hey RDD folks

[zolan]

hey Guys,
I am Shyam, a 32 year old, working in Bangalore. To tell you a bit about me, i love bikes, read a lot, watch a lot of movies and TV series. A gadget freak and a gamer, I’ve been in love with the RD for about 15 years. never could afford one.. until recent Got the delivery of my RD yesterday! Been a day i have been looking forward to for a long long time.

However, i don't feel so high now Loads of broken parts and dents from the delivery guys.. that did not worry me much. the thing that got me down is the ride itself. It does not look like the bike was maintained well. Don't know much about RDs but i could feel that the cylinders are not running in sync, most of the cables and parts are in a sad shape + no kicker! scouted the whole of JC road for one but no dirt. Took the bike to a mechanic for a diagnosis. Verdict - not good! He said it looks like a quick fix job to sell off the bike. I requested him for a tune up and a timing correction, but he said he is busy and that next week i should leave the bike with him for a few days. Now, don't get me wrong, but i am not really keen on leaving my bike overnight at a garage, based on previous experiences with my RXG.. unless i know the guy or have heard enough about him.

So, the crappy thing is that i now have my dream bike but can't enjoy it ! I would really like to learn and do some, if not most of the work myself. I do tinker around on my RXG(modded), a bit. Believe this place has the right people and the expertise. Must confess, I've been a member for quite a while and have been reading up on a lot of topics, (which mostly go over my head) but never wrote an intro - sorry about that. I wanted to get me an RD first. I see that this forum and the guys are really helpful.
Can someone suggest / help me out so that I can ride my bike ? If someone could teach me to time & tune the bike for until I save up enough for an RDD CDI, i would be really indebted .

Any help would be much appreciated and all favours returned. (sorry about the long post) Cheers!

[chinoy]

sad but this is the situation with most RDs in the country.
When people buy a RD do they really think. They are going to get a running bike ?
This bike is over 20 years old.

The only exception to this rule are
a. Guys who learn to work on their bikes
b. Guys who bring their bikes to RDD. Get it fixed. Then take it back to their work shop and the workshop copies everything. Onto the other RDs.

RDs are like Girl Friends. The best way to get the most out of them is to do all the hard work and get your hands dirty. If you let others get their hands into her internals.
Expect nasty surprises. Going forward.
For the really serious stuff. Find a specialist.

When I returned to Bangalore in the 90s. There where only 3-4 RD specialists. I went to all of them. And got raped by all of them.
The one thing I learned from all that was learn to do your own wrenching. And TRUST NOBODY.

There are loads of good info and posts. Read them.
My best advise to anybody thinking of buying a RD
Budget at least 50-80K to get it to run right. If you cant. Then dont buy the bike.
Next thing once you get the bike. Know what you have and start marking all your parts.
To know what you have do a compression chk, lift the heads chk liners / pistons / con rods / Points / etc.
Find a mechanic who says he knows nothing about RDs. Then sit down with him and ask him to lift the heads and barrels.

[reaper]

The cdi is a good investment, but it is not the be all and end all of your problems.
Personally, i think you're best bet is to pull the motor, lift the cylinders and pull the crank and bring them over to Ron for an inspection.
He'll be able to tell you what you need and how/where to try.

[racestilldie]

when i bought the rd 2 yrs back i was raped multiple times, broken pistons and rods ,fake barrels and till now i am replacing fake parts from my rd. no regrets because i learned a loads from this experience i learn to work on my bike and now i work myself, read the forum and you'l avoid silly mistakes

[zolan]

Thanks for the advice guys. I have to take things one at a time now.. the CDI is high on the list, is all.

@ Ron: the only specialist i presently know is You! Would you have time to take a look ? I can be anywhere you need me to be, at any time.
I would really like to learn from you guys and am not afraid to get my hands dirty. But right now, i really need HELP in tuning and timing the bike please..

Please also do let me know where i can pick up some replacement cables, packing & gasket kits in Bangalore. Appreciate all your help. Cheers!

[danzel]

my rd came in shit condition and am still making it slowly and its come a long way since. Best thing to do is to work on things one at a time and in such a manner so that you an still ride the bike.
I was lucky because i had an extra engine and though the spare isnt in great shape it at least keeps the bike on the road!!
Good luck then and sucking up to RON will help hehehe!!!

[zolan]

don't we all danzel, don't we all ?!! thanks for the well wishes.

[reaper]

gaskets and cables shouldn't be a problem.there's a store by the name of gautam(i think) near the cox town flyover next to the gas pump.you can try there.he generally has consumables like cables,gaskets and a few bare essentials in stock.

[zolan]

thanks much reaper, will check it out tomorrow. would also see if i can get someone to time the bike.

if any one here has the time to help, i will be reachable on 8971 765 000.
cheers