RZ350 is Home! Restoration Begins

pilot8127 said:
Hey Guys, I had a great time meeting Tony (I really wish Billy could have joined us there too). Tony he is a great guy and I know he is thrilled with his latest project !! His motorcycle garage really is absolutely PACKED with bikes, (four of them) tools, jackets, equipment, money, extra parts, and more !! (J/K about the money ;)

The trip to New Jersey would have been a cake-walk except for the RAIN and FOG !! I got her all the way through the Pocono's and just as soon as I crossed over into NJ, , , , yep, here comes the RAIN ! craaaaaap

But, I was excited to get to DRIVE her out to him. Since retiring, I actually look forward to these kinds of road trips. . . . . especially with Tony buying the gas ! Thanks man !! I get the FUN of delivery and he gets the sweet, little RZ . . .. . . we both come out with something.

I got back on the road about 7PM and it was rain and rain/fog until 11PM. That's when I decided to sack out at one of the many rest area's deep in the Pocono's.

It was a great trip. I had a alot of fun. Tony is one classy guy. I also know the RZ is going to be very happy there. At least that is until he makes one of you fellas the 'deal of the century'. Right T ?? heh,heh,

Here are a couple of pics from my end. And, btw, Troy, I got to sit on her one last time too. I did forget to ask first for permission from the new owner, but he didn't say anything, and, he didn't smack me either . . . . great !
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Gary it was a pleasure meeting you and thanks for bringing the RZ out to me :D

I can't wait to get her running. And I don't think it's going anywhere for a while. Think I'll have to wax her again to remove the water spots ;)
 
NJFZ1 said:
Hope he's a fast runner. The Rottweiler was looking kind of hungry last I saw him :rofl:
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Tony, from what the RZ's are bringing on the web. . .. If you do decide to sell later on, get 'er running like a watch. Then, list it for ton's more money that you paid me for it, (which probably wasn't enough btw).

After it sell's, you will surley need a BRINK'S truck to store all the cash of course. But, BUY the storage unit complex, get six Rotties to guard the place, then buy more sportbikes !!

Btw guys, after meeting Tony in person, I am sure he can handle the Rottweiler, no problem. He didn't mention it, and I didn't see any weight lifting equipment around. But, Tony looks like he lifts at the gym. He has BIG shoulders and strong, well defined arms. Note: He LIFTED the "Hawk" up and over (more than once) to make room in the garage for the RZ ! I only watched and gave moral support. wheeew , , , , good job T, she looks great in there !!:cheers:
 
Well I looked the RZ over yesterday after work and I think I have all that I need for now to try and get her started. Probably wont have any time to get to it until after I come back from Americade in early June...stay tuned ;)
 
LOL! @ Gary!

Tony, get Dobies. I have two Rotties and while they can appear to be mean, they are truly lethargic dogs and easy to outrun as they have little endurance. ;) I take mine out and I end up dragging them!

Now for the bike... I can't believe you're not pulling an all-nighter and doing low fly-bys by sunrise!!! I know I would!
 
Cobalt said:
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Tony, get Dobies. I have two Rotties and while they can appear to be mean, they are truly lethargic dogs and easy to outrun as they have little endurance. ;) I take mine out and I end up dragging them!

Now for the bike... I can't believe you're not pulling an all-nighter and doing low fly-bys by sunrise!!! I know I would!
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I was only kidding about the dog. However, I have always liked Doberman's.

Eric, I wish it was that simple. I have way too much going on right now, plus I'll be away this weekend. I still need to get the Penske shock and new tires mounted on the FZ1 before the Americade trip so that will be my top priority next week :)
 
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Well I am back from Americade and will start working on the RZ350. This weekend I'll try to do some electrical troubleshooting to see why she doesn't have spark.

And by the way for you 2-stroke fans Toomey Racing has re-released their great pipes for the RZ350 with an updated look and even more power. The CF ones look fantastic. I see a set in my future :D

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The Tomy is a nice pipe but tends to move the power band into the upper rpms vs. The Spec II pipes. One thing that is cheap and easy is to deck the head by. 030. It seems like a lot the the compression is low on a stock motor. It will also improve the squish area, by focusing the charge. Last a good set of reeds will help too. Back in the day Boysen was the only option, I'm sure there are others now.

Sent from my LG-P925 using Tapatalk 2
 
Hellgate said:
The Tomy is a nice pipe but tends to move the power band into the upper rpms vs. The Spec II pipes. One thing that is cheap and easy is to deck the head by. 030. It seems like a lot the the compression is low on a stock motor. It will also improve the squish area, by focusing the charge. Last a good set of reeds will help too. Back in the day Boysen was the only option, I'm sure there are others now.
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Thanks for the advice Pete. These Toomey pipes have been slightly redesigned form the originals and they have more power in the mid-range and top-end, but they don't move the power band as high. One thing that I have heard form several on the 2-stroke forum is that the Spec II pipes seem to have a flat spot in the 5-6k RPM range that's pretty hard to tune out. I know the engine has been modified in the past so I'm not sure what reeds are in it now or if it has been decked. I do have a set of Boysen's that I picked up cheap so they may find their way in there ;)
 
NJFZ1 said:
Thanks for the advice Pete. These Toomey pipes have been slightly redesigned form the originals and they have more power in the mid-range and top-end, but they don't move the power band as high. One thing that I have heard form several on the 2-stroke forum is that the Spec II pipes seem to have a flat spot in the 5-6k RPM range that's pretty hard to tune out. I know the engine has been modified in the past so I'm not sure what reeds are in it now or if it has been decked. I do have a set of Boysen's that I picked up cheap so they may find their way in there ;)
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Good to hear they've redesigned them, they are a good pipe regardless.

I don't recall a flat spot with the Spec IIs, but that was 25 years ago!

If you want to go whole hog, 30mm carbs are a nice addition. I kept my stock 28mms for racing but had them bored out a little. Many of the guys went to 32 and 34mm but they had no bottomend at all. With the 28mms I still had good drive out of the corners.

Yet another nice mod is port matching. That really makes nice power. I had one set of pistons and cylinders that the tuner messed up on and he ended up giving my a full race port. The power band was a light switch. It was all but impossible to ride. During my first race with that set up I was on the hot pit, grabbed the throttle and saw nothing but blue sky! However with the matched setup the throttle response was very good, and made very usable power.

That said the little bike would pull GSXR 750s for the day (1988), and hang with GSXR1100s in their draft. Then I usually ran out of gearing. It was good for an honest 150 mph with that set up.

It would be fun to compare that bike to my current R6. The RZ was much lighter, about 310 lbs, whereas my R6 is about 360 or so. I'm sure the R6 has a better chassis, but I bet in a drag race the bikes would be close. Oh, and I weighed only 145 back then!
 
Hellgate said:
Good to hear they've redesigned them, they are a good pipe regardless.

I don't recall a flat spot with the Spec IIs, but that was 25 years ago!

If you want to go whole hog, 30mm carbs are a nice addition. I kept my stock 28mms for racing but had them bored out a little. Many of the guys went to 32 and 34mm but they had no bottomend at all. With the 28mms I still had good drive out of the corners.

Yet another nice mod is port matching. That really makes nice power. I had one set of pistons and cylinders that the tuner messed up on and he ended up giving my a full race port. The power band was a light switch. It was all but impossible to ride. During my first race with that set up I was on the hot pit, grabbed the throttle and saw nothing but blue sky! However with the matched setup the throttle response was very good, and made very usable power.

That said the little bike would pull GSXR 750s for the day (1988), and hang with GSXR1100s in their draft. Then I usually ran out of gearing. It was good for an honest 150 mph with that set up.

It would be fun to compare that bike to my current R6. The RZ was much lighter, about 310 lbs, whereas my R6 is about 360 or so. I'm sure the R6 has a better chassis, but I bet in a drag race the bikes would be close. Oh, and I weighed only 145 back then!
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Well right now I just want to get the bike running. Since I have no intentions of racing it I don't want a powerband that's all top-end so I'll keep the stock carbs for now. Plenty of power can be made with them.

If I have to rebuild the top end I may have this guy Roger form Wicked Motorsports do it or go with one of his +4mm strokers ;) His porting is top notch from what I have seen and heard. 70 RWHP in a light bike is fun :D

I'm sure in a tight course that favors corner speed over top-end power the RZ can still hang with most bikes given it's light weight. I suppose it's main deficit would be tires...
 
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NJFZ1 said:
I'm sure in a tight course that favors corner speed over top-end power the RZ can still hang with most bikes given it's light weight. I suppose it's main deficit would be tires...
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I think Gary found some info on putting a r6 swingarm it? that would look sweet with a 180 on it.
 
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stretched06 said:
I think Gary found some info on putting a r6 swingarm it? that would look sweet with a 180 on it.
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A popular mod for it was the aluminum swing arm from the FZ600. This allowed for slightly wider rear tire. To fit an R6 swing arm would take considerable effort I think. Plus then you would need to reinforce the rest of the frame if you have all that tire grip...

I'm going to run the stock sized tires for now and just put some Progressive springs in the stock forks along with some 10 or 15w oil. In the back I have a nice period correct Fox Racing shock for it ;)
 
NJFZ1 said:
Well you guys go this bike (RZ350) and the RD500 (RZ500 in some markets) and that bike is really the ultimate Yamaha 2-stroke ride ;)
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Owned two 350s. The bikini faired one (wrecked by my father) and the fully faired one. Wasn't interested in the 500. too heavy and reportedly had twitchy steering. Just loved the 350s, humbled many larger sports bikes. Tires, trying to remember I think that I used Dunlop GP100s? Got expensive thought, fronts at 4000k and rears at 2000k
 
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