Yamaha LC350.

Ever since the LC350 became available in this country, I had secretly lusted after one. Unfortunately I had always perceived them as too expensive until in 1989, I befriended someone with two LC�s and money problems. (after all, who doesn�t have money problems these days). Eventually, one of the bikes was offered to me at a very competitive price. The bike had been looked after mechanically as far as limited finances stretched, and was in fairly sound condition. It did however rattle. Not your normal standard LC top end rattle, nor even the fatal bottom end graunch that indicates an imminent crank collapse, but a high pitched ticking noise which rose and fell at engine speed. The crank was diagnosed but all attempts to isolate the rattle met with failure. (Best guess so far is a slight flat on one of the big end rollers). As with any second hand LC, the engine had been thrashed and stripped more times than a Tory politician, however the recent history of the bike was known. A deal was struck, and at last the beast was mine.
An MOT was arranged which it promptly failed on worn front brake pads and immediately I was embroiled in the pleasure and pain of LC ownership. The MOT tester said that If I could get the bike back to him before he closed in two and a half hours, I could avoid a retest fee. No problems thought I. I purchased some pads and rode the beast home, astounded at how quick it was. The front brake calipers on an LC are an appalling design, and they seize .... Solid. Two hours later I was still sitting on the garage floor surrounded by bits of still assembled brake assembly. I took my courage in my hands, along with a very big hammer. Ten minutes,a drift, a workmate, and some emery cloth later, I had a pair of functioning brakes. ten minutes later still, I had an MOT. The brakes have to be constantly looked after, If only because on a bike this easy to go fast on, one needs to be able to stop before a) the V***O hits you, b) the boys in blue see you c) the corner that you forgot about comes up and smashes you in the face.
Ahh the joys of LC ownership. The rattly bottom end lasted just over 3000 miles before it self destructed. That included a 400 mile round trip to Newport south Wales, and a 400 mile round trip to the Bulldog bash at Long Marston where I was one of only three two-strokes present. (You can work out where I live now). Each trip was undertaken with a pillion and full luggage capacity (i.e. tank bag, panniers, and a rear carrier full of miscellaneous camping gear) I found the LC to be an able tourer despite its image, cruising at �Sorry officer� speeds all the way. The comfort for the rider was very good on these long trips but the pillion complained of high frequency vibes getting to her feet and bum... But the LC350 was never meant to be a tourer of a long distance hauler. It was designed and marketed with the express purpose of terrorizing larger bikes around town and on twisty bits of tarmac, (Like racetracks), like country roads, and this is where it excels.
The engine self destructed when, Ironically, I was giving a lift to its former owner. I wasn�t going particularly fast fortunately. The bike just gradually lost power over 6 or 7 seconds as if it was running out of petrol, then the back wheel locked solid and the bike slithered ungracefully to a halt. A quick prod on the kickstart revealed that the idea of a momentarily nip up was a non starter, so we started the 3 mile push home. When stripped down later that afternoon, the engine internals looked ... interesting. We had to laugh, otherwise we�d have cried. It looked like the big end had broken up and bits of whatever it is they make cranks out of in Japan bad sneakily made their way up the transfer ports and into the piston crown. This had taken the cylinder head out and had put so ouch strain on the rest of the piston that the skirt had seized and shattered , taking the bore out with it. the piston skirt had fallen into the bottom end and grenaded causing total crank failure and non-repairability of the crank sections. The fact that this had only occurred on one side of the engine was no consolation.
Another deal was struck with Andy, the previous owner (Henceforth referred to as Andy), for a pair of mildly tuned 350 barrels which merely needed a rebore and new pistons. �25 per piston + �12 per bore � �74 to you guv, and as we both needed crank rebuilds at the same time we assembled all of the sorry excuses for crankshafts that we could find in the hope that some parts would prove to be reusable, and trundled off to Stan Stephens. Some of the crank parts were reusable so the bill for two crankshaft rebuilds came to �180, about the price of one new crankshaft from Mr. Yamaha. The engine went back together and into the bike over a weekend and 500 very careful running in miles were observed. (It should have been more but have you ever tried running in a tuned LC350 ??)
After that it was a revelation to ride. With all the niggling doubts about the crank resolved I thrashed it at whim. The power delivery was good enough for first and second gear involuntary wheelies and giving it handfuls in the wet was a distinctly bad idea with an Avon AM21 fitted to the rear. (However, 7000 miles later, it still has that AM21 fitted to the rear The front tyre was replaced at about this time with a Mitchelin of some sort which seemed to grip as adequately as the rear tyre and the scene was set for some serious embarrassment of larger bikes. In the fullness of time I came to realise that most of the owners of larger bikes didn�t want to play, possibly because of previous embarrassments. Other additions to the bike included fitting a pair of exhausts from a YPVS 350, and this did indeed improve the midrange and help the engine to rev out further, as suggested by the local LC fraternity.
About 5000 miles were accomplished on the bike in this stage of tune, Which proved to be a good compromise between the (relative) sloth of a standard LC and the constant �hand over the clutch lever in case it seizes� of Andies stage 3 tune. All good things come to an end however and my comeuppance was achieved at 105 mph into a head wind with a pillion. The left hand piston nipped up. It freed off again and allowed me to side home but new pistons and a rebore were the order of the day. The reason for the seize up was traced to an incorrectly set oil pulp. It bad either slipped or the cable had stretched (or something) because I had very carefully set it when it was rebuilt as I had been told it is critical. The moral of this story is Check your oil pump setting frequently..... Preventative maintenance and all that. The second item of data to be gleaned from the above story, is that I was holding it flat out into the teeth of a gale with pillion and I expected it to do more than 105 miles per hour From 350cc ... That is some indication of the easy way in which this small bike makes power. *** Another running in period and then a period of financial disaster which meant that the Elsie had to go. She went to a good home, and I am now building another from a box of bits.
LC�s are temperamental beasts. They need looking after. The engines are relatively fragile and need constant attention if they are to give of their best. When the LC250 that I am rebuilding is turned into a 350 (as it surely will be), I shall run it on Premix 2 stroke oil in the tank, as I have doubts about the oil pumps ability to deliver to the left hand side of the engine. That is the side which always seems to seize. The front brakes aren�t bad once Goodridge hose is fitted but Andies single lockheed caliper makes the standard twin disk set up seem very dangerous. They eat chains and sprockets and chew up the ridiculous plastic swing arm bearings at an alarming rate of knots, but for all that, it is a bike that everybody should own at least once.
P.S. If you need to ask about the fuel consumption It is not the bike for you. *** This was written before the advent of 140mph 250�s (Ridiculous .. Harrumph)