Author Topic: Picked up a RD 350 (Read 11120 times)

Hunter 1 · « **on:** February 20, 2014, 06:09:26 PM »

I found this RD 350 the other day

. It doesn`t need much it`s pretty clean and a blast to ride, when it comes on the pipe the fun factor goes waaay up

.

Stev-o · « **Reply #1 on:** February 20, 2014, 06:26:35 PM »

Congrats. Looks great, makes me want to ride mine!

The master cyl angle looks off?

Hunter 1 · « **Reply #2 on:** February 20, 2014, 06:29:42 PM »

I`ll check the mc,brake works fine.

fendersrule · « **Reply #3 on:** February 20, 2014, 08:47:46 PM »

What's the physical size of this bike compatible to?

MoMo · « **Reply #4 on:** February 21, 2014, 04:03:39 AM »

Quote from: fendersrule on February 20, 2014, 08:47:46 PM

What's the physical size of this bike compatible to?

comparable to a CB350 but lighter...Larry

Sami1987 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 21, 2014, 04:39:31 AM »

Sweet wheelie machine!!

becken · « **Reply #6 on:** February 21, 2014, 05:27:03 AM »

That's a 1975 RD350B. I bought mine new in December, 1974. The handlebars may have been replaced with higher ones causing the angle to be not level. This shouldn't be a problem if it was bled properly and the master cylinder is full. I road raced mine back in the 70s with clubman bars turned way down causing the master cylinder to be pointed up at a pretty good angle and never had a problem with brakes. Check out http://www.2strokeworld.com/forum/index.php for everything you want to know about RDs.

LesterPiglet · « **Reply #7 on:** February 21, 2014, 05:36:11 AM »

Nice bike but I've no idea how you guys ride bikes with bars like that. It's meant to be a sports bike.

Stev-o · « **Reply #8 on:** February 21, 2014, 05:42:31 AM »

I think Becken is right, it has aftermarket bars.

Here's mine in comparison...

Can wait to race you, Hunter!

Hunter 1 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 21, 2014, 05:54:25 AM »

It may have aftermarket bars, they look higher than Steve`s, I`ll ride it down to your place Steve we can terrorize the twistys

.

Stev-o · « **Reply #10 on:** February 21, 2014, 06:26:08 AM »

Quote from: Hunter 1 on February 21, 2014, 05:54:25 AM

It may have aftermarket bars, they look higher than Steve`s, I`ll ride it down to your place Steve we can terrorize the twistys .

That would be fun! Great roads 'round here.
And my buddy has an RZ350 in immaculate cond, I've been harping on him to get it on the road (needs tires and brakes bled)

oldbob · « **Reply #11 on:** February 21, 2014, 07:53:57 AM »

I'm jealous. I remember how much fun I had on RDs, and those two (1975, 1973) look great. Congratulations!

Bob

tbpmusic · « **Reply #12 on:** February 21, 2014, 07:57:46 AM »

Awesome bikes, fast, light, and nimble.
A little "peaky" with the power curve, but not as extreme as the Kaw triples.
They were the terror of the 450 guys back in The Day, we avoided them unless we had an edge (like altitude changes, or bigger balls).
Their little brothers, the 250's were pretty cool too.
If you can live with a 2-stroke they're good choices.....

fendersrule · « **Reply #13 on:** February 21, 2014, 09:24:21 AM »

Quote from: MoMo on February 21, 2014, 04:03:39 AM

Quote from: fendersrule on February 20, 2014, 08:47:46 PM
What's the physical size of this bike compatible to?

comparable to a CB350 but lighter...Larry

Good to know. So I'd probably look funny on one. Maybe I should sit on a RD400 to compare?

LesterPiglet · « **Reply #14 on:** February 21, 2014, 09:43:03 AM »

400, 350 and 250 are roughly the same.

fendersrule · « **Reply #15 on:** February 21, 2014, 09:56:09 AM »

Also good to know. I've always been open to an RD, but I may need to confirm the physical size before getting too excited.

I've been told I look "fine" on my SL350, but that's a whole different bike. As far as a "street" bike style, the CB450 to me is a like a small one-seater sports car and I wouldn't want to go any smaller. On the CB450, my ass is mostly to the rear of the seat.

Bill, not that it means much compared to your experience, but research online shows that the RD350 vs a CB450 would be a good race, not showing a "clear" winner. That speaks a lot about the power of both bikes, IMO.

Roach Carver · « **Reply #16 on:** February 21, 2014, 10:41:55 AM »

martin99 · « **Reply #17 on:** February 21, 2014, 01:18:50 PM »

My mate had one of those back in the day. It had no problem keeping up with the like of our CB and GS 750s. Could leave us for dead in the bends. Agree about the bars though, need to be much lower to really appreciate it. Nice find.

FuZZie · « **Reply #18 on:** February 21, 2014, 02:11:59 PM »

Very nice!

ken65 · « **Reply #19 on:** February 21, 2014, 05:26:14 PM »

beautiful bike/bikes, i love rd threads and will shamelessly post a pic of mine. i want a red air cooled 350 to go with my water cooled elcy...

tbpmusic · « **Reply #20 on:** February 22, 2014, 05:58:00 AM »

Quote from: fendersrule on February 21, 2014, 09:56:09 AM

Bill, not that it means much compared to your experience, but research online shows that the RD350 vs a CB450 would be a good race, not showing a "clear" winner. That speaks a lot about the power of both bikes, IMO.

Don't know anything about what's written on line - based on experience, they're 450 killers, trust me. My 450's were very fast back then, also had Ceriani road race forks, Koni rears, the whole wad. Those RD's were always a tough match if you couldn't lure them into an altitude change - once that happened, the RD's fell prey to the normal 2-stroke plug-fouling routine. (This was in the Colorado mountain area).
They were too light and handled too well to take them in the corners, even with my tweaked suspension, and every bit as quick as a 450. They couldn't quite match up the top end, but you don't spend a lot of time WFO unless you're at Daytona or something.

Stev-o · « **Reply #21 on:** February 22, 2014, 06:19:04 AM »

I consider the RD a "toy" bike, it's small and light and not suited for the highway, IMO.
It certainly has the speed for the highway but passing a large truck's air wake will certainly be felt.
(I like the feel of a solid 500 pounder at speed on the highway).

My RD eats plugs, I've already suggested to Hunter to always have spares. And then there is the unforgettable sound, I love it!

Hunter 1 · « **Reply #22 on:** February 22, 2014, 07:07:44 AM »

Yeh I wouldn`t want to start out cross country on the RD, I`ll use the Road Glide for that. For a bike to hop on and just blast around the country roads the RD is hard to beat, very light and great handling. Steve I have a box of extra plugs, when my dad shut down his boat repair I grabbed a box of 25 B8HS plugs.

tbpmusic · « **Reply #23 on:** February 22, 2014, 07:41:05 AM »

Quote from: Hunter 1 on February 22, 2014, 07:07:44 AM

Yeh I wouldn`t want to start out cross country on the RD, I`ll use the Road Glide for that. For a bike to hop on and just blast around the country roads the RD is hard to beat, very light and great handling. Steve I have a box of extra plugs, when my dad shut down his boat repair I grabbed a box of 25 B8HS plugs.

Yeah, they're not "road bikes" by any means, but lotso' fun to ride in the twisties.

25 plugs should get you 100 miles or so (yuk, yuk)......

Steve-O, we used to pull the baffles out of 2-stroke mufflers, then burn them clean with a torch - it's a disgusting job, but seemed to help overall. I recall the Kawasakis responded well to this, can't quite remember about the RD's.
You think you have problems with fouled plugs, pity the poor H1/H2 guys, they had it worse.

LesterPiglet · « **Reply #24 on:** February 22, 2014, 08:48:41 AM »

I did plenty miles on my S1 and never had a problem with plugs except in torrential rain. More the caps than the plugs though.
Maybe the larger models were different.

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Author Topic: Picked up a RD 350 (Read 11120 times)

fendersrule

oldbob

fendersrule

fendersrule

ken65