Started a resto on 82 RD350LC during lockdown in Australia

[cnkxu1]

I had neglected this poor old girl for quite some years while I was distracted on other projects, so during our recent lockdown in July I could not leave the house. Time to get busy pulling it apart and cleaning it up.

[dc]

Often the case with restoration work then suddenly the time seems right. I think LD has seen a lot if projects started and completed on a variety of things, houses, garages, cars, bikes etc.

Will be nice to see the progress.👍

[cnkxu1]

The 350 was blue in Australia and the 250 was red so that tank above may have been off the 250. The 81 had two stripes and the 82 had three stripes. The other tank I have has three red stripes so i don't know where that came from. I bought these two bikes some years ago from Tasmania. The 350 was a complete rolling bike and actually fired up briefly. The 250 was in bits, lots of bits, two engines, one with a busted con rod, a few extra sets of gears, a clutch, a generator, another crank, two sets of 250 cylinder blocks, all the wiring instruments and controls. Anyway, I am still finding bits and pieces as I search under the house where they were all stored.

[cnkxu1]

The 347 was modified on the cylinder to look like a 247 so someone may have tried to make a sleeper so they could ride a 350 on their L's. Side covers were red. Tailpiece is three blue stripes, maybe the only original bit.

[cnkxu1]

I must remember to take lots of photos along the way so I can work out where things went.

Lots of spider webs but only a couple of tiny little spiders. Lucky they are not redbacks like I find on my old cars.

[cnkxu1]

As I began to take this apart the extent of the mods started to reveal itself. Not sure why that cutout was in the previous photo and there is an after-market shocker with worn out bushings.

[cnkxu1]

Rediscovered how much fun it was working on bikes. Came apart really easily.



An RD250LC frame and a RZ250 frame for another day.

[cnkxu1]

I thought for a bit about how far to take the motor apart while I cleaned up the frame. I whipped the head off and the bolts were not that tight and then I found a fair amount of oil in the crank area, as though someone had oiled it up to store it.

[cnkxu1]

A lot of cleaning to do. Pistons 50 over so the motor had had some use.

And I have not seen this effect before. Is it from a melted piston or broken pistons getting smashed in the squish area? Why wasn't it machined or reprofiled when the oversize pistons went in.

[JonW]

Loving the Sti! Assume youre in Melbourne?

I have a set of '247' cylinders on my resto LC. I decided to do them like they were back in the day, but moulded the 2s on the 250 cyl and made new ones and stuck them on. pics on my website (see sig).

Looks like at least one offset fuel cap as well. nice!

Good project!

[cnkxu1]

I'm hoping for a nice clean look

[yamman1066]

hi is that one of the indian lc tanks ?

[cnkxu1]

Aug 17, 2020 15:38:09 GMT 1 yamman1066 said:

hi is that one of the indian lc tanks ?

Yes. Picked it up a few years ago before I knew much about them. Paint is OK but the construction surface prep is terrible. You can see grind marks and the area where the petc**k goes will need rubbing down to make it flat. Where the metal ears sit on the rubber mounts, I had to spread it apart to be able to get it past the frame. I left it with a screw type car jack holding it apart for a few days to stretch it and am monitoring to see if it goes back to the original shape. I don't know what will happen when fuel goes in or the sun hits it. The metal is quite a thick gauge and you cannot press it in so it may be OK. You live and learn.

[cnkxu1]

I realised this thread should be over on the restoration section. I don't know if it can be moved. I might get more organised and start again over there.
I like the way the spelling changed automatically for the fuel thingy in my reply above.

[cnkxu1]

Aug 17, 2020 13:43:20 GMT 1 JonW said:

Loving the Sti! Assume youre in Melbourne?

I have a set of '247' cylinders on my resto LC. I decided to do them like they were back in the day, but moulded the 2s on the 250 cyl and made new ones and stuck them on. pics on my website (see sig).

Looks like at least one offset fuel cap as well. nice!

Good project!

Yes I am in Ringwood, east of Melbourne in Victoria, gateway to the hills, the Dandenongs, the Black Spur and Reefton Spur where normally a steady stream of bikes passes through on the weekend.

I enjoyed reading your descriptions over on your website.

[JonW]

Cool, there are a few guys with LCs and RZs down your way. I see you have an RZ2(?)50R F1 in the background of one of those pics as well, youve certainly got your hands full!

[cnkxu1]

Aug 18, 2020 0:39:36 GMT 1 JonW said:

Cool, there are a few guys with LCs and RZs down your way. I see you have an RZ2(?)50R F1 in the background of one of those pics as well, youve certainly got your hands full!

Yes RZ250 with full fairing rolling but not running, RZ250 with bikini fairing rolling but not running and might be terminal engine failure, another RZ250 with full fairing in pieces as well as a couple of 250 valve motors in pieces.

RZ350 frame, electrics and running gear but engine missing parts.

RD250LC in pieces and RD350LC now in pieces.

Daily is a HD Street Rod 750 but I don't think I have ridden it more than once this year in lockdown. Telstra sent us to work from home very early on.

[JonW]

Wow, impressive set of projects. Good buys I reckon, that lot would set you back a lot here now.

[cnkxu1]

I started on a QA50 minibike (which turned me off Hondas for ever), then onto my L's on a brand new DT175 (fun two stroke to learn on, fairly reliable except for holing a piston when dirty fuel clogged the main jet) which was sadly stolen never to be seen again, then moved up to a new XS400 (terrible bike) and an older air cooled RD350 in the 70's. I drooled over the LC when it came out in the 80's but could never afford one. Broke my arm in a stupid bike accident and stopped riding for maybe 20 years. 2001 I changed jobs and started work in the city. I did not want to commute on the train and driving a car in and paying for parking did not appeal. I borrowed my brother's teapot Suzuki 600 and rode in a few times and I was hooked again. Melbourne allows bikes to park on most footpaths in the city and the commercial carparks do not charge bikes. I found a 94 YZF750R which suited my short little legs and had a blast, blowing off the cobwebs and feeling that freedom again. 120kmph+ in first gear and the triple pot twin calipers on the front were fantastic. Those motors were fairly highly tuned and commuting is just hell on bikes like that. The years and tens of thousands of kms were not kind to the motor and I swapped a couple over before finding a 1000 from a Thunderace. A small mod to the top mount where the head connects to that wonderful frame and I had a motor with generous torque and pretty good fuel economy. Along the way I found a reasonably priced 250 Aprilia, the one with the rainbow graphics. Not a great commuter and always demanding attention. Upshot was I sold it for a profit, first time ever. Years were also not kind to this old body and I traded up to a 950 Bolt. Probably would not have had to have the carpal tunnel surgery if I went over to a cruiser a few years earlier. Riding position was much better and my feet touched the ground with my legs bent. Imagine my surprise the first time I leaned over and scraped the pegs. Had not done that since the RD days on the Boulevarde in Melbourne before they dropped the speed limits.
Anyway, I had always wanted an LC and maybe ten or so years ago started to search. I looked at importing but that was a bit risky and expensive. A few interesting RZs came up for sale and the prices were good even if the locations were not. I love a road trip and long distance drives interstate saw a few bikes and parts accumulate. I guess the timing was lucky after the GFC and people were getting rid of toys and projects. My gain. Then I found a pigeon pair of a 250 and a 350 LC. Well I ended up with quite a collection of bikes and parts but other things came up and they languished under the house.
I sold the Bolt and bought a Harley Street Rod 750 when they dropped the prices of lots of bikes by 2 or 3k in 2018. It's an interesting beast and not your usual HD. It's just a bit too heavy but it is good for a commute to the city and back.
The last two decades have seen quite a few car restorations and some motorsport in V8 and WRX club racing.
Another great buy was a 73 LJ GTR XU1 Torana in the late 90's and I took it back to bare metal and painted it the original Juniper green metallic and I just love to see the high prices original matching numbers of these are going for now. It is so much fun driving it to race events, owner's meetings and shows. Everyone loves them because it is such an iconic car with a racing heritage and lots of people either had one or have a mate who had one. I have met so many good friends that share the passion.
Last year I drove around Australia in a turbo Porsche 924 which I restored over two years and mocked up as a tribute to the number 8 entry in the 1979 Repco Reliability Trial. A bunch of enthusiasts revisited the event 40 years later in cars of the period and it was an unbelievable experience. We left from the Melbourne showgrounds on Aug 5 the same day as the original event and drove clockwise visiting many of the original sections. We took 28 days compared to the 14 for the full on rally. I completed the lap with a solo trip around Tasmania earlier this year. Saw a lot of bikes down there. Great roads and everything is so close if a little cold.
I have a few more long distance trips planned over the next few years and have been spending my spare time on the XU1 interior, and restoring some six cylinder engines. All this year's events have been cancelled or postponed and then cancelled.
Lockdown in Melbourne means I cannot travel to the factory where I keep most of my cars so I started at home on the bikes. Problem is all my really good tools, welders, press, polishing and plating equipment are at the factory, so I guess I will just have to spend time stripping, cleaning, organising to-do lists, ordering and waiting for parts.

[JonW]

Great background. Funnily enough, I have a mate here in Sydney with an XU1 thats he's V8'd, its also in the dark green metalic and he also did a full build - in fact his car started as a bare shell he bought. Cool car.

[tooch]

Aug 18, 2020 2:33:29 GMT 1 cnkxu1 said:

Aug 18, 2020 0:39:36 GMT 1 JonW said:

Cool, there are a few guys with LCs and RZs down your way. I see you have an RZ2(?)50R F1 in the background of one of those pics as well, youve certainly got your hands full!

Yes RZ250 with full fairing rolling but not running, RZ250 with bikini fairing rolling but not running and might be terminal engine failure, another RZ250 with full fairing in pieces as well as a couple of 250 valve motors in pieces.

RZ350 frame, electrics and running gear but engine missing parts.

RD250LC in pieces and RD350LC now in pieces.

Daily is a HD Street Rod 750 but I don't think I have ridden it more than once this year in lockdown. Telstra sent us to work from home very early on.

Don't suppose you've got any RZ bits for sale? Good right hand front brake rotor? Non-rusty tank?!
I'm in Templestowe, good to see another RZ/RD owner nearby

[Deleted]

Welcome in to the mad house

I’m Not nearby, on the other side of the country in Wait Awhile

Good set of bikes, I’ve sent you a message

Have fun with it all

Some nice cars on the way too, you don’t see many XU-1’s around

[cnkxu1]

Aug 20, 2020 12:00:52 GMT 1 tooch said:

Aug 18, 2020 2:33:29 GMT 1 cnkxu1 said:

Yes RZ250 with full fairing rolling but not running, RZ250 with bikini fairing rolling but not running and might be terminal engine failure, another RZ250 with full fairing in pieces as well as a couple of 250 valve motors in pieces.

RZ350 frame, electrics and running gear but engine missing parts.

RD250LC in pieces and RD350LC now in pieces.

Daily is a HD Street Rod 750 but I don't think I have ridden it more than once this year in lockdown. Telstra sent us to work from home very early on.

Don't suppose you've got any RZ bits for sale? Good right hand front brake rotor? Non-rusty tank?!
I'm in Templestowe, good to see another RZ/RD owner nearby

Still going through my collection but sorry no spare tanks or rotors. Most of the extra bits I have are rusty transmission components and 250LC barrels (not valves).

[cnkxu1]

I can feel a brake upgrade coming on. I will probably paint these black to match the variable damper forks that I am thinking of fitting. After a bit of judicious filing and sanding of course.

[flames]

I have the same calipers going on mine. Haven't decided whether to file the triumph off them yet tho

[JonW]

I was going to but then they look bland... could always add one of the countless Brembo stickers from ebay I guess... Instead i left the logo on, figured 'why not?!'

[cnkxu1]

A bit bland but black paint should help

[cnkxu1]

I was really pleased with how easily the pistons in the Triumph and the R6 calipers move. What a difference a few decades makes.
Triumph will go on the later RZ350 forks. Leave them silver on black forks or all black?
The R6 will go on the LC. Black and blue on silver. These ones look nice but will be harder to fit.

[cnkxu1]

Triumph and R6 pads are a fair bit shorter but I guess the area is similar.

[jay]

Looking good so far what model triumph are the callipers off
Regards Jay