I'm Healed!

Just over six months have passed since my collision with the killer dog and I am still hurting. Mainly it is my shoulder that hurts, but at least I am riding.


I have been riding my Gixxer, pushing harder and harder going on longer and faster rides. Now I'm ready to break out the "Punisher", my RD400. The RD is partially disassembled in the garage and this weekend I'll put all the lovely bits back together again.

RD Racer Version 2.0

Last night I completed the teardown of the next RD400 "donor". The "donor" RD is a 1978 US model that was about 70% complete and barely running on one cylinder. I competed the teardown in about 2 hours and now the fun begins.

My goal for this RD is to go a bit more radical than I did with the first RD. I will be using a RZ350 front end (forks, triples, rotors & brakes), a modified FZ600 swingarm in the rear, and RZ350 wheels front and rear. I will encase the bike in a 1986 TZ250 full fairing and bodywork. The engine will not be as heavily modified as the previous RD project and I'll keep the stock Mikuni 28's with a 2 into 1 intake. For the ignition I'll be using a generation 2 Nuetronics unit and the expansion chambers will be old Stage-II units.

After I degrease the frame and stock swingarm, it's off to the sandblaster and a couple of hours with the grinder. While the frame is being sandblasted I'll start the teardown on the engine.

This project will require more fabrication than the previous RD, but I am in no hurry to complete the project. If everything goes perfect (that's not going to happen), I could be done by summer.

All the King's Horses & All the King's Men.....

The RD lives again, all crash damage repaired and she is better than ever.... Work done included....

New fork with pneumatic adjustment
New Woodcraft clip-on's
New grips
New stator cover - Polished aluminum finish
New left-side shifter rear-set
New license plate hanger
New fuel tank & petcock (No dents, but it sure is BLUE!)
New left-side chain adjuster
New front fender mounts
New clutch lever

I added a nice CNC machined front rotor and moved the previous drilled front rotor to the rear brake. A nice touch and the CNC'ed rotor offered a minor increase in thickness.

After everything was bolted back together and buttoned up, it's time for a test ride! The test ride went OK (I didn't hit any stray dogs) , but I did uncover some issues....... First I noticed that the engine is running rough and then I noticed the sweet smell of pre-mix gas. A quick inspection shows that the petcock gasket is leaking and the right - side carb is dumping gas from the overflow. The new clear gas lines expose the grit and trash that washed out of my new "clean" tank.

Next steps...... pull the tank, flush it AGAIN and seal the petcock better. Then it is time to rebuild the Keihin PWK's and take another look at the ignition timing. My current timing settings require that I run 110 octane VP race fuel at about $7 / gallon.... OUCH!

I have a modified FZ600 swingarm coming in the mail (thank you eBay and Jibco520). Can't wait to play with the swingarm configurations. Stay tuned for some swingarm experimentation!

Rebuilding.... The Bike & Myself!

Merry Christmas! Five weeks since my wipeout and I am starting to feel pretty good, almost well enough for some short rides. All of the rebuild parts have arrived and the rebuild is well underway. My ribs and side still hurt and a sneeze will induce a level of pain that I can't even begin to describe.

Maybe it is not just a "rebuild", but more of an "upgrade". I have mounted some new Woodcraft clip-ons, much nicer than the steel chrome units that got trashed. The new forks are on the RD, complete with vintage DG pneumatic adjuster caps and some upgraded springs. I have started polishing the replacement stator cover and the repaired Moto-Carrera rear-sets are ready to go back on the bike. I am also taking some time to drill and safety wire all the critical nuts and bolts. I have mounted a new petcock on my undented blue tank and should have it swapped out this weekend. Still struggling with possible paint schemes, period-correct white with red striping factory race livery is my current plan, but......

My target is to have the RD rebuilt, painted and running 100% in time for the annual "Mods vs Rockers City of Hate" event in late March. Looks like a three day rally, March 26th - 28th.... This event is sponsored by the DFW chapter of "Ton Up" and this will mark the fourth year of the event.

I also have some crash damaged gear to replace. My beloved Yoshi leather flatracker jacket is toast as is my Shoie helmet (cracker the shell straight to the foam liner). I did not realize just how hard I went down until I started examining the damage on the helmet. "Leather, leather, armor, and then more armor", my new moto! I have been eyeballing a new Alpinestar "Dragster" jacket (complete with chest armor & back protector), some "Rockers" leather patches from the "Ace Cafe", and a sleek black new Shoie X12. The black X12 will receive a custom paint job, something with red stripes, jolly rogers, and a nice four-leaf clover on the back.

It Hurts When I Breath!

Still recovering from my accident, but the good news is that I will not need surgery on my shoulder! I'm still having some major pain and I can't sleep....Sucks!

I hope to be back on the RD racer within 3 weeks. These will be very slow and very short rides :)

The parts from eBay have started to show up on my doorstep. So far I have....
Crankshalf
Foot Peg Hangers
Stator Cover
Rear Brake Actuator...

Still waiting for the forkset to arrive. Not sure if they are 34mm or 35mm, the suspense is killing me! Drove by the wreck site yesterday and the brothers of the dog I hit were running loose on the road! WTF, someone is going to get killed!

Moondog Meets The Big Dog

November 20th was the day, the date for my first "long ride" on my RD Racer. I came home from work, leathered-up and filled the tank with pre-mix. The moment of truth had arrived! One kick and the RD came to life, crackling and idling smooth as silk..... Life is good!

After a couple of minute to warmup the engine, I roll out of the driveway with a huge smile on my face. Today I will be riding the twisty little country roads around my home, maybe 40 to 50 miles total. The engine is crisp, coming alive at about 3500 - 4000 rpms as the powerband kicks in. The bike is light, very flickable and responsive. About 15 miles into the ride some minor issues become apparent, I need to make a very minor adjustment on the rear brake level position and the fuel petcock is not flowing properly. I should have rebuilt the petcock, but for now I just tap the petcock occasionally to keep the pre-mix flowing.

The bike is running great and I am really getting into the ride. Now I am on my way back home, already planning to rebuild the petcock and dreaming of long rides on the little RD.

Ahead I can see a Ford Excursion approaching me and I am taking it easy at about 30 mph. The Excursion is moving much slower, but nothing was setting off "my alarm". Just as I pass the front of the Excursion a large German Shepperd sized dog darts out from behind the vehicle. I had just enough time to think, "This is going to hurt!"

I brake hard and swerve, the dog darts, we collide. The RD goes down and I am ejected over the bars. I come down on my left side, dislocating my shoulder and getting some huge road-rash on my hip. My leather suit is a two - piece and the zipper separated on impact, exposing my hip. The dog did not fair as well, he became lodged between my front forks and the front of the expansion chambers..... Dead Dog!

11 days later I was able to return to work , but it still hurts BAD! The RD did not suffer as badly as I expected and I should have it back on the road in no time. Total damage to the RD....

• Front Forks - Bent back about 1.5"
• Left Moto Carrera peg and shifter are "toast"
• Stator cover is ground down pretty good
• Broken clutch lever & cable
• Bent left clip-on
  

I have already started on the new forks and I should complete the final installation over Christmas break. Maybe I'll actually be able to ride by then?

Details......

Finishing up the last of the wiring and now everything works. Routing fuel lines, still need to get some small clamps. Tonight I'll reverse - bleed the front brake, grease the swingarm pivot, fill the gearbox and forks with oil, ........ And then off the stand she comes and she will begin resting on two wheels.

Mount the pipes, pour in some 50:1 pre-mix, and then the start her up.

The RD is going to need quite a bit of "shake-down riding". Coming from a pile of parts, the bike had no baseline setup. During the "shake-down" period I am going to ride the bike unpainted, al natural. I can hardly wait!