Any advice on upgrading RD 350 suspension and rims? It's gonna remain a streetbike but if I can swap out the forks and rims I'd be interested. Otherwise I could use a set of rims for the bike, expansion chambers, and whatever else. I can't see restoring this thing and not taking advantage of upgrades. Hopefully there are some old schools guys still posting here. Help is appreciated.
Late model RZ rims and forks (canada 86+ bikes) with some 83mm 4 pot calipers (triumph or TZR) might work. Seen it done on 400s anyway
US model Yamaha cast wheels are boat anchors. Lace up 1.85/2.15 alloy rims. 76-78 RD400 forks swap and have teflon upper bushings. Replace front brake rotor with one off an XS650, make brackets from 1/4" aluminum to space caliper out and fit a newer master cylinder. (I used a CBR600F2 Honda) Nice feel and all the brakes you'll ever need. If you can find them, 79 RD400F pistons and rings are the good 'uns. Double keystone rings that don't stick, unlike the stock 350 ringsets with lower ring/expander design.
You'll get some knowledgeable input from the crew on this forum (very RD centric): 2strokeworld - Index
If you want to keep the stock forks, I put a set of Race-tech knock off emulators (intended for an XS650 < 50 bucks) along with stiffer, straight weight springs (genuine Racetech, about a 100 bucks.) 7.5wt Oil. It's a very easy mod and works really well. You only need to drill a few holes in the damper rod, and the emulators fit directly on top, no need to remove the roll pins. I did a little thread on it here with a few pics if it helps... I'd like to lace on alloy 18" rims at some point too as the stock ones are very heavy. https://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=557276
