4L0: fixing a ‘complete nut and bolt restoration’ purchase

[skyerider]

So I fancied another RD350LC.

Back in the 80s I fell in love with them and had 3.

The first lived in the house:



The second was my ‘commuting’ bike, bought cheap from a local dealer:



... and the third one lived in the garden shed and was used for fun:




So being much older, and only a little wiser, I decided to purchase a 4L0.

The aim was simple: purchase a sorted bike that I could simply ride and ride and ride, requiring nothing in the way of further restoration of fixing.

My search led me to a bike listed on eBay as a ‘complete nut and bolt restoration’ of a bike with matching numbers is imported originally from Germany.

The photos looked good ... so I called the seller to get an idea about the bike ...

More to follow 😊

[2taol]

Well I never had the luxury of keeping a bike in the house.

interesting thread....the suspence has started.

plenty of pics are needed!

[skyerider]

Here’s my notes from the first phone call with the seller:

- Prior to rebuild: any evidence of crash damage? no
- Straight frame? Yes and painted not powder coated (powder coat loses numbers)
- German engine restrictions? No
- Exhaust/head modifications to prevent cracking? yes. Tie rods fitted to underside and updated exhaust headers (factory spec upgrade)
- New crank or reconditioned? Lying around or recent seals? Reconditioned crank
-Cables condition? ok
- Oil pump? reconditioned
- Water pump: checked and fine
- Suspension? fine. No pitting on forks. Front and rear damping good
- Wheel bearings? new
- Swing arm bearings? bushes good no play
- Brake lines? new genuine; callipers: rebuilt
- Clutch? new
- Mirrors come with bike? Yes
- Tank inside? Untouched. Fitted with new Yamaha fuel tap with internal filter
- engine rebuilt. Cases vapour blasted. Recon exchange crank. New piston and rings gaskets + seals. Carbs refurbed and checked for correct jets.
- Oil pump refurbished
- exhaust ceramic coated
- wheels powder coated and polished to original finish. New Avon tyres.
- Fork legs brushed to original finish
- wiring loom checked over and all functional
- gearbox? standard and untouched
- starts first kick
- Oils used: Putoline 2 stroke: MX5 JASO FD fully synthetic. Putoline gearbox oil Light Gear 75w

This seemed interesting so I arranged a visit to the sellers workshop to see the bike in the flesh ....

[skyerider]

Here’s what I saw:

[skyerider]

[skyerider]

[skyerider]

[skyerider]

[skyerider]

[skyerider]

[skyerider]

[skyerider]

[skyerider]

[skyerider]

[skyerider]

[skyerider]

Decision time followed a quick chat with my better half in the car ...

[flames]

That is unbelievably stunning.

[iwantalc]

think i will come back to read this in a week or so you might have finished by then ..lol

[2taol]

looks to be all there, so what was the result of the chat in the car?

[flames]

They took the seller dogging to get the price down.😆😆😆😆😆

[flames]

Just seen your post in general about Norbo's fuel tank...... Is this not as good as it looks maybe?

[skyerider]

Haha! 😆 I got the approval to buy the bike.

The bike was not registered and the seller said it was up to me to do that and that it was a simple process.

He said he’d get an MOT within a couple of weeks.

The bike started and ran fine (that smell!) and all I could see wrong with the bike was a really sloppy gear change action and a stiff clutch action. So I made an offer and it was accepted. Result.

[skyerider]

Jul 4, 2020 10:13:16 GMT 1 flames said:

Just seen your post in general about Norbo's fuel tank...... Is this not as good as it looks maybe?

The photos here in this thread are the original tank. Norbo’s tank is much better quality and paint finish!

[flames]

So original tank was okay , just Norbo's was better?
This thread is really intriguing because that bike looks gorgeous. I know pics only tell half a story but never would have guessed anything needs doing to it.

[skyerider]

Sorry - it turned out the original tank wasn’t OK 🙁

[skyerider]

I arranged for its delivery home using The Bike Bus who provide a great service at a reasonable price (I’m not connected to them, just a happy user).

VJMCC were really helpful with dating and I finally got the registration number (a W plate) after one failed try with DVLA who wanted more history of the bike.

Time for the first ride:

[skyerider]

... and what a great ride. Such a great bike after all these years. Apart from the near-impossibility of changing gear due to the sloppy linkage it rode beautifully.

Steve had mentioned an MOT advisory of a weeping left hand oil seal but I was surprised by the extent of the leak after just 3 miles:

[skyerider]

Next up, one of the fuel pipes came off the carb. Seems like the clear plastic pipes had hardened and both fuel pipes were only cable tied at the fuel tap end. Fixed with genuine black pipe and 4 clamps thanks to Norbo.

I checked the carb sync and they were out so I adjusted that correctly with the cables. The oil pump adjustment was spot on.

While I had the tank off to do this I checked all the wiring loom connections. Several were corroded and a couple were broken so fixed these and added anti corrosion spray.

There’s tape covering some holes in the airbox too:




I checked the clutch cable stiffness and the cable was routed incorrectly and felt notchy, making a right angle immediately after the adjuster at the bar. So I got a new Yamaha cable from Fowler’s and fitted it.

While I had the engine side cover off, I noticed that the front sprocket was quite worn although the bike had a new rear sprocket and chain. Also the safety tabs on the front sprocket were not bent over in their correct position (like some on the front discs) so fixed that.

Tackling the gear change problem revealed the lower gear change mechanism was rotating quite a bit around the gear change shaft. The splines were fine and a new part from Fowler’s cured the issue.

While there I noticed that the oil seal for the gear change shaft was not fitted correctly so sorted that.

The seat had been fitted incorrectly with the front plastic spigots bent out of shape but easily sorted.

Changing the gearbox oil after 250 miles revealed that the drain plug was over tightened and was very hard to remove. It was also fitted with a thin plastic or rubber washer. A new drain plug from Fowler’s luckily went in easily by hand with a new washer so I suspect it was the threads on the original (?) drain plug.

Next up the tank developed a leak from a seam and an inspection of the tank inside revealed a lot of corrosion so thanks to Norbo, I got a new tank beautifully painted. Here’s the original after winter in a dry storage bag:




350 fun miles on it and I’ve traced an annoying noise (which is speed dependent) to a faulty speedometer.
I fitted a new Yamaha cable and replicated the problem in the shed with a drill. Still trying to work out what to do with this.

The seller insists ‘no warranty given or implied’ but hey, the fun I get out of riding the bike has outweighed the hassle.

[flames]

😮😮😮 not what you expect to see after a restoration job.

[skyerider]

Jul 4, 2020 9:57:27 GMT 1 iwantalc said:

think i will come back to read this in a week or so you might have finished by then ..lol

Finished 😆👍