Tinkering and Tampering or Tantalising Technology?

So far the RD350 has remained, visually, fairly standard. Only the piggyback shock absorbers really stand out; it’d take a real Yamorak to spot the carburettor link pipe. The plan has always been to maximise the bike’s potential while retaining its original profile. I’ve been offered some alloy wheels at a seriously good price but have politely turned them down. For me it’s a step too far, I just like the timeless lines of the round tanked RDS… oh and the alloy wheels actually weigh more than the spoked ones they were supposed to make obsolete! The tail end now is much better mannered so I’m leaning towards the idea of getting the front end to also behave. A set of emulators will, apparently, drastically improve the front end feel and, even if they don’t replicate an Ohlins set of forks, give the bike a substantially more stable feel. As I understand the stock set up the damping rod doesn’t have a piston ring and therefore there isn’t any consistent rebound damping. It’s an upgrade often applied to classics that get worked hard and once again it’s not something that will detract from the period look. Another piece of techno bike porn that’s come up on the radar is a fully programmable ignition system that delivers a genuine advance/retard curve. Rather than having set ignition timing as per most two-strokes it’s possible to optimise the point at which the spark plugs trigger. The technology stems from the halcyon days when two-strokes ruled the World Championships. Apparently programmable, digital, ignition was one of the reasons behind 125cc GP bikes making a consistent 55bhp. So I think we’ll have some of that please. After all, why should four-strokes have all the techie stuff? Can’t we stinkwheels fans have a slice of science too?