Mark3

Pick one and get the best priced example you can. Restore over time, and ride it regular on sunny days. Wait 10 years and put a deposit on a house. I am looking for an 1998 Yamaha YZF-R1 which has had the initial clutch problem rectified. Get a blue one and tuck it away after restoration.

For old time dirt fun its gotta be the '76 honda CR125 elisnore. Stonking good time bike. Showing my age I know. I had a CR480 as well, and rode it in the desert of California around '90. That was an awesome bike. You could climb up the steepest bluffs and cross wash outs with the front wheel up and clear of ruts. It had the weight to cut it's own track.

Hi James Ive had that before. Scary when unexpected. New tyre/s (get a matching set) and get the front wheel balanced when fitted. As long as there is no steering head movement at the yoke (you would be getting juddering under breaking) I can't see that being the prob. Any bike should run straight and true with both hands off. Mark

Hi. Nice looking bike. I just googled a few pics, and it looks like its your inner thigh that will get the roasting. You could put a kevlar patch on that area of your riding pants. Get good boots also, if you dont have already. You could probably get a kevlar cover made, and fitted, but would be a bit of mucking about. Low tech solutions are always my fave. Have fun. Mark

I hear you.. I have the 85F. Must be well maintained but so easy to source parts and to work on. I admit I drool at the R6 & R1's, but i get so much enjoyment from pulling bikes apart and putting them back better than before.

Hi Jim I sent the bike off to company specialising in instruments. They tested and determined that there was a fault within the tachometer movement. Once stripped, repaired and re-tested the rev counter is working as it should. That does leave me with one problem though. The realisation that when I am at 8,000 rpm there is still 2,000 to go till red line. : )

Jim The bike I have is an RD from Hertsfordshire! Us Kiwi's had the RZ from 84-86 till they moved prod to Brazil late 80's, i think. The salt air, and all year round riding here meant there are very few left in this part of the world. As the local wrecker says, "the pin's were pulled" long ago. The last true RD in NZ b4 they swapped to the YPVS RZ was the LC. That was a great bike. I had a naked one about 82 and without the YPVS its was all or nothing. I had a CR125 Elsinor as a first bike, so the LC was just a road going version with indicators. I had never ridden a YPVS model till this one (since Oct08) it is quite different. Very mellow around town and for the commute. 3 - 4,500 rpm and you get that burbling, slightly erratic crackle like purr with a nice little push, but then when the intrutions on your in built rider intution drops to low threat level, and your spooled up in 3rd, the jump from there to 9-10k is magic. The shame is that to keep them in that state of tune now costs in time & $$, but if you dole yourself out meager doses you can still have a heap of fun. Cheers, Mark

Thanks Jim. I will follow up your lead, and will post my results. All the best Mark

Sorry can't help with parts as I'm in NZ, but can feel your pain. Lesson #1 - Never trust your side stand. For that matter never trust your main stand! I put my RD on the centre stand outside a known Harley pub and came out an hour later to find it on it's side (stand was still up) I believe it was not a technical malfunction..hahha Lesson # 2 - Never leave your side stand down after commencing riding. Especially if you have one of those fancy locking type side stands. Only the laundry lady knows the effect that the first left hander has on this person. P.s. you will need to brush up on all the lessons of your youth quick as. Good luck. Mark

Hi all Bike is running great after months of work but rev counter stops working from about 4-5000 RPM. Not precise coz my head is up. Engine is reving past that, and I'm just using my ears to change gear as you should anyway. There is no cable on these counters, so must be an electrical/connection fault, but it seems strange that it works normally up to that point. It's like the needle is jammed (its not) Has anyone had a similar problem? I dont suspect it is particulary specific to this bike. Would the CDI have anything to do with it? It would be nice to know when red line is approaching at least. p.s. after 150kms of running in, I let her accelarate freely tonight for the first time. 120ks in 4th and she was dissapointed I changed up. As soon as I got home, had the torch on everything checking for leaks etc whislt still running her. Not a sign and those pesky exhaust gaskets and seals arnt leaking. What a difference having both power valves working in tandem. When I took the head apart the jointer was missing completly! The other major fix was replacing the reed valves. The old ones didn't close fully, and had cracks. So much so that there was blackening on both carbi slides. Brings back fond memories of my youth. I have had bigger faster bikes, but nothing beats the feeling of an RD clearing her throat and pulling hard. Sublime. Happy camper # 1 : )

Sorry, but it is the 1985 RD/RZ350F. Only coz I have one in the garage, and have just run it in after a top end rebuild. From 5500-7500 rpm it is sex on a stick. : )

Thanks guys. I think you are right. While i'm in there replace the complete ring set. Ive since found out you can't just buy the expander rings anyway. Thanks for the logic. Happy biking.

Hi all. Newby here from Kiwi land. I have an 85 RD350 F which I find upon inspection, has both expander rings broken into 3 or 4 bits. The bits were still intact in the lower scraper ring grooves (thank goodness) but I have to ask, are they needed? The piston and rings are sweet, so I don't need to replace, and I don't want to have to order 2 complete ring sets, just to get 2 x expander rings. I'm thinking I can leave them out. Any thoughts?