Initially I did not make a thread about my rd rebuild because there are not many rd riders or lovers that I see on xbhp. Further more the younger mambers are not even aware of what an rd350 is and why it is so important in world and Indian biking history. After many people asking me to put up a thread about the rd I decided to finally make one.
Since many younger members are unaware of the bike's history, I am giving a brief one.
The rd was a line of aircooled and later water/liquid cooled motorcycles produced internationally by yamaha. Barring a few models all were parallal twins. The capacity ranged from 125cc single to 500cc v4. The original rd350 was a revolutionary bike, not because it was the quickest and fastest, it was the grand daddy of affordable superbiking. A bike that combined usable power, quick acceleration, great handling and did not burn a hole in the pocket as other bigger bikes of its time like the kawasaki z1000, which cost almost twice the price of an rd. Technically it was a very advanced 2-stroke for its time as it featured reed valve induced 7 port lay out fed by twin carburetors, oil pump for precise lubrication, 6 speed gearbox and front disc brake.
In the early 1980s, the 1972 aircooled rd350b was brought to india by escorts motors in collaberation with yamaha and sold under the brand "rajdoot" as rajdoot 350. It had a few changes from the abroad models. The front disc was replaced with twin leading drum from the rd250. The meter console was changed to a cheaper one. A bigger tank was put in. Footpegs were taken from the rd400. The biggest change was the exhaust port was restricted to reduce the power output from 39bhp to 31.5bhp. Later it was further reduced to 27bhp in the interest of mileage. The bike didnot do very well at the time due to an identity crisis as it was badged as a rajdoot. People confused a genuine sbk to a commuter. Low gas mileage and limited availability of spares and good technicians spelled doom for the bike. Later the bike was lost in a flood of 100cc puny motorcycles which our janta prefered over the mighty rd.
Some features on the rd which were first in india were, 12v dc electricals with 5mah battery, adjustable rear shockers, engine kill switch, reed valve and oil pump equipped engine etc.
Even today, a well preserved rd is one of the most fun machines one can ride due to its brisk acceleration and good handling. For people coming from pulsars and other single cylinder bikes it is an eye opener as to what a performance bike should be like. A stock ht (31.5bhp) rd is a very capable highway machine while the stock lt(27bhp) is almost unbeatable in cities.
Next post will detail how my obssesion with the rd began.
![Name: uploadfromtaptalk1396937288453.jpg
Views: 0
Size: 38.7 KB]()
![Name: uploadfromtaptalk1396937324603.jpg
Views: 0
Size: 28.2 KB]()
Sent from my GT-I9001 using Tapatalk 2
Since many younger members are unaware of the bike's history, I am giving a brief one.
The rd was a line of aircooled and later water/liquid cooled motorcycles produced internationally by yamaha. Barring a few models all were parallal twins. The capacity ranged from 125cc single to 500cc v4. The original rd350 was a revolutionary bike, not because it was the quickest and fastest, it was the grand daddy of affordable superbiking. A bike that combined usable power, quick acceleration, great handling and did not burn a hole in the pocket as other bigger bikes of its time like the kawasaki z1000, which cost almost twice the price of an rd. Technically it was a very advanced 2-stroke for its time as it featured reed valve induced 7 port lay out fed by twin carburetors, oil pump for precise lubrication, 6 speed gearbox and front disc brake.
In the early 1980s, the 1972 aircooled rd350b was brought to india by escorts motors in collaberation with yamaha and sold under the brand "rajdoot" as rajdoot 350. It had a few changes from the abroad models. The front disc was replaced with twin leading drum from the rd250. The meter console was changed to a cheaper one. A bigger tank was put in. Footpegs were taken from the rd400. The biggest change was the exhaust port was restricted to reduce the power output from 39bhp to 31.5bhp. Later it was further reduced to 27bhp in the interest of mileage. The bike didnot do very well at the time due to an identity crisis as it was badged as a rajdoot. People confused a genuine sbk to a commuter. Low gas mileage and limited availability of spares and good technicians spelled doom for the bike. Later the bike was lost in a flood of 100cc puny motorcycles which our janta prefered over the mighty rd.
Some features on the rd which were first in india were, 12v dc electricals with 5mah battery, adjustable rear shockers, engine kill switch, reed valve and oil pump equipped engine etc.
Even today, a well preserved rd is one of the most fun machines one can ride due to its brisk acceleration and good handling. For people coming from pulsars and other single cylinder bikes it is an eye opener as to what a performance bike should be like. A stock ht (31.5bhp) rd is a very capable highway machine while the stock lt(27bhp) is almost unbeatable in cities.
Next post will detail how my obssesion with the rd began.
Sent from my GT-I9001 using Tapatalk 2