Part 2
Firstly, I would like to apologies that I have to break up this thread in parts, as the whole build process is spanned over a period of 8 years, and I really need to go back in time to put down all the events as they unfolded over the years.
So guys get set to relive the horror I went through, while getting these beauties back on road.
Firstly I goggled around to find out the specs of the RD 200 and RD 125.
There are two models of the RD 200 and RD 125. Visually, you can identify them by straight away looking at the fuel tank. The tear drop shaped tank of my RD 200 is the model which produces 18 bhp. The other model of the 200 has the rectangular shaped tank as my RD 125 which produces 21 bhp.
Similarly on the 125 the tear drop shaped model produces 12 bhp and the other rectangular model produces 18 bhp, which is the model I own. So, both the RD’s in their original condition were designed to produce 18 bhp with five gears and that too in the late 70’s. Impressive!
The rebuild process was started in 2007. Now, as the first step of our rebuild of the 200, we decided to do a checklist of the parts missing on the bike, which we need to either refurbish or find an alternative
Here is a list of the missing parts we noticed on the bike prior to stripping it down.
a) Both side panel covers were missing.
b) Original signal lights and headlights were missing.
c) No air filter, only the cover was on the bike and the tubes connecting them to the carbs were missing.
d) Silencers/flutes were missing on both the exhausts.
e) No battery
Now, without the original carbs and side covers, we had no reference to search for alternatives. So we decided to go with the carbs which were on the bike. They were RX 100 carbs (one Indian and the other one was Japanese).
Now the next step was to open up the engine and that is when we started getting the nasty surprises. Since the bike was in running condition and I was short on funds, we decided, we would open up the heads to see whether the pistons could be reused. As soon as we opened up the head we find our first surprise, we find a crack on one of the blocks starting from the sleeve. Further as we pull out the blocks, we found out that the pistons inside were RX 100 pistons and also the blocks were sleeved with the ports mismatched. Then on further inspection, we found that the connecting rods also were not original and they were RX connecting rods and supposedly longer than the original ones. So to avoid the pistons from hitting the head, they had put spacers below the blocks where they connect the casing. This job was also a shabby job as we found the pistons were still touching the heads. Now, we were thinking how worst can this get, could the gears inside the casing also be an RX set? So, we proceeded further and opened up the magnet side casing cover to find that it was a CDI unit and not on points. The mechanic who had worked on this bike had done an ok job with the CDI.
Now, it was time to open up the gearbox. The oil pump was still on the bike and we were surprised to find it too, as it was not functional and the fuel was premixed with oil. Now as soon as we opened up the gear box we noticed that the right hand side casing was badly damaged and had weld marks on it. Our guess was that, someone damaged it while kick starting the bike. My blood was boiling at that point, not because of the above findings, but because the way it was handled by the previous owners and mechanics who had worked on it. Such a rear bike was abused to the core, but still this old beast was standing right in front of us thinking that it had finally landed up in the right hands, who would provide the care and attention it immediately required and I on my part had decided to do everything possible to get this tiny 200 back on the road.
As mentioned earlier the only thing I never had at that stage, was the funds required to rebuild a vintage bike. So, we decided to get the bike on the road using RX parts and whatever would be the next best match for the parts required.
List of the parts used
a) We used new RX pistons and connecting rods along with the spacer to take care of the longer connecting rods.
b) Got a new pair of sleeves inserted with some porting done to match the ports.
c) We used the carbs that came along with the bike.
d) Filters were sourced the from the Hero Honda splendor.
e) All the oil seals and bearings were sourced locally.
f) The front end was a new Pulsar setup including the front forks, disc brakes and mag wheels both front and back.
g) RX chain set, with the front and rear sprocket
h) The original swing arm was also replaced with a pulsar unit to match up with the mags and also to fit the rear suspension, which was again a Pulsar setup.
i) We had to machine the rear sprocket mount to fit on the pulsar mag. Also, we had to custom make the silencers/flutes for both exhausts, which was a challenge by itself.(we had tried to see whether a M80 flute would do the job, but it was not small enough)
j) Also we had to design a new CDI plate.
k) The complete wiring was redone with a fabricated battery holder.
l) We used the side panels of the RD 350, both the oil tank and the right hand side cover.
m) The seat was fabricated using a RX seat plate. The seat opens up just like the RD 350 seat on the 200.
n) The rear foot rests originally were on the swing arm and since we had replaced it with a pulsar one, we had to mount brackets to use the L bars of the RX for the rear foot rest.
Now for the cosmetics, we decided to have the exhaust and engine covers painted black along with the chassis and other small parts.
The paint scheme was a tough choice and in the end, went ahead with a maroon paint scheme as I had seen an RD 350 with a similar paint job. But, I must admit, I really never liked that colour once the bike was painted.
So it was early 2008, when we started the engine and it was the sweetest sound I had ever heard. The intake sound from the open filters and the roar of the twin exhaust was just musical. By the time the bike was completely ready it was early March and I was waiting for the paperwork to be completed so that I could take the bike home. So, by end of March I had the papers and I took the bike home. My first step was to complete the running in process and to the get bike tuned up as we had no idea of the carb settings, as nothing was stock on the bike. So, a few trips to Tony’s got that issue sorted out as well.
Some pics of the bike, when it was getting completed
The first time the engine was fired
The finished masterpiece
By mid May I had the running in almost complete, and one evening while I had taken the bike for a spin I noticed that the fifth gear would not get engaged. I tried couple of times, but no luck. This got me really worried and straight away rode to Tony’s place. We tried to identify the problem from the outside, but in vain. The only option was to open up the gearbox, which we did not want to do at that moment. So I decided to use the bike the way it was.
Then in early June, while I was returning home from Tony’s place, I heard a shattering sound from the gearbox as I opened up the throttle. I immediately cut the throttle pulled in the clutch and brought the bike to a halt without cutting of the engine. While the bike was idling, the gearbox sounded as if all the gears had come of their respective shafts and were moving around freely. My body went cold and was praying that the sound disappears and the bike runs normally. I tried riding the bike with that sound as I was not too far away from Tony’s place. I feared I might damage it more, but at that moment I just wanted to get the bike quickly to Toný’s place. Then somehow I made it to Tony’s place and we were trying to figure out what that sound could be or what could have gone wrong. It clearly did not sound like the bearings and were definitely the gear. Only option to find out was to open up the gearbox. Even after opening it up, I could not afford another rebuild. Also, what if we needed a new gear box? How would I source that? So I had no option but to leave the bike there until we decide on our next step.
Tony’s tried opening the magnet side casing cover and thought maybe the gear shifter shaft had twisted, but we could not be sure until we opened the gearbox. So the bike was parked among the other RD’s to rot until we found a solution to the problem on hand. After a few months, one day we just decided to open the gearbox and found something we had never encountered before.
On opening the gearbox we found metal particles is the oil and disintegrated gear teeth’s. The shaft which holds the gears was broken in two. It was a horrid sight. My heart such sank looking at that gearbox of the 200. At that very moment I realized, getting the RD 200 back on road is going to be next to impossible, at least not for me.
Some pictures of the bike lying dead
To be continued in Part 3