New RZ350 owner intro

[dauer]

Hello all,
Simply wanted to introduce myself to the boards. My name is Wyatt and I'm the proud new owner of an '84 RZ350 with 11,300 on the clock. She is no show winner but a well maintained runner that is a blast to ride. PO stated a recent topend which I have no reason to doubt because it runs well and pulls strong once on pipe. The bike has racetech fork springs, steering stabilizer, fork brace, 2 into 1 intake, and JL chambers. Along with the bike I also scored a complete decal kit, solo seat cowl, and stock pipes. My two-stroke experience is limited to MX and Enduro bikes so this RZ is a bit of a departure simply because it doesn't come on pipe until about 8k revs, but it pulls very strong till about 10.5K revs. I will be in search of some more midrange soon and will be leaning on this board for advice and info. Look forward to discussing all things RZ and some things non RZ with all of you.
Regards,
Wyatt

[mountaincycle]

Welcome from South Carolina!

You have located an awesome place for great information and some REALY great folks

btw - nice bike!

[dauer]

Thanks very much! I just took her out for a quick blast and I can't get enough, it's all very addictive. I fueled up and got a good chuckle when I calculated my mileage which was a whopping 25 mpg, but that's not what these bikes are all about. If it was good mileage I was after I would've bought a Ninja 300, which are very nice bikes by the way.

[hondaror]

Nice score! Welcome, from a Canadian noob.

[pearljam724]

Thanks very much! I just took her out for a quick blast and I can't get enough, it's all very addictive. I fueled up and got a good chuckle when I calculated my mileage which was a whopping 25 mpg, but that's not what these bikes are all about. If it was good mileage I was after I would've bought a Ninja 300, which are very nice bikes by the way.

Awesome looking bike. You're getting close to 10 more miles to the gallon than me. I've owned nearly every street bike imaginable and none of them compared to the grin factor of these little suckers. Not, even the bikes that possessed nearly 130 more hp.

[dauer]

I know, I defy someone to take one of these things for a ride and not have a grin on their face from ear to ear. As far as the mileage is concerned I believe a congratulations is in order, well done sir. Haha!

[aaronmvrider]

hmm... 8 k revs before coming on pipe.... should be earlier than that....

jetting check and powervalves operating correctly....

cool bike... preaching to the converted....

[RuZty]

hmm... 8 k revs before coming on pipe.... should be earlier than that....

jetting check and powervalves operating correctly....

cool bike... preaching to the converted....

Same thoughts here, should start to really go at around 6500. Check the PV fuse/motor/cables/center coupler. Or maybe the new top end was from a Banshee...

[aaronmvrider]

ypvs barrels pictured...

jet 420 main. for that setup..

[dauer]

Thanks so much for the info, I was thinking that 8k revs seemed a bit high to come on pipe. I will trouble shoot the ypvs and keep you posted.

[dauer]

At this point I should prob be starting a new thread but wanted to give a quick update: after troubleshooting the power valve per the numerous threads and plentiful info on this board I've come to the conclusion that they are operating as they should. The reason I say this is because both cycle as they should upon turning on the ignition and when the bike is running the PV opens (rotates counter-clockwise) at around 6k rpm. That is a bit of a relief.

I pulled the plugs and they were toast, the gap and electrode wasn't horrible but they were very dark, almost black in color, not wet but dark which would indicate a rich tune, correct?. It seems this bike may not have been as well maintained as I was lead to believe and also not as well tuned as lead to believe. Next on the list will be a proper carb tuning which is a bit out of my comfort zone. I know it's a long shot but does anyone live in or around southern New England (specifically Rhode Island), USA and savvy with carb tuning? Or can anyone recommend a reputable tuner in the area?

The good news is I did swap the plugs for some fresh ones and it actually seemed to run a bit better although it could be my imagination. I think my problem is that my perception of the riding characteristics of these bikes is a bit off. My previous 2-stroke experience is on a YZ250, which was a rip snorting beast that would wheelie in gears 1-4 with no clutching and little provocation. Now I'm expecting the RZ to behave the same way and that's not realistic simply based on physics, My YZ had roughly the same power (50 hp) and was 120lb lighter so there you have it. That's not to say these things can't wheelie, I proved that just a few minutes ago :), they just take bit more coaxing than a purpose built modern MX bike. Thanks

[aaronmvrider]

have a go at the carbs yourself... easy as pie... plenty of help here..

[dauer]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm going to do some research and watch some videos then I may give it a shot. Will post the results.