Yesterday I had my first outing on my recently acquired RD400C. What a joy it was. Owning this bike is going to be a lot of fun.
I spent the first few miles tuning into it having not ridden one of these regularly for four decades. How the memories came flooding back. The performance and handling were pretty much as I remember although this engine is being run in so I did not exceed 4,000 rpm. After about 10 miles of riding the bike was idling at 3,000 rpm although it would drop to 1,500 if I engaged first gear and ‘dragged’ the rpm down by letting the clutch out a little. Once down to 1,500 I could select neutral and the idle speed would stay there. It was also very jerky between idle and 3,500 rpm when accelerating on part throttle. Opening the throttle quite a bit more would more clear the stuttering but, of course, by doing that you are accelerating faster than you might want to. Perhaps these issues are related to the fact that the bike has not been used much recently and what was left in the petrol in the tank before I filled up being a couple of years old.
I’m going to put a few more miles on the bike in the hope that these issues will settle down with use. If they don’t I shall be seeking your collective wisdom.
