Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

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TommyPettersen
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 6:35 pm
Location: Norway

Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

#1 Post by TommyPettersen » Sat Jan 23, 2016 5:32 pm

Hi everybody.

I have been wanting to write on this forum for years and now i feel it is finally time.
The build has already years in it, buying a bike/project, collecting parts, trying to fit them together..
Now it is not so much left, so i feel pretty confident that it will be finished and looking well.
So if i start my writing from the start of the build, i should be done by the time i get to posting where i am today.
Hope that made sense..As i am a Norwegian, english is not my mother tongue..So read on..it might be funny in more than one way!

I have built some bikes in the past. Mainly italian ones as i worked at a Ducati dealership in the past. But as an employee i mainly built what the boss told me to build, or what the customer said.. At least here i am calling all the shots myself.

Now to the bike. I bought a 1986 RD 350 YPVS F1 back in 2011. it was already dismantled..A pile of parts..Or a pallet of parts if you will.
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That the bike were like that, was really not a bad thing.. Very few parts were actually reused. Being where i am today i can say that only most of the frame + engine were reused. All other stuff are either sold off or given away.

The naked frame:
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So..What type of i bike do i really want to build??
My plan has changed a little over the years..In the beginning i did not want to build something that meant cutting or modifying the frame..
Well... i got over that. I do want a fairly modern looking bike. Newer fork with radial mount calipers, modern looking fuel tank..fancy pipes...etc ets...

We all have preferences when it comes to what we think look good, works good etc. In my build i have tried to put together parts from the bikes i think look cool. Then trying to make them fit together in a unique way. It is a lot of thinking.. I can often sit a whole evening, in my living room, dim lights, no tv on, just staring out in the air thinking about some detail or a way of building it.

I am going to take short cuts. I am not as much of a perfectionist as some of the others i have read about in here..Some of the parts i have are from late model bikes, 2009-newer. I am not going to do much finish work on those parts. I am not patient enough for that.. I will use some titanium fasteners....But not every bolt...To expensive too...

Anyways,
I will post some more stuff in a few days..

Tom

oldracer
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Re: Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

#2 Post by oldracer » Sat Jan 23, 2016 11:27 pm

Welcome on board Tom. Good luck with the project. Your command of The English language is great, better than mine and I was born there and lived there for 30+ years.
Dave.

hondaror
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Re: Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

#3 Post by hondaror » Sun Jan 24, 2016 1:54 am

Welcome Tom. Great choice for a bike to build.
Rory
2 1984 RZ350s
1985 RZ350
9 1986-1990 RZ350s
2000 ST2
2005 749
2005 749 with 999 engine

dinamos
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Location: Burlington, ON, CA

Re: Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

#4 Post by dinamos » Sun Jan 24, 2016 2:14 am

Hmmm. Ducati mechanic, in Denmark, resurrecting an '86 RZ.

You got my attention. : )

roger

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two-stroke-brit
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Re: Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

#5 Post by two-stroke-brit » Sun Jan 24, 2016 2:33 pm

i loved the "pile of RZ" picture.
welcome
350LC,Athena 392 big bore,stock porting,swiss cheese air box,stock reeds,spec11 pipes.(now TSA big bore pipes)
She might not be pretty but she will always be a fun ride


1982 YAMA RD350LC
98KDX 220R
1967 TRIUMPH TIGER
2001 TRIUMPH TT600

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TommyPettersen
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Location: Norway

Re: Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

#6 Post by TommyPettersen » Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:27 pm

Here is a list of the components i plan to use for my bulid:

Gsxr 600 K9 2009 front fork. I bought this back in 2013 and it has been sitting until now. At that time i also wanted to use the front wheel of an K6-K7 gsxr as well, since they have 3 straight spokes (although very thin) which will go well with just about any straight 3 spoke wheel. Back then they were really expensive so i decided to go for a Kawasaki zx6r front wheel instead. Much cheaper and will match perfectly the zxr 400 rear wheel..BUT, to find the right style disc`s to go from Kawasaki wheel onto the Suzuki calipers were not easy...
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The fuel tank is a Suzuki RGV 250 VJ22. I have seen these on RD`s before and they can be made to fit real nice. I found this locally here in Norway. No rust and not a single ding on it..
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For rear swing arm i have chosen the Kawasaki ZXR400H (1989 only) swing arm. It is a really nice braced one. I have seen some UK bikes fitted with this and it looks very good. I am using the rear wheel, brakes etc from that bike as well..
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TommyPettersen
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Location: Norway

Re: Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

#7 Post by TommyPettersen » Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:41 pm

The tail section will come from a Gsxr 600/750 K6-K7. I will try to use the seat and the side covers too. I haven't seen anyone else fit this to an RD before so it will be interesting to see how it turns out..
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Up front i will use the Yamaha MT-03 headlight that everybody else uses.. I will try make some custom brackets myself though..
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After seeing the crossing pipes from K2-Tec, i just had to have them so i got a set waiting to be mounted.
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nzminis
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Re: Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

#8 Post by nzminis » Tue Jan 26, 2016 1:56 am

Nice , did you get the stainless ones or mild steel ?

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TommyPettersen
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Location: Norway

Re: Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

#9 Post by TommyPettersen » Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:28 am

I got the stainless ones, mirror finish (most expensive). When i first got them we tested them on a friends bike as mine were still years from finish. First thing he noticed were that the rpm needle went all the way to the end..))
They are truly very nice pipes, works of art really..

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kpke
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Re: Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

#10 Post by kpke » Tue Jan 26, 2016 11:37 am

Tommy, this will be an interesting build.

You have picked some very nice parts to work with. :smt023

Those pipes :smt049

Keep us updated please. :smt045

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Yellow and Black RZ
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Re: Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

#11 Post by Yellow and Black RZ » Tue Jan 26, 2016 4:09 pm

Wow. This should be interesting!

More progress pics, please!
'85 RRZ350 - Hacked.

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TommyPettersen
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Re: Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

#12 Post by TommyPettersen » Tue Jan 26, 2016 4:38 pm

Let's see what is needed to mount the Gsxr 600 K9 fork onto the Rd.
When i bought the fork all washers, nuts and seals came with it. I was hoping to use as much of these parts as possible.
First thing that is needed is bearings. The Gsxr stem is 30mm.
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The Rd steering head outer diameter is 48mm. I found a roller bearing from NTN: 30-48-13.
That will do well.
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The top bearing will stick out, as it is 13mm high, and the bearing groove is only about 9mm. A steel ring will be added and welded in place. The ring i made measures: 48-54,5-9
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TommyPettersen
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Re: Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

#13 Post by TommyPettersen » Tue Jan 26, 2016 5:04 pm

ok, so far so good. After doing some measurements, i found out that some spacers or washers if you will, were needed together with the oem Gsxr ones.
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Listed from bottom to top

1. Oem gsxr dust seal/lip.
2. Custom made laser cut stainless steel washer: 49-30-6 mm.
3. Lower bearing.
4. Upper bearing.
5. Custom washer 45-30-4 mm.
6. Head bearing cover, also stainless steel.
7. Oem gsxr aluminum nut.
8. Oem gsxr washer.
9. Oem gsxr aluminum nut.
10: Oem gsxr aluminum nut. (mounts after triple clamp)

With these spacers i have about 2mm clearance between the handlebar and triple tree stem. My risers are very short so i needed take that in consideration.
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This picture shows how nice the gsxr lower dust lip fits the Rd steering head:
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oktrg500
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Re: Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

#14 Post by oktrg500 » Thu Jan 28, 2016 7:35 pm

Nice! Subscribed from Norway :-)

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TommyPettersen
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Re: Norwegian RD 350 YPVS hybrid build.

#15 Post by TommyPettersen » Mon Feb 01, 2016 5:40 am

Next step:

Fitting the kawasaki zx6r front wheel to the Gsxr front fork.

The Suzuki use a 25mm axle. I first needed find a bearing that fits both the axle and wheel. The bearings that sat in the Kawasaki wheel were far to small. I found that a 6905 bearing would work. I begun making some measurements on which bushings i needed make to center the wheel and the spacer that keeps the bearing apart. That last spacer were easy as i could use a hydraulic pipe as it had the dimensions 28 outer and 25 inner diameter. I cut it on 90mm exact and bearings fit now snugly behind the clips.
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To measure out the bushings for centering the wheel was more complicated. But after some trial and error i ended up on:
Left side: 25-32-14
Right side: 25-32-22

I made them from stainless and settled on 32mm outer dia as it was easy to find seals in that size.
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The most critical thing about a mix of parts like this is to find brake disc`s that will join this kawa-zuki thing. I was hoping not to do any machine work, or shim the disc`s for that matter. The diameter has to be right as well since the Radial mount calipers aren't easy to move around. In the end i found out that Kawasaki zzr 1100 has the correct inner diameter to mount on the wheels. They also has the 310mm diameter, same as the Gsxr. But more amazing was that the offset of these disc`s were absolutely dead centered in the calipers. So i will leave it at that. The disc`s i bought are from arashi and looks good to me. I bought some titanium disc bolts for the fun of it.. I will be using the standard size front wheel for a gsxr: 120/70/17 and the stock gsxr front fender..
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