[MonsterPatrol]

Originally Posted by silvr

More will be coming, don't fall for "its a legend" , "ride a well tuned to know it well", "Duke 390 can never be a match to this legend "," only a true twostroke lover deserves RD" and such load of crap. Truth is there are better machines up in the market, and if you really love a vintage looking twin cylinder fuss free bike, get a continental GT 650 twin. You have got a limited life, you don't have to waste it at a mechanic's garage or searching spare dealers at FB. Live a fuss free life with a fuss free and better performing machine.

I actually fell for it. Bought the RD350 last night. 85 HT. Documents are upto date with FC until 2023 and the registered owner was the seller. Engine and chassis numbers matching the RC. After a search of five years. The plugs had blown. Wasn't starting. Took it straight to my tuner and got it thoroughly checked. Crappy Bajaj plugs were used. Got new NGK platinum plugs and K&N filter installed. Got it tuned a bit and fixed the electrical mess. Took it out on a short test ride last night. The power surge after 5000 is incredible. The 'rush' is manic! And I've owned an incredibly fast 2006 R1 capable of 9 second quarter mile for a long time. But the two stroke surge is something else. Lifting off under hard acceleration already. My tuner was pissed with the mess inside though. The Ravi Nagesh CDI is a hopeless mess he said. Asked me to go on a crusade to find a full point set assembly. Surprisingly I have already located one with the original Hitachi points. Will pick it up today and get it installed. Can't wait to test ride her after this.

PS: I've already booked GT in Ventura Blue last week. Delivery expected by Feb 1st week. Think it'll age well given its styling. And since I live in the hills it makes more sense.

Also have a 2017 Duke 390 at home owned by my brother. After having test ridden the RD last night which is not running to its full potential Im confident if I get her to run how it's supposed too, it'll absolutely smoke the Duke.

To be honest I don't know squat about 2 strokes but I'm learning fast and it's quite fun actually.

Long term plan is to build a complete street going 13 second bike. That would be something!

Here are some pictures from last night.



















Note from Support: Your posts from (Is it worth buying a Yamaha RD350 now?)Is it worth buying a Yamaha RD350 now? & Got gifted a Yamaha RD350 - Restoration in progress have been moved to a new thread. Please continue your rebuild / restoration here.

[silvr]

Originally Posted by MonsterPatrol

I actually fell for it. Bought the RD350 last night. 85 HT. Documents are upto date with FC until 2023 and the registered owner was the seller. Engine and chassis numbers matching the RC. After a search of five years. The plugs had blown. Wasn't starting. Took it straight to my tuner and got it thoroughly checked. Crappy Bajaj plugs were used. Got new NGK platinum plugs and K&N filter installed. Got it tuned a bit and fixed the electrical mess. Took it out on a short test ride last night. The power surge after 5000 is incredible. The 'rush' is manic! And I've owned an incredibly fast 2006 R1 capable of 9 second quarter mile for a long time. But the two stroke surge is something else. Lifting off under hard acceleration already. My tuner was pissed with the mess inside though. The Ravi Nagesh CDI is a hopeless mess he said. Asked me to go on a crusade to find a full point set assembly. Surprisingly I have already located one with the original Hitachi points. Will pick it up today and get it installed. Can't wait to test ride her after this.

You made all the right motorcycle decisions but one. Congrats though .

[MonsterPatrol]

Babe's in good company now .

[pramodkumar]

Originally Posted by MonsterPatrol

Babe's in good company now

Congrats on you latest purchase & welcome to the group, You are already having fun, which is great.

Naysayers are always there, they try their level best to discourage people, Doesn't matter to people who make their own decision.

Little fun fact, almost all of the world had decided to invest in vintage and classic, the idea is simple. Instead of putting the money in your bank, invest it on something which you can look at, have fun and almost double your investment in a couple of years. In India no other motorcycle has shown they kind of demand that a Yamaha RD 350 has, people have doubled their money by getting cheaper Rds from north India and selling them in south India, that too overnight. New RDs are not coming, so the one's already on sale will be sold at a higher price down the years. RDs were selling at 70-80k a Year ago now are almost above 250K, then you will have people telling you that its not true. My friend's original Kerala LT, was sold at a whooping sum of 4.30 Lacs a year and a half ago.

Now, the points have its own drawbacks, but noting can beat a well tuned bike on points.

Enjoy your ride and burn the roads. Don't even bother at what people say here, most of them have not even ridden an RD, forget owning one.

for the last 4 Years that I have owned my bike, it has never let me stranded on the side, we have had enough "long" rides with our groups and none of the bikes were stranded on the road, small niggles like snapping cables and the usual dirt/water in fuel has always been a culprit. Keep a set of all cables stocked, a pair of plugs and some fuel filters and you are all set.

Get a pair of flat slides, and you will have a fire breathing monster.

Have fun!

Pramod

[MonsterPatrol]

Originally Posted by pramodkumar

Congrats on you latest purchase & welcome to the group, You are already having fun, which is great.

Thanks Pramod. Yes I'm bloody well enjoying it. The exhaust note is glorious. So addictive that I took her out twice last night. It's so unique and surely a significant part of the whole RD experience.

Regarding points, my tuner has given me full confidence that he'll make it work perfectly with no issues. As much as he tunes superbikes day in and day out of his life, he still loves 2 strokes.

Regarding the reliability, it's pretty surprising. Considering the wiring and the CDI is a mess it still has no issues. No fluttering nothing. Runs pretty neat and starts on the first kick in the morning.

Yes I've stocked up on the plugs and the Motul 800 2T, I'll add the cables and the fuel filters to the list. Thanks for the pointers.

About the flat slides, I read a bit about it. Some say it seriously lacks low end? Would like to know more about them.

Man I love classics, and to own one that still performs so well despite its age is something really special. And in India the competition took three decades to beat it. That's how long Apple took to go from Mackintosh to iPhone 7! And we still aren't sure if its been beaten yet.

I remember reading somewhere earlier on this thread that only in India there is this craze about RD and abroad it isn't valued as much. I'm sorry to say RD 350 is regarded as one of the best superbikes of all time sharing it's space with other legends such as the Vincent 1000 and the Kawasaki 750 H2.

Found this gathering dust on my bookshelf and voila! Looks who's here!

[justin.das]

Originally Posted by MonsterPatrol

Man I love classics, and to own one that still performs so well despite its age is something really special. And in India the competition took three decades to beat it. Thats how long Apple took to go from Mackintosh to iPhone 7! And we still aren't sure if its been beaten yet.

Your RD looks Stunning MonsterPatrol Congrats . Last week I got a CB 350G Twin 1974 model with disc brakes and starter motor which is truly ahead of its time . Long live the classics .

[pramodkumar]

Originally Posted by MonsterPatrol

I remember reading somewhere earlier on this thread that only in India there is this craze about RD and abroad it isn't valued as much. I'm sorry to say RD 350 is regarded as one of the best superbikes of all time sharing it's space with other legends such as the Vincent 1000 and the Kawasaki 750 H2.

Found this gathering dust on my bookshelf and voila! Looks who's here!

Like I mentioned before, most of the guys who talk negative things about RDs have never ridden one, forget owning one. Most of the morons who will engage and get into heated argument with you online, are purely doing it on hearsay. Not everyone can afford an RD, even when they were cheap, to be honest they were never cheap. The owners know what they have, the ones who sell them miss them. 100% of EX RD owners regret their sale, 100% of owners still feel there is more to this machine and they try their level best to modify their machines and make them even more mental.

Regarding flat slides, there is nothing like there is no low end, I felt the throttle response is better and its all of a sudden I would suggest you do one Mod at a time, first get it running right on points, Then slowly go for Mods.

Pramod

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by MonsterPatrol

I actually fell for it. Bought the RD350 last night. 85 HT.

Here are some pictures from last night.

Congrats!! Wishing you many happy miles on it.

Do you mind sharing the details of the garage where it is being worked on. Looks like a good setup compared to most of the tuners out there.

[MonsterPatrol]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

Congrats!! Wishing you many happy miles on it.

Do you mind sharing the details of the garage where it is being worked on. Looks like a good setup compared to most of the tuners out there.

Endless Customs, Nagarbhavi.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by pramodkumar

Not everyone can afford an RD, even when they were cheap, to be honest they were never cheap. The owners know what they have, the ones who sell them miss them. 100% of EX RD owners regret their sale, 100% of owners still feel there is more to this machine and they try their level best to modify their machines and make them even more mental.

Pramod, in a way what you are saying is very true. I spent INR 23,000/ to buy my Blue Beauty in 1985 (Bullet was selling at 18K and Yezdi was slling at 11K at that time - my take home at that point as Admin Officer of GIC was around INR 4K net of tax deductions) and every one close to me said I must be mad to buy a gas guessler and an unproven (in Indian context) one at that.

But, let me tell you no regrets at all. I still get the same sense of elation I got thefirst day I rode the bike, every time I get to do that even today. The 33 years that elapsed just disappears.

You know my bike's stock in its innards, even then her presence just can't be ignored.




Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by MonsterPatrol

I actually fell for it. Bought the RD350 last night. 85 HT. Documents are upto date with FC until 2023 and the registered owner was the seller. Engine and chassis numbers matching the RC. After a search of five years.

Wow, congratulations! Im happy to hear that you are enjoying the experience with this wonderful classic. Do keep us updated with the pending work (if any) and your experiences with spares and the mechanic. Hopefully it will burst some preconceived notions about owning a RD 350!


A distant relative of mine who is based in the Middle East has a well maintained RD 350 in Cochin that he has hinted can be up for sale to the right buyer. And he has a good mechanic as well who is committed to keeping the bike in great condition. I am keeping myself away from seeing his motorcycle lest I take the plunge myself!

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

I am keeping myself away from seeing his motorcycle lest I take the plunge myself!

Go ahead Neil, Make the move.
You will never regret it. My RD is still running like a charm after the restoration done nearly 10 years back. Have not updated my thread since there are no issues to be reported.

Regular servicing and a faulty petrol tap is all I have as updates. Yes the usage is less been logging in around 1500 to 2000 kms yearly. Right now using it as my daily ride to office and she has her own charms. Ditto with my Yezdi Roadking
This christmas I will complete two decades of association with the RD.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...17th-year.html (Yamaha RD 350 - A travail on its 17th Year)

[MonsterPatrol]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

every one close to me said I must be mad to buy a gas guessler and an unproven (in Indian context) one at that.

My dad has some pretty interesting stories to narrate about RDs. He owned a roadking back then and how only the cool guys in the group had RDs. And they were the only ones who rode with proper riding gear. Leather jackets,boots, full face helmets and all. How RDs back then depicted style, a biker lifestyle. If you compare the RD TV advert to other bikes of that era, you can clearly see this. The RD didnt fail in the Indian market, the Indian market failed the RD. The performance is incredible even by today's standards. Imagine this in the 80s when the roads were poorly lit and the road conditions worse. Add drum brakes to this and the 'rapid death' moniker fits. Poor ol' cops on the RDs. Even the LTs would've been too much for them. Even the Suzuki fiero in early 2000s was an upgrade for them. Imagine them on RDs. In the late 80s!

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Go ahead Neil, Make the move.
You will never regret it. My RD is still running like a charm after the restoration done nearly 10 years back. Have not updated my thread since there are no issues to be reported.

Knowing that gentlemen such as you, pramodkumar, Ram and others have been able to maintain these beauties for so many years gives me confidence. Let me take a look at it next year when he is back in town

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by MonsterPatrol

About the flat slides, I read a bit about it. Some say it seriously lacks low end? Would like to know more about them.

Guess those who said so were running flat slides on a bigger displacement 4 Stroke street bikes, reason being I've run a cable operated round slide VM28 on my ZMA and a friend in Vietnam had his FZ16(200cc IIRC) running on a flat slide and we both had throttle response issues.

In short the lower intake velocity of the large displacement 4 Stroke motor wasn't enough to get expect results at city speeds from such performance oriented carburetors, though mine was manageable being a round slide, his ran wonkier and any aggressive input meant that the motorcycle would bog down at city speeds as shared by him.

Though as for the RD, I've seen flat slides at work on a friends RD350 worked by Ron from RDD and if I remember correctly the motorcycle was claimed to have made about 67 Bhp at the rear wheel, the motorcycle at the time had a FZ16's front end setup for stability and also sported a FZ16 speedometer unit, what I remember distinctly was that when Benny cracked open the throttle and closed it the rev's picked up super quick and came back down just as fast so much that it was too fast for the FZ16's tacho to catch up, it had only reached peak RPM when the motor had already settled back to idle.