It's Alive! The RD400 Is Running!

We were so close to getting Dave's bike running from the last visit there, that I just couldn't wait to finish it up. So, I went over to Dave's desk at work this afternoon and told him I wanted to hear his "Ring-Ding" SING tonight. It turned out to be a good-ole time as Luann, and eventually, Tom and Sue Hackney came by to help out. Tom helped us crawl underneath the bike when needed, while Sue took Sadie out for TWO walks tonight (they were both tired after that) and Luann went for dinner for us and then went on one of the walks with Sadie and Sue.



Well, after overcoming some obstacles, we finally got it started and running real nice. I call this photo the glamour shot. The exhaust turned out to be a tuck-under design, so the center kick-stand would not fit and had to be left off.



As you can see, the different components that Dave selected have come together nicely. Having the pipes ceramic coated really highlights them, which draws your eyes to the contours. The labels on the engine and the detail given to the side covers and tank make this something of a 2-wheeled piece of art. Lots of attention to detail.



A top view, too.

Wait a second, what does that say on the back of the seat for this Yamaha RD400? You know, I think Tom might've had something to do with this...




Well, I told you that it was running, so how about we show you what it looks and sounds like too?

At the end of the video when I say "Watch this" and the video stops, I grabbed the kick starter and with a quick flick, cranked the motor right up. The timing and setup is well balanced and it fires up immediately, ready & willing. (Man, I can see that I do need to lose some weight though...)



I imagine Dave will be spending some time polishing, cleaning and detailing his labor of love. There are a couple of minor things we have to take care of, but we should have the bike tooling down the road in about a week or so...