Messages

Thanks for the reads. It's already done.

bigdave 

Me again.

Decided to rebuild the rear brakes while everything is apart. Is there a trick to getting the pistons un-stuck? (Pic coming) I've got the kits, new lines, chomping at the bits to get this rear end back together.  Thanks for any help 

Bigdavet 

I thought the shim came with the economy kit?  No?

Two washers come with the kit to replace the one stock washer

Me again.

Finally getting the ass end back together. I replaced the wheel bearigs and seals, installed a 39T 520 rear sprocket with appropriate double washers from Economy Cycle, and brass swingarm bushings. Now that the wheel is on, I have play in the left side dust cover. I'm assuming it's because of the 520 conversion; is there a shim I need to hold the cover in place?
Thanks in advance as always

bigdavet 

Me again,

Man it's hot in AZ. But I digress....

Where can I find and copy a torque spec table for my '78 RD400?

Here is a screenshot of one I found on AirCooledRDClub. Is this a good one?

Unbelievably, that's the only question I have right now

bigdavet 

Meh

He is way too proud of his basket case
I passed
Thanks for all the input

bigdavet 

me again.

At the risk of truly blowing my wife's mind, and not in a good way, I am considering buying a basket case 79 Daytona. All it needs (he says) are carbs. Gas tank is a little gnarly, the rest looks restorable for sure. I'm just about to get my 78 E running, and another project would be cool. Ive never ridden a Daytona, but heard mostly nothing but good. Thoughts from the peanut gallery?

bigdavet 

G** D***! That is truly wild
Are there videos of it WOT? 

Me again,

After a year-long hiatus of me actually working, I am back in the garage with a fresh motorcycle lift and a ready-to-be-reassembled '78 RD400. Looking good, lots of new parts to install, I cleaned this dirty pig down to every nut and bolt.

Jspooner is working on his rearsets for me, hopefully they'll be here soon.

I just received my 520 chain and conversion kit from Economy Cycle; I thought I'd go ahead and do it while the rear was tore down. So I'm just looking for any helpful hints from all you more-experienced-than-me guys while reassembling it. Any unusual surprises to look for, tips and tricks, etc. TIA

bigdavet 

Me again

Sucks being so busy I can't even participate. Well, it doesn't suck...
ANYWAY, I have a stupid question. What is a steering damper for?
I mean besides to dampen steering. Duh   

Me again 

Well, after a weekend of scrubbing and soaking, I've come to my own humble opinion. I'm sticking with Berryman's all the way. Sorry, but that LA Totally Awesome stuff is severely lacking in the wow factor, and I'm using it undiluted. Everything I've soaked in the Berryman's comes out spotless, mostly even without any brushing, just wipe off. So for what I have left to do, I'll be buying another gallon of the chem dip and filling a soaking tray to go along with the small parts basket. Of course, all my cleaning is being done outside in the shade, rather than inside the garage. It's definitely stanky.

Again, this is my humble opinion, nothing else. Good luck and keep the shiny side up! 

Which part(s) did you paint? Chemical resistant?
[/quote]

The parts I'm painting with the appliance epoxy are mainly the frame parts. Battery box, brake mounts, rear peg mounts, chain guard, frame itself, you know stuff like that. Been letting it sit at least a day or two cuz it's pretty tacky paint.

Me again. Of course, this topic is of high interest to me, with the 78 in pieces and soaking in everything from mineral spirits to old flat Budweiser. I do in fact love the Berryman's, and since it is so stinky it gets used out of doors, but man does it get everything sparkly clean! Great for small parts, with the little basket-in-a-can, but kind of pricey if you want to fill a wash tub for the big parts.

So I followed the consensus and bought three gallons of the LA Totally Awesome. Gonna go soak the rear sprocket and disk brake mount, and see how it works. Impartial review forthcoming 

This is what we ended up with after a crash mangled the shift side of our Tarrozzi rearsets during the Bol d'Oregon.

We dug thru our random foot controls stash and found what appears to be a BMX axle peg (?) and used the Tarrozzi mounting plate flipped over and a stock shifter off of some other bike.

The reach was a bit long, even with size 12s, but we ran half the race (3 hours) like this with no issue.  I'm sure you could fab a plate out of 3/8" or 1/2" aluminum with basic hand tools, and adjust as needed to get the spacing you need.

You can flip the shifter over so it's pointing back for more of a rearset position, but the shift pattern will be reversed to GP style.

Something like that would work well, for sure

Nice one Dave ! 

Looks like a Daytona front end , or just wheel and brakes, maybe Daytona rear wheel??
What pipes are those?

No, it's a front end off a XS 650. I have a stock front end for it, triple tree to the brakes and everything in between. It'll be all better when i'm done with it. And Chuck ID'd the pipes as Pipelines. It'll be interesting to see how he runs once he's all put back together.