Rd350 who's had one?
Discussion
One of my hobbies for the last year has been to go out on the hunt for barnfinds.. i get told about cars/bikes that have been left unloved by their owners and may be available..
Myself and my friend recently found a large collection of bikes and old cars and did a deal with the owner for the lot.
The rd350 is from an era before my time so im still a bit confused as to what all the fuss is about.. we decided to sell to fund some of our other projects and we cant get over the amount of hype surrounding the ad..
Anybody here into cars and bikes who can offer up a comparison?
Is the rd350 the datsun 280 of the bike world for example??
Its a great condition bike we have but i still dont get the appeal?
Cheers jamie
Myself and my friend recently found a large collection of bikes and old cars and did a deal with the owner for the lot.
The rd350 is from an era before my time so im still a bit confused as to what all the fuss is about.. we decided to sell to fund some of our other projects and we cant get over the amount of hype surrounding the ad..
Anybody here into cars and bikes who can offer up a comparison?
Is the rd350 the datsun 280 of the bike world for example??
Its a great condition bike we have but i still dont get the appeal?
Cheers jamie
My first bike after passing my test. RSX100 onto a fully modded RD350.
Full aluminium tank, swarbrick pipes, borani rims (excuse spelling), discs front and rear, TZ frame, no stand etc. It was so much fun and would do great wheelies pulling away in 1st. I had to have electrics wired into the bike and it had an ignition switch under the seat. Unfortunately the lights failed coming back from the Weston Supermare beach races to Cambridge and I pulled off a fast section of the A505, hit a sign post and the bike rolled into the slow lane. I stood up, but was too late and a car ran over it at 60mph, car and bike jumped thru the air. It was a total mess. ( luckily the car didn't flip)
I then bought a Kenny Roberts special RD350LC, managed to save the engine from wrecked TZ, but that was it!
That bike seized at 80mph+ shattered pistons and bent conrods. I recall pouring the pieces out of the exhaust. Got rid of it soon after that.
In 98 I then bought a brand new GSXR750WW and my unreliable days were over.
Did Santapod on my 1st LC, I recall a time of around 13secs. Would love another one, t kept up with a mates brand new RGV and also a CBR400.
Full aluminium tank, swarbrick pipes, borani rims (excuse spelling), discs front and rear, TZ frame, no stand etc. It was so much fun and would do great wheelies pulling away in 1st. I had to have electrics wired into the bike and it had an ignition switch under the seat. Unfortunately the lights failed coming back from the Weston Supermare beach races to Cambridge and I pulled off a fast section of the A505, hit a sign post and the bike rolled into the slow lane. I stood up, but was too late and a car ran over it at 60mph, car and bike jumped thru the air. It was a total mess. ( luckily the car didn't flip)
I then bought a Kenny Roberts special RD350LC, managed to save the engine from wrecked TZ, but that was it!
That bike seized at 80mph+ shattered pistons and bent conrods. I recall pouring the pieces out of the exhaust. Got rid of it soon after that.
In 98 I then bought a brand new GSXR750WW and my unreliable days were over.
Did Santapod on my 1st LC, I recall a time of around 13secs. Would love another one, t kept up with a mates brand new RGV and also a CBR400.
The "appeal" is a large dose of rose tinted nostalgia.
In their day, they were something a little special, being faster, more powerful and better handling than most of their main competition. They were affordable to the hooligan yoof of the day, who were the last of the learners brought up on 250cc two strokes. The RD350LC was just more of everything that got most of them into biking.
Like so many nostalgia vehicles, direct comparison with more modern offerings leaves them wanting but, it's like saying what's the appeal of a Sierra Cosworth or a Lotus Cortina. Special is relative!
In their day, they were something a little special, being faster, more powerful and better handling than most of their main competition. They were affordable to the hooligan yoof of the day, who were the last of the learners brought up on 250cc two strokes. The RD350LC was just more of everything that got most of them into biking.
Like so many nostalgia vehicles, direct comparison with more modern offerings leaves them wanting but, it's like saying what's the appeal of a Sierra Cosworth or a Lotus Cortina. Special is relative!
OP, I take it you are referring to the RD350LC rather than the earlier air-cooled RD350.
I had 5 LCs/YPVS in the '80's. There were cheap speed in the day, up to 350cc rider policies made them no dearer to insure than a 250 but cheaper than a 550 four stroke.
Like said above, rose tinted specs - many people had them & want them again, many never hand one & now wants one, even more have heard about them & want them too. Some to ride, some as investment hence the buoyant prices. As a result of all of this they have become even more legendary!!
I did ride one again, probably 15 years ago - I forgot how bad they were compared to modern stuff, happy to remember how I enjoyed them years ago.
I had 5 LCs/YPVS in the '80's. There were cheap speed in the day, up to 350cc rider policies made them no dearer to insure than a 250 but cheaper than a 550 four stroke.
Like said above, rose tinted specs - many people had them & want them again, many never hand one & now wants one, even more have heard about them & want them too. Some to ride, some as investment hence the buoyant prices. As a result of all of this they have become even more legendary!!
I did ride one again, probably 15 years ago - I forgot how bad they were compared to modern stuff, happy to remember how I enjoyed them years ago.
I did spot that but as you had YPVS in the ad , I thought it was a scam, it was in my watch list anyway.
The question , if your of a certain age, is who hasnt had one, the LC was affordable & cheap speed , I cant think of any of my friends back in the 80s that didnt have an LC or YPVS apart from poor soul that had a CB250N, the lads that where into cars had stuff like 2 or 3L Capri's and Mk2 RS Escorts...and look at the price of those nowadays..
The LC was an icon from the start, whilst water cooling wasnt exactly new, most of the stuff before it wasnt W/C and had heavy, metal mudguards and trim, the RD had watercooling, a monoshock and all of the bodywork was plastic, so it was light, pokey and handled so much better than production bikes of the era, its was and still is ( to me at least) a great looking bike as well.
The majority of people who rode back then have a story or two about their time with an LC and that's why so many people want a slice of that nostalgia again, the Pro Am feature races at MotGP and BSB certainly helped refuel the increase in demand for the bike & parts...
Rose tinted glasses off, if you can find a nice , straight bike, with suspension in good fettle (which wasnt easy to do back in the late 80s let alone now), they still handle very well for the performance on offer , they'll sit on the motorway for mile after mile at 80, in comfort and put a massive grin on your face when you hit the B roads.
I absolutely love mine and have no intention of ever parting with it...it makes no sense and in every measurable way is out performed on paper by anything past say a CB500 but as Black K1 says, special is special...
The question , if your of a certain age, is who hasnt had one, the LC was affordable & cheap speed , I cant think of any of my friends back in the 80s that didnt have an LC or YPVS apart from poor soul that had a CB250N, the lads that where into cars had stuff like 2 or 3L Capri's and Mk2 RS Escorts...and look at the price of those nowadays..
The LC was an icon from the start, whilst water cooling wasnt exactly new, most of the stuff before it wasnt W/C and had heavy, metal mudguards and trim, the RD had watercooling, a monoshock and all of the bodywork was plastic, so it was light, pokey and handled so much better than production bikes of the era, its was and still is ( to me at least) a great looking bike as well.
The majority of people who rode back then have a story or two about their time with an LC and that's why so many people want a slice of that nostalgia again, the Pro Am feature races at MotGP and BSB certainly helped refuel the increase in demand for the bike & parts...
Rose tinted glasses off, if you can find a nice , straight bike, with suspension in good fettle (which wasnt easy to do back in the late 80s let alone now), they still handle very well for the performance on offer , they'll sit on the motorway for mile after mile at 80, in comfort and put a massive grin on your face when you hit the B roads.
I absolutely love mine and have no intention of ever parting with it...it makes no sense and in every measurable way is out performed on paper by anything past say a CB500 but as Black K1 says, special is special...
Looks very clean.
I might be corrected but I don't think it has the right stripes for a 1981 model. I thought the 3 colour strips came out in 1982. 1981 models had 2 colours with a pinstripe/border around each colour - Red & Orange with gold pinstripe being the colours for a black 1981 (aka Mars Bar).
Also stripe on front mudguard missing too.
No having a go but just a heads up in case someone tries to make an issue of it.
Otherwise, tool kit, tool tray, full rear mudguard, twin horn trim, rad guard - has some very original & hard to find pieces on it, it should go for good money. GLWS.
eta - what Podman said - probably enough for you to want to keep it.
I might be corrected but I don't think it has the right stripes for a 1981 model. I thought the 3 colour strips came out in 1982. 1981 models had 2 colours with a pinstripe/border around each colour - Red & Orange with gold pinstripe being the colours for a black 1981 (aka Mars Bar).
Also stripe on front mudguard missing too.
No having a go but just a heads up in case someone tries to make an issue of it.
Otherwise, tool kit, tool tray, full rear mudguard, twin horn trim, rad guard - has some very original & hard to find pieces on it, it should go for good money. GLWS.
eta - what Podman said - probably enough for you to want to keep it.
Edited by graham22 on Monday 29th January 18:07
I think Elsies are maybe one of those things if you have to ask you possibly wouldn't understand? In context they were like a spaceship had picked a race with a bin lorry. With hindsight, given the bikes that have passed since, it's probably hard to understand what all the fuss was about. With that said, my YPVS is one of the bikes I remember most fondly ...despite it being one of the most unreliable. On those days when everything worked as it should, nothing put as big a smile on your face.
One thing I do remember is the brakes being "a good squeeze and a lot of prayer" even at the time
One thing I do remember is the brakes being "a good squeeze and a lot of prayer" even at the time
The chaps have a point re the colours but many people will expect it to need painting.
http://www.rd350lc.net/pageWORLD-4L0.htm
Mine is a 81 model.
http://www.rd350lc.net/pageWORLD-4L0.htm
Mine is a 81 model.
podman said:
The chaps have a point re the colours but many people will expect it to need painting.
http://www.rd350lc.net/pageWORLD-4L0.htm
Mine is a 81 model.
Looking good http://www.rd350lc.net/pageWORLD-4L0.htm
Mine is a 81 model.
Wish I had kept mine
Nice thread. Bought a half-decent one for £500 from Banjax near Brick Lane back in 2002 when I was between bikes. LOVED IT. Gave it to my best mate so he could muck around, he planned to do it up but it mostly sat outside his house until he got rid of it.
I was at the Silverstone GP possibly last year or the year before and saw that Yamaha had restored THIRTY RD250LCs to reform the Pro-AM series. Bloody amazing. https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-vie...
I was at the Silverstone GP possibly last year or the year before and saw that Yamaha had restored THIRTY RD250LCs to reform the Pro-AM series. Bloody amazing. https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-vie...
Had a 350YPVS and built a Yammagamma. At the time (1988) it felt like a space shuttle, especially after a 125. In reality by the time the RG was finished and tuned it was still blown away by a KR1S, in every way.
I don't want to ride one today, it would just feel gutless, handle and stop like a milkfloat
I don't want to ride one today, it would just feel gutless, handle and stop like a milkfloat
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