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Post by alankelly on Oct 13, 2018 22:08:21 GMT 1
Hi all It been long time since I posted an update on my project on the forum. Always wanted an RD350LC since I was at college in the early 80’s, but on apprentice wages at 85p a hour it was not going to happen. We two years ago after a serious illness I still wanted to own an RD350LC, but want to do a bit of a restoration rather than buy an on the road bike, so one evening I found a bit of a “basket case” and after some frantic bidding the bike was mine. Never went to look (Silly me) I had a bit of a panic, as the bike was just slung together for the fleabay advert. As on first inspection after the bike was delivered, I found out that the bike was much worse than the fleabay photos, like a frame without a VIN number and an engine that was already 2mm over bored with a badly damage L/H bore so no more life in the barrels!! . First wanted to do a full restoration back to a white 81 bike, but after a bit of thought this is not in the 80s what owning an RD was about so went my own way as I like a bit of a challenge, and can fix most thing that run on petrol (Built from scratch a Dax Rush (including a highly tuned 4 liter V8) Well is been two years now, and after much pain, frustration (and money) and finding a replacement frame and engine cases with matching numbers (result!!) to replace the "dodgy" very badly damage frame (Found out on stripping down the mess that someone had cut the frame near the head stock and then welded another head stock on and just noticed when uploading the photos that the old white bike front wheel is much closer to the frame down tubes indicating that the frame geometry (Front fork rake angle) is completed knackered, either due to a big front end shunt or just a very bad cut and shut head stock swap!!) The project is progressing well, and has been fully restored from the ground up, with every part restored back from the grave! (Including converting the bike to a hydraulic clutch with a bespoke design due a skateboard accident a few yews ago buggering up my left hand / wrist). And on the whole the project has been very satisfying and its great to say I did that!!. The bike itself is almost complete cosmetically, and the body work is away getting the iconic speed block decals. And once this is back, the only thing left is to complete is a full engine rebuild over the next few months (Barrels and head away at PJMC for new sleeves and reworked head, and also I have a new crank on order as well as the crank I have been told by PJMC is a modified “racing crank” with a RD250 air cooled center with external RD350LC outer webs which sums up the original bike nicely, a mismatch of RD350LC parts just slung together!!!!!! All being well, the plan now will be to hopefully complete the build, get her running, and then get the bike on the road for summer 2019 Hopefully in the spring will send out another update. Safe riding Alan IMG_2208 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr IMG_2209 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr IMG_4826 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr IMG_4835 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr
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Post by stusco on Oct 13, 2018 22:27:22 GMT 1
Very nice ,will be even better with the speed blocks
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Post by dusty350 on Oct 13, 2018 22:32:18 GMT 1
Hi Alan You've done a nice job on that I do like yellow as a bike colour. Glad you are nearly there - great therapy ! Enjoy Dusty
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Post by donkeychomp on Oct 13, 2018 22:50:15 GMT 1
Yellow! Love it, great choice mate.
Alex
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Post by alankelly on Oct 14, 2018 20:20:38 GMT 1
Thanks guys for the thumbs up Engine rebuild started this weekend with the main and output shafts in the new cases with new bearings and seals :-) IMG_5395 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr Also new water pump fitted with seals and bearings all fitted IMG_5388 - Copy by Alan Kelly, on Flickr IMG_5390 - Copy by Alan Kelly, on Flickr And oil pump all packed up ready for sending off to Gary for him to work his magic
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Post by alankelly on Oct 23, 2018 19:54:00 GMT 1
Hi all. Well it been a busy week, and just a quick update The oil pump is now off being rebuilt by Gary (Many thanks Gary) and Christmas has come early as all my new / restored parts have arrived back from PJ's (New crank / Re sleeved barrels and a re profiled head) IMG_5459 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr Also been following Dusty's recent engine rebuild closely (Many thanks Dusty for the very detailed post) And have taken a step back with the engine build. And as I have access to a machine shop, I have completed the lower case modification, and have bored out both shaft location holes on the mill, and fitted the required split DU bushes to both holes to remove any wear in this area of the lower case. :-) IMG_5458 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr IMG_5463 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr IMG_5467 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr Lastly been looking closely at the "Shift Pro" design, and have decided (as I like the DIY approach if I can) to modify the indent arm myself by drilling out the rivet and removing the original rotation washer, and replacing this with a 14mm bearing assembly :-) and this modification should reduce the friction of the roller on the shift star form. IMG_5471 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr And then to improve the gear change further, been looking on the web at other pictures of the possible modification to the shift star, and I am planning now to modify the shift star on the form grinder to "soften" the points to a larger radius. And hopefully with these two changes this should much improve the feel to the gear change That all for now folks and will let you know how the final modification looks / works out. Have a great week Al.
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Post by dusty350 on Oct 23, 2018 20:08:39 GMT 1
Hi Al Great work there mate I think the bush mod is well worth doing, especially when the engine is stripped down. Do you have a part number for the bearing you used to mod the stopper arm ? I may try it myself. I wasn't going to fit a shift pro on my latest engine build - purely because of cost - they are about £60. I did fit it on the last build but didn't ride the bike enough to see if it made a difference. When I researched it before, some guys said it helped, and some said the star mod was more worthwhile. Other factors can influence the "finding neutral" issue of course, but the star and stopper arm mod must help. Also remember the Shift pro comes with a weaker spring for the stopper arm, so it's not just the bearing that has an affect, but the spring behind it too. Dusty
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Post by stusco on Oct 23, 2018 20:20:21 GMT 1
I did the shift star mod and the shift pro ,gear changes and neutral are like a new bike. i think having the clutch adjusted properly helps a lot as well
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Post by alankelly on Oct 23, 2018 20:37:42 GMT 1
Hi Dusty Yes, I agree the bush mod is a must to remove the wear in this area (And to be honest until I read your post I did not look at the cases in this area for possible wear) Plus it will then reduce a chance of an oil leak in this area by the shaft moving about in the bore. As for the Shift Pro. Yes I though this bit of kit was a tad expensive (Hence the DIY route) and the bearing I happen to have in my tool box was a 14mm OD and a 7mm ID, (The original "washer" is 14mm in diameter) and I am just going to attach this bearing to the arm with a modified C/S bolt / adapter sleeve, But the hole in the arm is 5mm and Rs components stock this bearing size, so all you need to do is drill out the rivet, Remove the old washed and then attach the bearing with a low profile M5 bolt and nut. bearing by Alan Kelly, on Flickr So if you use this bearing you do not need to fit a sleeve to adapt the 7mm bearing bore to a 5mm screw Lastly, yes the Shift Pro does use a weaker spring, and I think its the use of this weaker spring and with an "original" Shift Star profile that improves the gear change, as there is less "spring force" to allow the arm to lift over the "original" star form. But I was looking around on some Banshee sites, and they were recommending a shift Pro arm with the modified "softer" shift star shape, but with the original Yamaha spring? And I think this works just as well, as with the "softer" form, the arm has to lift less against the "Yamaha" spring to allow a gear change to occur hence the easier change. What I will do is once have modified the form, I will model up in 3d the modified shift star, and post some picture with dimensions of the modified shift star. Catch up again soon Alan
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Post by alankelly on Oct 23, 2018 20:48:08 GMT 1
Hi Stusco
Yes a correct adjusted clutch helps, and I have modified the bike with a one off hydraulic system (due to a manky hand/ wrist) And it will be interesting to see if my bespoke design works well. As currently I have about about 2.5mm of basket "lift" / movement with this system.
Best regards Al.
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Post by dusty350 on Oct 24, 2018 8:50:29 GMT 1
Hi Alan Great info mate, thank you. The Shift Pro is an expensive item for sure, and as engine build costs can get a bit excessive, it was something I wasn't planning on buying this time round. I hadn't given any thought to modding an existing stopper arm so this is great. I've got a few stopper arms spare so will order a bearing and give it a go. I will include it in the engine build thread too, as that's the whole idea of that thread - to show, not only a standard build but also mods guys can do should they wish to do so. And saving quite a lot of money too. I always thought the stopper arm was a bit "cheap" but as it does the job it gets little attention. Cheers Dusty
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Post by alankelly on Oct 31, 2018 22:47:16 GMT 1
Hi all Well its been a busy week in the shed but thought I would drop an update Following on from Dusty's recommendation to bush the gear shift shaft bores, I have again looked at the engine cases for other area of improvement, and to be honest I was never happy (being an precision toolmaker / Engineer) when I striped the engine down, that one side of the Shift cam drum ran on a plain bore :-( which was part of the lower case). And on one thread someone suggested that this simple location could be a contributing factor to poor shifts, as if the shift cam drum was to twist off line slightly to this bore, there is a chance on the drum jamming in this bore, preventing the shift cam drum from rotating to the next shift star position easily. So with this in mind and after very careful consideration. I have now replaced the plain bore location with a second Needle roller bearing, so that the shift cam rotates completely between two needle roller bearing assemblies :-) It did need some very careful thought, measuring (and care whilst doing the modification as if I c**ked it up you could have a scrap lower case) but after 45 mins on the mill the case was successfully modified and a press fit needle roller fitted :-) (And to be honest, if your case is knackered in this area just like Dusty's gear shaft bush mod, its a good way of repairing the case (and improving the engine design) To be honest the shift cam now really feels very free to rotate and if the plain bore was a contributing factor this has now been resolved and this mod can only be an improvment over the original design Some pics to whet your appetite for all you engineers out there IMG_5543 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr IMG_5544 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr IMG_5554 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr IMG_5552 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr IMG_5555 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr Also the other modifications to the shift system completed this week are the following A modified shift star !! Changed the plain screw that the stopper arm pivot on to a Phos' bronze bearing Fitted my unrated Stopper arm assembly, fitted with a ball bearing assembly that replaces the plain washer design IMG_5549 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr I think with these mods' the gear shift should be much improved over the original design and to be honest I love making things better :-) That all for now folks and now off this weekend to Notts to pick up my complete speedblock bodywork :-) :-) Kindest regards Al.
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Post by bezzer on Oct 31, 2018 23:20:52 GMT 1
Fantastic work Al. Reducing ANY sort of frictional losses, has to help shift quality/engagement.
Great to see that after close to 40 years after it’s initial production launch, improvements are still being made to this engine 👍🏻.
Keep it up mate. bezzer
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Post by alankelly on Oct 31, 2018 23:40:17 GMT 1
Thanks
Your stoppper bearing assembly went in the post this morning so you may get a pressy tomorrow 👍
Best wishes Al😁
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Post by wallcraft on Oct 31, 2018 23:46:22 GMT 1
Brilliant top draw, yet another improvement to consider , only problem for me is executing it!!
Mark.
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Post by dusty350 on Nov 1, 2018 9:15:38 GMT 1
I absolutely agree - brilliant! Really lucky to have fellas like Alan on this forum, happy to share their knowledge and skills for the benefit of us all I love those mods. We hear the neutral issue when engine is running all the time and its great to see the efforts yhat can be made to help solve the issue. Great work Alan😉
Dusty😊
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Post by mikee on Nov 1, 2018 13:55:38 GMT 1
aircooled crank centers are a worthy update for an lc crank , they are splined together and don't shift we used to fit them bitd , stops it seizing from wonky ignition timing
mike
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Post by bezzer on Nov 1, 2018 13:59:51 GMT 1
aircooled crank centers are a worthy update for an lc crank , they are splined together and don't shift we used to fit them bitd , stops it seizing from wonky ignition timing mike That’s what I’m using on my inline 4, 500 Mike (x2 4L1 engines siamesed)
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Post by alankelly on Nov 1, 2018 15:06:35 GMT 1
Hi Mike
Well that explains my old crank Thank you very much👍👍
As the one I took out was told by Paul at PJ had Rd350lc outer webs and a rd air cooled center but his suggestion was to replace with a standard crank due to balance issues so I did as the cost of new verses rebuild was not a lot and being new to lc rebuild I do value other people recommendations
But going on the above I am starting to build up a selection of engine parts such as cases selector forks this hybrid crank and a set of complete gear clusters etc so may build a spare engine and fiit this crank instead after its rebuilt👍
Catch up soon Al
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Post by alankelly on Nov 3, 2018 16:10:14 GMT 1
Hi all Just a quick update Back from Nott's with bodywork for the project :-) IMG_5583 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr IMG_5568 by Alan Kelly, on Flickr Suppose that will have to do!! Better get on now with that engine build. Catch up again soon. Best regards Al
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Post by bezzer on Nov 3, 2018 16:50:15 GMT 1
Paint job looks stunning Al 👍🏻.
I like the white wheels and pipes too, reminds me just enough of the ‘back in the day’ look, but with a modern twist.
Keep the updates coming mate 🤗
Regards bezzer
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Post by mikee on Nov 3, 2018 19:18:13 GMT 1
aircooled crank centers are a worthy update for an lc crank , they are splined together and don't shift we used to fit them bitd , stops it seizing from wonky ignition timing mike That’s what I’m using on my inline 4, 500 Mike (x2 4L1 engines siamesed) Do you have a post on your 4 mate , really interested in it Mike Sorry for the hi-jack Alan
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Post by 3tj6 on Nov 3, 2018 19:21:46 GMT 1
Like those pipes, what make are they? Bike looks mint👍
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Post by bezzer on Nov 3, 2018 19:25:06 GMT 1
That’s what I’m using on my inline 4, 500 Mike (x2 4L1 engines siamesed) Do you have a post on your 4 mate , really interested in it Hi Mike, I will start one if/when I get my cases back!. I’ve amassed 90% of the parts I need now. It’s going to be fairly standard looking, as close to it would have looked if Yamaha had produced one (hopefully) 👍🏻 Cheers mate bezzer
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Post by alankelly on Nov 3, 2018 19:32:45 GMT 1
Hi Mike
No problem with the hi jack
As for pipes question they are a set of HiggSpeed GP pipes
Best regards to all Al
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Post by arrow on Nov 3, 2018 20:04:48 GMT 1
Nice work Alan. Looks great.
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Post by dusty350 on Nov 3, 2018 20:18:20 GMT 1
Hi Alan Paintwork looks awesome mate White wheels really suit it too. Dusty
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Post by bezzer on Nov 3, 2018 20:28:03 GMT 1
Hi Alan Paintwork looks awesome mate White wheels really suit it too. Dusty +1 on Dusty’s observations 🤗 Bet it sounds the biz too.
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Post by alankelly on Nov 3, 2018 21:58:59 GMT 1
Hi all
Thanks for the encouragement
Just in the shed tonight buttoning up the bottom end (photos to follow later)
But I do have a question please
Stator looks a bit past it so wondered if there was a more modern charging : ignition system I could fit and where would I source please
Have a great weekend Al
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Post by alankelly on Nov 3, 2018 22:49:59 GMT 1
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