The "Yezdi Specialist" gave taang so we decided to specialize in the bike ourselves. First problem to tackle - Jammed kick-start. I was worried it would be a block-piston issue but no such thing. Turns out a gear inside the left side of the crank-case was knocked out of position. Not sure how this can happen..perhaps a missing retainer. Set things back in place and the kick-start was moving again. Added some kerosene and engine oil to into the block to smoothen things up a bit and after a few cranks things were moving nicely again...enough to consider starting up the bike.

Opened up the carburetor but it was jammed with some white gunk and there were spots of rust on the inside. Carb cleaning is in progress at the moment and while the proceedings have been halted for the time being, here is a list of work to be carried out in the next few days:

1. Full water-service
2. Lubrication and fresh oil in the engine
3. Tank water-wash, dry and coating with 2T oil
4. Carb cleanup
5. There was NO air filter in the air-box. Need to know what kind of filter to use and what the filter element looks like.
6. Fix the front forks (need new fork seals and oil)
7. Need a new seat - old one completely rusted
8. Take a look at the bore and if there is any signs of rust, get it cleaned and install new piston rings
9. New chain and sprockets
10. New brake shoes
11. New cables all around
12. New tires (old ones have gone hard)


At the moment the bike is in great condition and doesn't warrant a paint job. Will do a touch-up and buffing.

The great news is the CB points and condensor are working well and sparking like crazy!

I should have an update by the next weekend.

In the mean time I have also added a ROADKING to the stable. Just picked it up in Bangalore today. Single owner factory CDI and standard bore/piston (0.5). Running like a dream according to my friend who also owns a RK and my mechanic/friend in Bangalore. I will be riding it to Chennai and then to Mumbai over the December end vacation!

Gave the RD350 a nice tune-up. Was running too rich on the top-end so dropped the needle 1 position and now she revs like an angry wolverine. Had so much fun zipping back home after tinkering with the Yezdi all evening!

Had I known this, i would have haunted you till I saw (and maybe ride with your permission) when I was in Bombay, sigh! Maybe next time.

Congratulations for the Yezdi

Sheel - to ride my TZR you would need to be in Chennai


The carburetor in my Yezdi turned out to be a PACCO carburetor. Hunting for a bowl gasket for it in the market on Monday. I don't like using silicon sealant in a carb because sometimes small beads of this break off and go jam/block something inside.

The bowl also has an eccentric shape compared to say a VM carburetor.

Will a VM28 work on the Yezdi or is it too large? The PACCO looks similar to a VM24 (I didn't measure it yet).

Welcome to the club of Yezdi-Jawa entusiasts ...

Congratulations on your find!!!!!


IMHO, my two cents :


The Bike u have is a Model B ... Not a D250 Classic

Check the engine no on the left side of the bike .... it should say
*IJ - B250 -xxxxxxx*

where the Xs are numbers ...

If its a D250, it will start with *IJ - D250 - XXXXXXX*



Also the Model B and D250 were 13 bhp ... not 16 bhp ... only Roadking and Monarch are 16 bhp

RX135 4 speed is 12bhp
Only the 5-speed variant is 14 bhp ...( unless u got the 4TL10 block on the bike)

RD-LT is 27 bhp as far as I know.

IJ stands for Ideal Jawa B250 stands for the Model B and displacement .....the numbers are the serial production number ...


PS: Great to see another RD with Rajdoot stickering .....

Not much of a find...sort of just landed in my lap but I am happy nevertheless!

Yes it is a Model B. Srinivasan confirmed this on the phone and rkboy spotted it from the pictures.

13bhp is still fun. This is a cruise bike for me and I just want to hear the exhaust note while I do 70 all day long

The RX is mildly tuned and my RD is a HT. Had to convert from LT to HT as I had one HT barrel from import and one LT Indian barrel. Rajkumar matched the barrels and compression for me and the bike is effectively a hybrid if not a full HT spec. It is also mildly ported and tweaked.

I wouldn't have it any other way. Love the look of recognition I get from rural folk when they see the "Rajdoot" on it.


Guys - the Roadking is officially mine. Picked it up in Bangalore through two VERY good friends of mine. I wasn't sure what to look for so they stepped in to bail me out. This is a wonderful specimen...a 95 Roadking in very nice shape. Needs a bit of cosmetic (paint) work but nothing that needs to be done in the short term. Has a standard block-piston and according to my friends it is running smoother than any of their bikes. They took it for a long ride on Sunday and back without issues and now I just need to wait until it lands up in my eager hands! Thinking of riding it back to Mumbai...we'll see!

A picture while I wait for my friends to post more!

For heaven's sake, how do u choose ur ride to office in the morning? I wished u earlier, but here it is again - Congratulations!

Thanks Apar.

Monday - RD350
Tuesday - Yezdi Model B
Wednesday - Ford Ikon / Gypsy
Thursday - MT-01
Friday - Yezdi Roadking


Bullet 350 and TZR-250 are in Chennai

But this is a nice dilemma to have no? Amazing how affordable these fun bikes are to acquire. Very similar to the RD350 story where the bikes were selling for 8000 and 9000 rupees. 1 year later you couldn't buy one for less than 40,000 and now they are pushing 1.5L for a decent RD!!

I say buy now...when you still can!

2003 - 04, RD's were selling for around 25K, and they would be in stock condition.
But now, its very rare to find ppl selling. And They are selling paper less RD's for 60 - 70 K.
And they dont look too good too. No info abt the Engine Condition, and they just claim its an un-Opened Engine.
Good Collection Guru, let me know when u r in chennai.

A short video of the bikes in the garage...quite pointless

YouTube - Untitled


Some pics of my Road King:

Congrats Guru! Said it before and saying it again! This isnt madness its gladness! What a collection, I have had the misery of riding behind your RD once before.... and back then too I was envious of the shiny RD, and now I am envious about it all the more!

I have my eyes on a supra since long, but the owner (a scrapyard dealer) has disappeared! Darn! Some day I would house it!


Which is probably better than people claiming the MT to be a modified Pulsar

@GS Ferrari,

CONGRATS!!!!

Thats a Type B all right. I should know. I'm restoring my Dad's (check out my blog if you like).

Your bike is a bit of a hotch-potch though. Here are a few observations along with reference pics from mine.

• The tank isn't original. Its either from a later model (early Classic 250 from the early 80's) or fabricated. I'm thinking its the former. Plus, the lid has been tinkered with to fit a flap-type lid (KB100?). The original is just round and screw-type.
• The tail light is from a later Classic or a Roadking. The difference is minimal but you can see it. As you can see on mine, it has a sort of cleft in the centre making it look like concave V.
• The front mudguard is not original. Taken from a Roadking and painted or fabricated.
• The rear shocks also aren't original. Either that or someone has pulled off the the upper cup which is standard on all the Yezdi shocks. I'm inclined to think its the former since the angle seems a little too straight.
• The brake and clutch levers on your bike are not original. The originals were aluminium, with 3 sides (a triangular piece) ending in a ball.
• The original carb for that is a Jikov. I'm not sure if the original lid will fit on a Pacco..
• The sissy bar is not from a Yezdi. I think its off a Bullet
• Same story for the crash guard.

The speedo setup is from a later model or from a Roadking. The original had a single speedo in the centre and the entire setup was covered by a hood (exactly like the Jawa) on which the ignition rested below the speedo. Even then, the ignition key is not an original.

• The air filter is fairly rudimentary and is a green tube which rests between the two side panels. You can figure it out from the pic I've posted.
• The right side foot brake lever is not original.

The pics I've posted are to just help you identify what I'm referring to. As my bike wasn't touched for 20 years, its obviously in a state of disrepair.

Whatever it is, what you've got is a steal and is a lovely addition to that huge motorcycling museum you call your collection. I couldn't be more jealous

That Roadking of yours also looks in lovely shape. Congrats on that one too. I'd love to take a gander at your beauties someday.

If you need any kind of information on the Yezdis at all, please don't hesitate to write me.

Cheers

Rahul

Rahul - you've been VERY helpful. With the Roadking on hand I have time to restore the "B" to it's original condition. I am VERY keen to have it looking like it was supposed to.

First - starting the bike. This should happen tomorrow.
Second - bring it up to rideable condition. This should happen by the end of this week.

Third - use it for a month while I shop around for the parts that are correct for this chassis. Your observations will really help me out here.

Thanks!

You're very welcome Glad to hear you want to bring it back to stock.

Don't mean to be discouraging but methinks it'll take you more than a month to find original pieces in decent condition for the bike..

Put the word out for a Jikov now. It might take a while to find a really good piece. Check the jets before picking it up. Most of them are damaged thanks to ******* mechs who fiddle with them with ham hands and monster screwdrivers.

Little things also tend to be painful - like getting original levers. Btw, looks like the handlebar isn't original either. Think the whole thing, including levers, are off a Roadking.

Please check the bore. This will be your single biggest headache. If you need to re-bore it or if the piston isn't original its going to be a devil of a time finding a new piston..

Also, put the word out for an original tank. You can't do anything with this one other than sell it off. And before picking up a tank make sure you pull off the rubber pads on the side and check for rust underneath. Then store the pads since today the damn things cost a fortune, if you can even find originals.

All the best.

Just FYI, 0.5 is not the standard piston. Its the first oversize which means its been re-bored once.