1974 RD350 Crankshaft bearings and seals

[Dreamkiller]

This is my first post so I'd like to start off with a hello to everyone. I recently had a friend give me a 1974 RD350. It is bone stock and hasn't been run since 1982 but the bad part is that one of the pistons had a seizure so the previous owner pulled the top end apart then lost interest and now I have 1 jug, 2 heads, no pistons, and bad crank bearings. I have taken the engine out and split the cases apart but I need to know how to pull the bearings and seals off the crank without tearing anything up and what company has the most affordable engine parts. Also, what is the correct way to take the rotor off the crank snout? (p.s. I'm doing this on a tight budget as I recently bought a house.)

[Shocktower]

Welcome to the smokey room, to remove the rotor you can use a puller, they are 15 bucks from pro-motion, getting the bearings off use a bearing removing tool, if you don't have one you can rent them cheap from auto parts stores. BTW get a manual there are reprinted/copied versions enjoy the ride

[JonnyCash]

You could only change out the outer crank bearings that way. To get to the inners, you have to split the crank into halves. This is not work for those not well set up and experienced. I sent mine to Lyn Garland of Vintage Specialties in GA. Nice guy who has been doing this for decades. I want to say it was about $200 for all new bearings. I wish someone had given me a free RD.

[Dreamkiller]

How hard is it to split the crank apart? i have access to pullers, tools, and such.

[Dreamkiller]

@ Johnny, My buddy hadn't seen the bike since he was 16, he thought that it was a DT360, either way I knew I wanted it, then when we got to the barn and saw what it was I think he kinda regretted telling me that I could have it.

[JonnyCash]

Well, I'm sure you could get it apart, maybe even without damaging it. When it is pressed back together though, there is a lot of skill involved in getting it aligned and trued. It really is a job for a pro who is very familiar with two stroke cranks. I like to do everything myself, to a ridiculous degree, but this is beyond my range. Cranks, and cylinder boring are the only thing I don't do on these bikes. When I quoted you the price I paid, that included parts, which were about half of the total.

[Shocktower]

+ 400 for Lyn great guy

[AC Swank]

You're going to like this source: http://www.hvccycle.com/

BTW, +1 one on the crank rebuilding, let a pro do it.

[Dreamkiller]

I can get a Banshee crankshaft with new bearings for cheap, won't they swap into a RD?

[JonnyCash]

nope