Last sunday I bought my first motorcycle, a 1973 Yamaha RD250 for 325 EUR, but I still haven't heard it running. The bike still has good compression but no spark, so I've been looking at the wiring and other electrical stuff on the bike this week and things don't look too good: A lot of the wires and connectors were melted and in the fuse box behind the battery there was a copper wire instead of a fuse. So I have reasons to believe a lot of the electrical components are fried. I'm thinking of buying the RDD Ignition and electrical system, but it will cost almost the same as the whole bike and I'm not 100% sure that the engine is still good (lots of oil leaks) Does anybody have any tips on getting the engine to run so I can make out in what state it is? Does an original RD need a fully loaded battery to start?
Welcome to RDD.
The 250 and 350 have similar wiring looms.With the RDD kit,you're effectively looking at a complete wiring upgrade/reinstallation with switch gear.
A good battery rated at 5Ah is a good way to start.Check the condensers for the ignition,get fresh plugs,give the points a once over and check the coils as well.Oil leaks would be due to damaged seals.
As for the eninge,pull the cylinders.Put up pics of the bores and the pistons and we should be able to tell you what needs to be done.Check lateral play on the con rods.
Either way you look at it,you'll need to completely strip,rebuild and replace.
most pansies are content holing a piston.I went and holed a CDI.seee deee eye...does that turn you on?
The bike still has good compression but no spark, so I've been looking at the wiring and other electrical stuff on the bike this week and things don't look too good: A lot of the wires and connectors were melted and in the fuse box behind the battery there was a copper wire instead of a fuse. So I have reasons to believe a lot of the electrical components are fried. I'm thinking of buying the RDD Ignition and electrical system, but it will cost almost the same as the whole bike and I'm not 100% sure that the engine is still good (lots of oil leaks) Does anybody have any tips on getting the engine to run so I can make out in what state it is? Does an original RD need a fully loaded battery to start?