[rvmohankumar]

Dear Friends,

I have finally owned my first RD350 , I say first because i will own more in a few years.

This was a long pending item in my wish list and finally i cleared it.
It nearly took 4 months since i made initial advance payment for the bike.
I had to do a lot of follow up and given up hope of getting it. Infact many times i demanded my money back and told my mech that i am dropping the idea.

But in between i had to go to Germany twice and was not sure about my plan in India also. Finally i changed all my plans and came back to India to
collect this bike and run it for a few months atleast.

A Few pics attached.

[(Alok)]

Congratulation is a tine word in front of proud of owning an RD 350, but completing the formalities…
Congratulation for the bike.

But the story you told us is very short. Give a long story with restoration details.

[bigron]

The bike looks good. I am personally a fan of the same colored mud gaurds. What pistons and barrels are you running and what model is the bike?

[MutantX]

Superb and a very clean bike. I am sure you would be extremely proud of your prized possession. RD is a classic and please do narrate your experience in restoring this classic.

[captrajesh]

You have given me a sense of Déjà vu. I was in your position in the year 1997.

Having said that, you have to now get prepared to be fleeced. Fleecing by mechanics and spare part suppliers, non-availability of spares.

Trust me, it is real agony to keep the bike running.

[bigron]

@captrajesh : It is definitely not agonising to keep the bike running. I have 2 RD's ,a LT and a HT for close to 10 years now and I use them like my everyday commuter , no problem.Infact i am getting one of my bikes re worked right now and apart form some small niggles its going all fine. You need to have an idea of basic engine / mechanicals and the bike will run like a dream. Having said that , its definitely not everyones cup of tea.

[hillram]

I owned an RD 350 for 2 years and turst me,the bike spent more time with the mechanic than me.
CB points tuning was a pain and i could never get it,though my mechanic tried teaching me.
Braking was a big issue with this bike.At mosntrous speeds,brakes would skid and you needed to have a real control.
Owning this bike wasnt my cup of tea.

[razorBlades]

congrats mate! This machine is on my wish list too for a long time.. trying to find out a decent one, and will own one soon!

A clean bike, how much did you pay for it?

[alok_balsekar]

As a multiple RD owner myself, I know what u mean by saying "My FIRST RD"

Unfortunately Due to parking constraints I had to decide on a "One bike per model" policy. 2 of the 3 RDs I sold off.

No matter what anyone says, an RD is an RD. Spares are available if u have the patience. eBay is a great source. and looking at your RD, I don't think that you will need spares for quite some time now ....

The RD's Achilles heel is the electrical system, else everything is bulletproof.

As someone who uses his RD as a commuter bike for 7 years now, take this from me:

Keep your RD wiring harness in order and make sure there are no electrical issues.
Ensure u top up the 2T oil tank

Your RD will keep running.

MOST IMPORTANT:

DO NOT MOD YOUR BIKE.

30.5 bhp or 27 bhp is more than enough to smoke up ANY competition in India.

Mods will only serve to decrease your engine life.

Remember, RD hardware is difficult to find.
Keep the bike as stock as possible and ride it like u would ride a classic bike, not a street racer.

I have been running CB-Points and ride my bike 35 KM daily. No probems with performance or maintainance. Just the regular service once every 3-4 months.

My humble 2 cents

[aargee]

@MK - Its a beautiful looking motorcycle. You're passion is seen even with Yamaha's key chain, its looking well suited for the RD

I've one question, why did you choose stock RX fuel cock instead of RXZ's fuel cock that has more fuel flow? Any specific reason?

[aa_asif]

Well exactly 2 days back I had this scary random thought came into my head while I was stuck in the traffic
"Will I die never owning a RD??"

Seeing the price tag shooting up on a daily basis on our T-BHP Classified (1,00,000 - 2,00,00) I guess anybody who's having the same thought/dream should not prolong anymore.

[captrajesh]

@ bigron & Alok Balsekar, I've owned a LT RD350 from 1992 to 2008. But for the last four years, I had used it for daily commutation as well as for weekend getaways. In fact, owning an RD will teach you all about bikes, their mechanicals, problems etc.

I stopped using it regularly since 2004 after my transfer to Hyderabad as I did not find a good mechanic and good spare part shop. After coming to Chennai, I found competent guys here but ended up getting fleeced majorly and whatever spares I got were of dubious quality.

I was probably looking at wrong places but am only quoting my experience. After a point, I told my self, that's enough, you can't maintain it; give it to someone else who can" and sold it. The guy who bought it from me brought the bike back to the mint condition. He sourced spares from all over the world, literally.

[VictorSinha]

I may sound like a bit of noobish...To the RD owners......Whats so special in a RD350 which the new generation bike e.g. Ninja or even a Hunk/Pulsar/Unicorn does not have ?

Also, I have heard that a RD350 has a FE around 10 KMPL at max. Is this true ?

[captrajesh]

BTW, in the melee, I've not congratulated the OP. Except for the following, your bike appears to be in mint condition: -

1. Head light (I think it is of Yezdi)
2. Mudguard (One of the 100 cc Indo-Jap bikes)
3. Fuel tank lid - RX100
4. Front brake (Modded for accommodating hydraulic disc brake)

Try scouting for the spares from junkyards of various towns where you have friends. You may get lucky to lay your hands on original stuff. Take special care of the silencers. Very difficult to get back to shape if dented and very very difficult to source them.

[captrajesh]

Originally Posted by VictorSinha

I may sound like a bit of noobish...To the RD owners......Whats so special in a RD350 which the new generation bike e.g. Ninja or even a Hunk/Pulsar/Unicorn does not have ?

Driving an RD gives you a high which cannot be described. The bikes you have mentioned are not even a patch.

The first time I drove it, I was like, hey what have I been doing all these years.

Originally Posted by VictorSinha

Also, I have heard that a RD350 has a FE around 10 KMPL at max. Is this true ?

The initially launched High Torque bikes (which as such were de-tuned to deliver 30.5 BHP as opposed to the original 39 BHP bikes to make them suitable to the lesser octane petrol available in India) had fuel consumption figures of 12-14 by the Low Torque ones introduced later (post 1985) had decent consumption figures of about 18 KMPL.