After completing the build on my RD250LC, the 350 was looking pretty ratty by comparison, so I started a refurbishment initiative.
This was brought to a sudden halt midway through the project, by the opportunity to acquire another frame at a reasonable price.
The frame was an import with no V5 or registration, but it did have a NOVA number.
After a long and hot car journey from Sussex to the midlands to collect it, the work could begin.
While I have enough spares to complete the bulk of a complete bike, there are some parts missing, and undoubtedly other parts missing which I don’t yet know about.
Principally, the ones I know of include…
- Chainguard
- Mudguard (Rear section)
- Airbox lower
- Top yoke
All of these parts are hard to come by now, so ebay watches were set, and the wallet made ready.
Regardless of missing parts, The frame needs a registration, and for that, it needs to be complete enough for an MOT (or inspection by DVLA).
Fortunately, I have all the constituent parts of an RD350LC, in bits, awaiting refurbishment.
All I have to do is bolt all the bits onto the frame, get an MOT, and complete the documentation for DVLA.
In order to get an MOT, my local tester says he needs to set up a new record on the DVLA database, and for this he needs a legible frame number…
… and a dating certificate.
Dating certificates can be had from the Air-cooled RD club, (£30), or direct from Yamaha, (£50).
In order to circumvent any nonsense about provenance, I opted for the Yamaha option.
There is a web form to fill out https://www.yamaha-motor.eu/gb/en/contact/coc_dating-letter/ and an estimated wait of 4 weeks, (as at August 2023).
Meanwhile, I can start prepping and bolting bits onto the frame.
Some of the parts are already cleaned and refurbished for my interrupted RD350LC refurb.
A few are new, and some are as they came off the old bike, or emerged from the spares boxes.
All complete and now awaiting the Dating Letter from Yamaha… It could be another 3 weeks.