Richie Rich's Aussie RZ350K - It's Alive!

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Richie Rich · #16 Post by **Richie Rich** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 7:18 pm

aaronmvrider wrote:mate..... she looks awsome..... i have an original seat and every time i see a rz pictured i just want to run out and change the seat back to original, love the swingarm, bet you cant wait to put a few miles on it and then the spec 2 pipes, i think you will have to rejet ???
the steering damper where did you get that from ??? i am thinking of a 300 mm kit from rdlc crazy anodized gold

once again great job and doesnt that rear ride feel great... have you done any sag setting yet
what were your final pistons like ??? did they end up being the same for a balanced wieght.... i have just purchased a set of pro x

Cheers for the kind words (money is in the post)

Aaron

Thanks for that Aaron, appreciate it! Yeah I reckon I'll have to play with the jetting once it's run in and the Spec II's are on so will need to learn up on plug chops etc. at some stage.

The steering damper came from Fast from the Past in the US - USD $99 here's the link http://www.fastfromthepast.com/servlet/ ... mm-/Detail
The mounts came from Norbo (about 40quid for the set) and the set up allows full lock to the left and right.

Rear shock feels fantastic, very smooth ride, but I haven't fiddled with anything on it yet, will get to that soon I hope. The wossners I ended up with were 0.1 gram difference in weight but the engine builder balanced them anyway. Engine sounds good and tight with lots of compression - a far cry from when I first got it! If I had the choice again I would've gone with Pro-X so you've made the right choice there.

Cheers!

Richie Rich · #17 Post by **Richie Rich** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 7:25 pm

[quote="kpke"]That bike looks beautiful RichieRich. Great job.

Can you comment on the install of the swinger? I recently got one in a lot of parts I purchased. Bolt in or was there "extra" work involved?

Thanks!!![quote]

Hi kpke, yes the swingarm is a bolt on affair, very straight forward. Only thing you need to be aware of is the different tolerances between the bikes and shim the swingarm pivot accordingly. Metmachex is obviously still in business and they gave me great after sales service and can supply extra shims in the required size if you contact them.

I also had some problems with the chain contacting the inside bottom edge of the shallow lower brace. This ended up being because my bike had altered gearing with a 37 tooth rear sprocket. I wanted my bike slightly geared down anyway so I ended up installing a 42 tooth rear with a 17 front and a new chain which solved the clearnace issue. Also fitted a modified RZ chain runner on the top (drilling 6mm threaded inserts) into the top of the arm to protect it from the chain run along the top.

So easy to adjust the chain - no aligning the wheel!

Richie Rich · #18 Post by **Richie Rich** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 7:26 pm

JonW wrote:Superb m8! Just loving it. subtle changes and good upgrades that will be felt not seen, nice! :)

Thanks Jon, looking forward to getting some kms on it now and seeing yours come together!

aaronmvrider · #19 Post by **aaronmvrider** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 3:12 am

Richie what is the length of rod travel on your steering damper, i have an ohlins and am unsure if it is long enough

what sort of steering lock do you get with it on ???

Richie Rich · #20 Post by **Richie Rich** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 11:55 pm

aaronmvrider wrote:Richie what is the length of rod travel on your steering damper, i have an ohlins and am unsure if it is long enough

what sort of steering lock do you get with it on ???

Hey Aaron, check out the link in my previous reply to you as it lists the specs of the NHK damper. I've just checked it now and it says it's stroke is 115mm and the total length is 330mm.

I get full lock left & right with this set up. Hope that helps.

aaronmvrider · #21 Post by **aaronmvrider** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 9:47 am

hi Richie... are those spec 11 pipes on yet... re routed my shock reservoir yesterday thanks for the pictures of yours... have you any videos of revs or riding yet.. what jetting will you be running

next month Rapid bikes magazine Rz 500 article is in it

going on a MV Agusta ride tomorrow for sydney members of the mv forum... should be quite a few going ... should be a good morning spin out to Wollombi pub... i think its being covered by Rapid bikes also.... might get the mv in the mag also

my 350 is close to kicking it over will post a video asap

Aaron

Richie Rich · #22 Post by **Richie Rich** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 1:00 am

aaronmvrider wrote:hi Richie... are those spec 11 pipes on yet... re routed my shock reservoir yesterday thanks for the pictures of yours... have you any videos of revs or riding yet.. what jetting will you be running

next month Rapid bikes magazine Rz 500 article is in it

going on a MV Agusta ride tomorrow for sydney members of the mv forum... should be quite a few going ... should be a good morning spin out to Wollombi pub... i think its being covered by Rapid bikes also.... might get the mv in the mag also

my 350 is close to kicking it over will post a video asap

Aaron

Hey Aaron, glad things are coming along nicely with your 350, look forward to seeing the finished product and hearing how she goes with all the mods.

Not much has happened my end of late as after our holiday we've been investment house shopping and the wife is preganant so doing lots of house and baby stuff.... dragged the RZ out for a spin into the city last weekend and she ran beautifully, parked it up outside all the main MC shops in the city and she had quite a few admirers!

Still have std pipes on it, waiting for new exhaust baffle packing and lock wire which arrived from the UK yesterday. Just need some time to do some fitting!

aaronmvrider · #23 Post by **aaronmvrider** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 3:40 am

fitting my steering damper how did you get the fork leg fitting done i have a clearance issue between the fork leg and the instrument and light bracket etc..

aaronmvrider · #24 Post by **aaronmvrider** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 5:05 am

never mind Richie... got it sorted !!!!

Richie Rich · #25 Post by **Richie Rich** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 8:07 pm

Took my RZ out for a 300km blast on Sunday - it's been well over 2 mths since I last rode it - bad weather, lots of domestic duties & travel with work keeping me off 2 x wheels. Anyway had a blast riding around the hills of Victoria, but surprised to come across a lot of snow on one of the legs - it was a little chilly but didn't think I'd get the opportunity to snap a few shots of the bike in snow!

Anyway thought I'd share. Had a blast on the bike and really enjoyed my ride - must make more time for it!

aaronmvrider · #26 Post by **aaronmvrider** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 8:35 pm

nice one Richie... did the jetting change in those conditions ???

rare opportunity in the snow grerat photos

Richie Rich · #27 Post by **Richie Rich** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 8:55 pm

Mate she was super crisp that's for sure! and there was no sign of running hot....

I was actually super impressed at how she rode on the ride, fantastic drive out of the corners from 6000 rpm and she stered and handled so well in all the bends - and we were hussling along when the road conditions permitted us to do so.

I still haven't played with the Penske shock yet, on some of the fast sweepers (over 110km/h) cranked over she'd develop a minor wallow after hitting a bump mid corner, nothing major but I think it could be tuned out with some suspension adjustment, though maybe not as the frame is of course one big hinge!

She's done 900km on the new motor now so fully run in. Time to get the Spec II pipes on at some stage....

Hey - saw your RZ500 write up in RAPID (bought the mag because of it) - nice work mate!!

Richie Rich · #28 Post by **Richie Rich** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 1:40 am

Hi all, I posted a few of these pics up on another Aussie website so apologies to those that have already seen them - but was keen to share here too - just some pics after finally fitting a set of original Spec II pipes that I bought off a member on this forum last year. Spent a bit of time cleaning them up and painting them and then days cleaning the entire bike and finishing off a few odd jobs.

Had a photo shoot for a new Aussie classic bike magazine (hence the sudden spurt of works) so looking forward to seeing my baby in print sometime later this year.

Just need to rejet it now...

JonW · #29 Post by **JonW** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 2:39 am

Hee hee, cool. Well as I said elsewhere, loving the bike mate, youve done yourself proud and cant wait to see this one in print.

aaronmvrider · #30 Post by **aaronmvrider** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 5:12 am

well deserved to be in a magazine Richie...

in print for a life time

would it happen to be rapid, used and classic bike enthusiast ???

did you happen to see my 500 in that one

issue number # 1