Quote:
Originally Posted by Freespirit27 That was a weird colour especially for a RD, yes! But I do remember a Maroon in the RX 100 and 135 which you may have intended.
Sad to see it in that state but glad that you kept it, 'to ride another day!'. Kudos to your perseverance and passion  . This has been one great Monday for me  reading up all these stories is better than many novels I read. Much thanx. |
On the RD 200 sadly we don’t know the actual Year of make or colour as this has not been captured in the RC book and only the date of registration is shown as 1982. Hence, we were not sure what colour to paint then and neither did I have a fancy budget which was evident from the build. This bike has been abused and mishandled by previous owners and mechanics and that is one of the reasons why the gearbox broke too.
That was really ironic considering this was a working bike when I got it but with RX 100 pistons and just few months before that I got the RD 125, where the bike had everything original on it and a single owner bike but sadly in non running state and lot of parts like the tank and silencers were rusted beyond repair.
The RD 125 was my second bike and the first that I ever bought with my own money but never ever got to finish the rebuild process that we had started over 15 years back. But, I guess everything happens when is supposed too and finally this bike will be on the road again after decades of being neglected.
I had already ordered all the engine parts back in 2010 and the main things that we needed was a tank and the exhaust mufflers. The original tank we did try saving it but the beautiful Titanium paint shade we had done on it never lasted long and it bubbled up eventually thanks to the rust on the base metal. I have been on the lookout for a good quality tank for long but it seems getting hold of the coffin design tank found on the RD 125 DX is not easy. However, my friend in Paris found one eventually, which has a lovely red paint on it which believe it or not is the actual factory colour of this bike and I considered it as a sign and have decided to paint the bike red now. Only challenge left is to get the tank to India from Paris…
On the exhaust the mufflers had rusted very badly so there was no chance of using them so either we had to make one or get a used set. So, I got back to shopping at Ebay and found a decent complete set with mounting brackets in the US and after a long time ordered it directly to my place in India. Paid customs and shipping cost but was worth it.
Now, since the bike rebuild was halted for so many years a lot of parts was lying either with me or at my friends place. The engine mostly was at my friend’s place with everything else including the frame at my place. So, in this split storage we were unable to locate some critical engine components like the clutch bell and primary gear, carbs etc. My friend was sure I had taken them with me as he could not locate them with other parts. I couldn’t recollect either that I had stored them at my place as I knew the tank side panels mudguards etc are with me along with some other parts but never recollected seeing these parts. We thought we had lost these parts and this rebuild would never be completed only for my good luck to be on my side once again as the parts were always under my own bed and I have been sleeping over them for over a decade now.
This build will be done simultaneously to my RZ 350 rebuild and we plan to first get the engine done up before moving on to the cosmetic parts.
Some pictures for now…
The bare chassis parked in one corner of the garage next to the Ducati 848 EVO. Don’t miss the original mudguard with the period correct front number plate. White on black back in the good old days with an old Bombay registration number.
The beautiful Titanium painted original tank
Which didn’t age well due to years of rust on the base metal
The beautiful red OE tank found by my friend in Paris.
With fuel cap (without key) and fuel tap
Complete exhaust set. Because of the size I didn’t want any of my friends to carry it personally and hence spent on shipping and 40% customs
Bend pipes
Right muffler assembly with mounting bracket and silencer
Left complete muffler assembly
The amount of stuff that was stored under my bed
Mystery box that I forgot about or rather don’t even remember putting it there with such critical parts
OE carbs with air box connector rubber
OE kick
OE Ignition coils. Don’t look like they were manufactured 45 years back
Gear shifter lever
Speedometer and RPM bracket
OE 2T oil tank
Tiny 62cc pistons
These parts will need a sandblasting procedure to be done again
Big ports which help this 125 twin screamer produce 18 Bhp
Original 45 year old Japanese bearings which are still moving freely
124cc 2 stroke not a common sight
Especially in a twin configuration
Head with the part numbering
