Operation: RZ350N REVIVAL - Florida 1985 48H Project

[TwoStrokeNut]

Service C25 – Trial fit of OEM luggage rack...

I bought this OEM luggage rack roughly 18 years ago when I was riding the bike pretty regularly. I like having a means to haul a little pack with me besides having a backpack hanging on me, that’s exactly what I planned to do with it. But by the time I finally found one at a price I could afford (yep, they were expensive back then already), I purchased my first Triumph Tiger and it came with 3 large Givi cases. The Tiger got ridden more and more for serious touring, and the little RZ , sadly, starting collecting more and more dust.

So I never got around to even mounting the rack on the bike to see what it looked like. But there is no time like the present with my increased enthusiasm in this bike. I had an hour to kill, so it was picture time!! Yamaha part number is 29L-W0736-00

It mounts with the same screws as the standard grab handle, so nothing else was needed. Just a word of caution… my stripping was painted on by the previous owner, so be careful about using it as a reference point on your bike.

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One thing this little exercise showed me was that my YAMAHA logo was crooked on the tail. (Or maybe the rack was crooked… HOPE NOT!)

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Here are some additional pictures outside, a bit further away.

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So there you are… the rack mounted on the bike. It was interesting to see it for the first time.

C25 Total Cost: US$0.00 (Just for fun)

[kpke]

Thanks for sharing those nice rack photos

I really like those things. Such a rare unobtanium part.

Regarding the Yamaha sticker, once you get all your camping gear strapped on there no one will see it, right?

[TwoStrokeNut]

Thanks for sharing those nice rack photos

I really like those things. Such a rare unobtanium part.

Regarding the Yamaha sticker, once you get all your camping gear strapped on there no one will see it, right?

Rack photos... too funny. I'm sure there are a lot of disappointed fellows after actually seeing what I posted.

Yes, the perfect bike for camping... let it run for a few minutes with partial choke on and your mosquito problem disappears!!!

The rack has since gone back in the box and is safely tucked away again. But now I have pictures to look at anytime I want to refresh my memory!

[Whymee]

Never thought I would say this to a dude:

Great rack! Too bad you are not displaying that "rack" with pride!

[kobra]

Agreed. Really nice rack. Not too big or too small.

[TwoStrokeNut]

I should have known a quick flash of a rack would elicit a response from this crowd. And in a different way that I ever would have imagined. Thanks for the laughs guys!

[TwoStrokeNut]

Service E07 – Install side stand switch boot...

Just a little detail and equally a quick job too (doesn’t always work out that way!). For some reason, this side stand switch didn’t have a dust boot.

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So I searched my pile of spare parts and found a suitable donor. Also needed was 2 E-clips to hold it in place.

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And here is the boot in action:

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And if you noticed my peg is a bit bent… MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!!! (LOL)

E07 Total Cost: US$0.00 (Just time, very little)

[TwoStrokeNut]

I haven’t been posting much here lately...

But that doesn’t mean I haven’t kept myself busy during the COVID-19 thing. I do have a couple more things to report on regarding the RZ350, namely solo tail and collecting parts for a top end refresh, but that hasn’t been my main focus lately.

My wife was ready to move up to something bigger to learn on so the 1983 XT200 was spruced up and sold. I was amazed at the number of interested buyers for that thing. Had I known, I might have asked a bit more for it. But it was gone in two days for my asking price and I’m happy enough with that.

As purchased:





As sold:





Next came the marine project, a Hunter H240 sailboat.

Where it sat for the last 20 years:





A quick pressure washing did wonders:





A lot of work is needed here yet including a trailer refresh, bottom paint, and some work in the interior. It actually held up fairly well for being out in the elements for so long. The plan is to sell it and buy a later model BMW R1200GS. That’s a little ways off yet, however.

Lastly is something I wanted to do since I bought it 8 years ago… Repaint my little man lift to match the shop colors (and coincidentally, the RZ350).

It always worked great, but it was an eyesore. I guess that is why I picked it up for a song. But I know it has good bones so it’s worth the effort.





First the basket came off because it was going to be a different color. I used every bit of height on the jib to get it off.



I rolled the frame and lift mast outside to clean off the rust, getting it ready for prime and black paint.





Parts were all painted after the first few days of effort and set aside to dry for a couple weeks



At this point it’s not quite done, but at least it’s going up and down again. Outriggers need to be installed before it will be fully functional again.



I also have sold nearly everything on Ebay that had been piling up over the last 10 years. My poor mail carrier deserves a great tip this year for all those packages shipping out. I found out there are still plenty of buyers on Ebay!!!

[TwoStrokeNut]

Service C04 - Add pinstripe to Solo Tail...

It had been a long time since the solo tail was mounted (maybe 2001?), so I was curious how it went on and how it attached. I probably knew what brand it was at one time, but I can't remember that far back. So speak up if you can offer any information.

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The side striping on it matches the rest of the custom painted-on striping on the front of the bike and it doesn’t look too bad on there. But I have a number of things I don’t like about it.

First of all, the seat/helmet lock is covered up. Knowing the tail has to come off before the seat can, the seat lock aspect is null. But access to the helmet lock would have been nice. I could add a hole for the key to pass, but I don’t want to risk messing up the paint at this point.

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Poor fit-up around tail light. As one of my little sideline projects, I plan to carefully trim this out to follow the contour better and also add extra clearance for some rubber trim.

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I believe the tail was sitting level but the gap above the seat makes it look crooked. There could be a number of reasons for this, including a crooked seat. My ultimate solution here would not be to fix it, but simply cover it up with a pad like OEM. I think it would look so much better with a pad on it so I’m on the hunt for something that will work. I have seen a bunch of foam pad material on ebay that looks promising. My RZ500 needs the same type of pad.

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My BIGGEST peeve with this tail, however, is the fact that it damages the seat. I will keep my old seat in the exact condition it is now (bad shape) because it is already damaged, so no loss if I want to toss the solo tail on.

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C04 Total Cost: US$0.00 (Just exploring)

[JonW]

Loving the work, especially on the XT and the lift! You really havent been idle at all!

That solo tail is a new one on me.

[TwoStrokeNut]

Loving the work, especially on the XT and the lift! You really havent been idle at all!

That solo tail is a new one on me.

I've been so busy on other stuff that I've been neglecting this thread.

Thanks Jon! The RZ350 and Triumph Tiger recently received some TLC, so lots to report here on the 350.

But first, a post I forgot to insert back while I was on the subject of solo tails...

[TwoStrokeNut]

Service C04 - Add pinstripe to Solo Tail...

After a preliminary look at the solo tail in the last post, let’s take a look at that top striping.

But first, can you spot the flaw in the side striping?

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I’m not really sure what someone what thinking when the top stripe was painted, but obviously it wasn’t finished.

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I could just simply add the missing pinstripes, which certainly helps to make it look more finished.

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But I sort of like the idea of making it match the width of the stripe on the top of the tank.

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So now I’m at that decision point where I can either spend 10 minutes on it to make it look a little better (and finished) or spend a whole lot more time painting two separate colors to widen the stripe, making it exactly as I want it. Since the solo tail will hardly ever be on the bike (especially now that I have a freshly re-covered spare seat), the 10 minute solution seems to make the most sense.

But you know I’ll have to give it a few weeks to think about it. LOL

C04 Total Cost: US$0.00 (Still exploring, but that’s cheap!!)

[JonW]

Haha, this is the sort of conundrum that I deal with daily. A few weeks thought in that for sure! :)

[TwoStrokeNut]

Haha, this is the sort of conundrum that I deal with daily. A few weeks thought in that for sure! :)

Yeah, it will be a while before I figure that one out! Haha.

[TwoStrokeNut]

Service M34 - Install new piston rings...

When I had the engine apart after the storage period (actually, my negligence) had ruined the crankshaft, I discovered the piston ring end gaps to be outside specification. I did not have new sets of rings readily available to go back in the bike so I assembled it with the old ones, mainly to see if the new (used) crank along with all the other bits, were going to be fine. I knew someday in the near future, however, I would be going back in to replace the rings. I also knew it was something that could easily be done with the engine in the frame.

The first step was draining the tank because it was being removed and because I was planning to run premix for a short period while the AutoLube was re-primed.

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I used my auxiliary 3-way valve to drain it.

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After some bodywork removal, it was ready for surgery.

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The carbs came off and extension hoses were added to the removed oil lines in case they bled out a little (keeping them above the oil tank level). It turned out they did not bleed at all, the level remained exactly where it was for 3 days.

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Before I knew it, the cylinders were off. These engines really are quite simple.

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Pistons still looked good.

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I splurged and bought a new OEM head gasket (even though the one reused OEM sealed okay last time). Vesrah base gaskets were replaced with OEM just because they are cheap. I think they could have easily been successfully reused, however.

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Here is a close-up of one ring set.

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New rings brought the ring gap within spec, but just barely.

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And here’s a closer look at the rings, installed on the pistons.

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The rest of the re-assembly was straight forward.
Everything seemed fine, but I wasn’t quite ready to fill the engine with fluids and crank it back up. First, there was some testing to do, and then it was time to address the clutch and carb jets.

M34 Total Cost: US$124.69 (Rings, base, and head gaskets)