth i lusted over but never got the chance to ride .

[gladders]

The bikes looking ace Dave, up to your usual standard. I'm looking forward to seeing it finished

[muttsnuts]

well its been a while since I've had chance to work on the bike, but at the weekend I made a concerted effort and managed to make some progress, so its coming along, still lots to do, but its beginning to take shape, the photo's aren't in any particular order, but you can see what I've been working on, namely, brake calipers, rear indicators, some wiring, kick starter etc, etc

[stfocus]

Now that's looking awesome dave 

[dezcbr]

Cracking work Dave. Looks spot on

[seang14]

Hi Dave, your doin superb job there!! What's the secret to spraying up the Wheels then?? Did you spray them Red then rub the rims down again?? How many of Yamaha's Finest have got there seems like a Great Collection?? Great Job Mate!  Sean G

[muttsnuts]

got a little bit more done on the bike this weekend, its nearly there actually, which is a pleasant surprise really, just a few things to sort, so for those eagle eyed enough, can you spot the deliberate mistake with this picture !!



and some more pictures of the progress, need to sort out a few bits and bobs, but another day or so work and it should be done, just need my paintwork really now

[muttsnuts]

Hi Seang, actually the wheels aren't painted this time, I tried a new approach which I am very pleased with the way they have come out, its a little bit more work, but the finish is harder wearing, they are actually powder coated and the rims are polished, now I'll wait for the questions on how on earth I managed to do that as powder coating is a right "bar-steward" to get off, let alone polish the rims !

[m1ke]

Jan 25, 2015 19:23:11 GMT 1 muttsnuts said:

Hi Seang, actually the wheels aren't painted this time, I tried a new approach which I am very pleased with the way they have come out, its a little bit more work, but the finish is harder wearing, they are actually powder coated and the rims are polished, now I'll wait for the questions on how on earth I managed to do that as powder coating is a right "bar-steward" to get off, let alone polish the rims !

Front tyre on the wrong way round in the post before.

And a very big lathe to get the powder coat off?

[anyoldiron]

www.ebay.com/itm/AIR-COOLED-RD250-RD350-RD400-A-B-C-D-E-F-SPEEDO-CLOCK-DIAL-FACES-/181636812609?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts_13&hash=item2a4a65cf41&vxp=mtr

[muttsnuts]

no, both wrong, its very subtle, one of the front indicators is a rear one, only noticed it the other day and I've had the set for bloody years and never thought to check !

[tommo]

well is it finished?

[muttsnuts]

is it nowt, am upto my eyes in work, I reckon I only have a day's work left to do on it, but finding 10 mins right now is proving impossible, I'll update once I have found time to do something on it

[tommo]

tremendous