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Got the RZ home today from Cairns...

PO was a stand-up guy it seems, it's every bit as good as he described it and as the photos made it look.

It will need a bit of work here and there - OEM handlebars, replace and/or repair engine covers from accident damage (only cosmetic), rust in the corners of the tank, paint job eventually etc etc, but for the moment, I reckon I'll just ride it and enjoy it.

Couple of questions:
How slow are these things off the pipe i.e. below 6000 rpm? - it really wails beyond this point but below it, it has absolutely no power to speak of.
What's the standard gearing?

I'll take some pics soon and post them...


Cheers
Paul

[Admin]

I dont know these bikes well but i have read that if the power valves are stuck or locked open it will hurt bottom end . So my guess would be check the power valve system ??

[Admin]

so ive been driving this bike for a few days now, and have already managed to put 1000km on it. did a nice tour today that was about 280km. and i am amazed (even after a quick stop for fuel or a coffee) everytime i sit in the pilots seat. the tour today took me and a buddy (on a GSXF600) most of the way to ottawa on the trans canada (hwy 17) and then we toured back coming through quebec crossing a really cool hydro electric damn, and then crossing back into ontario over about 3 islands. other then the 1hr of rain to start with it was a beautiful day, the roads were clear and hardly any traffic. we pretty much owned the highway in quebec only seeing one QPP (quebec provincial police) and maybe 3 cars in well over an hour of riding. i have my M2 test scheduled, and im hoping they do it rain or shine because its a 45min drive just to get to the test center.

[Admin]

If you had unlimited funds you could drop a Cheetah or Cub top end with a stroker Banshee crank and get up to about 136 hp out of it. there's a guy in Qld building RS250 Aprilias with 500cc RZ350 motors. try him for barrels etc.

Hey Teazer,


I managed to track this guy down - www.twostrokeshop.com/Aprilia_RS500_2008.htm

He does some quite amazing work on these motors with the stuff coming out of your neck of the woods.

As you can see on his site, how about a 500cc (yep, on a 250cc bottom end, essentially) in an RZ chassis (leave the 250 decals on of course)!
Or, with some more dollars, go with the Aprilia option... now that's a serious piece of 2-stroke kit.
He's even thinking of putting a fuel-injection motor/kit together further down the track.

None of it is outrageously expensive. You can get into a 400cc setup for less than 2 grand.
You don't even have to change the carbs or pipes up to 450cc's, the standard carbs actually work better because of the flow through the smaller venturi at lower engine speeds and don't require to be larger until above this size.
Once you go stroker cranks and power valves it goes up a bit, but no more than what you could spend on a GT to get the same sort of increases, and you have a better and lighter rolling chassis to start with.

This has really got me thinking - I could sell my good GT, tear the RZ to pieces, buy a 500 kit... mwahaahahaaaaahah (maniacal laugh a la Vincent Price).


Cheers
Paul

[Admin]

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/mcy/742462224.html

1982 Honda CBX - 1047cc 6-Cylinder - $4250 (Rochester, MN)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply to: sale-742462224@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-07-04, 9:39AM CDT



1982 Honda CBX, 1047cc 6-Cylinder, 24K Miles, completely bone stock original. Just had the valves shimmed, carbs synced, & all the valve cover seals replaced at Honda shop, have receipts. No issues, drive it home. I will respond to e-mails in order received.

[Admin]

Hi all,


Does anyone have any intimate knowledge of RZ clutches?

I took the RZ out for a fang on the weekend. Everything was fine until I stopped at a set of lights on a slight uphill.

As mine is only a 250, judicious use of the clutch was required to facilitate a clean getaway, which resulted in a rather unusual noise from said clutch - kind of like bad vibration kind of noise.
The clutch sort of slipped then grabbed and I seemed to lose a bit of lever travel, but it was still working.

I whipped the cover off when I got home (not that easy as the cooling system runs through that area) and pulled the clutch out to see if anything was not quite right.
I didn't find anything too unusual - friction and steel plates were in good nick and not warped, basket wasn't grooved, clutch bearing looked ok, all the nuts/bolts were tight...

I did notice that it's possible to move the basket approx 20mm backward and forward on it's base.
Is this supposed to happen? Is there some built in movement in the basket to absorb shock?


Any info greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Paul

[Admin]

Which would you choose?

I have had it up the ying-yang with my old DT400 (btw, the timing problem was a bad shear key on the flywheel, and I "unrestricted" the airbox/exhaust, jetted up the carb...much better), and I seriously considering a lightly used dual sport thumper.

Whichever I get if at all I will HAVE to have it lowered. (27" inseam) Suzuki sells a lowering kit that brings it down 1.5" and a gel seat option that reduces an additional 1.5".

The Kawi has nothing factory, but I did locate an aftermarket adjustable lowering kit that lowers the big KLR down 1-3 inches depending on preference.

The Kawi is some 40 lbs heavier and than the Suzuki, but it is water cooled vs the DR's air-oil cooled deal. I had a DR before and found it to be extremely tall geared, I have never ridden a KLR.

Any opinions/experiences/recommendations? Decisions, decisions...

[Admin]

I don't know anything about the 650, but I have a '98 DR350 that I love to ride. I'm about 200lbs and it's got more power than I'll ever need. The only bad things I've heard about the 650 is it's too heavy, so if the KLR is 40 lbs. heavier, I would go after a DR. You can get Kouba Links to lower it. This dude and his wife are really good people and deal primarily in DR stuff:

http://www.kientech.com/

[Admin]

Paul, I have his site bookmarked

The 250 doesn't make a whole lot of power at the bottom end, but check the powervalves.

When you turn the key you should hear the PV servo cycle back and forwards - self cleaning. It is possible that a cable is broken and that the valves are not actually rotating, but usually if they stick, the servo motor can't move them and you don't hear that odd whirr whirr sound.

There were lots of them imported into Australia back in the day and any of the wreckers should have parts. For new stuff like seals and gaskets, try your local Yamaha dealer. Parts are typically dearer than equivalent Honda parts but are easy to get.

City Yamaha in Melbourne used to be Ok for parts as long as you have a parts book, but they can look them up on a fiche or lightspeed system.

350 is more torquey, and both are a hoot to ride. If it's clean and almost stock it's probably better to keep it that way. I need a dog to go with my stocker so I can slip it into a decent chassis or at least add R6 forks and wheels like Jamie James the Rajun Cajun did with one.

No Gt will ever be as nimble as an RZ, so for a quick nip through the twisties they are perfect. try a set of Dunlop TT600 or 900 I can't remember which - they come in the GP race compound and stick like sh.t to a blanket and they come in skinny sizes.

[Admin]

i recently trucked my zx900 out to the west coast. it will spend the rest of its' days basking in the relative tropics of "the sunshine coast". their worst weather there is better than six to eight months here.
it's blacklisted for insurance here and the local suzi dealer didn't even want it on trade for a sv650 this past spring. with my recent 2stroke fever the bike wasn't even started for a few years, not to mention the real estate it was using in the garage.
i trucked it in a 90 mazda p/u which was an adventure in itself. it was riding very low in the water with bike, camping gear, golf clubs and assorted gear. the mazda "little donkey" pulled itself over the continental divide (6393ft.) with some effort but no problem.
the local road is about 80 kms with several side roads all of which are amazing.
i forgot how well this bike holds the road and power delivery that made me give up my cb1100f.
next summers holiday will probably be a tour of vancouver island.
http://byfiles.storage.live.com/y1p7thZ ... QYDTERZ3q0
i can't get to photo to post but the link is here.

[Admin]

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