The RDD RD CDI- The Best Thing that's ever happened to my RD

[SidTheBiker]

Warning: Long post ahead!

I've been wanting and waiting to get my ratty old Hitachi CB points changed ever since I got my Feb. '85 RD 350 back on the road after a yearlong tight-budget restoration. Due to my “studies” and work abroad, then after my return home, the retirement of my mechanic friend Satya Rao (the only one I used to allow to work on her), she had been in dry storage for 14 years.

Until Roopin helped me take her to Harsha's garage in Basavangudi for a restoration, repaint, chrome job and new piston rings that brought compression up to a relatively healthy 132 PSI on both cylinders. I also requested the removal of the 4mm restrictor plate riveted to the exhaust port, to bring her exhaust duration to High Torque specs. This last item, I must say, impressively upped the power delivery from 5K RPM onwards to a screaming 8500+ RPM peak.

Torque Addiction is a wonderful thing to have.

While it was lovely to have her back better than how she was running back in '95, the points frequently went out of tune and robbed my bike of her glorious full-throated growl. They needed adjustment every 1000km due to their inherent mechanical design and various moving and rubbing parts, and needed to be manually reset to something close to a healthy state again. And they're not something that most mechs like to tune up, because they're a pain to set up anywhere beyond 80% accuracy, I feel.

With worn-out cams, aging mechanical points and brittle wiring held together with yards of tape, they malfunctioned 4 times in the past 9 months, forcing me to ride her home late at night on one wheezing cylinder and swearing at the damage being done to the crank and what not, riding in "mono" rather than in full "stereo" mode. 

Well, I’m ecstatic to report that my bike and my enjoyment of her have received a fantastic boost with the RD Dreams RD 350 CDI. This past weekend all the stars had aligned, and Saturday started with ever-helpful Mukund dropping by the farm in his Gypsy and helping me load up the RD on it for a drive along the NICE Rd. and thence to be unloaded at my old buddy Raymonds garage in Koramangala 1st Block by 10am.

Though the bike was rather dirty after her last few rides in the rain, Raymond cheerfully took apart the RD's wiring harness and the entire hated points assembly, along with the headlight dome and fuel tank. Within 2 hours, the shiny new brass and steel parts were in, and the primitive stock points and magneto were out, lying amidst the old wiring harness, looking as crappy as my feelings about them. 

Installation was a breeze, according to Raymond. He noted that the Woodruff key slot was precisely machined, and the clip neatly slotted in place without any trouble, unlike the CDI units that he had seen so far on other RDs that he had worked on. Those often needed some manual cutting and adjustment before they could be coaxed on to the crank-end. It took some hours to painstakingly splice together the new RXG Minda-made wiring harness, to the new wiring in the headlight dome and for the rear brake/ indicator lights, so that they could work with the Yamaha YBX switchgear assembly.

Grounding points were carefully scraped with a razor blade to ensure reliable earthing for the components. The RDD-supplied pair of ignition coils, 100W rectifier, the CDI black-box and the wiring from the RDD rotor assembly did not require any splicing at all to be connected. They easily plugged in to the wiring along the frame section, after Raymond had ensured that the routing of wires and all connections were done as per spec. 

Thankfully Shuvo the whiz biker/ engineer arrived just in time to help Raymond set up the CDI to the recommended configuration. This being a sophisticated upgrade, I was glad for his unstinting help and impressive knowledge, working along with Ray to bring my bike's ignition system into the 21st century. These 2 guys even worked through an hour-long Bangalore power cut without halting work, with yours truly holding up an LED lantern to help them see. 

Not long after the helpers at the garage left at 9:30pm, we fired her up to check. Boy was I amazed at the throaty growl and clockwork precision of the beat at idle. Idling was never this steady on the points, which always had noticeable missing and erratic idle even after properly setting them up. Now with the new CDI, just a blip of the throttle and she responded with a ready roar that echoed off the garage walls and no doubt startling the neighbours for good measure, to announce her arrival! 

Let me try to put into words the difference in performance. Some things are meant to be experienced to be believed, and seat of the pants is the best indicator. If you haven’t ridden a bike with the RDD CDI, you’re missing out very badly.

I was blown away right from the first short ride just around the block to test the timing. The standard ignition curve is simply brilliant, with response right off idle that I've never felt before, quickly powering up into an almost wheelie-inducing power rush going up through 2nd and 3rd. Now this is what I call internal combustion! It was obvious to me right away that the RDD CDI puts out a spark with so much intensity, and with such precise timing at every RPM point, that fuel gets burned so much better and so completely.

The tone of my engine had become, finally, what her designers at Yamaha had envisioned decades ago. Too bad a dynamic-timing CDI never made it to street RDs for many years until Ron and RD Dreams came into the picture. A great loss indeed to lovers of these bewitching beauties. 

I have lots more heart-thumping, joy-inducing things to say about Ron’s creation, especially after the mind-blowing ride I had this morning to Nandi Hills with Ron, Anu, Danny, Mukund, Shuvo and several others. I never thought there was much more to get out of the tired 18+ year old pistons on their 3rd set of rings. But a long hard ride on the highway, screaming up the Hill and down, has opened my mind up to what a properly designed ignition system can do even on an old bike. Even with sub-standard fuel from the Shell station that’s about 5km from the Hebbal flyover. Avoid that bunk if you love your bike.

I didn’t even jet up from the standard 140-size jets which were at the richest needle position. With the points ignition, there was a lot of spluttering and flat-spotting up to 4k RPM. Not so with this CDI. Power and tractability have dramatically improved. Slopes that would have called for a downshift are now dealt with a twist of the wrist. The growl at every speed sends waves of joy into my brain. Even above 6k RPM, there is a sensation of irresistible force pushing you along, with no fatigue after a long hard rip, with moderate head temps being a major bonus to contribute to longer engine life.

These are just my initial impressions at 4am on a Monday morning. Hard to sleep with the excitement that the CDI has brought me. I’m going to write a lot more once I get Chinoy Filter filters and upjet. I’m sure the silly smile on my mug is going to get even wider. This CDI is so good that it becomes imperative to upgrade the rest of the bike in order to enjoy the ride to the max. For those who love their RDs as I do, this will no doubt be an exciting journey to experience awesome RD Dreams!

Ron, thank you for your excellent ignition system, words can’t convey my appreciation! Major kudos to Mukund, Shuvo and Raymond, without whose help these wonderful things wouldn't have happened. One is lucky to have good friends like these.

If you’re still running old points (“Hello, this is 2010 calling!”) or a no-name static timing CDI, I strongly urge you to save up, beg or borrow and get the RDD RD CDI hooked up on your ride.

The only thing you’ll regret is not having installed it years ago. Life is short, my friends, make the most of it.

As always, rock hard and ride free!

Sid

[crazydiablo]

Congrats man, a few months back you couldnt stop talking about the points. Yesterday you couldnt stop talking about the CDI. You really took the blue pill.

Have fun, dont touch the engine, just put UNIs, jet it and time it, your bike will fly.

[chinoy]

But points no ......
Ive seen my fair share of die hard Points fans. Sid ranks up there in the top 3.
Like I said converting anybody from any CDI to the RDD unit is easy.
Converting a die hard points fan is a different ball game.

But knowing sid the biker is a smoker boy. I just knew he would get it from the instant he started his engine.
And looks like he did.
Welcome to the real world. Thanks for taking the blue pill.

What most people dont realize is that with points you can never have perfect timing. For more than a few days tops.
Well ok If you spend a few hours every day like I did every sunday you can have that perfection for a few days.

But soon your going to have both engines firing at different timing. And you may go what the hell so what.
Well the truth is it harms your engine. Crank wear, piston wear etc are all accelerated with un-even firing. Vibrations increase.
And we still haven't got to the heat issue which accelerates wear and tear.

Ever since I heard a RZ engine I used to have wet dreams about owning one. The silky smooth sound made my points RD sound like a constipated animal trying to pass stool. It then hit me that the reason why the RZ was so smooth was because of the variable timing.
So when we got our curve dialed in I lost interest in the RZ really fast cause the RDs growl with the right curve is so much better. Being air cooled every bit of that throaty roar hits your brains in stereo.

Remember what I told you when we first talked about the CDI. You will hear her sing. She will go from constipated to singing.

The filters should be here in a day or two.

Then you will start the 2nd phase of your trip. i.e. adding more and more fuell and going faster and faster.
Till then I would strongly recommend you upjet to 165s on richest clip. At the very least.

You wanted to see what just changing the ignition would do for your motor in terms of mileage increase, emission drop and power output.
You've sampled the magic. Now belt up and get ready for the ride of your life as you start to push the limits on how much fuel you can feed her.
(Dont panic you mileage will still be good) Because that extra fuel in being burned and converted into power 100%. So you have bikes like Jatins / Mohits etc which are on 300+ jets yet return better mileage than your average stock RD.

Now you will understand my silly smile every time I hear a constipated RD go by.

[mukund]

Congrats man, a few months back you couldnt stop talking about the points. Yesterday you couldnt stop talking about the CDI. You really took the blue pill.

Have fun, dont touch the engine, just put UNIs, jet it and time it, your bike will fly.

All you guys needed to hear what Deb had to say about the CDI for the past couple of months before the CDI was installed. He was literally waiting for this as if it was a maiden from heaven promised to him by the Gods. He has been walking talking and living the moment that the CDI would be on his bike for the past few days. Any biker friend he met and Deb would come around to talking about how he is looking forward to his RD moving much better with the best digital technology for his favorite bike. Many times I felt that he wanted it too much and tried to get him to be prepared for some component blowing off like coils and so on but no way. He could hardly associate any problem being there with such a nice product.

So this comment about Deb talking of points I think is from way way back when he first met the RDD gang during the hill climb days. Back then he had only heard about scooty/Rx CDIs on the RDs which he obviously knew was far from points in terms of performance. Once he got to know properly about the Dream-CDI he has only been dreaming of having it installed.

One of the few guys I have known over many years in love with the RD and riding one from back in the early 90s. For me he has always been an RD lover from the "Koramangala Gang" of RD boys. The gang had some 8-10 RDs once upon a time and I have always been looking up to Deb and these boys as true lovers of these bikes. In the times that I have met the "Gang" in the past, I recollect how much these guys love their bikes. Thus after joining RDD, I often wondered how these lovers of the bike were yet to see the Dream CDI. So seeing Deb rebuild the RD and then get it running again after 10 years, I felt the days were not far when the lovers of the RD met the best ignition ever made for it. The fact that Deb and Ron sound much similar to each other in their manner of talking was another reason I felt that there are fun times ahead for both of them.

Hope you have many more fun filled rides on your RD Deb and thank you for being part to the RDD gang.

Cheers

[chinoy]

And thanks to Muks for hooking me up with so many great guys.
The quality of our members just shot thru the roof over night.
All thanks to Mukund da.
Deb, Jaix, Roopin the list goes on an on.

Real two stroke lovers, real characters.
There is hope for the indian biking scene after I meet guys like this.

[SidTheBiker]

Wow. It needed just 2 kicks to start because I forgot to put the choke on for the first kick. I took her out to work today, about a 22km ride through lousy traffic and a couple of spots where some good speeds can be touched. Normally I prefer to ride my CBZ to work, with traffic the way it's degenerated to in Bangalore. But when you really need to haul butt on a weekday, the RD rocks! With the points, the engine would run so hot within 5 minutes of getting stuck in 1st & 2nd gear traffic. With the RDD CDI, the engine is definitely running cooler, even with lots of "point and squirt" to pass those pesky autos. Once I'm done up-jetting and raising the float height on the carbs, I expect temps to go down even more in traffic. Man, the response is really a lot of fun now, no more waiting for the power hit to come because it starts right off idle, filling in the former flat spots, then building up to a wailing crescendo when time comes to shift. Nicely improves upon the HT power delivery which used to be rather weak below 3.5k RPM.

The sound is pure music now. More of the "grrrr…..grrrrrrrrr….grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" than ever before. Hardly any straining noise, more like turning a rheostat and cranking up the revs to the point where the hair on my neck starts prickling. Riding home last night, I actually felt like going far beyond home because I couldn't get enough of the excitement! I don't think I've ever taken the 2nd-last uphill right-hander before my place at over 100 km/h before! Woohoo!

I used to think my bike was very growly and torquey-sounding on points, but this CDI takes it to a different level. The left inner muffler seems to have gotten cracked sometime during yesterday's ride to Nandi Hills, never having experienced such powerful exhaust pulses in 25 years, LOL. Well actually the small crack in the inner muffler had been increasingly making the left speaker…I mean, pipe, sound a bit "pop-pop" rather than the usual "grr-grr", so after the CDI install, the sudden increase in combustion and exhaust pressure must've cracked that old perforated metal like a bull charging through a paper sheet. Anything that increases BMEP like this is pure icing on my cake. And I get to eat it too! I can scarcely imagine the pulses that a proper pipe made by RDD can put out in combination with this kick-ass CDI.

This may seem hard to understand if you've never ridden my bike before and after RDD CDI, but she's actually gotten even smoother through the rev range, in spite of the ancient pistons slapping away to glory after all these years pounding away on the same trusty crank. I think it's because the points ignition never really fired at 180 deg. intervals, but may be a couple of degrees off, getting worse the further I rode after a points reset. I love refinement in everything mechanical, so this newfound smoothness is really turning me on, baby! ;-)

Fuel economy seems to have gone up nicely too, though I haven't measured it. Of course, mileage was the last thing I bought an RD for, but extra speed and extra pleasure for extra miles on the same amount of gas is pure gravy as far as I'm concerned. I've noted the odo reading and will update soon with more accurate mileage figures after running through a couple more tanks of gas. I'm going to follow Ron's advice to up-jet to 165 this weekend.

You know that feeling of anticlimax that you get after wanting something so badly for so long, and then when you finally get it, the novelty wears off within a few hours or days? Well, after the RDD CDI went in, the climax only keeps getting better as my enjoyment increases with every ride. Clearly, points are inferior in every way. The blue pill is truly a revelation.

I've just thought of a new word to describe the feeling: "powergasm" ! I need to blog this for posterity.

By the way, I forgot to mention that I'd also tried Curve 2 on the CDI and rode it from Koramangala to BTM Layout right after the install at Ray's Tuned, and it rocked my world. I didn't have the guts to open throttle all the way in 4th & 5th before going to 6th. In fact the way the upper-midrange and top-end power kicked in made me fear for my life and my poor old pistons, rocketing through the Outer Ring Rd. at 11pm! This is probably the curve to use for extended highway blasts with chambers and all. But my heart can only take so much excitement, so I went back to the sweet spot of Curve 1 for now, until the brakes, jetting and rubber are upgraded to cope with the extra testosterone. Not to mention a full engine rebuild. By RDD of course!

[chinoy]

Can you hear her wispier thank you when you pound her hard thru the rev range.
Almost as good as sex
Powerorgasm is the right word lol.
Upjet upjet upjet before you do anything else.

HT or LT you see gains both ways.
On the HTs and US specs the low and mid come up nice. On the LTs the over rev is sweet.

I will do a DIY article on integrating a TPS with the CDI or how to hook up a Shogun s/w to move between curves.
This will allow you to boost your low and mid even more.
Curve 2 on a stock bike only makes the bike sound smooth. Your making less power. And the engine is less efficient.
curve 2 is only for very high compression bikes which are then mated to a very aggressive pipe.

[charuvil]

Congrats Deb...finally you have seen the twilight and being 'enlightened'. Cheer and enjoy the ride.