Chris wrote to me back in October of 2005 showing me his newly acquired 1973 RD350 (see here for post and "before" pictures). Well, over a year has passed, and he's made quite a lot of progress on his machine. Let's see what he's done:
I almost sold it on Ebay but, was able to feel out how much I could get for it. I couldn't bring myself to part with. Anyways, keep the website up. It seems that there is resurgence in popularity in these bikes.
- Newtronics ignition (I would recommend installing this, worth the money)
- New Wiseco pistons (lucky that the stock bore just needed honing after finding that one of the lead counterweights let loose off of the crank and went whizzing through the rest of the motor)
- Used crank from another R5 motor I purchased as scrap from local motorcycle shop (50 bucks! score)
- Polished all the aluminum I could on the motor before re-installing
- New stock seat cover (Ebay not cheap)
- All new black paint job
- New stock hand grips
- Rebuilt carbs (found the piece you posted quite informative)
- As the cold weather approaches, the next task to tackle is chrome spokes on some aluminum rims
I agree, there has been a resurgence in these bikes. They're cheap, simple, fun and good-looking. Good to see such interest in getting these guys back on the road, and in such good style as Chris' ride. Just take a look at this engine:
For those interested in the carb article that Chris mentioned, see my Mikuni tuning post here.
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