Taking to the streets

After much work not to mention cost, the bike is finally road worthy.

The registration/transfer documents also arrive, which allows me to get the insurance done.

Time to go home...

Still I have much to do to have it completed; from little things like handle grips and footrests to tuning the carbs and painting the body to factory spec.

What matters is that a machine that would have surely ended up getting cannibalized is salvaged and restored to roadworthy condition. 

Fast tracking the build

More time, focus and energy fast tracks the build, as I look forward to the moment of truth. Starting the engine.

New clutch plates are installed

Carbs are installed with repair kits ordered on ebay from Japan











Also installed...
Havolin 2T and Engine oil
Fork oil and oil seals
Wynn's Coolent
NGK plugs
Sourced an original 29L kick lever

All ready to get the motor started.

Accelerating the progress

By now it seems the worst is over and I could could speed up the work. Getting the motor running is the most important job; yet we need to put the chassis and engine together for that.

Finally things appear to be falling in place. The engine and all parts to be painted black are primered and ready.

Feeling good after overcoming the engine fiasco.

After complete strip down, the naked chassis. Not much to look at.

After stripping the paint to the metal and primer, the original basic red paint is sprayed on; What a difference, almost gives life the chassis. Replaced new handle cups for the steering column.

To continue in a project like this you need to have a vision, a goal as to what your final outcome should be. The following picture inspired me and is the benchmark. (except for the red and blue decals; they will be similar to the RR model as shown below)

Easy said, but getting there is a tough road.

Completing the Engine rebuild

After incurring much expense and the stress of whether the crank could be salvaged, I manage to repair the crank and replace the bearings and push rods with new ones.

A brand new engine packing set for the LC model will be an exact fit except for the head gasket which is not needed.

All assembled, the engine is ready to be stripped of it's old paint and prepped for painting

After stripping the chassis bare all nuts, bolts and brackets are anodized to look brand new.

Funny how all the shinny parts lift the spirit and makes you forget all the bad stuff.

Stripper time

While attending to the engine rebuild, we continue with stripping the chassis bare.


Not a very pretty sight is it?

Every step of the way you can be sure to face an obstacle. Two bolts that hold the left front disc to the wheel refuse to budge. Using some brute strength only breaks the heads leaving the thread area lodged in the wheel.

Many of the nuts and bolts have been replaced with cheap damaged ones, and whoever attended to this bike wouldn't have known why washers were invented. Will have to get new nuts, bolts and washers.

Moving forward with a failed Engine

I remember removing and inspecting the fuel tank prior to towing the bike for repairs, when I found a thick mixture of corrosion and what seemed to be mud accumulated in the tank. There also was an occasional drop of water that trickled from the underneath of the engine, which we didn't take too much notice of.
However with the completion of the electronics when we removed the carburetors we found them waterlogged and full of gunk. Recollecting that the bike was left in the open to face the elements and a couple of monsoons, we suspected there was a chance water might have found it's way into the engine.
We had no choice but to take down the engine and do a proper inspection. Which Mr Rohan agreed to do the next day.

Sure enough I get a call the next day from Mr Rohan's son Chathura who asks me to come by their place, that there is something I need to see.

Wasn't a prettey sight, the total oposite.

Not something I wanted to see; not what I expected when making the purchase and most certainly not what I was expecting to spend on. A total rebuild of the engine

Opening the engine we find that it has seized due to taking in water and the subsequent build up of corrosion over an extended period of time.

Our worst fears have come true. Just overcoming one obstacle I face a new one.

 A close look at the sump reveals the absence of engine oil and that one side of the engine has sustained more damage.

The piston bores are completely covered in corrosion. You can imagine the condition of the piston rings. We had unknowingly kicked on the kick lever making the internal components move and might have caused further damage.

 The Crank reveals corrosion and needs to be repaired with new bearings, pushrod etc. The worst part is if it cant be repaired it will have to be replaced; only there are no cranks in the local market and importing one will cost me more than the bike itself.

Thankfully the Gearbox wasn't affected and the pistons were salvageable.

Rebuilding the engine was not something expected and incurring such cost was going to be hard.
At this point it gets quite depressing.
However you cant turn back now. Got to keep moving forward even with a failed engine. As they say... What to do?

The search for a CDI finally successful

After a depressing few days I finally catch a break. A motorcycle cannibalising yard on the outskirts of Colombo suburbs had apparently sold some RZ parts in the recent past to a garage I visited. Without wasting any time I got the address and decided to visit the location; it was in a little village named Kiriwaththuduwa in the Thalagala area away from the busy Kottawa town.
After a one-and-a-half hour ride and asking 5 or 6 persons for directions I finally reached a large 2 story building surrounded by high walls that stood out like a castle among the little low budget single story houses scattered among large expanses of unattended land. Walking into the yard I see Thushara, the guy in charge, only in a pair of long trousers sitting on a concrete bench in the shade of a jam tree he seems to be in no rush to greet or inquire of my need. Thushara stands about 6' with tattoos and a long rasta style hairdo, at first sight I'm not sure if this guy is on his day off or just has no inclination of conducting business.
Walking up to him and greeting him I inform him of my need. Taking his time and without a word he gets up and climbs the stairs to the top floor of the building, I too follow him; reaching into a large plastic box full of various CDIs, almost without even looking he grabs the first unit that comes to his hand and asks me "is this what you want?", not knowing the part number all I had to go on was the recollection of wire colour-coding and the fact that the CDI had 9 wires; after some close inspection I said it may be a match. He assured me that this would do the job; however I had him confirm he would give me a refund if the part is faulty or incorrect which of course he assured me wouldn't be the case. He gets a little talkative and we have a short chat about how great a bike the RZ is and Thushara tells me of the riding experiences he had with the model long years ago. Indicating I might be back for more parts in the future. I leave.

Riding straight to Mr Rohan's, we fix the newly found CDI and keeping a close eye on the plug tip, kick down on the lever; "yes yes", is the response, as the plug generates a strong spark. The CDI is functioning perfectly and now with that success we can move to the next stage of the build.