I know the rumor is that they are crap, but has anyone had any actual experience with these very low cost kits? see https://www.ebay.com/itm/RD-350-yamaha-cylinders-pistons-kit-1973-1974-1975-new-RD350-cylinder-kit-US/232987337340
No personal experience but weren't these cast based on the Rajdoot cylinders? Guys in India buy all my 350 cylinders to avoid using the domestic ones. Must be pretty bad as with shipping a 350 top end is expensive to deliver there.
Quote from: motodreams on June 27, 2019, 08:20:00 PM
No personal experience but weren't these cast based on the Rajdoot cylinders? Guys in India buy all my 350 cylinders to avoid using the domestic ones. Must be pretty bad as with shipping a 350 top end is expensive to deliver there.
From what I hear, liners pressed in upside down (can slip and fall down causing engine failure, and porting being such that the power was massively reduced per Indian regulation. So, they require work right from the start to make right.
Can't speak to the Indian cyls, but if you want cheap pistons, look towards cruizinimage.net (http://cruizinimage.net).
Pistons are cast in Taiwan but quality is extremely good. Especially for $45-$60 for the pair.
Like the old saying goes... You get what you pay for. Why chance it! :twocents:
those are not Indian cylinders. No company in India is making RD after market cylinders. These are Chinese (some say Taiwanese) cylinders. It is neither US specs nor Indian spec, sort of in between. need port blue printing before use. same available dirt cheap on alibaba ;D
Quote from: 2t Fan on June 28, 2019, 05:17:46 AM
those are not Indian cylinders. No company in India is making RD after market cylinders. These are Chinese (some say Taiwanese) cylinders. It is neither US specs nor Indian spec, sort of in between. need port blue printing before use. same available dirt cheap on alibaba ;D
The Niche Industry banshee/RZ cylinders made in China were sent through a full test on the banshee forum. They found the pistons to be heavy and poorly cast to bad tolerance as were the barrel sleeves. To fix this they bored the barrels and found the sleeves to be too porous for use. Basically garbage. Again, I haven't used these ones but if this is the case it could easily be the same.
To the 'why risk it comment'...why do I want to send my cash to pad margins when I can use someone like cruzinimage and get quality pistons at a decent price?
Quote from: 2t Fan on June 28, 2019, 05:17:46 AM
those are not Indian cylinders. No company in India is making RD after market cylinders. These are Chinese (some say Taiwanese) cylinders. It is neither US specs nor Indian spec, sort of in between. need port blue printing before use. same available dirt cheap on alibaba ;D
according to seller they are from India. see EBAY ad.
it is from China , marketed from India
I wouldn't run it.
They are made in China or Taiwan and the die casting is streets ahead of anything that Yamaha made back in the day.
Ports are close enough for a daily driver but the ports in the liner are a little smaller than the aluminum casting and can easily be cleaned up. Main transfers are much better than OEM, but the auxiliaries need to be cleaned up a little to make them flow.
I'd recommend getting a set of OEM pistons or Pro-X and check clearances, or just get them bored to the next size up with the right clearances and know they are round.
I have a couple of pairs that I collected for different projects that are not needed now ( I used a TZ750 top end instead)
Like I said above, if these are Chinese cylinders there is a good chance they cannot be bored as the liners are actually porous due to poor casting. Then again, when it comes to China Who knows which factory produced them.
So basically, no one has any personal experience with the parts but are willing to share all sorts of horror stories. I appreciate caution and sharing of knowledge, but let's hear from someone that has a set.
Someone mentioned in a different post that a friend had a set on his bike and as I recall there were no issues there.
I have two sets here. One I bought and one that came off a low mileage motor that had stuck a piston because timing was wrong and it leaked through the crank seals.
The casting is way better that OEM and the liners are good but the inlet and exhaust ports in the liner are a little smaller than the aluminum. Those can be cleaned up or left as-is. How long they last, I can't answer. But at the price they seem like they are worth trying.
Indian cylinders were indeed ported to a lower tune, but these do not appear to have been manufactured in India.
that was me.
they were from vitos and seemed fine. i've seen a few bikes with them, have heard more horror story theories than actual failures so.. i mean, you can buy 2 sets for the cost of plating an original set. Unless you have some already high end porting on that original set, its go with a new set and work from there. my .02
Quote from: teazer on July 01, 2019, 10:08:47 AM
So basically, no one has any personal experience with the parts but are willing to share all sorts of horror stories. I appreciate caution and sharing of knowledge, but let's hear from someone that has a set.
bought the blaster top end kit. new from china. comes with a modern piston and all the gaskets. the new tech is there. the only problem I saw (and the guy posted it in the description) the ports needed to be chamfered and excess flash needed to be cleaned up. like 15 minutes with a dental drill and a football diamond and I was good. mine definitly needed some cleaning up but well worth it.
Quote from: bracket maker on July 01, 2019, 11:36:36 AM
Quote from: teazer on July 01, 2019, 10:08:47 AM
So basically, no one has any personal experience with the parts but are willing to share all sorts of horror stories. I appreciate caution and sharing of knowledge, but let's hear from someone that has a set.
bought the blaster top end kit. new from china. comes with a modern piston and all the gaskets. the new tech is there. the only problem I saw (and the guy posted it in the description) the ports needed to be chamfered and excess flash needed to be cleaned up. like 15 minutes with a dental drill and a football diamond and I was good. mine definitly needed some cleaning up but well worth it.
I'm glad someone will take the plunge,
I had this a few years ago with Cruzzin image pistons ,every man and his dog was saying they could not be any good because of the price. I bought a set for a H1 , how wrong they all were, really good value and the delivery was good
Cruzinimage pistons are way better than they have any right to be at that price. I have a set in my GT750 stock class drag race bike and that gets revved to close to 8,000 and they are still good.
Quote from: teazer on July 01, 2019, 05:37:27 PM
Cruzinimage pistons are way better than they have any right to be at that price. I have a set in my GT750 stock class drag race bike and that gets revved to close to 8,000 and they are still good.
Agreed. I bought a set for my KH400 and had Ron RB-designs.com Black do the bores. He was blown away by the quality/price. He said two of three pistons were exactly the same size and the third was only a couple thousandths off.
I think they were less than $100 for all three including fast shipping from Japan
Whoa! I had no idea about Cruzin Image. I just looked because I need new rings and might as well get the full deal. $45 for an RD400 set!
thanks for the reports on actual users of these. I guess the question remaining is longevity. But if they last one bore life, the price of the kit with pistons, rings and cylinders makes it worth it.
Quote from: The Red Scourge on July 01, 2019, 09:43:56 PM
Whoa! I had no idea about Cruzin Image. I just looked because I need new rings and might as well get the full deal. $45 for an RD400 set!
LOL! Prices went up, they were $40 a few months ago.
You may be able to run big window RZ pistons for a little performance gain, but I don't know if the skirt needs trimmed or not.
Quote from: pdxjim on July 01, 2019, 10:19:46 PM
Quote from: The Red Scourge on July 01, 2019, 09:43:56 PM
Whoa! I had no idea about Cruzin Image. I just looked because I need new rings and might as well get the full deal. $45 for an RD400 set!
LOL! Prices went up, they were $40 a few months ago.
You may be able to run big window RZ pistons for a little performance gain, but I don't know if the skirt needs trimmed or not.
banshee?
Heres and up date for you on those chinese cylinders sold on EBAy.
Since there were no absolute negatives on these cylinders by individuals who had used them I bought a set and installed on a 1975 Yamaha RD350. Looked nice, didn't appear anything significant out of place. Installed in October 2019, got a few rides in before the rains hit in Sacramento Valley and everything seemed good.
February 2020 again started riding and on the 3rd or forth ride (I usually go out for about 50-60 miles RT) engine started to seize. Got it back and disassembled one cylinder had scuffing. I had a bore hone and was able to clean cylinder with no problem. I reinstalled and rode bike 5 or 6 times before summer heat hit.
Yesterday took bike out for ride and same cylinder I believe, started to seize. I have Premier AAA but was shocked when I called for tow was told I cant ride in tow truck, have to use Uber, Covid concerns. Now that makes a lot of sense. Anyway back to my story.
So now I know these cylinders are junk and I go back to EBAY where I bought them to see what comments have been made about this issue and seller. Surprise, surprise, seller no longer registered with EBAY. So the scam is, sell as many of these as you can, when complaints start coming in, drop your registration with EBAY.
I paid $390 for my set that came with pistons, rings and cylinders. Now I see you can buy them for $219! https://www.ebay.com/itm/64mm-RD-350CC-LH-RH-Cylinders-Pistons-Complete-Kit-For-YAMAHA-1973-1974-1975/184408765114?hash=item2aef9e72ba:g:~g8AAOSw5XRfO~2H
And its a different seller, as I said when complaints come in the seller vanishes from EBAY and another one appears selling the same crap!
I was wondering why the price on used OEM cylinders had dropped so dramatically over the past year or two. I guess there are a lot of guys buying these things. Has anyone else, since this thread began, had an experience with these cylinders?
Thanks for the update! I had forgotten about this thread. Looks like I should have held on to the cylinders I sold a while back, and I'll keep the remaining ones that I have.
id never run the pistons that come with them on one of my bikes. the cyls? sure.
Quote from: Still biking on October 20, 2020, 03:47:45 PM
Heres and up date for you on those chinese cylinders sold on EBAy.
Since there were no absolute negatives on these cylinders by individuals who had used them I bought a set and installed on a 1975 Yamaha RD350. Looked nice, didn't appear anything significant out of place. Installed in October 2019, got a few rides in before the rains hit in Sacramento Valley and everything seemed good.
February 2020 again started riding and on the 3rd or forth ride (I usually go out for about 50-60 miles RT) engine started to seize. Got it back and disassembled one cylinder had scuffing. I had a bore hone and was able to clean cylinder with no problem. I reinstalled and rode bike 5 or 6 times before summer heat hit.
Yesterday took bike out for ride and same cylinder I believe, started to seize. I have Premier AAA but was shocked when I called for tow was told I cant ride in tow truck, have to use Uber, Covid concerns. Now that makes a lot of sense. Anyway back to my story.
So now I know these cylinders are junk and I go back to EBAY where I bought them to see what comments have been made about this issue and seller. Surprise, surprise, seller no longer registered with EBAY. So the scam is, sell as many of these as you can, when complaints start coming in, drop your registration with EBAY.
I paid $390 for my set that came with pistons, rings and cylinders. Now I see you can buy them for $219! https://www.ebay.com/itm/64mm-RD-350CC-LH-RH-Cylinders-Pistons-Complete-Kit-For-YAMAHA-1973-1974-1975/184408765114?hash=item2aef9e72ba:g:~g8AAOSw5XRfO~2H
And its a different seller, as I said when complaints come in the seller vanishes from EBAY and another one appears selling the same crap!
I was wondering why the price on used OEM cylinders had dropped so dramatically over the past year or two. I guess there are a lot of guys buying these things. Has anyone else, since this thread began, had an experience with these cylinders?
$145 set available if you order direct from China
https://www.ebay.com/itm/64mm-RD-350CC-LH-RH-Cylinders-Pistons-Top-End-Rebuild-Kit-For-YAMAHA-1973-1975/264844471363?hash=item3da9f5ec43:g:AkQAAOSwgn5fRnkL (https://www.ebay.com/itm/64mm-RD-350CC-LH-RH-Cylinders-Pistons-Top-End-Rebuild-Kit-For-YAMAHA-1973-1975/264844471363?hash=item3da9f5ec43:g:AkQAAOSwgn5fRnkL)
Quote from: rodneya on October 20, 2020, 07:40:35 PM
Quote from: Still biking on October 20, 2020, 03:47:45 PM
Heres and up date for you on those chinese cylinders sold on EBAy.
Since there were no absolute negatives on these cylinders by individuals who had used them I bought a set and installed on a 1975 Yamaha RD350. Looked nice, didn't appear anything significant out of place. Installed in October 2019, got a few rides in before the rains hit in Sacramento Valley and everything seemed good.
February 2020 again started riding and on the 3rd or forth ride (I usually go out for about 50-60 miles RT) engine started to seize. Got it back and disassembled one cylinder had scuffing. I had a bore hone and was able to clean cylinder with no problem. I reinstalled and rode bike 5 or 6 times before summer heat hit.
Yesterday took bike out for ride and same cylinder I believe, started to seize. I have Premier AAA but was shocked when I called for tow was told I cant ride in tow truck, have to use Uber, Covid concerns. Now that makes a lot of sense. Anyway back to my story.
So now I know these cylinders are junk and I go back to EBAY where I bought them to see what comments have been made about this issue and seller. Surprise, surprise, seller no longer registered with EBAY. So the scam is, sell as many of these as you can, when complaints start coming in, drop your registration with EBAY.
I paid $390 for my set that came with pistons, rings and cylinders. Now I see you can buy them for $219! https://www.ebay.com/itm/64mm-RD-350CC-LH-RH-Cylinders-Pistons-Complete-Kit-For-YAMAHA-1973-1974-1975/184408765114?hash=item2aef9e72ba:g:~g8AAOSw5XRfO~2H
And its a different seller, as I said when complaints come in the seller vanishes from EBAY and another one appears selling the same crap!
I was wondering why the price on used OEM cylinders had dropped so dramatically over the past year or two. I guess there are a lot of guys buying these things. Has anyone else, since this thread began, had an experience with these cylinders?
$145 set available if you order direct from China
https://www.ebay.com/itm/64mm-RD-350CC-LH-RH-Cylinders-Pistons-Top-End-Rebuild-Kit-For-YAMAHA-1973-1975/264844471363?hash=item3da9f5ec43:g:AkQAAOSwgn5fRnkL (https://www.ebay.com/itm/64mm-RD-350CC-LH-RH-Cylinders-Pistons-Top-End-Rebuild-Kit-For-YAMAHA-1973-1975/264844471363?hash=item3da9f5ec43:g:AkQAAOSwgn5fRnkL)
similar price. $219 is free shipping, 145 is $79 shipping. that makes it a little more in cost
Quote from: m in sc on October 20, 2020, 05:39:37 PM
id never run the pistons that come with them on one of my bikes. the cyls? sure.
Mark is right.
I have read older reviews that noted the piston's etc that came in these sets were junk and bores were nowhere near in spec for the piston's. Buy the cylinders and cruzinimage it up for piston's if you want to go cheap. :) At least with cruzin' you know it's good! Check tolerances and proceed from there.
This is tempting. The ebay sellers falling off the face of the earth sucks for sure.
Wondering though if orbital cladding welds would be a possibility for stock cylinders? I suppose they may not be hard enough with the heat generated from welding, not to mention the shrinkage that may occur.