RD350lc - anyone gone back to one ?
Discussion
I’m 55 years old and have always had bikes. In my 20s I had an rd200, rd400 and rd350lc. Just loved that 2’stroke power band! Sold my last rd350lc 4lo for about 150 quid in about 1991.
I have a hankering to get a nice rd350lc.
Anyone else my type of age bought one recently ?
Is it as much fun as you remember ?
Have you been disappointed ?
Does it go out of tune a lot ?
For me, it would just be to use in spring and summer occasionally and just look at !! I have other bikes but I can’t stop looking at 350lc s on eBay etc !
Prices are high but I reckon I’ll get one for around 5 grand if I shop around .
I’d love one that is mildly tuned and used to love them with a belly pan and bikini cowl on.
Shall I go for it or is it going to be another bike that gets used a few times then stuffed to the back of the garage because it won’t fire up ??
Any recent experience please!!
Dan in swansea
I have a hankering to get a nice rd350lc.
Anyone else my type of age bought one recently ?
Is it as much fun as you remember ?
Have you been disappointed ?
Does it go out of tune a lot ?
For me, it would just be to use in spring and summer occasionally and just look at !! I have other bikes but I can’t stop looking at 350lc s on eBay etc !
Prices are high but I reckon I’ll get one for around 5 grand if I shop around .
I’d love one that is mildly tuned and used to love them with a belly pan and bikini cowl on.
Shall I go for it or is it going to be another bike that gets used a few times then stuffed to the back of the garage because it won’t fire up ??
Any recent experience please!!
Dan in swansea
Kuwahara said:
They were great in the 80 s ,keep your expectations low and don t look for the same exhilarating experience you had when a teenager.
The narrow power band would do my head in now but at the time that s what we all chased ,suspect the brakes will be s
t also
I had a Stan Stephens Stage 3 tuned YPVS. Power band between 9-11k The narrow power band would do my head in now but at the time that s what we all chased ,suspect the brakes will be s
t also 
Fun if you were in the mood, but a right PITA if you weren't !This is interesting. About 8 years ago, I had the earliest known surviving registered 350LC a W plate August 1st 1980 matching numbers needing full restoration.
I also had a lovely match numbers RD400F which needed some tlc. Stupidly I sold them both.
I well recall the launch of the 250/350LC, I had a Terry Becket tuned H1F 500 at the time & I really didn t take to the LC, but adored the RD400s that I had previously owned.
I don t think £5 grand is enough to buy you a decent matching numbers 350LC, but whatever you have to pay, go for it, life is short.
Also these bikes were everyday riders, I used to go all over the place on my RD400C / 400D and H1F.
I have one of the very first 400C ( April 13th 1976 ) registered to Britain that I have just started to restore.
I also had a lovely match numbers RD400F which needed some tlc. Stupidly I sold them both.
I well recall the launch of the 250/350LC, I had a Terry Becket tuned H1F 500 at the time & I really didn t take to the LC, but adored the RD400s that I had previously owned.
I don t think £5 grand is enough to buy you a decent matching numbers 350LC, but whatever you have to pay, go for it, life is short.
Also these bikes were everyday riders, I used to go all over the place on my RD400C / 400D and H1F.
I have one of the very first 400C ( April 13th 1976 ) registered to Britain that I have just started to restore.
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Wednesday 13th May 15:43
I think you’ll find most owners are in your age group, having owned one in our teens and twenty’s.
I’ve had mine since 2012, it’s been a lovely thing to own,
easy to work on and maintain, pretty much as basic as it gets in terms of classic motorcycle ownership, it’s had some niggles over the 14 years but mainly down to age, some(many) parts are now quite expensive so get one as complete as possible, tanks are vulnerable to rusting on the inner seams so check that thoroughly.
The are capable of keeping up with motorway traffic equally as well as a thrash down a country road, spannies blaring away, joyful things to blat about on and take to a bike cafe or meet. Really quite comfortable as well.
Yamaha got the look and sound spot on out of the box IMHO.
Check frame & engine no’s are to the logbook,(don’t fear non matching or converted 250s if the price reflects this ) I’d recommend joining an owners FB group or forum, there you will find bikes you can check some recent ownership history / work and in general also priced much more realistic.
My LC was important enough to have it at the top table of my wedding, mother in law didn’t quite have the same level of enthusiasm but it’s all part of the cult 😁
If you want one, you want one…as long as you’re not expecting it to be like a modern bike , you won’t be disappointed.
I’ve had mine since 2012, it’s been a lovely thing to own,
easy to work on and maintain, pretty much as basic as it gets in terms of classic motorcycle ownership, it’s had some niggles over the 14 years but mainly down to age, some(many) parts are now quite expensive so get one as complete as possible, tanks are vulnerable to rusting on the inner seams so check that thoroughly.
The are capable of keeping up with motorway traffic equally as well as a thrash down a country road, spannies blaring away, joyful things to blat about on and take to a bike cafe or meet. Really quite comfortable as well.
Yamaha got the look and sound spot on out of the box IMHO.
Check frame & engine no’s are to the logbook,(don’t fear non matching or converted 250s if the price reflects this ) I’d recommend joining an owners FB group or forum, there you will find bikes you can check some recent ownership history / work and in general also priced much more realistic.
My LC was important enough to have it at the top table of my wedding, mother in law didn’t quite have the same level of enthusiasm but it’s all part of the cult 😁
If you want one, you want one…as long as you’re not expecting it to be like a modern bike , you won’t be disappointed.
I own Honda's better alternative - an MVX250F,
It gets more usage popping to a bike cafe and generally showing it off whilst enjoying a cake & coffee, It's more than capable in modern traffic but i'm more than aware of it's skinny tyres, poor compared to modern brakes and in 84 it might have handled a 11st T6 but the suspension struggles with a 14st T6 now.
As pod said ... Great to say you own but more a peacock YMMV
It gets more usage popping to a bike cafe and generally showing it off whilst enjoying a cake & coffee, It's more than capable in modern traffic but i'm more than aware of it's skinny tyres, poor compared to modern brakes and in 84 it might have handled a 11st T6 but the suspension struggles with a 14st T6 now.
As pod said ... Great to say you own but more a peacock YMMV
podman said:
I think you ll find most owners are in your age group, having owned one in our teens and twenty s.
I ve had mine since 2012, it s been a lovely thing to own,
easy to work on and maintain, pretty much as basic as it gets in terms of classic motorcycle ownership, it s had some niggles over the 14 years but mainly down to age, some(many) parts are now quite expensive so get one as complete as possible, tanks are vulnerable to rusting on the inner seams so check that thoroughly.
The are capable of keeping up with motorway traffic equally as well as a thrash down a country road, spannies blaring away, joyful things to blat about on and take to a bike cafe or meet. Really quite comfortable as well.
Yamaha got the look and sound spot on out of the box IMHO.
Check frame & engine no s are to the logbook,(don t fear non matching or converted 250s if the price reflects this ) I d recommend joining an owners FB group or forum, there you will find bikes you can check some recent ownership history / work and in general also priced much more realistic.
My LC was important enough to have it at the top table of my wedding, mother in law didn t quite have the same level of enthusiasm but it s all part of the cult ?
If you want one, you want one as long as you re not expecting it to be like a modern bike , you won t be disappointed.
Lovely looking bike and RD350lc bikes invoke a old school memory from my biking days (never owned one but were around when I was riding bikes in the late 90s)I ve had mine since 2012, it s been a lovely thing to own,
easy to work on and maintain, pretty much as basic as it gets in terms of classic motorcycle ownership, it s had some niggles over the 14 years but mainly down to age, some(many) parts are now quite expensive so get one as complete as possible, tanks are vulnerable to rusting on the inner seams so check that thoroughly.
The are capable of keeping up with motorway traffic equally as well as a thrash down a country road, spannies blaring away, joyful things to blat about on and take to a bike cafe or meet. Really quite comfortable as well.
Yamaha got the look and sound spot on out of the box IMHO.
Check frame & engine no s are to the logbook,(don t fear non matching or converted 250s if the price reflects this ) I d recommend joining an owners FB group or forum, there you will find bikes you can check some recent ownership history / work and in general also priced much more realistic.
My LC was important enough to have it at the top table of my wedding, mother in law didn t quite have the same level of enthusiasm but it s all part of the cult ?
If you want one, you want one as long as you re not expecting it to be like a modern bike , you won t be disappointed.
I had an RD250LC in about 1984, I think that would be about the date .
I used to scream up a dual carriageway and try and get to 100mph before some traffic lights half way along the road . I thought it was the fastest bike on the face of the earth. I am not sure I actually ever got to the 100 in the stretch I was trying .
Two years ago I got the opportunity to ride one that a pall had fully restored.
I am sorry I did so it was nothing like my memory in real life.
This is why I always turn down Margot Robbie, when she messages me ,it's just best in my imagination.
I used to scream up a dual carriageway and try and get to 100mph before some traffic lights half way along the road . I thought it was the fastest bike on the face of the earth. I am not sure I actually ever got to the 100 in the stretch I was trying .
Two years ago I got the opportunity to ride one that a pall had fully restored.
I am sorry I did so it was nothing like my memory in real life.
This is why I always turn down Margot Robbie, when she messages me ,it's just best in my imagination.
T6 vanman said:
I own Honda's better alternative - an MVX250F,
It gets more usage popping to a bike cafe and generally showing it off whilst enjoying a cake & coffee, It's more than capable in modern traffic but i'm more than aware of it's skinny tyres, poor compared to modern brakes and in 84 it might have handled a 11st T6 but the suspension struggles with a 14st T6 now.
As pod said ... Great to say you own but more a peacock YMMV
That inboard disc brake Honda fitted certainly wasn’t “better” .It gets more usage popping to a bike cafe and generally showing it off whilst enjoying a cake & coffee, It's more than capable in modern traffic but i'm more than aware of it's skinny tyres, poor compared to modern brakes and in 84 it might have handled a 11st T6 but the suspension struggles with a 14st T6 now.
As pod said ... Great to say you own but more a peacock YMMV
I’m not sure that’s comparing apples with apples , the MVX was never official sold in the UK, so 40 years later there isn’t much nostalgia for the MVX among us more senior folk who tore around them as teenagers.
Such was the rapid pace of development in the 80s(the250 LC was launched end of 1979 remember) , by the time the MVX came out in 83, it was more comparable , in Japan only , to the RZ250 and RG250…
Lets be realistic, a £1500 CBR600 is “better” in every measurable way to these 80s 2 strokes but an LC is an iconic 80s bike, that said, having owned 2 x NS400s , I would love a spin on a MVX just to see how it feels, id imagine parts are a nightmare to get hold of now?
GameOverMan! said:
swanseaboydan said:
You could get chrome or black back in the days - love the belly pan too
Interesting, I don't remember black being an option when I ordered mine. Good to know, thanks.Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff