Re: RD350 - Restoration - Givng it a heart transplant

Got an alternative to the Tire change. Incidently, the Continental GT sports tubeless spoke wheels and has the Pirelli Sport Demon tyres. Moreover, they are 18" rim size.

A snippet from the technial spec for the GT from RE official site -
brakes & tyres

Can someone tell me how good are the Pirelli Sport Demons?

Cheers,
Zohaibak

Re: RD350 - Restoration - Givng it a heart transplant

about the conti gt wheels , bullets normally run 40 spoke wheels compared to other bikes which run 36 spokes , check this before you make the purchase

Re: RD350 - Restoration - Givng it a heart transplant

Loved your comment on the number of spokes! I remember dropping the bullet front rim idea due to difference in the number of spokes during the Endura build.

Damn...back to square one.

Cheers,
Zohaibak

Re: RD350 - Restoration - Givng it a heart transplant

you need something like this:https://plus.google.com/photos/10858...849?banner=pwa

its reapers bike from rdd

Re: RD350 - Restoration - Givng it a heart transplant

A million thanks for sharing the pics

This is exactly I was aiming for. What rims are those?

Cheers
Zohaibak

Re: RD350 - Restoration - Givng it a heart transplant

i have no idea , anyway try the foll link: RDDREAMS.COM • Login
you need to sign in to view it though

Re: RD350 - Restoration - Givng it a heart transplant

Abhishek's bike has custom rims made by arjun raina. You can contact him for rims on his fb page motoexotica.

Sent from my GT-I9001 using xBhp Connect mobile app

Re: RD350 - Restoration - Givng it a heart transplant

Wanted to wish you good luck for the rebuild. Hope i could have a word with you. Can u email your number at deysandeep @REDiffmail.com.

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Wanted to wish you good luck for the rebuild. Hope i could have a word with you. Can u email your number at deysandeep [MENTION=11046]RED[/MENTION]iffmail.com.

Re: RD350 - Restoration - Givng it a heart transplant

Hi All,

Had a slight change in plans.Here it goes -

1. Tubeless spoke rims are not available and the people that do sell 'em are asking for a lot of moolah!
2. RD350 US spares - Arranging spares from the US didnt work out, my aunt doesn't want me to spend a single penny on bikes . Plus the shipping was costing a bomb.

I will be heading to the US my self sometime in late October and will personally buy all the stuff. Will just carry 1 pair of clothes and hygiene items as I want to stuff all the spares in my 50K baggage allowance. If I can arrange for the tubeless spoke wheels then nothing like that but they going to be pretty heavy.

For now the build would be in two phases.

Phase 1 in India -

A. Disc Brakes - Duke 390 front and rear disc brakes with ABS ( we all know how she desperately needs better brakes)
B. Suspension - Duke 390 front fork suspension. For the rear, I'm planning to go with the P220 swingarm as I dont want to go for the mono-shock route. Will get the rear disc setup somehow altered.
C. Tyres - Duke 390 Metzelers ( They sticky as shit!)
D. Alloy wheels - Duke 390 alloy wheels ( Personally hate them but as they will screw the RD's classic look). These would be a temporary solution and will replace them as and when I get the tubeless spoke rims. Moreover, they would be useful spares in case the Duke herself gets some issues.

These parts have been ordered today. Will get them in 6 days from Chakan. For the first time love staying in Pune

E. Chrome Plating - She would be disassembled this weekend and parts would be shipped to Hyderabad.
F. Paint Job - I still like the paint that Cupid has and would only go for clear coat this time. Will not be painting the engine until I get the spares from the US.

Phase 2 in US -
1. Engine Spares from HVC and Ebay.
2. Tubeless spoke rims ( Not sure if I can carry them back as they would be real heavy)
3. Cylinder porting.

Overall Build Costs -
1. Rs 51500 - Disc Setup, Suspension,Tyres, Alloy Wheels, Pulser swing arm. (Actuals)
2. Rs 11000 - Chrome-plating and shipping costs to Hyderabad. (Actuals)
3. Rs 3000 - Du-Pont clear coat. (Actuals)
4. Rs 1000 - Painter Charges. (Actuals)
5. Rs 5000 - Mechanic Charges. (Actuals)
6. Rs 6000 - Misc spares (Actuals).
7. $1500 - Engine spares ($1500) - (Estimate)
8 $700 - Tubeless Spoke rims ( Not sure if I will be able to carry these)
9. $???? - Cylinder porting (Got no clue yet).

I've heard a lot of people do a porting jobs in the US, has anyone got more information on this? On a side note, I had spoken to MotoCarerra and they offered different porting options with the stage 3 porting going to a whopping 78bhp!! However, it seems they went out of business and now I don't have any leads .

Can someone please guide me on this one . I already have a pair of US spec cylinders and heads and will take them to US to get this done if I find the right people to do it.

Cheers,
Zohaib

Re: RD350 - Restoration - Givng it a heart transplant

i believe you can use tube less tyres with tubes inside on normal rims
As for your requirement for an amerikaan porter to port your cylinders try the foll link he also got his engines ported by an american porter :Blue Angel - Resurrection of my Yamaha RD350 - Team-BHP

With the set up you have described and with my limited imagination i tried imagining and it didnt look good , the first thing that came to my mind was your enduro....., but then that shouldn't stop you from what you want , as its your bike and your money at the end of the day and the opinions of a deranged individual such as myself shouldn't detract you from your goals

PS: you forgot about the wheel hubs for the bikes as far as i know there isnt one available for the ktm front end for use with spoked wheels

PPS: try Joshua crasto of jcmoto hes good with rd based customs hes built an rd with a ktm front end try the foll link for details: The Orange Wave by RDDreams-jcMoto | jcMoto.in

Re: RD350 - Restoration - Givng it a heart transplant

Hi KB100.

Your valuable comments are highly appreciated. As for the Enduro..well have always kept bikes stock and wanted to do something different. She's pretty fun to thrash around!
Pardon me for asking, but what did you didn't like about the Enduro?

Hmm...missed on the the wheel and sprocket hubs.Well for now will go with the KTM alloys then and figure out the rest later.

I did have a look at the RDD RD and didnt understand why only the front alloy. Also, didn't like how they changed the meter console, changed the rear fender and put in those Cont GT turn signals.


I plan to keep her as she is except for the alloy wheels and tyres. No modification other than that. I want amazing brakes and sticky rubber as I feel that's the only place she's found lacking. I've owned her for the past 9 years and driven her just some odd 30K Kms. Now with the newer additions I see her being driven even fewer and maybe for just once in a month joy rides.

For that ride, I want the most awesome setup that I can get.

Cheers,
Zohaib

Re: RD350 - Restoration - Givng it a heart transplant

AFAIK, the new Royal Enfield GT comes with tubeless tires on the spoke rims.
The rims are some cast alloys or something like that, but I forgot the complete detail. XBHP page on GT's review will have the details.
They are 18 inch anyways.

Re: RD350 - Restoration - Givng it a heart transplant

Just my 2 cents- Watch out for ebay stuff- You could end up with some real crap from there.

Check out Economycycle as well.

You could pick up rims from Raina and use them with the D390 tyres + tubes. Dont waste time and money on mags if its just a stop gap solution. If you are doing something, do it right the first time- Do it the way you want the final product to be. No temporary stuff and all!

Cheers!

Re: RD350 - Restoration - Givng it a heart transplant

my advice to you would be to go for the conti gt front end , its 41mm dia and the bike is as heavy if not heavier than the rd , the problem with using the ktm front is that its designed for a much lighter bike and the suspension and brakes will have a tough time taking the weight and also in retardation , as for the rear my bet will be the rectangular section swing arm in aluminium with a 1"extension available i the us but the problem is the price

as for sticky tyre you dont need the tyres to be wide to get good grip you need the tyre with the right compound for that,

as for the endure i just dont like the yamaha and suzuki parts on a kawasaki ,the speedo, head lamp and the tail lamp they some how dont go with the overall lok of the bike , if possible please revert back to the rd speedo console they do look good on the enduro despite being from a yamaha

PS: if im going to add alloys to an rd this is how it will look Tejis Rd (he also got his cylinders ported abroad) :The most unique RD ever

PPS: JC kept the rear stock as they couldn't add alloys to the stock rd rear end and they cant add spoke wheels to the ktm front end either , same problem as you brother Bikes | jcMoto.in

Re: RD350 - Restoration - Givng it a heart transplant


The Duke390 weighs 139Ks vs the RD's 143. Can you please tell me how the 4kg weight would be such a big factor?

[QUOTE=kb100;1066877] as for sticky tyre you dont need the tyres to be wide to get good grip you need the tyre with the right compound for that,

The intention was never to go for bigger wider tires. If that would have been the intention, I would not have decided to gone for the 390 Metzelers and opted for some MRF/ local made tyres. They are pretty amazing and I think fellow 390 owners can vouch for the same.

That completely negates the ease of use tubeless tyres offer. Repairing a punction is a piece of cake on the tubeless ones. I would be better off with tubed tyres instead of doing whats suggested.


@SatSon,

I did speak to the Royal Enfield guys and they do offer aluminium wheels ( costing 9K each). However, the tyres provided by the RE still have tubes in them, even though they themselves are tubeless. For using the tubeless tyres directly, a rubber adhesive would need to be put in the rim to seal it. I never wanted to go for this jugaad in the first place. And incase even if this needs to be done then why would not I do it on the original rims instead of spending 18K. :P

@James,

Thanks for the inputs man. Will definitely check out Economycycle.

Cheers,
Zohaib