Case together. Waiting for wrist pins and clips to button up the engine. Took the frame to a car wash. Sprayed with oven clener, then Gunk, then the soap and rinse wands. Got most of the oil/grease/dirt that 2strokes accumulate off. Now hitting the rust on the frame with abrasive wheel before etching primer.
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A Bicentenial restoration/rescue - '76 RD400
- Thread starter jonesn7
- Start date
All buttoned up, rotor and stator mounted, and timing set (figured it would be easier with the engine on the bench). Plugged intake and put it in the big plastic storage box. I had to do some lathe bit grinding and cut a flange on the lathe, so best to have it protected from that. After finishing with the lathe, I hope to de-rust the remainder of the frame and prime it. Then, ,all get stored away as we are having work done on our house that will require me to consolidate two GoldWings and the RD400 parts into the front half of the garage so that sheetrock can be ripped out over the garage door.
Latest update: frame has been cleaned of the painted-over rust, primed with etching primer, and painted with Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy. Bought a stud welder for leveling the dents in the tank. That will occupy over a month as we've prepared the garage for having half its ceiling ripped out for house repairs. I will be changing the color to Geneva Green, and considering an attempt at mixing my own by combining Duplicolor Dark Emerald Green Metalic with a bit of their Gold to add a bit more yellow to it. 2K clear coat over the lacquer has done well for me on other bikes.
From the time I was 16-18, I had an RD350, an RD400 just like the one you bought, and an RD400F Daytona. Loved them all and they could embarrass big displacement 4-strokes and Harleys. I grew up around racing 2-strokes on Tunnel Hull outboard boats, go-carts, cycles, and even model engines. Had a nitro-burning twin McCulloch cart before I got my drivers license that would run 89mph in the 1/8, and my Dad took it away and hung it on the wall for a year when he caught me drag racing muscle cars on the street. So then I drag raced Kaw H2-750s at the local strip.....cheapest way into the 10s there was......good times. I grew a foot and gained 100lbs in high school and that was the end of any dreams of being a pro-racer, and probably much for the better. Thanks for taking me back and have fun with your build.
Best,
Kelly
Best,
Kelly
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2013
- Messages
- 302
A little memory here of my first '76 RD400c that I bought new in Charleston, SC. It was ~'77 or '78 and I decided to ride the bike home for a long weekend. This is more than 500 miles, even with today's interstates. They were not complete back then. At least I only had a ~25-26 year old back at the time. Really, after Columbia SC headed North I became either numb or found the right position and the miles went by easy. Headed back to Charleston (Must have been a Tuesday, because I voted before I left) it all went real well until Columbia, SC at around midnight. Torrential rain started and I had to be back at the base Wednesday morning so I pressed on. I had purchased a rain suit at Kmart and it was just as good as you might suspect for a Kmart product. I was wearing a Bell Star full face helmet (one of the early ones) and that kept my glasses fairly clear, plus the visor didn't fog. Good thing because the rain was falling so hard that I could barely see the road. I made it home around 4 am and actually poured water out of my boots before going inside. My clothing was 100% soaked. I took a quick shower and shave, donned a clean uniform, and headed for the base, just getting there in time for muster. The RD never missed a beat. I don't remember how many miles I put on it, but purchased in late Summer of '76, sold in January '79 and although I had cages it was my main transportation the 50% of the time I was home (2 crew submarine). It never had an issue. Started right off every time. I never did any service beyond topping off the oil, tire pressure, and changing the transmission oil (once). Never took it back to the dealer for anything. Lots of trips to the beach, daily commute ~12 miles each way, at least once a week ride to friend's house in Ravenel Evening rides through the "marshland" (I was warned never to call them 'swamps') and up toward Summerville on Ashley River Road under the Live Oak canopy were memories I like to recall, too. That was a great age and time to be on a bike. I was mature enough though, to know that I was not mature enough to have that bike when I moved back to the mountains.
This my mother with the RD behind my Cougar:
This my mother with the RD behind my Cougar:
A little every day. Clocks cleaned, cases and bracket painted, reassembled and tested with my cordless drill. Lots of auxiliary parts (mounts, etc.) Cleaned and painted. Tank in progress of removing the red paint. Then Bondo, prime, Geneva green, and 2K clear. Beginning to bolt things to the frame which is hanging from the ceiling of the garage. Found out we have another two-week delay on starting the house work.
Finished removing the paint from the tank. Bondo on the small dents and the one big rough spot left on the front after using the stud welder on it. Then a lot of sanding, and more Bondo, more sanding, Bondo Glazing and spot putty, more sanding. Primed the bottom (tunnel) with etching primer, then the top. Noticed some rough spots on the top, so built up about four layers of filler primer. I'll let that cure overnight and hit it tomorrow with sanding again. If good then, a good etching primer layer to seal everything so the lacquer will not react with any small bit I may have left. Considering leaving the tunnel with just the etching primer and then clear over the whole thing when it comes time.
Rainy today - and a bonus that the mountains provide - power outages. On our backup generator for the past hour and a half. And it is dark now. I always pray for the linemen that have to work in bad weather.
Anyway, the forks are rebuilt with new seals and fresh synthetic ATF. Straightened, cleaned the rust and paint off of the old headlight bucket, and primed it by heating with the heat gun, open the garage door and paint, close the door and hit with heat gun again, repeat. Weather is forecast to clear up in a few days. Then it will get black finish. Went through parts to determine what I still need - brake lines, tires, chain, plus about $150 in bits from Yambits.
Anyway, the forks are rebuilt with new seals and fresh synthetic ATF. Straightened, cleaned the rust and paint off of the old headlight bucket, and primed it by heating with the heat gun, open the garage door and paint, close the door and hit with heat gun again, repeat. Weather is forecast to clear up in a few days. Then it will get black finish. Went through parts to determine what I still need - brake lines, tires, chain, plus about $150 in bits from Yambits.