Johndicezx9
Rolls with it...
That blue one is clean, but like a high school girlfriend, I’m just not sure how’d we mesh 40 years later.... :laughing
1977 Yamaha RD400D
- Thread starter EvilTwinz
- Start date
EvilTwinz
Parts Cobbler
Interesting. Thanks for the heads up. Maybe I'll go ahead and book an appointment now with the CHP as a backup. The lady at the DMV window who completed the registration paperwork was the one who instructed me to bring my bike there for inspection. It's possible that she doesn't know the rules. Or it's possible she forgot that I have a motorcycle.
EvilTwinz
Parts Cobbler
Nice! I'm still looking for a Nard Gard solution...
Tacky1
Well-known member
Yep, I have re-registered a bunch of bikes I rebuilt, All smokers, CHP only does the VIN check now, What I do is go to the DMV and get the paperwork started, then off to the CHP and then back to DMV and get the title, plate and sticker...
Edit: I did run ito a problem with one bike where there was no CARB sticker on it, I explained there never was one, He wasn't going to let it through, They can flag a VIN in Cali, Now I buy a CARB sticker on Fleabay and stick it on there before I go to them, They take a quick look at the sticker every time...
Edit: I did run ito a problem with one bike where there was no CARB sticker on it, I explained there never was one, He wasn't going to let it through, They can flag a VIN in Cali, Now I buy a CARB sticker on Fleabay and stick it on there before I go to them, They take a quick look at the sticker every time...
Last edited:
Tacky1
Well-known member
Exactly the prob I had. None of mine came with the sticker. I was registering an RZV500 that I had started to work on and I told him I had scraped off the sticker to Powdercoat the frame. I had to actually beg him to let it through. My buddy has a fully restored mint RG500 that got vin blocked in ca when he went to the CHP case of no CARB sticker.
EvilTwinz
Parts Cobbler
I believe that you're speaking of the Fed sticker on the headstock. For the VIN verification, the inspector will look for 1) the VIN on the frame 2) the VIN on the engine case and 3) the Fed sticker that has the VIN printed on it. CARB is something totally different. Yes, many Fed stickers get removed or painted over when frames get painted. My frame still has that sticker. It's a little faded and abraded, but it's there.
Tacky1
Well-known member
It can be bought for restoration purposes. http://replacementdecals.com Sell them.
EvilTwinz
Parts Cobbler
I'm trying to get the wheels all situated now, so I can get the bike in for inspection. Yesterday, I tried getting the bearings out of the front wheel. No bueno. That flippin' axle spacer is in there so tight that it won't budge to one side or the other but just a teenie bit and that's just not enough for the drift to get a bite on the inner race. I decided to wait till I tear down the bike again later, then give it another whack. So I figured I'd just do a dry fit on the fork, before getting the tire on there. After I started torquing on the axle, the wheel wouldn't spin anymore! What the heck??! I can't just leave it loose or the forks will twist. I removed the wheel from the forks and checked the bearings. They were frozen! I think that space itself is frozen in there and when the inner race of the bearings got tightened against the spacer, the bearings won't spin any more. Dammit! After doing some research online, I bought a bearing removal kit off of Amazon for $28. I'll take care of that later.
Today I was putting on the front tire. I bought some new 11" tire irons, so the leverage factor will be much easier. I sprinkled some talcum powder inside the tire and filled my spray bottle with soapy water and I was off to the races. Everything was going as planned, albeit tough, as changing tires is always tough. But after I was done and was filling the tube with air, it seems that there's a leak at the stem!! Somehow, the tube must've gotten pinched when I was installing it!
I seem to have a bad luck when installing tube tires. I had to do that twice on the Harley front wheel. Then the tubes exploded two times about a day later. I finally took the wheel into Cycle Gear to have them do it. We discovered that I was recommended, but the Jake Wilson website, to buy the wrong size tube for that tire! That's why it kept bursting. For $15 I had them install it. It's been fine ever since. I think I'm going to do the same thing for both of these wheels. I'm so sick of changing tires having them lose air!!
Oh, what fun it is to build your own bike. ARGHHH!!!!!
Today I was putting on the front tire. I bought some new 11" tire irons, so the leverage factor will be much easier. I sprinkled some talcum powder inside the tire and filled my spray bottle with soapy water and I was off to the races. Everything was going as planned, albeit tough, as changing tires is always tough. But after I was done and was filling the tube with air, it seems that there's a leak at the stem!! Somehow, the tube must've gotten pinched when I was installing it!
I seem to have a bad luck when installing tube tires. I had to do that twice on the Harley front wheel. Then the tubes exploded two times about a day later. I finally took the wheel into Cycle Gear to have them do it. We discovered that I was recommended, but the Jake Wilson website, to buy the wrong size tube for that tire! That's why it kept bursting. For $15 I had them install it. It's been fine ever since. I think I'm going to do the same thing for both of these wheels. I'm so sick of changing tires having them lose air!!
Oh, what fun it is to build your own bike. ARGHHH!!!!!
Last edited:
EvilTwinz
Parts Cobbler
The internals will remain extremely stock. One of my original cylinders was already bored out to 66.0 (funny, but the other one was much smaller), so there wasn't much meat left to bore. And I didn't want that one jug to overheat. I found an unmolested matching set off Fleabay with only 400 miles on them! Barely even broken in! They were standard bore. We bored them 2 over, because there was a scratch that needed attention. For the rebuild I found NOS pistons, rings, crank bearings and seals. I did have the crank rebuilt. The connecting rods were harder to find, so I went with Pro-X and used their bearings too. The base and head gaskets are NOS too. I'm using the stock Mikuni VM28 carbs, original to the bike. They have been rebuilt with NOS parts. Going to start with 270 mains and 30 pilots. I have a range of mains, so we'll have to fiddle with the sizes and needle position. For now, I have NOS points in there, but I have an old Newtronic Piranha on standby for perhaps after I get the bike tuned properly. I have heard mixed reviews about the Newtroncs ignitions- this one is a very old unit, which I believe are the better ones. But I'm looking at some of the newer ignitions with higher outputs with the capabilities of going without a battery.
What is non-stock is the Barnett clutch, Boyesen Power reeds, the Banshee intake manifolds with crossover pipe, the Y-boot and big-ass Uni foam filter. For chambers, I have Factory Pipes. No porting or milling was done on the cylinders. The Daytona head wasn't modified or cut in any way. To me, it's such a beautiful head- I can't bear to get that thing sawed in half.
It'll be interesting to see how this beast feels with a fresh motor. The last time I rode this bike, everything was in very bad condition. I just adjusted the carb floats and they were set to different heights :wtf
My brakes didn't really stop me, so I have rebuilt both master cylinders with NOS rebuild kits and I've outfitted them with Galfer stainless lines. My suspension was pretty broken- the forks were bent back an inch or two, so stick-tion was a problem. The shafts on the rear shocks were both bent too, and oil was leaking out of them. So having working brakes and suspension will be an interesting new experience :thumbup
I posted a pic of me testing the ergonomics of the new setup, albeit I'll have a lower seat when the bike is complete. But with the rearsets and the clipons, I was surprised at how cramped the position was! And I'm only 5'3"! I can hardly imagine how those taller guys feel when racing their bikes!
Last edited:
EvilTwinz
Parts Cobbler
So I trailered up the RD this morning and took a short drive to the local DMV. Another swing and a miss! Since my federal sticker was illegible, I got referred to the CHP. Luckily I made an appointment earlier in anticipation of this problem. Now I have to wait another week to get verified! Oh well, I can probably spend some time polishing and painting the wheels....
Last edited:
Hmmm not my experience at all here in Sac. both times. Last Nov and Jan for two different out of state bikes. CHP wouldn't do it and referred me to DMV and unless DMV couldn't and then referred me back to them. Their appointments were farther out than the DMV. DMV did it quick and painless.
It sounds like the OP has it taken care of anyways. Sweet resto-mod on the RD, I dig the clip ons!
ETA: Must be a regional thing:dunno
Last edited:
EvilTwinz
Parts Cobbler
It wasn't long ago (2 years back) that I had to have an 1974 BMW 2002 VIN verified. I actually was able to call my local PD and they sent an ordinary LEO to my residence to look it over and sign the papers. I called them again for my RD and they told me that they could no longer do it anymore. Since then, only certified people can do the verification process- specifically certified DMV employees, CHP officers and private agencies. But if the federal sticker is illegible, then the DMV is not qualified to sign off, that's when they refer you to the CHP. I don't know if the private agencies can sign off on those, but the one I looked up charged $85 to do the house call.
My CHP appointment went off without incident. It was a slam-dunk. But then I headed over to AAA to pay the registration and they're not allowed to accept the verification paperwork. So there went another 1.5 hours of my life waiting at the Pleasanton DMV. Plus my fees went up another $61, since I took 6 months to get my bike together. At this point, it didn't bother me one iota- just as long as the bike was legal again. I was overjoyed!!! I've already ordered special plates.
So now I'm into the teardown/rebuild stage. My parts won't be ready from the painter for another 2 weeks and my engine builder, Paul, is busy this month, so I may not be able to get the bike tuned until October. It'll give me time to put the bike together properly. But in the meanwhile, I can try and get the bike as ready to go as I possibly can. That means guessing on the main jets, needle position, A/F mixture and timing, as well as making sure the oil injector is pumping all the way to the carbs. There's other unexpected details I need to take care of like I'll have to bend even more the bent kick starter lever, since interestingly enough, for some reason, this HVC kick starter does not clear my FFP rearsets.
But what scares me is hooking up the electrical! I've got 3 harnesses. One is the original and some of the connectors were modified when a shop rebuilt my alternator 30 years ago. Then I have another one I bought 25 years ago, when the internet was just getting popular- it was from Australia, so I'm not even sure the harness is the same for US models. Then there's another one that I can't even remember where I got it from or when I got it :confused
I also realized that I have NOS Moto Carrera coils and I do believe those are 5 ohms, while the stock coils were 2 ohms, so now I should eliminate the resistor ballast, but I'm uncertain how to do it. Do I need to loop the circuit? If I can't figure it out, maybe I'll just run the stock coils for the initial break-in. I have an old Newtronics ignition that I may try installing later, so I can swap out the coils then.
So much to do! And I'm always fascinated that with this bike, even though it is so old and many have restored them so many times over the past decades, information on specific challenges are often so hard to find. It's like reinventing the wheel every time!
My CHP appointment went off without incident. It was a slam-dunk. But then I headed over to AAA to pay the registration and they're not allowed to accept the verification paperwork. So there went another 1.5 hours of my life waiting at the Pleasanton DMV. Plus my fees went up another $61, since I took 6 months to get my bike together. At this point, it didn't bother me one iota- just as long as the bike was legal again. I was overjoyed!!! I've already ordered special plates.
So now I'm into the teardown/rebuild stage. My parts won't be ready from the painter for another 2 weeks and my engine builder, Paul, is busy this month, so I may not be able to get the bike tuned until October. It'll give me time to put the bike together properly. But in the meanwhile, I can try and get the bike as ready to go as I possibly can. That means guessing on the main jets, needle position, A/F mixture and timing, as well as making sure the oil injector is pumping all the way to the carbs. There's other unexpected details I need to take care of like I'll have to bend even more the bent kick starter lever, since interestingly enough, for some reason, this HVC kick starter does not clear my FFP rearsets.
But what scares me is hooking up the electrical! I've got 3 harnesses. One is the original and some of the connectors were modified when a shop rebuilt my alternator 30 years ago. Then I have another one I bought 25 years ago, when the internet was just getting popular- it was from Australia, so I'm not even sure the harness is the same for US models. Then there's another one that I can't even remember where I got it from or when I got it :confused
I also realized that I have NOS Moto Carrera coils and I do believe those are 5 ohms, while the stock coils were 2 ohms, so now I should eliminate the resistor ballast, but I'm uncertain how to do it. Do I need to loop the circuit? If I can't figure it out, maybe I'll just run the stock coils for the initial break-in. I have an old Newtronics ignition that I may try installing later, so I can swap out the coils then.
So much to do! And I'm always fascinated that with this bike, even though it is so old and many have restored them so many times over the past decades, information on specific challenges are often so hard to find. It's like reinventing the wheel every time!
great update!
my experience with VIN verifications, about 1 year ago, was that the independent places aren't allowed to do motorcycles at all. state law/regulation/policy or something.
my experience with VIN verifications, about 1 year ago, was that the independent places aren't allowed to do motorcycles at all. state law/regulation/policy or something.
EvilTwinz
Parts Cobbler
Interesting. I didn't even know that. For me, my calculations were simple- if I can afford the time, free wins almost every time!
VintageGuy
Well-known member
I would try for something other than the Newtronics. Did not hold up well for me. Leave the points over that one.
Seizer
Well-known member
If you’re looking for simple and relatively cheap I’d suggest the Vintage Smoke Dyna-S for the RD. It’s basically a points replacement. I’ve had great success with mine. However, if you’re looking to upgrade your voltage output to run brighter lights etc, then the Vape (formerly PowerDynamo) or HPI is the way to go. Replaces the entire rotor with a much smaller and lighter one. Easier on the crank end and less rotating mass equals quicker revs. A win-win.