New winter project.
 

I went to an auction last weekend (Bettencourts in Bridgewater, MA) Unbelievable selection of bikes here is the sold list:
http://www.jwoodandcompany.com/2009/...d_11212009.pdf
I was kind of hoping to pick up an old superhawk, but they weren't in very good condition. So I got antsy towards the end and picked up a '72 Yamaha R5 (350)
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n..._7726sized.jpg
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n..._7728sized.jpg
I should have checked it out more, I just saw that the engine turned free, but both pistons have holes in them. Fortunately 2 strokes are so simple to work on, the heads were off in about 15 minutes. Now I'm trying to decide what to do, clean it up and keep it somewhat stock or go for more of a cafe look which I've found some great ideas for. Other than the pistons it's in beautiful shape. I've always wanted to ride one of these, and have heard they're a blast to drive.

Oooooooo! Check out Spec II and Moto Carrera for parts. Look to Banshee hop-up parts for the engine. I had a 4p GSXR caliper on my RD400, RT springs, Fox shocks, Spec II exhaust, stage three engine. It shifted wonderfully and went like nuts in the narrow power band. (I never did get the handling exactly where I wanted it.) I still miss that bike. You'll have tons of fun with it, just make sure you use good two-stroke oil and run it outside at all times ;)

Say, what's up with the forks...?

BTW: Check out "SPEC II'S RECOMMENDATIONS, RD350-WISE..." at the bottom of gthis page:

http://www.spec2.com/rd.html

You can do 90% of this work yourself.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for the RD?

I got it for $700. As for the forks, I have no idea, those black springs are on top of the seals, like helpers or something, can't find any info on them anywhere, thinking about an rd disc front end too. I've been all over the Moto-carrera and spec2 sites already, lots of decisions to make... The first pics were two days ago, this was tonight:
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../IMG_7741s.jpg
And one of my ventilated pistons,
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n..._7738sized.jpg

Sweet. Like you say, those bikes are so easy to work on. You're going to have hours of fun. :)

I think you can bolt an XS650 front end onto the bike... not sure if those are any more plentiful or not, but that was the upgrade in the day.

FWIW, there's a junkyard in South Berwick, ME, that had tons of RDs. It's an old style place where you walk over the bikes in a heap. there's probably nothing worth much there anymore, but it's fun if you're ever in the area. The owner's son used to race RDs on vintage days in Laconia using "slicks" he took off of wrecked machines.

Wow this thing detonnated to death, judging by the pitting and holes, check the rods for straightness, all bottom end bearings.
This look like a nice project !!

that overall looks to be in great shape. There are a couple early ones around here on craigslist right now, including the last of the RD350 series. very good condition.

your right on the fact that they are a blast to ride my 1st bike was actually a 76 RD 400 with some work done to it. those things truly area good time and like nothing else you will ever ride. that one is really clean someone did a good job of keeping the outside of it taken care of.

Sweet! My vote is for you to cafe it! I agree the outside looks great, get her fixed.

+1 c&p cafe it

OK, update time... been throwing around some ideas, leaning towards a cafe. Probably not going to be able to go all the way yet, I'll just do what I can and ride it until I have the $$ to finish it. Bought a cheap (Harbor Freight) blasting cabinet, ended up costing $90 after the 20% coupon, now I need a bigger compressor.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../IMG_7887s.jpg
cleaned up a few parts, rebuilt semi polished the fork lowers.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../IMG_7848s.jpg
Picked up an RD disc front end, and cleaned up the wheel.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../IMG_7847s.jpg
Got some new shocks.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../IMG_7885s.jpg
Went a little overboard on the engine cleanup.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../IMG_7853s.jpg
Rebuilt the switches
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../IMAG0017s.jpg
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../IMAG0035s.jpg
Oh Yeah and this...
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../IMG_7868s.jpg
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../IMG_7869s.jpg
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../IMG_7872s.jpg
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../IMG_7886s.jpg
If I keep this up I'll be sleeping in one of those SpongeBob beds.
Almost ready to start putting it back together. More to come...

Nice bike, my first street bike was a used 1975 RD350B (orange) that had been dropped. I think that I paid $600 for it. It was a long time ago, but I recall a couple of things. The airboots had a habit of slipping off the carbs. The front brakes were horrible; single-pot, single-action and they had a habit of sticking. A common mod was to put automotive coils on to get a stronger spark, I do not recall the specs anymore, you had to keep the battery charged with this mod. Today I would be able to fix these things, back then I just rode it. One time the idle set screw fell out of one of the carbs while I was riding. I fixed it be shoving a stick that I found along side of the rode in the opening. It stayed that way for a bit.

The bike was a blast to ride, you really had to pay attention to the front end coming up. The front peg mounts went under the exhaust and would scrape quickly, and will tip if pushed too hard (yes I learned the hard way). Have fun with it!

JB