New RZ350

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valhalla850i
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New RZ350

#1 Post by valhalla850i » Tue Jul 04, 2023 2:10 am

IMG_6178 Medium.jpeg
IMG_6178 Medium.jpeg (129.15 KiB) Viewed 883 times
She hasn’t run in a few years so a resurrection project is starting.

Darrell
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Re: New RZ350

#2 Post by Darrell » Wed Jul 05, 2023 10:31 am

That looks like a GREAT starting point for your resurrection project. Keep us posted with pics and updates.
89 Canadian Spec RD-350
2013 BMW R1200RT
2007 Harley XL1200C Sportster
2008 Ducati 1098R
2015 Gas Gas 300 Trials bike
1972 Turbo-Charged 240Z
Zastava Black Arrow .50 BMG

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Evans Ward
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Re: New RZ350

#3 Post by Evans Ward » Wed Jul 05, 2023 12:28 pm

Very nice and I like what I’m seeing! Where are you located?
84 RZ350-Toomeys,SCR milled head, stk 26 carbs,300 M, 35 P, stock regrooved needles AS 2.5 turns out,stk air box,Banshee reeds Zeel non-progr CDI,TSRL Program YPVS,alum rad,R6 shock,GV emulators w/RT springs,fork brace,Shindy steering damper.

valhalla850i
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Jun 30, 2023 4:05 pm

Re: New RZ350

#4 Post by valhalla850i » Fri Jul 07, 2023 2:58 am

@Darrel thanx and I will post as I go through it.

@Evans Ward I am NW of Denver, near Boulder CO. I see you have posted quite a bit here. How long have you had your RZ or RZs? Any initial thoughts? I have only had one street bike previously a GS750 Suzuki, but a neighbor had one of these and I was totally jealous. I've had a lot more experience with dirt bike 2 strokes racing MX but this seems more intimidating:) I just saw this one pop up at what I thought was a reasonable price and decided to go for it. Hoping nothing major is wrong with it... but I know that doesn't always pan out ...

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Evans Ward
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Re: New RZ350

#5 Post by Evans Ward » Fri Jul 07, 2023 9:37 am

I’ve had my RZ350 for about 17 years and always wanted one when they first came out but the timing wasn’t right for me back in 84-5 for me to get one then. I’ve ridden motorcycles for over 50 years (64 yrs of age at present) having owned more than 30 motorcycles both on and off road, 2 and 4 stroke. Having come to the conclusion about 8 years ago that my personal love in motorcycling is towards vintage 2 stroke street bikes so only 2 strokes for me with that number at the 3 I always wanted. With that being said, the RZ350 is by far the most “funnest” motorcycle I’ve ever owned! Can they be improved upon… yes, most certainly! You may want to consider both handling and braking upgrades as a start. Suspension: if keeping the stock forks, linear springs and fork oil tailored to your weight with gold valve emulators and a rebuild of the fork internals is about as good as it gets. There are also other different front suspension upgrades from donor bikes if you’d like. I like stock appearing myself. The stock monoshock is about useless for most so many go with the older R6 unit (found perfect for me), a rebuilt Fox shock with remote resorvoir, a YSS monoshock, or others. A good friend of mine has a new YSS unit on his RZ350 and it is nice I can say after a test ride! Really affordable too.. Braking upgrades concern mainly the front stopping power so most rebuild the rear unit. For the front, there are bolt on Triumph units (do a search) OR you can use the R1/R6 calipers with stock rotors (requires adapter brackets) OR better yet the R1/R6 calipers with R1 larger rotors (adaptor brackets needed). The R1/R6 calipers are generally the blue spot/blue dot (steel brake pistons) and the gold spot/gold dot (aluminum brake pistons). With a different more modern correctly sized master cylinder, this upgrade will allow 1-2 finger braking with a marked improvement over stock. I sell rebuilt and refurbished R1/R6 blue and gold spot calipers if needed. Many other areas too for improvement too but too much to type! Again, do a search here and spend hours reading unless you are a purist (few here BTW) for those areas. Given your history with 2 stroke off road bikes, I think that is an advantage for you in understanding RZ350 engine functions. Don’t forget too that many of the upgrades offered for the Banshee 350 quad 4 wheeler (in factory production here in the states until 2006) may also be of benefit to our bikes. Anyway… welcome and I’m sure others here with a deeper knowledge base than I will also point you in areas of strong recommendation and improvement.
84 RZ350-Toomeys,SCR milled head, stk 26 carbs,300 M, 35 P, stock regrooved needles AS 2.5 turns out,stk air box,Banshee reeds Zeel non-progr CDI,TSRL Program YPVS,alum rad,R6 shock,GV emulators w/RT springs,fork brace,Shindy steering damper.

(F5)
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Re: New RZ350

#6 Post by (F5) » Sat Jul 08, 2023 5:49 am

The Triumph calipers need to meet mr linisher for 20 seconds and tssit of black spray. I was well pleased to pick some up. Until I realised, rather daftly that my Yamaha has RGV forks so dont fit. Doh. Must sell them. But freight won't be cheap from this part of the world.
496 Cheetah. TSS PVs, PWK35s, Ignitech, RGV(ish) chassis

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kpke
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Re: New RZ350

#7 Post by kpke » Sat Jul 08, 2023 10:25 am

Looks like a beautiful RZ350. Evans had some great comments/suggestions. If you have a few moments you will find a lot of RZ rebuild, restoration, and upgrade videos on my YT channel. 86 episodes on a recent resto mod including fork emulators, YSS shock, engine rebuild and mods, etc. https://www.youtube.com/c/KensGarage1

valhalla850i
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Re: New RZ350

#8 Post by valhalla850i » Sun Jul 09, 2023 3:58 am

Thanx Evans and Ken. I was already subscribed to your YouTube channel Ken :) Definitely will want to work on the suspension a bit. However this weekend I'll be draining the oil, I think it was stored with the petcock in the prime (pri) position. As I understand it that means fuel likely is in the engine cases mixed with the oil... I want to get that out first. I googled recommendations on transmission oils (Yamaha recommends regular engine oil 10-30 but have read a bit on the subject and it seems all over the place regarding recommendations.

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kpke
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Re: New RZ350

#9 Post by kpke » Sun Jul 09, 2023 9:35 am

Use motorcycle gear oil not automotive engine oil or you will contaminate the clutch plates and they will require replacement. :smt023

valhalla850i
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Re: New RZ350

#10 Post by valhalla850i » Tue Jul 11, 2023 1:47 am

kpke wrote: Sun Jul 09, 2023 9:35 am Use motorcycle gear oil not automotive engine oil or you will contaminate the clutch plates and they will require replacement. :smt023
Makes more sense! Thank you Ken.

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