RZ/RD 350 & Misc. 2-Stroke Tech BBS

Need advise deciding which is the better investment to replace the original yammie ss reeds that replaced the 2 stage Boysens. The stainless steal frankly worked better but using them is road Russian roulette. Went though several pages of TRD vs. Force3 advise provided starting back in 2015. Note the LC reed cages need to be dremelled to fit the the Force3 (F4's petals are brittle or thinner) where the #34 .02. TDR carbon fibre reeds only require locktite. Kinda hedging towards the TDR's at $140 US a pair plus shipping/duties. Do both improve mid-range power gain equally? I sence this question might be right up there with 'whats the best oil?' - hopefully not.

How about these from yambits, much cheaper...

https://yambits.co.uk/rd350lc-reed-valv ... 38953.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

says they are made in usa... might even be TDRs? Ask Tony perhaps, hes on here...

"Ht-tech racing reeds are made in the U.S.A. from special heavy duty fibre. They have been tested in independent magazine evaluations and have shown to give increased horsepower through most of the rev-range on popular two stroke bikes"

I think you will quickly get into the realm of qualified versus quantified opinions on reeds. Other than skipping the Boysen I think you are looking at seriously small margins of gains between the 2 options. Go for what won't disintegrate and cost the least. Just my thoughts.

I used TDRs petals and was very happy.
need to get another set for my hybrid.

Last summer I tried swapping out reeds to see the difference. The bike came with some unknown fiberglass reeds that worked decent but were worn out (didn't seat properly).

I had a couple spare engines.
One had Boyesen dual stage reeds and the other had oem steel. First I tried the Boyesen as I figured they would be an improvement. I had good results with them on my dirtbike and sleds over the years. What I noticed was the low end response was better but from mid to high rpm was totally flat. That's when I did some reading online and found out they didn't work so well in these bikes. Next I tried the oem steel ones and they worked pretty good. I had to flip them over as they were warped a bit and didn't seat properly. The power was good from down low to high rpm. My only concern with the steel ones was that they might break since I had flipped them over.

I ended up contacting Tony from TDR and ordered a set of his fiberglass reeds. They cost $40 US plus $4 shipping. They come with this spacer you put between the reed stopper that is supposed to change the angle they open. All I can say is they are worth the $40. The bike has good power from down low and I really noticed a 'pull' in the mid range. Compared to the Boyesen its like night and day better with the TDR. It was a close comparison with the steel reeds, but I think the TDR ones worked better overall. Plus you don't have to worry about them breaking.

The greatest improvement or change with reeds, is throttle response. Flutter is not desired, and like oil, 10 different opinions from 10 people. Make sure what ever you choose, retain the reed stops. If they are not there, order them.

I'm quite partial to making my own out of carbon sheet and testing different thickness for race bikes.

One my old RZ back in the 90s I tried some Sudco reeds and some boysens on the dyno back to back with the std steel reeds. Begrudgingly the steel reeds went back in.

I ran a Frankenstein 100ccc racer with an RZ reedblock welded on. It revved through to 12000. Again I tried several reeds and went back to steel. Since then simulation programs can predict thickness for a cylinder at revs, block area, angle. It just happened steel worked best of what I happened to have.

They did tend to brinnel the edges do I'd swap them out every couple of years, and once broke, no damage. But the were waaay exceeding the revs they were designed for. Many yamahas do mega miles with no breakages and I'd save your money for a stator rewind or connector refresh.

Bizarre my post disappeared :/

It was longer than this but I was asking if TDR does LC reeds as most of the time we are looking for RZ/Banshee? And if so are they 140 or 40 USD as the prices quoted here are quite different... and is that 2 or 4 petals?

https://shop.bansheedepot.com/Yamaha-RD ... eds-34.htm

Looks like fiberglass are 40$ and carbon are 70$ if you buy them thru his website.

JonW wrote:Bizarre my post disappeared :/

It was longer than this but I was asking if TDR does LC reeds as most of the time we are looking for RZ/Banshee?

RD350 , RD400 , RD350LC and RZ500 used the same reed block .RZ350 are different .

2smoke wrote:https://shop.bansheedepot.com/Yamaha-RD ... eds-34.htm

Looks like fiberglass are 40$ and carbon are 70$ if you buy them thru his website.

Ahh I see now... $40 for one set of GRP, $140 for a bike set of carbon... wow that escalated quickly. :/

Contacted Tony and this was his reply:

Hi Scott, For street riding and slightly better low to mid power I suggest the 2 petal version of the fiber reed. The single petal reed is more stable for sure and gives better mid to top response. The carbon fiber is much harder and stiffer than the fiber material so we have to use a thinner material to get the tension where it needs to be. That thinner more brittle material fails quicker and cost more. All the different versions are here on ebay.
tony

Thought of buying new steel ones (purist action) but just rebuilt the motor and aware that fatiqued steel petals do damage if they enter the combustion chamber. Note TDR reeds on this form and other threads since 2010. Decided to go with the one piece since there is little action below 5000 rpm on a 4L0. Will consider VForce 3 option on a hybrid project time permitting. Looking fwd to trying the singles out!

Ok ...but for sure there will definitely be little action at 5k with the High rev /stiffer reeds.
Flgass or steels for midrange optimizations and Stiff reeds for High rpms. What rpms do you You normally ride with ?
Likely Why some find joy with those goofy trap door boysens.. they give low end rpm results

5500 rpms + apart fm starting. Lotta mountain roads.

On a bike with little low down, if you add parts that only work up top you will likely get even less low down as the parts you have are whats giving you what little you have now.