Should I go for this custom RD350 HT?

octane1002 · 26th November 2010, 17:25

@twostrokejunkie:A big thanks man

..Now that is some real information and is exactly what I was looking for.It helps when someone answers your queries in the way you have done rather than the normal one line "Get an original RD dude/RD should like an RD" reply.Sure I agree that an original RD is something else but people need to understand that you've got a total novice here with RDDREAMS in his eyes(pun intended!!!!) and reasoning out in a more rational/objective way with him will probably make him see the point

.

Coming to the bike, I was always a little cautious and at times felt that something was surely fishy the way the owner made tall claims about the bike.The way he went on about the bike's balance and stuff and how when they were "building the bike" balance was the main concern.He always maintained that the bike had been worked upon by Joe's and the way he vaguely spoke, it seemed even the bodywork had been undertaken there..But later on I came to know that only the engine was worked upon there.So there you have it about balance.I know that the swingarm is an a Honda Original and the owner claims the same about the alloys though I doubt it.

The next claim he made was that the bike in question had some serious racing at "Sriperumbudur" by none other than Aspi Bhathena.And that was saying something.I mean Aspi Bhathena ridin this surely meant that this was something well executed.I took this with a pinch of salt.

Next up the 2*1 exhaust.Now here again he told me that it was designed after people like Joe and Ron Chinoy in consultation with a swedish firm(i diont remeber it was some scalman) designed this for optimum performance.Now I can tell this even though I am a novice that Joe and RDC are definitely no best buddies.They may be contemporararies but the chances of them working together surely seem like fantasyland(Sure it might happen on something bigger and grander but not something like this).So again doubtable claims.

Last but not the least, when I asked him what was his reason for selling such a(allegedly) well executed example, he said he was moving abroad and hence needed to sell it immediately.But guess what, I come to know recently that the bike has been up for sale for quite sometime now since hes been claiming "moving abroad" as a reason.

And now your information surely has set alarm bells ringing.I just want you to be a little more specific on the handling/alignment part and the jugaad work on an RD frame.Is it that you're telling me that this thing has a very unpredictable characteristics?.I guess so.Gosh you have so much of information on this bike.What made you hold back for so long?Come out with whatever it is please.Truly aprreciate this.Thanx a ton for coming to the party at the right time.

desideep · 26th November 2010, 19:09

Hi,

i would like to say that if you can get this thing for under 40 k. THEN GO FOR IT. all that i would suggest you to check is that the Papers are clean. that means if it is registered it should be on records. to be true i would not care if the bike would have the same engine number or the frame number because at the end of the day this all can be sorted out.

i would be interested in the bike because.
1: RD engine is a RD engine be it whatever. you would need to work it out later on.
2. The Frame is good and it seems to have good parts though it may not be coupled with the engine correctly. so all that you need to do it get it done rite. cause the boy work seems all rite it just needs a paint job.

-------------
If it was me My action plan.

1 BUY the bike
2 Get the relevant and required numbers itched on the bike.
3 Get the engine in a good condition.
4 Get it properly fixed and fitted into the frame.

now the bike is running and now comes the Cosmetic parts. you can get a nice looking paint job done.

i am sure when done this bike will out do any Indian bike in a stock engine condition if not in to but at-least in 0-100 mark.

Take care and best of "the" luck for your bike and the action that you take.

do check out my thread about the RD
RD 350 from Punjab,

Thanks
DesiDeep

2StrokeJunkie · 26th November 2010, 19:12

"the chassis and the rear wheel , seems to be wearing out only on one side "

rear wheel alignment is off.

Aspi , Ron , Joe story is crap. stay away from the bike .

james · 26th November 2010, 19:38

I am not surprised with all the stories the owner is telling you and the names he is dropping. Joe and Ron will never work together and both of them are smart enough to know that a 2x1 chamber on a RD is a big NO NO!!
Talk to the owner, ride the bike, take some fellow RD owners to check out the bike, get some clear chassis and engine mounting pics for us and then bargain hard! I still say the bike is worth if you are getting it for the right price.
Check if the swingarm steps out on the left when you accelerate suddenly. Walk with the bike and listen to the chain and see what angle it mates with the sprocket.

Sutripta · 26th November 2010, 23:18

Hi Octane,
If you are South Cal based, drop me a PM.

A couple of 'none of your business' questions.
Do you do your own wrenching?
How old are you?

Regards
Sutripta

octane1002 · 27th November 2010, 22:27

Post Deleted by the Team-BHP Support : SMS / Slang is STRICTLY prohibited on this community. We would much appreciate your using full & proper English in posts, for the benefit of other forum users.

Please view our board rules carefully before proceeding any further.

james · 27th November 2010, 23:06

Sutripta wants to know if you like working on the bike yourself and if you are young and can dedicate a lotta time to fixing up the bike!

Sutripta · 28th November 2010, 20:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by octane1002

@sutripta...didnt get wht u meant..can u plz b a lil more specific?

Quote:

Originally Posted by james

Sutripta wants to know if you like working on the bike yourself and if you are young and can dedicate a lotta time to fixing up the bike!

As james has said, but-

Not just like working, but capable of working on the bike yourself. You don't have to do the work yourself, but you should not be at the mercy of someone elses greed/ misinformation/ ineptitude. eg. Karol Bagh spares at the price of gold!

Regarding age. Old enough to have discarded rose coloured glasses. Old enough to have gone through a serious relationship with its ups and downs. Young enough to have have no serious time commitments.

RD restoration:- needs patience/ active time commitment/ money. Some amount of trading between these possible.

Why exactly do you want a RD?

Regards
Sutripta

octane1002 · 6th December 2010, 11:20

@all:Sorry I could'nt post on this thread earlier as I had a very packed schedule last week.

After considering all the advice on the bike, I decided not to go ahead with the bike especially with the all the doubtable claims made.Also Im not a very hands-on guy when it comes to gettin my hands greasy working on the bike myself and that coupled with all the things needed to set the bike right was a major deterrent.Sure the "sum of the parts being greater than the bike" equation did come into my mind at times, but then ths particular example would need some real "expert" to set right had any part been improperly installed.N what would I be left if I couldnt manage to set things right?An assortment of good parts thats all.Reselling them to recover costs seemed a daunting prospect for me.So thats it.

A big and I mean BIG thanks to everybody here who time to post replies to my noob questions.

@mods:Please close the thread.

26th November 2010, 17:25	#31
octane1002 BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: kolkata Posts: 409 Thanked: 863 Times	@twostrokejunkie:A big thanks man..Now that is some real information and is exactly what I was looking for.It helps when someone answers your queries in the way you have done rather than the normal one line "Get an original RD dude/RD should like an RD" reply.Sure I agree that an original RD is something else but people need to understand that you've got a total novice here with RDDREAMS in his eyes(pun intended!!!!) and reasoning out in a more rational/objective way with him will probably make him see the point. Coming to the bike, I was always a little cautious and at times felt that something was surely fishy the way the owner made tall claims about the bike.The way he went on about the bike's balance and stuff and how when they were "building the bike" balance was the main concern.He always maintained that the bike had been worked upon by Joe's and the way he vaguely spoke, it seemed even the bodywork had been undertaken there..But later on I came to know that only the engine was worked upon there.So there you have it about balance.I know that the swingarm is an a Honda Original and the owner claims the same about the alloys though I doubt it. The next claim he made was that the bike in question had some serious racing at "Sriperumbudur" by none other than Aspi Bhathena.And that was saying something.I mean Aspi Bhathena ridin this surely meant that this was something well executed.I took this with a pinch of salt. Next up the 21 exhaust.Now here again he told me that it was designed after people like Joe and Ron Chinoy in consultation with a swedish firm(i diont remeber it was some scalman) designed this for optimum performance.Now I can tell this even though I am a novice that Joe and RDC are definitely no best buddies.They may be contemporararies but the chances of them working together surely seem like fantasyland(Sure it might happen on something bigger and grander but not something like this).So again doubtable claims. Last but not the least, when I asked him what was his reason for selling such a(allegedly) well executed example, he said he was moving abroad and hence needed to sell it immediately.But guess what, I come to know recently that the bike has been up for sale for quite sometime now since hes been claiming "moving abroad" as a reason. And now your information surely has set alarm bells ringing.I just want you to be a little more specific on the handling/alignment part and the jugaad work on an RD frame.Is it that you're telling me that this thing has a very unpredictable characteristics?.I guess so.Gosh you have so much of information on this bike.What made you hold back for so long?Come out with whatever it is please.Truly aprreciate this.Thanx a ton for coming to the party at the right time. Last edited by octane1002 : 26th November 2010 at 17:35.*
	() Thanks

26th November 2010, 19:09	#32
desideep Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Adelaide Posts: 1,159 Thanked: 318 Times View My Garage	Hi, i would like to say that if you can get this thing for under 40 k. THEN GO FOR IT. all that i would suggest you to check is that the Papers are clean. that means if it is registered it should be on records. to be true i would not care if the bike would have the same engine number or the frame number because at the end of the day this all can be sorted out. i would be interested in the bike because. 1: RD engine is a RD engine be it whatever. you would need to work it out later on. 2. The Frame is good and it seems to have good parts though it may not be coupled with the engine correctly. so all that you need to do it get it done rite. cause the boy work seems all rite it just needs a paint job. ------------- If it was me My action plan. 1 BUY the bike 2 Get the relevant and required numbers itched on the bike. 3 Get the engine in a good condition. 4 Get it properly fixed and fitted into the frame. now the bike is running and now comes the Cosmetic parts. you can get a nice looking paint job done. i am sure when done this bike will out do any Indian bike in a stock engine condition if not in to but at-least in 0-100 mark. Take care and best of "the" luck for your bike and the action that you take. do check out my thread about the RD RD 350 from Punjab, Thanks DesiDeep
	() Thanks

26th November 2010, 19:12	#33
2StrokeJunkie BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Wakanda Posts: 316 Thanked: 330 Times View My Garage	"the chassis and the rear wheel , seems to be wearing out only on one side " rear wheel alignment is off. Aspi , Ron , Joe story is crap. stay away from the bike . Last edited by GTO : 7th December 2010 at 12:17. Reason: STRICTLY no inappropriate language please, not even indirectly
	() Thanks

26th November 2010, 19:38	#34
james BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Mangalore Posts: 597 Thanked: 645 Times	I am not surprised with all the stories the owner is telling you and the names he is dropping. Joe and Ron will never work together and both of them are smart enough to know that a 2x1 chamber on a RD is a big NO NO!! Talk to the owner, ride the bike, take some fellow RD owners to check out the bike, get some clear chassis and engine mounting pics for us and then bargain hard! I still say the bike is worth if you are getting it for the right price. Check if the swingarm steps out on the left when you accelerate suddenly. Walk with the bike and listen to the chain and see what angle it mates with the sprocket.
	() Thanks

26th November 2010, 23:18	#35
Sutripta Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Calcutta Posts: 4,668 Thanked: 6,217 Times	Hi Octane, If you are South Cal based, drop me a PM. A couple of 'none of your business' questions. Do you do your own wrenching? How old are you? Regards Sutripta
	() Thanks

27th November 2010, 22:27	#36
octane1002 BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: kolkata Posts: 409 Thanked: 863 Times	Post Deleted by the Team-BHP Support : SMS / Slang is STRICTLY prohibited on this community. We would much appreciate your using full & proper English in posts, for the benefit of other forum users. Please view our board rules carefully before proceeding any further. Last edited by GTO : 7th December 2010 at 12:17.
	() Thanks $Received Infraction$

27th November 2010, 23:06	#37
james BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Mangalore Posts: 597 Thanked: 645 Times	Sutripta wants to know if you like working on the bike yourself and if you are young and can dedicate a lotta time to fixing up the bike!
	() Thanks

6th December 2010, 11:20	#39
octane1002 BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: kolkata Posts: 409 Thanked: 863 Times	@all:Sorry I could'nt post on this thread earlier as I had a very packed schedule last week. After considering all the advice on the bike, I decided not to go ahead with the bike especially with the all the doubtable claims made.Also Im not a very hands-on guy when it comes to gettin my hands greasy working on the bike myself and that coupled with all the things needed to set the bike right was a major deterrent.Sure the "sum of the parts being greater than the bike" equation did come into my mind at times, but then ths particular example would need some real "expert" to set right had any part been improperly installed.N what would I be left if I couldnt manage to set things right?An assortment of good parts thats all.Reselling them to recover costs seemed a daunting prospect for me.So thats it. A big and I mean BIG thanks to everybody here who time to post replies to my noob questions. @mods:Please close the thread.
	() Thanks