1975 RD350 Gem

[Iron_Viking]

Salutations comrades!
I've always had "Build a Cafe Racer" on my bucket list, for as long as I can remember. I just started working at a new shop and one of the guys had a bunch of bikes he has grabbed from auction over the years. One of those was a MINT '75 Yamaha RD350 with just over 5000 miles. I had to bug him and flash some cash in front of him a few times to get him to give it up to me since it has sat for over 5 years now (and the shop flooded with about 3-1/2 feet of water during that time).
I've already got parts ordered and on the way from HVC Cycles and will be placing an order from Economy and GRA2 in the next few weeks.

Anyway, enough rambling! On to the pictures!

[Iron_Viking]

Oh, almost forgot, I managed to snag the bike for a whopping $500! 

[SoCal250]

Welcome. 
Looks like a great score! Did it escape the shop flood? Doesn't look like it was in a flood or sat in water.
That one's original enough that I wouldn't go too far from stock appearance. Maybe just engine, pipes, bars, rearsets.

[Iron_Viking]

Welcome. 
Looks like a great score! Did it escape the shop flood? Doesn't look like it was in a flood or sat in water.
That one's original enough that I wouldn't go too far from stock appearance. Maybe just engine, pipes, bars, rearsets.

It did not escape the flood. It turns over freely after soaking the cylinders with some mystery oil, but there was definitely water in the left jug and in the pipes.

[85RZwade]

Welcome aboard; I too have an orange '75. What pipes are those?
Go, dog, GO!

[m in sc]

you may want to take it down to the frame and get the frame tanked since its a flood bike.  there was a member on here that had to do that i think (actually i think a frame swap) with one of his.

it will rot the hell out of them from the inside out.

nice project, and def a good score.

[dgorms]

Viking, nice score! With just the mods that socal mentioned, you will have the epitome of a " cafe racer" that all the wannabees will drool over! Just my .................D

[AAAltered]

you may want to take it down to the frame and get the frame tanked since its a flood bike.  there was a member on here that had to do that i think (actually i think a frame swap) with one of his.

it will rot the hell out of them from the inside out.

Mark is correct, that would be me.  Check your frame frequently, forever.

Here's the original story.  http://www.2strokeworld.net/forum/index.php?topic=945.0

My backstory is that my R5 was 100% submerged in 2012 Hurricane Sandy.  I had it torn down and rebuilt over the following year.  Then about three years ago I noticed rust weeping through the frame, which got progressively worse over a year.  Two years ago I aquired a good RD frame and did another 100% tear down and rebuild onto the new frame...



And then:

[Iron_Viking]

you may want to take it down to the frame and get the frame tanked since its a flood bike.  there was a member on here that had to do that i think (actually i think a frame swap) with one of his.

it will rot the hell out of them from the inside out.

Mark is correct, that would be me.  Check your frame frequently, forever.

Here's the original story.  http://www.2strokeworld.net/forum/index.php?topic=945.0

My backstory is that my R5 was 100% submerged in 2012 Hurricane Sandy.  I had it torn down and rebuilt over the following year.  Then about three years ago I noticed rust weeping through the frame, which got progressively worse over a year.  Two years ago I aquired a good RD frame and did another 100% tear down and rebuild onto the new frame...

Oh man, yeah, I believe this bike was only exposed to serious water for about 12-hours. I'm going to have the frame treated and powder coated, just trying to find someone local-ish.

Few more progress pictures of the tear down.

I WILL have the bike fully torn down and the frame ready to be dropped off before I head to Houston this coming weekend. I also start receiving all my goodies I have ordered this week, so there will be Christmas style box reveals at some point.

Still need to get a 64mm flexhone to do a quick hone of the cylinder walls when I open it up for inspection, also need rings still.

Once the frame comes back and I start throwing everything back together, things are going to happen fast. I'm fully expecting to have this bike back together and running by the middle to end of September. Need to decide on a seat (believe I found one that I really like), how much to chop the front and rear fender, and to decide on what tires to run. I'm pretty sure the bike has some almost original tires on it, meaning they are at least 35-40 years old.

[Iron_Viking]

Welcome aboard; I too have an orange '75. What pipes are those?
Go, dog, GO!

I'm not sure, there is a stamp on the inside of them and I will grab a picture of it.
I do know the stamp mentions something about having a forestry approval on them or something?

[m in sc]

those are torque engineering pipes. 

[Iron_Viking]

those are torque engineering pipes. 

THIS!

[dgorms]

Vike, don't chop the front fender up, please!

[2steve]

those are torque engineering pipes. 

...and as such, they will sound fabulous.

[lawnboy]

Vike, don't chop the front fender up, please!

Seriously don't chop it. I got a fender that's a little too banged up for my project that I'd gladly trade ya if that's the path you wanna take.

LB