1975 RD350B

[85RZwade]

The wheel saga appears to be at an end; I've made a choice. A quick trip to Portland to see the man, the mystery, the legend himself...known here as pdxjim, has yielded a set of hoops from his Yamaha TDR250. I can now reveal to all who have wondered thus far his true identity: his real name is Jim.
Spoked aluminum wheels, each accommodating one brake disc, in widths appropriate for a project such as this: 2.15x18 and 2.50x17. Yeah, the rear is a 17", so "appropriate" may have been a stretch.



I'm pretty chuffed. I have been investigating brake discs (that one on the front is suspected of warpage), and EBC has suitable offerings.


Need to find: a cush drive from a TDR, TZR or FZR400, a sprocket and an 18" 2.5 aluminum rim with 36 holes. In gold, preferably a D.I.D. to match the front.



That is sexy, ancient tire and all! The new phone book is here and I'm somebody!
Thanks to Jim and quicklimegirl, whom I visited on the way home. She's got a fine stable of bikes in her garage!

[m in sc]

 

solid choice

[Striker1423]

Yassss

[pscook]

That front disc looks suspiciously like an FZR400/600 or first year YZF600 brake disc, for crossover purposes.

[85RZwade]

It's the same as the FZR1000, and a whole bunch of Ducatis and Moto Guzzis. It looks freakin' huge (I have'nt measured it) and I love it.

[85RZwade]

I have sought the advice of he who knows wire spoked wheels (Nathan), and have a query in with Buchanan regarding availability of a suitable rim.
In the meantime, a late-night internet crawl has yielded a purchase from Speedmotoco in Oregon (you're welcome, Jim) of a headlight w/GPS speedometer, a tach, headlight mounting brackets and some UNI pods for the Elsie's VM30s. Someone really should take my VISA card away.

[pdxjim]

320mm

[pscook]

320mm

Ah/ Not FZR600 as those are 300mm diameter. Here's a list of rotors that conceivably fit, especially as the TDR is listed:
http://fzronline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1853

[85RZwade]

  thanks for the link, that's a great list

[RustyRD]

Wade, the build is looking great. How well did the swing arm fit, mods that had to be made?
Russ

[85RZwade]

Thanks, Russ, it's going pretty well but feels slow...y'know, life and all. The swingarm is not a big deal, as it's narrower at the pivot than the RD frame. I'm using the RD pivot bolt/axle and bushing, and I've almost finished two collars in my silly little lathe to fit on each side of the swingarm pivot; I think they're 7mm each. A little shimming to get the fit just right and I'll be there.
Meanwhile, at the front...



The '97 GSX-R 600 uses the same fork legs as the TL1000S (remember those?), so the TL caliper had to fit, and it does. I'll know for sure when I finish the wheel spacers, but I may not have to shim the rotor at all! I calculated that the six 27mm pistons will give best results with a 14mm master cylinder, but I have a 5/8" Nissin master just sitting around getting old, so I'm going to try it first. Somewhere in the barn I have RZ and LC master cylinders, so I'll see what size(s) they are before I spend any (more) $$ on master cylinders. 

[85RZwade]

  really expected to take some crap over the six-piston caliper!
Aluminum arrived today for making wheel spacers; very kind of Suzuki to make the bore in the fork legs 1.25"! I have a good idea of the wheel spacer design in my noggin, but I'm a little hung up on retaining the spacers within the fork legs. Once assembled, only the clamping force of the pinch bolts on the bottom of the fork legs will keep the spacer/axle/wheel from moving axially.



I like the idea of internal circlips in the fork leg bores, trapping the spacers, but I don't know how I'd make the grooves. I could use external snap rings on the O.D. of the spacers, just against the inside surface of the fork leg, but that looks ugly in my head. Anyone have brilliant ideas to share?

[pdxjim]

Sorry I can't help with the engineering conundrum, but the barn hay really is adding to the authentic vibe of your build, Wade.

[85RZwade]

It wasn't easy arranging all that hay for the photos, but I think the results are worth the effort. I'd like to get my barn cat involved, but he's not what you'd call cooperative. Look for old implements in future pics!

[m in sc]

ive done all this before, ive never had to use c slips to hold stuff in.. they wont go anywhere when pinched down.

I have 4 of those 6 piston calipers. havent gotten around to using one... yet. they are ludicrous but i like them.