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Hey - been a minute.  Been busy at work but I have been working on this here and there.  After many iterations and trying various different part combinations, this is how it's sitting now.  Rdshaw - I did end up going with a setup similar to yours.  Fully adjustable top and bottom links so I can change geometry as needed and gives me options.  I actually came out to check out some of your bikes when I was in Chicago back in like 2014, glad to see you're still active on here.

Leveled the frame at the motor mounts and used a laser to line everything up:

Threw some bars/risers and a tank on it for fun:
Suspension is pretty stiff with the R6 shock, but i'll wait until I can get full weight on the bike before I start messing around with it.  Next up I will be getting a side stand set up so I can bolt the motor back in for sprocket alignment/final wheel spacers/rear sets etc.  These are sr500 wheels - debating keeping the mags, might go with 18/18 spokes.  We'll see.

Got out of work a little early and started messing around with stuff.  Didn't take any pics modifying this swingarm unfortunately, but ultimately I narrowed the pivot tube pretty substantially, sourced some needle bearings and seals, and used a shaft from an SR500.  What do you guys think about this vs the RD350LC swingarm?  I'm leaning towards this, even though it extends the wheelbase a little bit.  Alloy arm.. definitely better suspension... I kinda think I have to go this route, mainly because of how surprised I am that it fit in the tiny RD frame 

Not to mention, I don't think fitting up the mounts for the dogbone/upper shock will be too bad at all.  Just gotta mess around with different linkage options.

yeah man, that's not going anywhere.    never saw a stem sectioned like that but makes all the sense in the world. I'll steal that idea down the road for sure. 

Yeah this is the best way I've found to do it.  Slugging it and doing a few plug welds also keeps it dead square while welding it out.

Very sanitary installation and great work! From what KTM did you harvest that front end?

Thanks! It's from a Duke 390 I believe.  sits about an inch higher than the RD front end without dropping the tubes in the triples.

Brought my tig rig home from work to shorten up the KTM stem:



Welded out to flush then filed down any high spots just in case I'll ever need to change the bearing race, and since the tube is so thick on this particular stem I'm not worried about capping it. Fit perfectly on the RD tube.  Just gotta weld on some tabs for stops.  I also drilled out the RD dust cover to fit on there too, I think it makes it look a bit tidier. 

The finished product:




That's all for now - gonna order some brake parts and pickup some stock for wheel spacers to finish up the front end in the next few days.

Hey everyone. 

I was a member of the old forum years ago.  Just learned of how the old domain shut down and was brought back under new admin, guess that's why I needed to make a new username!  Really happy to see it has continued on and there's still a place to dig through all this useful info. 

Long story short - About 12 years ago, I bought a few bins of parts, a motor, and a couple frames from a guy in Rhode Island.  I turned all those parts into a complete 1975 RD350.  It didn't look like much but it was my first motorcycle, and it ripped.  Had a lot of really fun times with the bike in my early 20s, but eventually needed the money and ended up selling it to a guy a few towns over for a decent chunk of change.

My first ride on the bike many years ago:


Spent years regretting selling it, but I moved onto other projects (mostly cars) and life moved on.  Well, I happened to be browsing through facebook marketplace a little while back and there it was.  In the exact same condition I sold it in.  The guy just left it in his garage and never touched it for 10 years.  Got it back for $600... which was nearly as much as I payed just for the powerdynamo in it all those years ago    

ANYWAY -

Here's how it sits now:

Please disregard the messy garage.
KTM front suspension, LC swingarm with a cbr600 shock. Pretty sure i'll be sticking with the stock hubs.  Also got an aluminum gpz550 swingarm that I took in the pivot tube to fit the RD frame, so I'm also considering using that with dogbone linkage monoshock instead of the lc.

Mainly just mocking stuff up and deciding which route to go, very open to suggestions or recommendations!
 Tomorrow I will be shortening the ktm stem about an inch to fit nicely in the RD steering tube, then I'll start ordering some front brake parts.