Whymee's #1 & #2 Restore

[brrrappp]

...and none of the resellers actually have stock.

Thats the modern world. gone are the days of dealers ordering lots of parts in and storing them for us to buy. When someone wants to restore a 2018 R1 in 30 years there will be no cool rare NOS spares in dusty wrappers on ebay for those bikes, the parts will just be gone as the Yam worldwide regional warehouses will have none etc.

I blame computerized inventory. Dealers now only buy parts that rotate vs parts they "think" might get used.

Part of the package when you sign up as a dealer is a mandatory parts inventory. The suggested package from the OEM''s is supposedly "most popular fast moving inventory." Sadly many of the items are neither fast moving or popular. Dealers create their own list of fast moving inventory going forward and much of it is aftermarket.

A new Suzuki dealer I worked for back in 1990 bought the old Yamaha dealer in town. To avoid buying the Yamaha-required initial parts package, he negotiated buying the old dealers existing parts inventory. The out of business Yamaha dealer's son was the parts manager and he owned a RZ350. While doing a physical inventory of parts, I couldn't believe the number of RZ350 parts in stock! If I had any extra money at that time I would have bought all of it. As it was well known that I also had an RZ350, my Christmas bonus one year was a NIB SOLO cowl and a New chin fairing! Both were considered dead inventory.

This same Suzuki dealer had at one time employed an up and coming Road Racer that went on to win at the National level. During his time as an amateur the dealership was his personal parts warehouse. I am fairly certain that we had the strongest inventory of 1987-88 GSK-R750 internal engine parts in the North East! We probably had the highest number of warranty claims for the same model as well.

[Whymee]

Today was a productive day.

Oil injection system finished & bled.
Water cooling system finished, no coolant.
Carbs, fuel lines & Toomey air filter installed.
Bearings & seals went in the rims. Tires mounted the other day.



Waiting on a dust seal then I can install the wheels & get her on its feet.

Media blasted the tank. As I feared there are severe dents from the bars at some point. Ordered a stud welder & puller. Always wanted to get one. This gives me a feeble excuse to spend the coin. Between a Dremel, pliers, a magnet & a drill, I managed to remove the USA spec unleaded fuel flap & associated hardware. I wanted to see the inside of the tank to see if it warranted the expenditure of a stud welder. I am happy to report it damn near looks like new inside. Very pleased. Definitely worth fixing correctly.

In my younger days, I constructed a paint booth in my garage. That spot now houses a classic car. So I have to figure out another way to spray. I do have an unused heated greenhouse. I tried firing up the heater (propane) but had gas leakage around the base of the pilot. My order came in for a new pilot light assembly & I installed it. I will be toasty warm when it is frigid outside now. Only problem is my air is around a 150 yards away. Looks like I will have to transport air, somehow...

I wish I could buy all new bodywork for this unit. I sent an email to National Fiberglass but have not heard back. Anybody have a source for repro plastic?

I need to figure out what pipes I want to run. Old school Toomeys, Spec II, Factory pipe, DG's, or another I am not sure of the make. Might be early JL's.

Getting ready to start on Bike #2. Here is a couple pics...





Bike #3 I robbed the Fox Shock from. Look like it was raced at some point as the frame is modded a bit.





It does have some yummy upgrades that may be of some use in the future.

[kobra]

Wow looking GREAT! You make amazing fast progress. I think you will finish both before I'm done with 1.

It looks like you're a real VHT supporter based on your pics lol.

[Whymee]

A milestone has been reached. Bike is setting on its wheels! Woo Hoo! LOL



Today was not without drama. Several days ago I took my back brake system apart to clean & flush it. Today I decide to add fluid & bleed. So I add fluid. As I am working the pedal after about a half hour I am starting to get a tiny amount of brake. Air bubbles still coming out little by little. As I was pumping the brake, my hose came off the bleeder screw & I did not find out until 2 pumps later. Needless to say, VHT paint IS good, but not THAT good! I believe a rear wheel repaint is in my future. That blows dead bears...

[kobra]

Oh man what a bummer. At least you have the skills and tools available to make the fix. I bet you could do a spot repair too and you'd never even notice.

[Whymee]

Here we are a few days later and I have several things to post about. Grab your popcorn, this is gonna be a book!

First, this is #1 as it sits this morning.




Let me first start out by saying I am not very good (lack of experience) at getting a dented tank ready for paint. It appears I do not have the feel for it yet. I have pulled out the deep dents with a stud puller. Threw on a couple light coats of filler. Here is the tank as of today.



I hate body work, but I love painting. Go figure.


I seen on the Facebook RZ Group that ED Toomey posted about his reemergence in the 2 cycle world with ED Toomey Designs. https://www.facebook.com/EdToomeyDesigns He has been in the software biz for several years. Sold his company & is back massaging the 2T motorcycle. Good for the RZ owner. As we all know, or should know, he is legendary with not only RZ's, but 2 strokes (2T) in general.

So I called him, and he answered! We talked for maybe 45 minutes and solved several world problems during the conversation. I came away impressed to say the least. So much so that I shipped him 2 heads to be massaged. I will be doing more business with him in the near future. As an added bonus he is located fairly close to me in South Carolina. Win win for me!

I have been searching for better body panels than what I have. It occurred to me that I have forgotten that I have a set that I brought home with my 1st haul. It will not be pretty, but at least it will be all one scheme, except for the tank.

And speaking of hauling home stuff. I did make my 2nd haul. Brought back 2 more RZ350's and some parts. Some will find the RZ's interesting, some will find the parts interesting. Here is a crappy pic of the RZ's. They look better in the pic than in person!



And some parts I snagged.




Some tasty stuff in there, so people tell me. I will possibly be using some on #3 &4. TZ & TZR frames & swingarms, TZ wheel set, just to name a few of the juicier parts.



The most exciting thing is I now have twins! And I do not have a cigar to celebrate.



#2 is going back together. New crank, bore, seals, bla bla bla.




I really like the R/W/B contrast with the black motor. For some reason I am more excited about getting this one done than #1. I have decided for good or bad, not to start a separate thread for #2. After all their twins. He he... New crank, seals, case matched, bla bla bla.

#2, when I tore it down, every nut & bolt and sub assembly was bagged & tagged. I did not do this with #1 and I payed for it later on in the rebuild process. I was relying on my memory, and it failed me. On several occasions. Kids, bag & tag your disassembly. Nuff said...

Made an Order From Toomey (west coast). Battery box, 2/1 filter and some springs. After I ordered, a nice looking stock air box came up on the 'Bay & I snagged it. I can always use those items on #3 or 4, since they will not be stockers. I still need another stock airbox for #1. I am patient. Most of the time. Not!! I have said this before, half of the restoration fun is finding the part you need without breaking the bank account.

My local dealer tells me that Yamaha is not shipping out parts for at least a week. Something about a price increase & taking inventory. I need some parts to keep marching forward. Oh, nothing like paying more. At least they are not giving us less for more like some company's! Ever notice the size of the burger lately? Disgusting...

'Till I have more...

[Whymee]

Waiting on parts just slows me down. Yamaha has several parts on back order. Hopefully they do not become obsolete. Rear fenders, handlebars, caliper seals to name a few. Yes I t seems like I can source new parts from other places. I get a deep discount at my local dealer. That is why I have to wait. The budget is getting tighter by the week. I have twins yanno! They think money grows on trees. Wait until they grow up...
I just want to bitch a bit about the price of used pieces parts for these machines. Or new for that matter. It seems like I buy high and sell low. That just ain't right...


Both machines have had side stands with very little metal on the bottom. I guess the years of use have made them a bit thin. So this is how I repaired them.





Like it never happened!

Finally obtained an airbox. Came in today. It went on #2. Tomorrow the top end goes back on #2 also. Need to get a Uni filter. An airbox for #1 is "in the mail".
Bought a set of Oury Road grips. Nice & tacky. I think I will get another set for #1.

Sent more stuff to the powder coater. Both side & center stands & the frame grab rail. Going to be powered red. I hope I do not regret this decision in the future.

#3 is a 85 R/W/B bike. It came with a Corbin seat to match the scheme. Cover is a little dingy and dry rotted. Could be used as is but I prefer not to. I think this March, I will take it with me to Bike Week. Corbin has a place just north of Daytona in Ormond Beach. Going to see if they will freshen it up. May be make it universal for both schemes.

Both #3 &4 have no keys. I am looking for a Yamaha key cutter that will provide me with keys for these two bikes. I do have 4 codes for the ignitions I have laying around. Surely this ought to work.

As they sit as of this typing.



My goals have shifted. Originally I was going to sell 3 & keep one. Now I think I will keep my price high on these two in hopes of adding them to the heard. They will remain stockish. #3 & 4 will be modified. In the end I will end up with a stock & modded machine in each color. I even have a complete motor laying around that needs rebuilt I am sure. Been looking around for a roller to put it into. Kinda like a supermoto motif. If anyone has any suggestions I am all ears! KTM 390, DRZ, come to mind.

My head tells me I do not need 4 or 5 RZ's laying around in varying states of tune. My head is absolutely correct. My heart says otherwise. Just something about a tuned two stroke coming on the pipe (Toomey's) that cannot be duplicated by anything that is sold today in the USA.

To tell the truth I am out of room. I either need to sell a few bikes or build a bigger shop/garage. Another head/heart struggle...

I really want a T500 too. As that was my first street bike. The pink one...

Stay warm folks!

[gpaddict]

Dude, put the cover back on your grease jar!

[Whymee]

Dude, put the cover back on your grease jar!

LOL...

That is my junk grease. For threads & such. My good grease is under lock & key! Haha

[gpaddict]

Phew, now I can sleep easy tonight

[kobra]

Are you going with stock handlebars? What are those silver ones with the crossbar posted above?

[Whymee]

Are you going with stock handlebars? What are those silver ones with the crossbar posted above?

Yes going with stockers.

The silver ones were being used while in the mock up stage until Yamaha shipped the stockers. Still waiting on 1 pair.

[Whymee]

For those needing headtube replacement decals I highly recommend these cats https://www.replacementdecals.com/

[Whymee]

Additionally, after destroying some irreplaceable RZ parts (disassembled for cleaning) I was feeling a little down in the dumps. I needed a quick pick-me-upper. So I assembled #2 a little further than it warrants at this time. It kinda worked...



Anyhoo...

Astute RZ enthusiasts will notice 2 things right off the bat. Gold calipers. I am waiting on 3 seal kits from Yamaha. I just threw these on in the mean time. Also that is a FZ-07 master. Hey, it bled & I have brakes. We will see if it is compatible with the calipers during my first test ride.

Heads came back from Ed Toomey today. The dude does nice work. I pick up my gaskets tomorrow. I might have a first fire by this weekend if #2 plays nice!

I posted here as well on the RZ Facebook site that I am in need of at least one or more (I am not picky) and as of now have not found one.



Facebook said Yamabits has them. And they do, for the front. A little pricey to get it to me on this side of the pond. Looks like I will be forced to make it. Stay tuned...

[Whymee]

Quite a few parts came in yesterday & today. Not all, most notably still missing the new rad cover. This one will have to do for the time being. Installed the Toomey massaged head. 45 tho. squish. Pretty good machining for not knowing the squish to start. Ed Toomey knows his chit, for sure.

Set the carb up with Main 250, pilot 20 & AS 1.5 out. Stock needle in the stock position. Went up a couple sizes on the main from 230 for insurance.

The above allowed me to go ahead & put #2 on the bottle & get ready for a first fire.



As I was mixing Yamaha 2S @32/1 with 3/4 90 octane pure gas & 1/4 VP 110, I thought to myself wouldn't it be nice to have two first fires right after the other. That is what I am going to attempt.

To get #1 ready, I need to install the stock airbox & handlebars and add coolant. I am sure there are more little dodads to get it ready that I can't think of offhand.

Two first fire attempts tomorrow!

Off to watch the rest of SX on the tube.

Stay Warm!