RD250

It is only right that we take the time to thank our sponsors. This is in order to not only say thank you but to highlight to you the best companies who will go that extra mile to help us do what we do.  As a member of the Royal Air Force Motor Sports Association (RAFMSA) I share a group of loyal sponsors as well as one of my own. To all the people who make what we do possible, from the sponsors to the fans and our loyal brew makers in between: we are eternally grateful.  First of all I am very proud to say that R Tech welding equipment Ltd have chosen to sponsor me this year with some help towards the purchase of my superb R Tech AC/DC Digital 170 Amp Tig welder .  They couldn't have come through for me at a better time and for their help I am more than happy to ride with their brand emblazoned on my motorcycle and shirt. I was particularly drawn to them for being a very well spoken of British company who's sales staff were helpful, frank a...

At the end of the 2016 season I had to return a lot of loaned parts. That included the carbs (2 sets), exhaust and even the crank. These have been grouped together to pick out the interesting bits of this part of the build. Suck My standard carburetors had to go back to Andy and I had already returned the set that I actually raced with to Sy. The bike had already been stripped for parts by Ian who borrowed it to try and make Silverstone on his own machine but sadly his back had other ideas so I didn't need to pull as much apart here. New Mikuni VM32 carbs were supplied from eBay USA for nearly half the price I can get them in the UK. Thankfully I was state side so the shipping was cheap too. I found it cheaper to buy them separately rather than as a pair but care has to be taken to get a Left and a Right carb as the idle screw will be masked on the right carb otherwise. I also ordered a set of new throttle cables as my current (one sodding race old) cables had the wro...

Shopping With the winter maintenance season on its way I started looking for parts to get the bike where I wanted it for the 2017 season. Wheels were high on my shopping list as the stock cast wheels weigh a fair bit. I wanted a set of Astralites but they are very expensive. Spoked wheels were going to be the more likely option but getting a good set was't very cheap either. As it happened this pair of Astralites came up cheap on eBay for only £250 with the added bonus of all the spacers for an RD250 fit. They were still in their original anodised finish with the only draw back being a few dents in the rims that would need ironing out. Straightening things up I spent a long time trying to get in contact with the Tony Dawson and   Paul Allender. Tony being the man who brought the Astralite wheel to us and Paul the man who brought them back after a 10 year gap . Paul was selling the wheels again on RennStar  but sadly they have recently announced th...

The standard RD250-B 34mm forks were skinny and had the caliper in the wrong place. It's time to rectify that... An FZR400 1WG set of forks and yolks appeared from that magical place known as eBay. This was later followed by an axle making for a complete 38mm front end for the little RD. Condition wise the the fork bottoms were okay, stanchions weren't overly pitted with the only rough bit being the bottom yolk that quickly cleaned up in a sand blasting cabinet. because nothing is ever easy; the forks and head stock stem are both too long for the RD so would both need trimming. The beauty of using an FZR400 1WG front end is that the head stock stem is the same diameter as the RD's so you can use the same taper bearings which makes life easier. But only easier. This job really isn't for the faint hearted. Unless you have an Andy. I had an Andy. There are two ways to skin this cat: One is to press out the stem then, using a lathe, cut the stem...