Work on my engine has paused whilst I find a crankshaft and a power valve bush (or find the cash to buy the items new Ouch!).
Yamaha RD350 clock cover
In the meantime, I’ve been finishing off my clocks. You may have seen my previous post showing the fascia, but I didn’t show you the back cover. For some reason, someone had hacked a big hole in the back. Now I could have just gone out and spent fifty quid on a new one, but this isn’t a “deep pocket*” restoration, so I had a go at fixing the problem.
Yamaha RD350 clock cover
I started by using a piece of fibreglass to block the hole from the inside. Once the fibreglass had hardened, I then set about filling the hole using P38 car body filler. Once the filler had gone off, I then used quite a course sandpaper to reform the filler to the correct shape. Then once I was happy, I applied another slither of filler and sanded this flush.
The next step was to rub down the entire casing with a scotchbrite pad and then gave it all a good wash and left it in the sun (we actually had some sun!) to dry thoroughly.
Yamaha RD350 clock cover
Once dry, I used a matt black paint specifically designed for use on plastic bumpers.
I’m not sure if it was because I was spraying in a warm greenhouse and the paint was drying in the air whilst coming out of the can, or the paint is designed to do it, but the finish left on the plastic is quite nice. It’s left a matt black brushed finish which looks really good!
Yamaha RD350 clock cover
Once the back casing was sorted, It was then time to sort out the plugs on the wiring. In the past, someone had cut the old connectors off and fitted individual bullet type connectors, not nice! I bought some multiconnectors online and soldered these onto the wires. The result is a lot neater I think you’ll agree.
Yamaha RD350 speedo connector
*My definition of “deep pocket restoration” – a restoration where money is no object. All broken, rusty, discoloured etc. parts are renewed rather than reconditioned. Ending up with a new bike, not a restored one.
RD350 Rebuild 