My Roadking has arrived, but badly

ananthkamath · 16th January 2008, 20:57

For yezdi parts go to Jain motors in mysore. I dont know about now, but when i was in mysore these guys had absolutely every part made for the yezdi. They bought truckloads of parts when the factory did a "cleanout" sale 3 or 4 years ago (during which time me and my friends also bought an original 350 engine, its super-rare ignition parts, and a Mikcarb) .

If you can get the original Jikov grab it. But I've had better luck with the Mikcarb 26 which is a mikuni clone. The bullet carb uses the same castings, but like someone said the jetting and emulsion tubes might be different (just get those and you're good to go). The Rajdoot carb if I remember right is a Mikcarb 24. With some effort you might be able to make it work on the Yezdi but it will be down on power.

Nitin · 16th January 2008, 21:05

Nice! The RoadKing was one of my favorite bikes,the sound, the looks and the feel.. !
Congrats on the purchase! Do post a few pics of the bike when you get a chance. Its kinda surprising that so many things were replaced with other bikes.

aveek · 17th January 2008, 14:48

The strangest thing happened while getting back just now.. the engine died, and I couldn't for the life of me, figure out why.
I managed to find a mech, and with his help we checked everything that could cause the problem, but couldnt find anything wrong. Then we came to the fuel tap, from which we ended up extracting (hold your breath!) a small tooth filling :-O

Well, it looks like this machine is filled with surprises... hehehehe...

esteem_lover · 17th January 2008, 15:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by aveek

Then we came to the fuel tap, from which we ended up extracting (hold your breath!) a small tooth filling :-O

He he he, now find out which one of her teeth has lost the filling & have a root canal done on it.

aveek · 17th January 2008, 15:25

Buahahahahahahahahahahahahhahaah!!

netchef · 17th January 2008, 15:45

Hey Congrats. Real men used to ride those beauts...real men.

In my opinion, you're better off with the MikCarb (if that's the Bullet carb fitted) as the original Jikov is antedeluvian and pure agricultural with its 'tickler' and half the fuel ending up on your trouser legs instead of inside the combustion chamber :-). Old buddy of mine used to tune Yezdis/Roadkings and did we have fun...

Yeah Gujjri (never knew it was spelled that way) is a good place t source used parts. Also used to be a dealer off Comm St named Balaji who kept non-OEM spares. Was a reliable bloke.

Tank: aesthetics are a subjective matter. Your call, sir.

Put on a disc? DEFINITELY. Change the fork while you're about it- it never performed near what modern machines do, and in any case the issue for you aught not to be so much keeping her original as getting her to deliver better starting, rideability, comfort & safety. In favour is the fact that she's so basically engineered, she's very reliable, AND cheap to maintain.

Good luck. Way back when I was in college, Roadkings were the steeds of the v hip guys. And the sound bytes were very much part of the image.

desideep · 17th January 2008, 20:06

Hmm its really good that you bought a Road king... i would recomend you to find a good mechanic and get it rebuild if not the full bike just the engine replace the broken parts with the new ones... they were beautiful bikes man...

Nitin · 17th January 2008, 22:04

aveek,looks like your bike comes with the 'surprise' package..
If the tooth filling was made with gold..then its surely a 'pleasent' surprise..

Is the bike ok now? Any chance of putting some pics up for us?

Jaggu · 17th January 2008, 23:30

aveek invest some love n money restoring it and you will have a trouble free life with it, just like any other new 2 wheeler. yezdi's once set up right will go on n on unlike the new jap 2 strokes, much more tolerant, abusable and rugged.

Nikhilb2008 · 17th January 2008, 23:44

I have a Roadking but it is rotting in the garage. Mech says the cylinder is out of shape and the only solution is to get a new engine.

Looking for one now. If you can find it, please help me.

The sound of a Roadking is out of the world. Best sound on an Indian bike. And a well tuned Roadking can cream any Pulsar/ZMA today....

TheCockroach · 18th January 2008, 00:01

Quote:

For yezdi parts go to Jain motors in mysore. I dont know about now, but when i was in mysore these guys had absolutely every part made for the yezdi. They bought truckloads of parts when the factory did a "cleanout" sale 3 or 4 years ago

Yeah, but they do charge premium Rupee.

Quote:

In my opinion, you're better off with the MikCarb (if that's the Bullet carb fitted) as the original Jikov is antedeluvian and pure agricultural with its 'tickler' and half the fuel ending up on your trouser legs instead of inside the combustion chamber :-). Old buddy of mine used to tune Yezdis/Roadkings and did we have fun...

I'll have to agree with you Sir! the Jikov carbs are ancient tech. The VM 28 is better at it and NOOOOO running a 4 st carb on a 2 stroke don't hurt. VM 28's are used as step up carbs for the RX's when ported, not everyone can afford a flat slide. Jetting is an issue. But once that bridge is crossed, your bike will sing.

Better to change the tank man. You'll have to pick up a refurbished one that you can find and have it painted. Your not going to find a new one. The Ideal Jawa factory is no more. They have raised it to the ground. Its an empty plot now. You dont' want a guy riding an RD to look at you like you are a "Wanna be" Do ya?

Quote:

And a well tuned Roadking can cream any Pulsar/ZMA today....

When you say tuned.. Do you mean ported or stock tuned? If you mean stock, you better be kidding. I've seen the new 150 cc's keep up and even beat the road king and i've seen it enough times to be convinced.

Nitin · 18th January 2008, 00:16

How about looking at scrapyards (do they exist in B'lore) ? The other place you might find old Jawa/Roadking engines/gas tanks is in the conficated lots of police stations. I remember seeing a few Bullets (old ones for sure) at the Cubbon Park Police station. They have a plot next to the Police Station,and these were rotting away.
Might make sense in getting one of those tanks,and getting it refurbished.

aveek · 18th January 2008, 10:04

Guys, ok, this might sound really ridiculous, but what is jetting? I've been trying to figure it out through the various mentions of it, but I still have no clue..

@cockroach: I don't get what you mean by flat side.. I'm totally new to the bike world - do explain!

@Nitin: She's fine now, blipping away to oblivion like there was nothing at all wrong with her in the first place.. hehehe... Pictures will come shortly, Taking her out of the city on Saturday, so I ought to get some photo's then. I went to a scrapyard in the city, and the guy was quite ready to sell me old RK tanks, but upon inspection, I found that the 3 that he had were horribly rusted on the inside, so I've gotta look furthur. No matter, I have time to spend on her.. :-D

I keep hearing a slight metallic clashing (I think its the piston), but I don't know whether its normal or not. Any ideas? Its heard quite clearly at high revs, and is a faint ca-ching-ca-ching at lower revs. Is this normal?

Oh, also, with shell stopping their normal petrol, is it worth filling her up with Shell Super (+ 2% oil)? Also, I am not sure if I should be filling a fuel-oil premix that they offer (some snazzy integration on the fuel pump itself), or keep a small bottle of premeasured 2T oil (of what brand, if any?) that I manually mix when I'm filling up. Any inputs? Lemme know!

ananthkamath · 18th January 2008, 10:27

Yezdi's will run on almost anything. I've seen one run on a mixture of petrol + kerosene + 4-stroke oil, straight kerosene + 2T, and even petrol + diesel! I am not kidding, they are very tolerant. We have ourselves run the 350 on MS petrol (2/3rd the price of regular petrol) without any hiccups. So just throw in some MS petrol and go for a ride!!

aveek · 18th January 2008, 10:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by ananthkamath

Yezdi's will run on almost anything. I've seen one run on a mixture of petrol + kerosene + 4-stroke oil, straight kerosene + 2T, and even petrol + diesel! I am not kidding, they are very tolerant. We have ourselves run the 350 on MS petrol (2/3rd the price of regular petrol) without any hiccups. So just throw in some MS petrol and go for a ride!!

Hehehehe, true to their motto, Forever Bike, eh? Well, yeah, I know we can put almost anything that will combust into the engine, but what I meant was is there any advantage to putting in super unleaded and their oil, or would my engine stay cleaner and/or give more mileage (as if that really matters on this thing) with shell's stuff, as compared to any other normal fuels?

16th January 2008, 20:57	#31
ananthkamath Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mangalore Posts: 1,209 Thanked: 80 Times View My Garage	For yezdi parts go to Jain motors in mysore. I dont know about now, but when i was in mysore these guys had absolutely every part made for the yezdi. They bought truckloads of parts when the factory did a "cleanout" sale 3 or 4 years ago (during which time me and my friends also bought an original 350 engine, its super-rare ignition parts, and a Mikcarb) . If you can get the original Jikov grab it. But I've had better luck with the Mikcarb 26 which is a mikuni clone. The bullet carb uses the same castings, but like someone said the jetting and emulsion tubes might be different (just get those and you're good to go). The Rajdoot carb if I remember right is a Mikcarb 24. With some effort you might be able to make it work on the Yezdi but it will be down on power.
	() Thanks

16th January 2008, 21:05	#32
Nitin Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 3,294 Thanked: 20 Times View My Garage	Nice! The RoadKing was one of my favorite bikes,the sound, the looks and the feel.. ! Congrats on the purchase! Do post a few pics of the bike when you get a chance. Its kinda surprising that so many things were replaced with other bikes.
	() Thanks

17th January 2008, 14:48	#33
aveek BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 294 Thanked: 2 Times	The strangest thing happened while getting back just now.. the engine died, and I couldn't for the life of me, figure out why. I managed to find a mech, and with his help we checked everything that could cause the problem, but couldnt find anything wrong. Then we came to the fuel tap, from which we ended up extracting (hold your breath!) a small tooth filling :-O Well, it looks like this machine is filled with surprises... hehehehe...
	() Thanks

17th January 2008, 15:25	#35
aveek BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 294 Thanked: 2 Times	Buahahahahahahahahahahahahhahaah!!
	() Thanks

17th January 2008, 15:45	#36
netchef BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 953 Thanked: 60 Times View My Garage	Hey Congrats. Real men used to ride those beauts...real men. In my opinion, you're better off with the MikCarb (if that's the Bullet carb fitted) as the original Jikov is antedeluvian and pure agricultural with its 'tickler' and half the fuel ending up on your trouser legs instead of inside the combustion chamber :-). Old buddy of mine used to tune Yezdis/Roadkings and did we have fun... Yeah Gujjri (never knew it was spelled that way) is a good place t source used parts. Also used to be a dealer off Comm St named Balaji who kept non-OEM spares. Was a reliable bloke. Tank: aesthetics are a subjective matter. Your call, sir. Put on a disc? DEFINITELY. Change the fork while you're about it- it never performed near what modern machines do, and in any case the issue for you aught not to be so much keeping her original as getting her to deliver better starting, rideability, comfort & safety. In favour is the fact that she's so basically engineered, she's very reliable, AND cheap to maintain. Good luck. Way back when I was in college, Roadkings were the steeds of the v hip guys. And the sound bytes were very much part of the image.
	() Thanks

17th January 2008, 20:06	#37
desideep Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Adelaide Posts: 1,159 Thanked: 318 Times View My Garage	Hmm its really good that you bought a Road king... i would recomend you to find a good mechanic and get it rebuild if not the full bike just the engine replace the broken parts with the new ones... they were beautiful bikes man...
	() Thanks

17th January 2008, 22:04	#38
Nitin Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 3,294 Thanked: 20 Times View My Garage	aveek,looks like your bike comes with the 'surprise' package.. If the tooth filling was made with gold..then its surely a 'pleasent' surprise.. Is the bike ok now? Any chance of putting some pics up for us?
	() Thanks

17th January 2008, 23:30	#39
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,215 Thanked: 15,907 Times	aveek invest some love n money restoring it and you will have a trouble free life with it, just like any other new 2 wheeler. yezdi's once set up right will go on n on unlike the new jap 2 strokes, much more tolerant, abusable and rugged.
	() Thanks

17th January 2008, 23:44	#40
Nikhilb2008 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 5,196 Thanked: 10,138 Times	I have a Roadking but it is rotting in the garage. Mech says the cylinder is out of shape and the only solution is to get a new engine. Looking for one now. If you can find it, please help me. The sound of a Roadking is out of the world. Best sound on an Indian bike. And a well tuned Roadking can cream any Pulsar/ZMA today....
	() Thanks

18th January 2008, 00:16	#42
Nitin Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 3,294 Thanked: 20 Times View My Garage	How about looking at scrapyards (do they exist in B'lore) ? The other place you might find old Jawa/Roadking engines/gas tanks is in the conficated lots of police stations. I remember seeing a few Bullets (old ones for sure) at the Cubbon Park Police station. They have a plot next to the Police Station,and these were rotting away. Might make sense in getting one of those tanks,and getting it refurbished.
	() Thanks

18th January 2008, 10:04	#43
aveek BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 294 Thanked: 2 Times	Guys, ok, this might sound really ridiculous, but what is jetting? I've been trying to figure it out through the various mentions of it, but I still have no clue.. @cockroach: I don't get what you mean by flat side.. I'm totally new to the bike world - do explain! @Nitin: She's fine now, blipping away to oblivion like there was nothing at all wrong with her in the first place.. hehehe... Pictures will come shortly, Taking her out of the city on Saturday, so I ought to get some photo's then. I went to a scrapyard in the city, and the guy was quite ready to sell me old RK tanks, but upon inspection, I found that the 3 that he had were horribly rusted on the inside, so I've gotta look furthur. No matter, I have time to spend on her.. :-D I keep hearing a slight metallic clashing (I think its the piston), but I don't know whether its normal or not. Any ideas? Its heard quite clearly at high revs, and is a faint ca-ching-ca-ching at lower revs. Is this normal? Oh, also, with shell stopping their normal petrol, is it worth filling her up with Shell Super (+ 2% oil)? Also, I am not sure if I should be filling a fuel-oil premix that they offer (some snazzy integration on the fuel pump itself), or keep a small bottle of premeasured 2T oil (of what brand, if any?) that I manually mix when I'm filling up. Any inputs? Lemme know!
	() Thanks

18th January 2008, 10:27	#44
ananthkamath Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mangalore Posts: 1,209 Thanked: 80 Times View My Garage	Yezdi's will run on almost anything. I've seen one run on a mixture of petrol + kerosene + 4-stroke oil, straight kerosene + 2T, and even petrol + diesel! I am not kidding, they are very tolerant. We have ourselves run the 350 on MS petrol (2/3rd the price of regular petrol) without any hiccups. So just throw in some MS petrol and go for a ride!!
	() Thanks