1984 Yamaha Gray Ghost RZ350 And So It Begins

[Kawtriplefreak]

Thank you. Yep Frank is the best. This bike sat for a long time and some of that was outside in Canada. It looks better in the digital photos than it does in person  but yes it is very nice. I really love the gray and black paint scheme. I am doing a mechanical only refurbishment for the most part. I didn't get to test ride today, ran out of time before work. I went to put the tag on and apparently Canadian tags are a bit narrower than US and it has a fabricated non-slotted license plate bracket and partially deleted rear fender so if all goes according to plan tomorrow I will drill a couple of new mount holes, mount the tag and take it out for the inaugural ride.

[m in sc]

 

this should be good. bring a small screwdriver to dial int he air screws on the ride. you're close for sure.

[Kawtriplefreak]

Will do.

[Kawtriplefreak]

Put the tag on and then my cell phone mount on so I could attempt to calibrate the Daytona. Handles great. Front brake rotors are warped extremely bad. They have to get replaced before Deals Gap. Started on 1st kick with enrichener on. The 27.5 pilots are too lean. Pull off is bad. To verify I opened the air screws 1/4 turn and it got worse. From 1/8 throttle up is very good so far. I misread the instructions on the Daytona calibration so it has to be done again. It does indicate just not right. Completely self-induced. I tried to keep it under 8000 on the tach but initial feeling is that main jet is close. It revs a bit quicker than the white RZ. Time was limited before work. Clutch feels good. Dragging a little when hot. I will adjust the cable a bit. Shifts perfect. I accelerated hard once in 1st briefly and it picked the front wheel up about a foot. Temperature was in the low 170s the entire ride. The DGs must not have any packing at all as it is very very loud. Definitely good power and I am quite happy with the maiden voyage. A big thank you to everyone involved in the resurrection. Now for the tuning....

[kramdua]

it seems like an awesome build. you've done a lot of work and it shows.

[Kawtriplefreak]

Thank you.

[Kawtriplefreak]

In other news my latest Yambits order arrived with all new side cover grommets, grab rail grommets, battery hold down strap and tank hold down hardware.

[SoCal250]

I've been following along. You've made a lot of methodical progress! Congrats on getting her street worthy and nearly completed! 

[Kawtriplefreak]

Thanks.
I rode it again today. I got the Daytona calibration done and the speedometer works perfectly. Max speed recorded was 85 and Max RPM  was 10,300 on over-run, shifted at 9500. It helps if you read the instructions correctly.  I went up to 30 pilots and the pull off is better. 1/8 to 1/4 throttle 3-4000 is choppy. Turned airscrews out to 1.75 and take-off is better. Still choppy at 1/8 to 1/4. Next time I ride it I will go one lean on the needles per M in SC. Installed new battery hold down strap from Yambits so the battery is secure. 1/4 throttle and up carburetion is nearly linear. I had two brake caliper bolts that were too long and had washers and spacers under them. Evans Ward sent me two replacements. Thanks Evans!! . I installed them and that eliminated about 80% of the shaking when applying the front brakes but the rotors are still warped and once the get good and hot at the Gap they will only get worse. Yambits has them for $66 apiece so I will be ordering today along with bolt kits. It handles great and I am impressed with the BT46s. There's a resonance right about 5000 RPM that is either exhaust or intake howl and it is very loud. It is quite different above and below that RPM. I may throw the pods back on it and see if it changes. The power delivery is quite different than my white bike. It revs quicker but has less low end and more hit on top. There are a lot of variables and differences like the white bike has a Zeel with power valve controller and FPPs versus the stock CDI and controller on the Gray Ghost with DGs and smaller carburetors.

[Kawtriplefreak]

Been a busy couple of days. The Gray Ghost now has 25 tuning miles on the odometer and I am getting close on the jetting. I have changed pilots and needle clip positions and am still chasing a good take off and idle to 1/4 throttle. Today I went one lean on the needles and started with airscrews at 1.5. Didn't get a decent take off until I turned them in to 3/4 of a turn. 1/4 turn and up on the throttle and thecarburetion is very good. The new brake rotors and bolts should be here tomorrow.

[Kawtriplefreak]

The majority of the bodywork is reinstalled. I learned that new grommets for the sidecovers makes all the difference in the world getting them on and off without damage to the plastic tabs. Yambits to the rescue. The right side cover has a partially missing aft tab which required a hole to be drilled near the tab and a cable tie installed. The front mount hole on RH side of the tank was cut off and installed in the wrong spot due to some previous buffonery. I used a short bungee cord knotted tightly to the forward mounting tab and hooked it to the improperly placed tank tab and the power-valve mounting bracket.  I also installed a new speedo cable guide on the front fender and the missing gas tank hold-down hardware.

[Kawtriplefreak]

Next on the list is install the new brake rotors and replace two rivets on the RH chamber to stop the RH can from flopping around and pull the pipes off for paint and can polishing. I also have to do a temporary repair on the oil pump cover (hole in it from a previous  wreck I think) and reinstall it. There are two mis-matched turn signals on the back one short and one long stem so the current plan is to take the two front ones mounted on the birdcage off and move them to the rear. That will enable me to reinstall the front fairing. 13 days to go and right down to the wire just like I swear it won't be every year.

[Kawtriplefreak]

4 business days from the UK to my door for the brake rotors and bolts. Life interference prevented me from putting them on. Hopefully tomorrow.

[2steve]

Yambits is like ordering from 2 states away, as far as shipping time. Fed Ex hustles your stuff right over like the ocean is nothing
(This is assuming that you can't find what you need at Economy Cycle).

Nice to see that you have an RZ to play with.

[m in sc]

hoarder has 2 of them