Stunner of an RD350 Restomod.

From Ted Brecheisen:

Great blog site! I submitted some pics of my 78' Honda Hawk bobber July 2010, thanks for posting and good words. I know that a lot of the bikes that are on the 2-stroke blog are modified to radical so I thought it might be of interest to see a stocker. We found this great 1975 RD350 in excellent condition hiding in a service department of a local Yamaha dealer. As is typical, money was needed by the owner so we provided $$. Only a few things are not original. The ignition was replaced with an electronic version from Vintage Smoke, and hi-output coils from HVC Cycle as well as the front master cylinder. This is a rider and these changes make it a pleasure to ride. Everything was taken apart and cleaned or buffed. Even the "orange peal" in the tank close up is original. That was the way some of them came in 75' as Japanese paint standards were not very good. Thanks

Reader ride. Stunning 74 H2 Restomod.

Thanks to Peter Hickman for this stunner! There's a loooot of nice touches in this beauty. Hard to believe that some folks consider this to be the "ugly" H2. Nothing wrong with this beauty.

Reader Submittal. Beautiful piar of RD400's from the UK!

Think I missed these in the e-mail trough... Sorry bout that Tony. Some real beauties!


Hi , Tony McGuire here from East Yorkshire in UK,
i thought you would enjoy seeing a fellow club members bikes, the owner is Tony Booth, hes built these 2 stunning RD400 specials, the yellow & white bike runs a stock RD400 motor, the all white bike runs a 430cc tuned motor..
ps, a merry christmas to you and fellow stroker riders everywhere..

Outstanding Chappy Red RD400!

Really nice Job there Damon!

H2 Resto! Wow!

By H2DCW on the Kawi Triples Board.

Reader Ride! S3 Triple In The Snow!

Tony McGuire sends in his latest.

Hi again, Tony McGuire here in Yorkshire UK, thought id show you my 1975 Kawasaki S3A 400 triple, its wearing KH400 paintwork and Gibson Allspeed chambers but I'm not one for originality so bollocks to the purists!
Keep up the excellent blog !
Regards, Tony

Beautiful Bike and Beautiful color!  And I agree... While I do appreciate a perfect original for what it is, I still prefer them with a tasteful personal touch. Looking Great! Always a pleasure Tony!

Update... new build pics:Reader Ride From Norway! Brilliant Gilera

UPDATE:  In my ignorance about this brand I failed to realize just exactly how special a build this machine really is.  For a more complete story about the building of this bike see this thread here: http://50iniepoca.forumfree.it/?t=44399445
Really fantastic stuff Morton.  thanks for the link!

Morten of Norway Writes in:

Hi and RESPECT ! for your great blog !

I have been surfing up and down your amazing site, and it has given me a lot of ideas for my next build.

A really wonerfull mix of bikes and details, keep up the good work and ride safe. Thank you :-)

.........and a pic of my last build, 1978 Gilera Edizione Speciale. 80cc 6 speed Polini/Gilera engine.

top speed: 121 km/h / 75 mp/h @13400 rpm

Med vennlig hilsen - Regards Morten

This is an extraordinary build.  Thanks Very Much for sending it in!

Stunning H2.

I love those Figaroli pipes.  From a new blog http://kawasakih21973.blogspot.com/

Reader Ride! An H2 SAVE!

Joe Byrd sends in this fantastic :save: of a classic Kawasaki!  Having been down this road a few times with Kawasaki Triples myself I can attest to what a fantastic job this is.

Joe Writes:

Steve
After you posted pix of my H1A and my CR500R, you said to let you know about the next one.


My H2 750 Triple
You can see the before and after;
I purchased the "bike-in-a-box" early last fall with the intent of rebuilding it over the winter.  The build got off to a late start but by June I had it running.

I call it a rebuild and not a restoration because I just wanted a nice looking, nice running H2 to ride, I did not want a bike too nice to ride. I think it has worked out as planned.

Every part needed something. I did all the work myself with the exception  of the powder coating, some machine work (requiring special machines) and applying the paint base coat and clear coat. The painter wanted nothing to do with the decals.

I only bought new parts when I did not have the part or when I could not rebuild the existing part in a satisfactory manner.

I made a lot  parts I did not have or could not get, having access to a machine shop is a great thing.

I seemed like everything that should have taken a minute, took an hour and everything that should have taken an hour, took a week.

I replaced every bearing and seal.  I installed a rebuilt crank  and new pistons in new bores.  It got a new clutch and I had enough transmission parts to build one with minimal wear. And as always, H2 transmissions require careful  shimming.
       
I have ridden it about 600 miles so far, I have fixed a few nits and niggles. It took a while but now I have the jetting spot on. And it is running  like a strong H2 with no issues.

The first week I had it running, I rode it to a large cruiser extravaganza and entered the 750  in the bike show. Though there were quite a number of metric customs, the H2 won first place in the Asian category!

Wicked GT750 Restomod.

Ken Fontenot of Cyclesports Houston sends in their latest masterpiece.  one of these days I'm going to have to buy myself a nice GT.  They're starting to grow on me.

 Ken writes:

Here is a custom restoration we did on a '72 Suzuki GT750. The bike came in to us all apart in boxes and had been that way for several years. Actually there were two frames and parts from two different bikes, a '72 and a '73.

Instructions from the owner were that he hated chrome and wanted a nice bike that looked like a stock one but with nice mods that would make it a better bike, no outrageous custom, wanted to keep it very conservative looking, using the '72 frame.

We did a complete inspection of all the parts and pulled all the best stuff out and started the project. First off we took ALL the chrome peices and sent them to the powdercoaters for a nice aluminum coating, fenders and all. We also sent the '72 frame, electrical box, side & center stands and had them coated in gloss black. In lue of the chrome rims we ordered a set of aluminum excell rims and stainless spokes from Buchanan's, the hubs were also aluminum coated. We had Jemco exhaust systems right down the street from us build a set of there 3 into one nickel plated chambers. All the painted items were stripped and painted aqua Blue, same as the stock color for '72 but left off all the stripes. The instruments were sent off and were completely refurbished. We also ordered a set of black XR750 flat track bars from Flanders.

We had two engines so we took both completely apart and used all the best parts to make one. Crankshaft was sent to Bill Bune Enterprises for a complete rebuild and truing with all new bearings and seals. We also got new first over pistons & rings, bored the cylinders and painted the cases satin black. All the engine covers were either polished or painted hi-gloss black. All fasteners were replaced with polished stainless allens.

Carbs were also stripped and painted, bodies satin black, covers & bowls hi-gloss black and rejetted for the chambers and K&N pod style air filters instead of the stock airbox. All cables, hoses & fuel lines were replaced with new.

We had a '73 disc front bake setup as well as the '72 Double leading Drum. We knew the Disc would probably work better but just couldn't get away from the cool good looks of the Double leading setup, all new shoes and bearings of course.

New Footpeg rubber, seat, front fork boots, as well as grips were aquired and installed. New tapered roller bearings on the steering stem, progressive springs and new progresive shocks and bronze swingarm bushings renewed the suspension and worked much better than the stock componets. For tires we found a set of new K-70 dunlops for that retro look.

The bike has won awards at local shows and is ridden by its owner Greg Owen every chance he gets. The bike really handles great, is very comfortable, and runs exceptionally well. Those Jemco Chambers give it a very nice growl and sitting there at idle its music to the ears! We love the old Two strokes!

Thanks for Your consideration!

Ken Fontenot
Cycle Sports Ltd of Houston
9802 Clay Rd
Houston, Texas 77080
713-690-9802
www.cyclesportshouston.com


Thanks for the great pics Ken!

Add caption

Wicked little RD350 Custom

Damm that looks like a good time!

Very Tasty RD400 Restomod from the Deals Gap meet.

Another Beautiful H1 Restomod