yamaha rz350

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syd-baines
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yamaha rz350

Post by syd-baines »

this is my next build the yamaha rz350, over here it was the rd350lc it is an icon of the 80s and a very popular bike it came as a 250 as well as 350 and later yamaha made a 500 or a 550cc version i can`t remember off hand i know it was one of the two, it also did very well on the race track, there was a separate set of races for them in which the orginisers seviced and set the bikes up so that they was all the same, the riders did not know which bike they was riding till they got to the track, what happens is the riders picked a key out of the hat and which bike that key fitted that was the bike they rode for that meeting the only rider that knew which bike he would ride was the winner of the last race, it made for some very close racing, i think it was run at the same meeting as the easter match races, if anyone can remember the series and i have got the race meetings wrong please correct me as it was back in the 80s, a bit to far back for my brain to remember properly, any way back to the kit i intend to do a little bit of extra detailing but not to much, i think this is another re-release i seem to remember this kit from a few years ago so i am not sure of the fit of the parts, the parts look good not a lot of clean up needed by the look of them
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general rocket
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Re: yamaha rz350

Post by general rocket »

Looking forward to this one. I built it years ago, and it is a cracking kit of a cracking bike. My personal history with this machine is that I had just passed my test (1986)and was looking for a bigger bike. I went to a bike shop looking for something 4 stroke and mildly custom styled. The sales man only had one bike in my price bracket, a 350lc. And was all but calling me every sort of idiot for not wanting one. A few days later I ended up in hospital because my cg125 hadn't the power to get me into a safer position. I have thought on many occasions since, that I should have bought the LC.
The big one was the RD500LC V4.
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ShaunW
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Re: yamaha rz350

Post by ShaunW »

Nice to see one of these being built, Syd. During the course of the 1980's I owned two RD350LC's, a black one and a white one although, straight off the showroom floor, neither of mine had the bikini fairing or lower belly pan fairing as featured in the box art (I did subsequently fit an aftermarket belly pan fairing to my black bike). IMHO though, the later 350YPVS model was a nicer bike to ride as apart from more power (something like 62 BHP as opposed to 47 of the original version) it had a superior spread of useable torque thanks to featuring a variable position exhaust outlet system connected to the throttle (aka the Yamaha Power Valve System) whereas the original version as kitted here tended to be more all or nothing - nowt much below 6000 RPM and then all over and done by around 7500 or 8000. A lot of riders revved them up to the red line but there really wasn't much point, all the power had gone by then! Great fun to ride though :grin: General Rocket is correct, the bike's later big brother was the V-4 RD500LC YPVS. These original LC's are fetching quite serious money nowadays - especially if they still sport the original Yamaha expansion pipes and centre stand (both of which tended to be ditched early on by many owners, not me though).
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syd-baines
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Re: yamaha rz350

Post by syd-baines »

thanks for the info guys i could not remember if it was a 500 or 550, i have built and painted the engine, also painted the frame both brush painted, i am having a problem with dechroming i have tried my usual way of bleaching them but it does not seem to be working, i have had them in bleach now for nearly a week i keep taking them out and giving them a rinse chuck the old bleach away and put some fresh in so far i have used a full bottle of bleach, some of the chrome has come off but it is very patchy so if this last dosing does not work i might buy some etch primer and try that before i paint them, i have never had this problem before, i would be grateful if someone could give me any idea as to what might be wrong (i have used domestos bleach), it is holding me up as the carbs is trying to be dechromed, i have also covered the seat with leather look cloth i also made a strap to go across the middle of the seat and also put some piping on
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kpnuts
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Re: yamaha rz350

Post by kpnuts »

Great start syd
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Clashcityrocker
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Re: yamaha rz350

Post by Clashcityrocker »

Nice work Syd. You could try oven cleaner to de-chrome the parts, or as I have read somewhere, Dettol can be used too. These may not remove chrome now I think about it, as they were mentioned as paint removers, but give 'em a go :)

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ShaunW
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Re: yamaha rz350

Post by ShaunW »

Great work, Syd. From my recollection the only factory chrome on an LC was the rear passenger handrail and the headlamp surround, although the latter may not be easily visible on this version with the bikini fairing. The inner casings of the engine and carb bodies were unpainted alloy and were silver grey in appearance and quite matt. The wheel rims and footrest hangers (those distinctive plates with three visible holes in them holding the rider and passenger footrests) were polished alloy and therefore had a silvery look to them but they were not chromed. The RD 250/350LC series was in some respects built to a budget and although some technological advances were apparent such as the liquid cooled two-stroke engine (although the British Squirrel motorcycle featured that back in something like the 1950's!) and monoshock rear suspension (most bikes were twin shock back in the early 80's), the overall finish was not anything to write home about and soon started to look tatty if not regularly cared for.
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syd-baines
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Re: yamaha rz350

Post by syd-baines »

thanks guys the the extra dipping in bleach did not remove all the chrome but i do not want to put it in any more bleach as i dont know wether it will damage the plastic in some way it is very patchy so i am going to try to etch prime it after some sanding see if that helps, i have painted and decaled the body work and put the engine in the frame,
i have got a big birthday on sunday so we are going back down home to meet up with family and friends for a big party (i hope) so i will not be doing anything to the model for a week.
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ShaunW
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Re: yamaha rz350

Post by ShaunW »

Nicely done, Syd. Seeing this model in bits reminds me of my parent's garage back in the 80's when my white bike had suffered a partial seizure due to a problem with the oil pump - the kit looks very realistic as a stripped down LC :grin:
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syd-baines
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Re: yamaha rz350

Post by syd-baines »

thanks Shaun the only part of this build that i am having trouble with is the chromed i am going to try once more with bleach and if that does not fully dechrome the parts i will have to sand them and maybe use etch primer before painting
ShaunW
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Re: yamaha rz350

Post by ShaunW »

IMHO, Syd, chrome has no place in plastic model construction kits!
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syd-baines
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Re: yamaha rz350

Post by syd-baines »

back to the yam, this is the state of the chrome after being in bleach for a week and a half
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the rest of the kit is coming together nicely i have got the swing arm and the rear wheel done and on the frame, i have a lote of sanding and scraping to do on the chrome parts before they are ready to put on, it took me a couple days to do the rear wheel, i have started on the front wheel and the front forks another couple days or so work to get them anything like i want them,( the joy of modeling )

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ShaunW
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Re: yamaha rz350

Post by ShaunW »

More great progress, Syd. Seeing a stripped down LC - albeit in model form - rolls back the years!
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syd-baines
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Re: yamaha rz350

Post by syd-baines »

thanks Shaun got the front forks sanded as best i could i painted them but they did not look right so i used bmf. i put aluminum one the bottom and chrome on the top part which looks a bit better the wheel took quite a bit of doing but i got there in the end i cut the moulded on air valves off both wheels and put after market ones on i have also made some cable guides and positioned them on the front mudguard, the thing i am not keen about this kit is the ignition wires, throttle cable and tacho cable is just hidden under the tank, i might do the 250cc version at a later date i will then do some more detail and do the wires properly
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you can see the cable guides in this photo
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general rocket
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Re: yamaha rz350

Post by general rocket »

Keep it up Syd, my nostalgia is flowing nicely.
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