350 LC

[pylwagl]

So, I recently bought myself an LC and, having ridden it for all of 20 miles, decided to embark on a full rebuild. I thought I'd record it on here since I'm already frequently visiting for advice .

Its already proving to be very much a curate's egg motorcycle, with a full range of horrors and highlights.



Stripped it down - all over the floor and in boxes


electrics were nice


clutch was nicer


I'm not sure what had happened to the end of the crank but its gone off to PJME for a rebuild



More to follow as it all develops
I'd welcome any helpful advice or comments

Stu

[lcmarky]

You did well to make it 20 miles given these pics!!

Great project - keep at it and lots of wisdom on here (not from me mind!).

[tony2stroke]

Jan 18, 2024 18:06:02 GMT 1 lcmarky said:

You did well to make it 20 miles given these pics!!

Great project - keep at it and lots of wisdom on here (not from me mind!).

+1 to that 

Must have sounded like a bag spanners 

[pylwagl]

To be honest I didn't think it sounded too bad, but then it's my first LC. The clutch was a bit of a shocker though

[alankelly]

Hi

4L04ever (Rob) does a nice replacement fuse box that uses more modern blade fuses if you are planning to replace the original

Best wishes Al

[pylwagl]

Jan 19, 2024 21:21:51 GMT 1 alankelly said:

Hi

4L04ever (Rob) does a nice replacement fuse box that uses more modern blade fuses if you are planning to replace the original

Best wishes Al

Thanks for the heads up Al.

In fact I bought one of those from Rob as soon as they were available. It is now in a box full of new/replacement bits I am working my way through for the build  

Stu

[pylwagl]

Made some progress on components.

Forks rebuilt and polished up


Frame back from the painters



Building up a stock of parts refurbished and ready to go back together.


Once the wheels are done I can throw it all together as a rolling chassis.

cheers
Stu

[pylwagl]

So, done a bit of plating with home plating arrangement. Well impressed with the results.



Tarted up the rear shock. Wil be keeping it until I have the funds for a YSS / Nitron replacement.


Wheels back from CJ Wards, now with tyres, ready for rolling chassis.


cheers
Stu

[dex46]

Looking very good impressed with the plating well done 👍

[JonW]

agreed. great work!

How hard was it to do the plating on the shock? Ive looked at this a few times and it looks hard as without stripping or at least removing the bush and not putting the whole unit in its not obvious without hassle

[pylwagl]

Mar 16, 2024 0:53:12 GMT 1 JonW said:

agreed. great work!

How hard was it to do the plating on the shock? Ive looked at this a few times and it looks hard as without stripping or at least removing the bush and not putting the whole unit in its not obvious without hassle

I could only get the collets and pre-load ring off the shock unit, the rest had to stay put. Fortunately, the existing plating on the top shock eye wasn't too bad so it just got a gentle polish. The lower mounting was a bit tattier and getting it clean removed the wafer thin Yamaha plating - hence the black paint!

It might have been possible, having removed the bushes, to suspend the unit in the electrolyte to plate the mounting eyes but I'm not sure how feasible that might be.  The shock body itself was a bit of a mess so I just polished it up. The most exciting bit was getting the spring on and off!



HTH
Stu

[dusty350]

Great progress so far

[JonW]

Mar 16, 2024 8:45:47 GMT 1 pylwagl said:

Mar 16, 2024 0:53:12 GMT 1 JonW said:

agreed. great work!

How hard was it to do the plating on the shock? Ive looked at this a few times and it looks hard as without stripping or at least removing the bush and not putting the whole unit in its not obvious without hassle

I could only get the collets and pre-load ring off the shock unit, the rest had to stay put. Fortunately, the existing plating on the top shock eye wasn't too bad so it just got a gentle polish. The lower mounting was a bit tattier and getting it clean removed the wafer thin Yamaha plating - hence the black paint!

It might have been possible, having removed the bushes, to suspend the unit in the electrolyte to plate the mounting eyes but I'm not sure how feasible that might be.  The shock body itself was a bit of a mess so I just polished it up. The most exciting bit was getting the spring on and off!



HTH
Stu

Yes, Ive been there and had some fun with the springs. The best thing Ive found is to use a floor standing car spring compressor my mate has in his car servicing business, it was easy and safe... unlike the tools I have at home

FWIW I looked at suspending from above and keeping the damper rod out of the solutions... I gave up in the end and luckily found some nos dampers, my plater would have done what he could for me but sadly gave up the work due to ill health.

FYI Ive found that the top mount will come off with some gentle persuasion (heat helped) and the bush is still available new from Yam.

[popeye69]

Mar 15, 2024 22:29:31 GMT 1 pylwagl said:

So, done a bit of plating with home plating arrangement. Well impressed with the results.



Tarted up the rear shock. Wil be keeping it until I have the funds for a YSS / Nitron replacement.


Wheels back from CJ Wards, now with tyres, ready for rolling chassis.


cheers
Stu

[popeye69]

Wheels look great. Powder coated? What sort of condition before? How much did CJ Wards charge?

[pylwagl]

Mar 22, 2024 1:24:38 GMT 1 popeye69 said:

Wheels look great. Powder coated? What sort of condition before? How much did CJ Wards charge?

The wheels weren't that bad to start with, but definitely needed attention. I'd actually planned to do them myself but realized after a while that I'd much rather someone else did them! 
CJW charged £240. They offer bright or satin polish , powder coat is satin, and actually have a demo wheel so you can see what you're choosing. I think turn-around was 3 weeks-ish.
I'd completely recommend them

HTH
Stu 

[pylwagl]

Making progress here, at least it's starting to look like an LC now




Stu

[dex46]

Mar 24, 2024 19:16:14 GMT 1 pylwagl said:

Making progress here, at least it's starting to look like an LC now




Stu

Looking very good 👍👍 if you’re running std airbox get that fitted bloody pain of a job once the engine is in place

[archloafer]

Excellent work, all coming along at a rapid pace. Ready for late spring / summer do you think?

[pylwagl]

Mar 24, 2024 22:49:39 GMT 1 archloafer said:

Excellent work, all coming along at a rapid pace. Ready for late spring / summer do you think?

Well, that's the plan... but I think I remember saying that last year

[pylwagl]

A bit more forward movement...

I'm really pleased with how the rear shock came out


I carefully recorded the strip-down process to aid in re-assembly, but I carefully missed this bit - it took me ages to find where it goes


A rummage through the box of new parts I got with the bike produced a useful surprise


This is the current state of play. I've not really started any wiring, just got a few bits fitted.


Next step will be to get the motor built and installed...

cheers
Stu

[bezzer]

Great progress Stu, she’ll be a beaut once finished.

Enjoy it mate.

[pylwagl]

So, I got round to sorting the switchgear





Brake calipers cerakoted and rebuilt




The crankcases are away being vapour blasted for now. I found a lovely chunk of clutch plate under the gear cluster when I removed it. Nice.

cheers
Stu

[urbantangleweed]

Coming along nicely that, will be a cracker when you've done.

[jon]

Mar 16, 2024 8:45:47 GMT 1 pylwagl said:

Mar 16, 2024 0:53:12 GMT 1 JonW said:

agreed. great work!

How hard was it to do the plating on the shock? Ive looked at this a few times and it looks hard as without stripping or at least removing the bush and not putting the whole unit in its not obvious without hassle

I could only get the collets and pre-load ring off the shock unit, the rest had to stay put. Fortunately, the existing plating on the top shock eye wasn't too bad so it just got a gentle polish. The lower mounting was a bit tattier and getting it clean removed the wafer thin Yamaha plating - hence the black paint!

It might have been possible, having removed the bushes, to suspend the unit in the electrolyte to plate the mounting eyes but I'm not sure how feasible that might be.  The shock body itself was a bit of a mess so I just polished it up. The most exciting bit was getting the spring on and off!



HTH
Stu

Never used this myself, but heard of it.

www.thesafetysupplycompany.co.uk/p/9546275/spray-yellow-cold-zinc-galvanising-paint-zg-90-500ml-at-2045.html?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwsOkyuCWhgMVn5NQBh3JLghDEAQYAiABEgKnAvD_BwE

Keen to see someone on here use it and report back?

Jon

[stusco]

Ive used silver galvanised paint before on cut plated bolts, it didn’t rust don’t know about the finish as it didn’t matter so I didn’t pay attention

[pylwagl]

So, some progress

renewed clutch drum and rubbers , old ones were definitely a bit tired.



did some polishing and graunch filling



some painting


and threw it all together



cheers
Stu

[peter1962]

Head and barrels look sweet, what paint did you use, and did you do them yourself ?

[pylwagl]

Jun 18, 2024 19:05:54 GMT 1 peter1962 said:

Head and barrels look sweet, what paint did you use, and did you do them yourself ?

Thanks, head and barrels were done with VHT Engine Enamel. Shiny bits were polished before spraying and masked/wiped off afterwards. I now have to sneak them into the oven for a bit to fully cure the paint.

Side covers were done in Hammerite smooth satin which seems pretty durable - its lasted well on other bikes but I dont think its suitable for the higher temps of barrels/heads.


cheersStu

[pylwagl]

So, got the barrels & head on. Test rotation of engine revealed an intermittent noise from behind the clutch. 



It turned out to be excessive play in the idler gear which was replaced with a roller bearing gear from Norbo along with new clips, shims etc.



Engine pretty well done then, so fitted into frame. At least it now looks like a motorcycle.






cheers
Stu