RZ350NC2 Resto Mod

[kpke]

11/26/22

Pipes

I bought this stuff to use on the header portions of the expansion chambers due to the pipes being so close to the chin fairing.

SunplusTrade 2" x 50' Black Exhaust Heat Wrap with Stainless Ties
https://amzn.to/3EAjCUA

I was going to install the expansion chambers, heat cycle the engine a few times to cure the paint, remove them, wrap them with the heat tape, then reinstall them. But the effort required to properly seal these old-school expansion chambers is significant. To avoid having to repeat that process I decided that I would attempt to cure the high temperature paint using a heat gun.

This worked quite well although in short order the cover (seen lower left in this photo) on the high end HF heat gun began melting.

And there was some back pressure directing the heat back toward the gun which caused a bit of a melt down and a blowhole on the main plastic portion of the heat gun.

The Drillmaster tool continued to perform though. It worked better without that cover on it. So I continued to heat cycle these pipes four times.

 

[kpke]

11/27/22

I set up a workstation outside to wrap the pipes.

Will the 2 inch fiberglass wrap take this radius?

I began wrapping using the material right out of the package. Some YouTube videos I watched recommended soaking the stuff in water first. It is quite nasty to work with with little fibers flying about all over the place.

I wasn’t thrilled with the results on my first attempt. So I took it off and used the cut length to make a second piece for the other pipe. Then soaked the first piece in water, let it hang to dry for a bit, then went at it again. It seemed to work better when wet. It certainly kept the fiber debris to a minimum. I used plastic tie wraps until I was certain I was happy with the results.

An unusual blonde/ginger bee came for a visit.

Second pipe is now wrapped.

And the finished product with the stainless steel tie wraps.

All done, right?

No. I am waiting for the high temperature silicone spray/black to spray on the fiberglass wrap to keep it from turning white. I ordered 2 cans because the shipping cost was more than the spray. Then 11/29 the vendor emailed me and said he only has one can, do I want just the one? Okay. So now I'm waiting for the magic silicone spray.

 

[kpke]

Sometime after that…

I mentioned previously that I ordered 2 cans of this never heard of stuff from Northern Auto Parts. It was very difficult to find. They ended up shipping only 1 can. Supply chain issues, you know. I ordered 2 cans because the shipping cost was more than 1 can of paint. So this 1 can cost about 22 bucks. I hope it works. Real good.

DEI High Temp Silicone Coating - DEI 010301 High Temp Black Silicone Coating 12oz.

[YOUTUBE]6piVIwUcwPk[/YOUTUBE]

 

[kpke]

12/4/22

How about a break from the expansion chamber story?

Switches

The switches that I heated to bring back the red color and the black turn signal plastics needed the recessed lettering re-whited.

Switch block assembly

Last week I ordered some new fasteners from McMaster Carr. Some of the M3 SS button heads will have to be cut to length and some of the M5x45 SS black pan heads need to be cut down also. M5x35 (2) per left side M5x40 (1) M5x45 (1) per right side.

More on switch block assembly. The black SS 45mm Phillips head fasteners from McMaster Carr work but…WTF Why do they make giant heads on these screws? The heads overlap the casing a bit and depending on tolerances will rub on the paint being screwed in. But I will use them. Only picky anal jerks will notice this. I am glad I am not a picky anal jerk so for sure I didn't notice this.

After assembling the first set of switch blocks. Installed the clutch perch and the front master cylinder on the bike. Installed the switch blocks on the bike. Everything looks quite good.

Installed the Yambits clutch cable, sort of. It was a struggle to get it on due to a length (short) problem. There is 0 free play at the clutch lever. The Yambits cable is a failure and the old Yamaha cable will be installed.


[YOUTUBE]o5lsuLMrMJg[/YOUTUBE]

 

[RC713]

A friend of mine used to use black gas grill spray paint to freshen up his cr250 expansion pipe after any time he had to get a dent out. Looked pretty good and had the temp rating to do the job.

 

[kpke]

12/17/22

Spring Cleaning


[YOUTUBE]q8SKyT91u14[/YOUTUBE]

 

[kpke]

12/17/22

High temperature silicone seal expansion chambers.

First the pipes are fully mounted up with no goop. Then remove the assembled exhaust with exhaust manifolds and springs. Sharpie marks are added so that they can be reassembled in the exact same position after gooping.

I had to do a C section on this tube of high temperature silicone. Where is that BARF thread that talks about how to seal these tubes up so they don’t go bad?

This is one area of assembly where I am not concerned with beauty over function.

The doughnut gaskets were siliconed and stuck onto the cylinders.

More high temperature silicone.

Now the assembled expansion chambers can be carefully installed onto the motorcycle.

Here is the Yambits clutch cable failure. Lay the cables out evenly on the bench.

The cable is the exact same length as the OEM one. They needed to trim the cable jacket a bit more before crimping on the lug. This is a critical dimension. Aggravating.

The Yamaha OEM clutch cable has been reinstalled successfully.




[YOUTUBE]lKBhybbFo28[/YOUTUBE]

 

[kpke]

1/1/23

I bought this in December and did a practice set up and tear down today.

EURMAX 10’X10’ CANOPY

I am hoping to turn this into a paint booth with quick setup and teardown. I will need to figure out some sort of an airflow system. I purchased it with three solid sides and one side has a door and a window. I will order another set of screen sides for camping. Sort of an expensive thing but it’s very heavy-duty.

 

[kpke]

12/23/22

Installing throttle cables. A royal PIA hooking up the push/pull cable system.


1/7/23

Finished throttle cable installation.

Don’t forget the little clip in here.

Cables are all properly adjusted.

[YOUTUBE]dgVbktLYr2Q[/YOUTUBE]

 

[gixxerjeff]

More amazing stuff from you, Ken.
Thanks again for bringing us along.

 

[kpke]

Thanks Jeff. I appreciate the comment(s) here.

1/8/23

Installed Venhill brake lines. Front MC to splitter line could be a bit shorter but it works. This is the first time I have used the black fittings. I think they look outstanding and prefer them over the chrome fittings I’ve used on other bikes.

Using DOT5 synthetic brake fluid bled the rear brake system. This process went very quick and seems to be working quite well. Someday I will be able to give them a real world test.

1/9/23

Using DOT5 synthetic brake fluid bled the front brake system. It took some patience but they seem to be working quite well.

[YOUTUBE]-sw_ojkBi8c[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Lonster]

Curious, why DOT5?

 

[kpke]

Curious, why DOT5?

This is the second 350 I have used this stuff on.

I did quite a bit of research before making a decision on DOT 5. Below is from Valvoline www. (When doing research I saw many of the hate and horror stories also.)

"Braking fluids DOT 3, DOT 4, and DOT 5.1. are hygroscopic or absorb water and that is why brake fluids have two boiling point values. On the other hand, DOT 5 is a highly hydrophobic silicone formulation, or it repels water, making its boiling points more stable (260 °C dry boiling point and 180 °C wet boiling point)."

Also it's paint friendly. It doesn't melt away the master cylinder paint. Seemingly less corrosive than the others on brake internals. You've scraped the crystalized crud out of old calipers and master cylinders right? This is supposed to not do that.

A friend of mine that owns many of our beloved 4 cylinder 2T's (and many others) uses it on all of his bikes. A couple of commenters to my videos use it also. So I have found some real users of the stuff. Happy to hear others experience with DOT 5 brake fluid.

NOTE: DO NOT MIX DOT5 WITH ANY OTHER BRAKE FLUID

The 2 bikes I've "converted" have 100% rebuilt and new components. I contacted Brake Crafters prior to using DOT5 and they confirmed the new seals and components were compatible.

The sarcastic answer...

It's quite pretty.

 

[Lonster]

Great info. Thanks Ken.

 

[Tacky1]

Looking good there Ken, The switches came out great. Can be frustrating getting them back to the red colour..

 

[kpke]

Thanks Paul. Nice to hear from you. (Speaking of the friend that uses DOT 5 in his bikes.)

You gonna show up at the Dream Machines Show?

 

[kpke]

1/14/23

Made final wiring connections. Had to cut off the bullet connectors from the Yambits turn signals because they are too small to interface with the mating receptacle on the RZ harness. Another strange little Yambits quirk. I would think the bullets would be universal worldwide yet they ship the turn signals with bullets that are too small. I am still quite impressed with the fit and finish of the turn signal plastic bodies though. Unless you look closely they look factory.

Also the leads on the turn signals are too short on the rear. I had to make approximately 6 inch jumper leads.

I tested all of the electrical that I could. Turn signals, headlight low and high beam, front and rear brake light, horn, gauge pod lights, power valve servo motor had been tested previously, etc. Everything works.

Happy days.

1/15/23

Added coolant and gear oil. Then added some Yamalube in the oil tank and bled the oil line. No photos but it’s in this video.

[YOUTUBE]uE7PpIOEtZA[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Lonster]

Nothing like the sound of a first, cold start on a multi cylinder 2 stroke, eh? You're getting very close!

 

[kpke]

Yes, very close. Thanks for the comment Lonster!

1/20/23

Made a fuel supply reservoir out of an old oil tank. It needed a little cleanout. Then a coat hanger and some bailing wire and I think I’m in business.

Inside the oil tank.

Maybe start it up tomorrow?

 

[kpke]

1/21/23


Today was the big day to attempt a startup of this Ken’s Garage project/engine build. I got the auxiliary fuel tank hung up with 32:1 premix. Hooked the fuel lines up and opened both shutoff valves. The carburetors filled up with fuel AND there was no fuel coming out of the overflows.

Double check to ensure there is coolant and gear oil. Turn the ignition key on. Pull the choke lever. Kick, kick, kick, kick, nothing. Stare at it. Kick, kick, kick, kick, nothing.

Pulled the spark plugs to check for spark. Nothing. Hooked up 2 new plugs and checked for spark. Nothing. Opened the headlight bucket to check the wiring, specifically the kill switch wiring since the switch assembly was rebuilt. Tested it with a meter and it’s working properly. Checked the ground on the coil and it’s good. Check the fuses and they are good. Then started looking for wiring errors.

Low and behold I found one. My chief mechanic is a know it all good for nothing old guy. I can’t believe he made this mistake. The black/yellow wire from the harness was hooked up to the black wire on the CDI and vice versa. Unbelievable. I don’t know if I should fire him or what. At a minimum a serious reprimand is in order. Perhaps a serious pay cut.

I fixed the wiring error and…


[YOUTUBE]QGdgqExZpQ0[/YOUTUBE]