Buying an RD250LC in 2026..
Discussion
The same as any other classic bike from the era really.
First off check frame&engineNos are as to the logbook and not tampered with. Ideally frame & engine match but if the price reflects that discrepancy, dont get too hung up over what is otherwise a well looked after bike , one of the best 250s I ever had was a german import non matching number example , numbers soon get forgotten if your broken down at the side of the road again..
There are without a doubt more on the road now than there was 20 years ago so plenty of choice. Buy one as complete as possible as spare parts prices for an increasing list of parts are very costly.
My best advice would be to purchase one from the LC FB page or the RDLC crazy forum, it will likely be a keener price & that way you can check both the bike, any build history/previous issues with it and the seller , rather than buying blind off eBay etc etc. A lovely 250 was advertised only last week that had been featured in Practical Sportsbike.
They are a great thing to ride and own, lightweight, nimble handling, capable of taking on longer trips in comfort as well as round town and of courseshowing up at the local meet .go for it!
First off check frame&engineNos are as to the logbook and not tampered with. Ideally frame & engine match but if the price reflects that discrepancy, dont get too hung up over what is otherwise a well looked after bike , one of the best 250s I ever had was a german import non matching number example , numbers soon get forgotten if your broken down at the side of the road again..
There are without a doubt more on the road now than there was 20 years ago so plenty of choice. Buy one as complete as possible as spare parts prices for an increasing list of parts are very costly.
My best advice would be to purchase one from the LC FB page or the RDLC crazy forum, it will likely be a keener price & that way you can check both the bike, any build history/previous issues with it and the seller , rather than buying blind off eBay etc etc. A lovely 250 was advertised only last week that had been featured in Practical Sportsbike.
They are a great thing to ride and own, lightweight, nimble handling, capable of taking on longer trips in comfort as well as round town and of courseshowing up at the local meet .go for it!
Edited by podman on Tuesday 24th March 17:11
I love the smell of 2 Stroke in the morning.........
Only here to say I had a 250LC in the 80s. Production racer tuned by Stan Stephens.
Pencil thin powerband but bloody quick if you kept it on song.
Funnily enough I was driving back late from the south coast in the rain a few weeks ago and pulled into a cafe carpark on the A21.
Two beautiful RZ250/350s with aftermarket pipes were parked there. Looked stunning
Hope you manage to find one.
Only here to say I had a 250LC in the 80s. Production racer tuned by Stan Stephens.
Pencil thin powerband but bloody quick if you kept it on song.
Funnily enough I was driving back late from the south coast in the rain a few weeks ago and pulled into a cafe carpark on the A21.
Two beautiful RZ250/350s with aftermarket pipes were parked there. Looked stunning
Hope you manage to find one.
podman said:
The same as any other classic bike from the era really.
First off check frame&engineNos are as to the logbook and not tampered with. Ideally frame & engine match but if the price reflects that discrepancy, dont get too hung up over what is otherwise a well looked after bike , one of the best 250s I ever had was a german import non matching number example , numbers soon get forgotten if your broken down at the side of the road again..
There are without a doubt more on the road now than there was 20 years ago so plenty of choice. Buy one as complete as possible as spare parts prices for an increasing list of parts are very costly.
My best advice would be to purchase one from the LC FB page or the RDLC crazy forum, it will likely be a keener price & that way you can check both the bike, any build history/previous issues with it and the seller , rather than buying blind off eBay etc etc. A lovely 250 was advertised only last week that had been featured in Practical Sportsbike.
They are a great thing to ride and own, lightweight, nimble handling, capable of taking on longer trips in comfort as well as round town and of courseshowing up at the local meet .go for it!
Who’ll be the first person to say buy the 350 over the 250. I personally haven’t ridden either. First off check frame&engineNos are as to the logbook and not tampered with. Ideally frame & engine match but if the price reflects that discrepancy, dont get too hung up over what is otherwise a well looked after bike , one of the best 250s I ever had was a german import non matching number example , numbers soon get forgotten if your broken down at the side of the road again..
There are without a doubt more on the road now than there was 20 years ago so plenty of choice. Buy one as complete as possible as spare parts prices for an increasing list of parts are very costly.
My best advice would be to purchase one from the LC FB page or the RDLC crazy forum, it will likely be a keener price & that way you can check both the bike, any build history/previous issues with it and the seller , rather than buying blind off eBay etc etc. A lovely 250 was advertised only last week that had been featured in Practical Sportsbike.
They are a great thing to ride and own, lightweight, nimble handling, capable of taking on longer trips in comfort as well as round town and of courseshowing up at the local meet .go for it!
Edited by podman on Tuesday 24th March 17:11
Rob 131 Sport said:
podman said:
The same as any other classic bike from the era really.
First off check frame&engineNos are as to the logbook and not tampered with. Ideally frame & engine match but if the price reflects that discrepancy, dont get too hung up over what is otherwise a well looked after bike , one of the best 250s I ever had was a german import non matching number example , numbers soon get forgotten if your broken down at the side of the road again..
There are without a doubt more on the road now than there was 20 years ago so plenty of choice. Buy one as complete as possible as spare parts prices for an increasing list of parts are very costly.
My best advice would be to purchase one from the LC FB page or the RDLC crazy forum, it will likely be a keener price & that way you can check both the bike, any build history/previous issues with it and the seller , rather than buying blind off eBay etc etc. A lovely 250 was advertised only last week that had been featured in Practical Sportsbike.
They are a great thing to ride and own, lightweight, nimble handling, capable of taking on longer trips in comfort as well as round town and of courseshowing up at the local meet .go for it!
Who ll be the first person to say buy the 350 over the 250. I personally haven t ridden either. First off check frame&engineNos are as to the logbook and not tampered with. Ideally frame & engine match but if the price reflects that discrepancy, dont get too hung up over what is otherwise a well looked after bike , one of the best 250s I ever had was a german import non matching number example , numbers soon get forgotten if your broken down at the side of the road again..
There are without a doubt more on the road now than there was 20 years ago so plenty of choice. Buy one as complete as possible as spare parts prices for an increasing list of parts are very costly.
My best advice would be to purchase one from the LC FB page or the RDLC crazy forum, it will likely be a keener price & that way you can check both the bike, any build history/previous issues with it and the seller , rather than buying blind off eBay etc etc. A lovely 250 was advertised only last week that had been featured in Practical Sportsbike.
They are a great thing to ride and own, lightweight, nimble handling, capable of taking on longer trips in comfort as well as round town and of courseshowing up at the local meet .go for it!
Edited by podman on Tuesday 24th March 17:11
I've had several over the years, if you need things to check over on viewing look here-
Listen for any crankshaft grumble on tickover, they do make some noise, but if its very obvious budget a crank rebuild, but they are simple things to work on.
You want a standard airbox, and on the very rare occasion the exhausts, but probably gone by now, so allspeeds, micron etc are quality changes, make sure it's jetted to suit, they can sound awesome!
If it's on standard suspension it will be shot, even new they were soft and wallowy.
They are very reliable if looked after.
Don't be put off by well done rgv etc suspension, if it's done right they can ride much better than stock.
And fit a microswitch to the ignition circuit, there's a very simple "unplug" that can start them without keys.
Listen for any crankshaft grumble on tickover, they do make some noise, but if its very obvious budget a crank rebuild, but they are simple things to work on.
You want a standard airbox, and on the very rare occasion the exhausts, but probably gone by now, so allspeeds, micron etc are quality changes, make sure it's jetted to suit, they can sound awesome!
If it's on standard suspension it will be shot, even new they were soft and wallowy.
They are very reliable if looked after.
Don't be put off by well done rgv etc suspension, if it's done right they can ride much better than stock.
And fit a microswitch to the ignition circuit, there's a very simple "unplug" that can start them without keys.
podman said:
A good 250 wont be far behind the average 350, the 350 is of course more torquey but its irrelevant nowadays IMHO, neither are fast (still brisker than these new 250/350 4T singles id guess thou) if you want a 250 because thats what you had as a teen/new rider, thats what you want 350 is a fair few quid more as well..
I would like to see a side by side against my 390 , the stats say the 390 is quicker acceleration and top end than the 250 .I’ve never been a 2 stroke fan though i have had a 350 lc and a 250 air cooled . bimsb6 said:
podman said:
A good 250 wont be far behind the average 350, the 350 is of course more torquey but its irrelevant nowadays IMHO, neither are fast (still brisker than these new 250/350 4T singles id guess thou) if you want a 250 because thats what you had as a teen/new rider, thats what you want 350 is a fair few quid more as well..
I would like to see a side by side against my 390 , the stats say the 390 is quicker acceleration and top end than the 250 .I ve never been a 2 stroke fan though i have had a 350 lc and a 250 air cooled . Steve Bass said:
Advice??
1. Buy the 350LC
2. Prepare to be disappointed...... modern bikes have moved the game on so much that riding 80's stuff is a shock to the system...
3. Never buy cheap 2T oil. Ever. Or Castrol R. Ever Ever.....
What’s wrong with castrol R and if there is something wouldn’t they have fixed it?1. Buy the 350LC
2. Prepare to be disappointed...... modern bikes have moved the game on so much that riding 80's stuff is a shock to the system...
3. Never buy cheap 2T oil. Ever. Or Castrol R. Ever Ever.....
Caddyshack said:
What s wrong with castrol R and if there is something wouldn t they have fixed it?
It's OK for race engines living at constant high rpm but it gets very gummy if not burned off properly and is intolerant of low engine temperatures, as well as creating a lot of carbon and varnish build up. It's also not good in oil prelube systems and is really designed for premix use only. So if its a tz type race engine with regular strip downs happening, no worries. Modern oils like Motul are far superior in performance especially as they offer different oils for premix and oil injection systems specifically.
As for fixing it, why?? It's good for the intended use. But road bikes ain't it's intended use.
But Castrol R smells nice, that's about it nowadays
Caddyshack said:
What s wrong with castrol R and if there is something wouldn t they have fixed it?
I've used many litres of Silkolene (Castorene) R30 in pre-mix in aircooled and watercooled race bikes, never an issue.If you don't want to go the smelly castor oil route I'd say Motul 800 is as good as anything.
I bought a clean one owner 250LC back in 1984 and I really liked the fact that it was a blue one when nearly all the others were black or white.
It went better than any of the air-cooled RDs I'd owned before (250/350/400) and I loved it. Sadly it had to go so I could put the money towards my first house purchase.
As much as I'd prefer a 350, if I found a blue 250 I'd be sorely tempted.
It went better than any of the air-cooled RDs I'd owned before (250/350/400) and I loved it. Sadly it had to go so I could put the money towards my first house purchase.
As much as I'd prefer a 350, if I found a blue 250 I'd be sorely tempted.
Thanks for everyone's thoughts and feedback, I did go to take a look at Bounty example, it was a UK bike but not numbers matching.
From a long chat with the current owner it has been rebuilt a few years agp and clearly restored and not used much, for 45 years old it looked well. My only slight concern was getting it started, the owner did say it was rarely used although he took it out at the weekend. However it must have taken 25+ kicks to get it going, I could tell this wasn't usual as the chap looked very surprised / concerned (no-one wants to be showing a bike they are selling and it won't start!). When it was running we let it settle off choke and it restarted on the first kick straight away.
Definitely looked a solid thing, a couple of very minor jobs required to tidy but the twin disc conversion had been done already which was nice.
There is a YPVS F2 (matching numbers) for sale which is the same money, currently thinking on it, I think if it hadn't have been for it not starting for so many kicks I might have put a deposit down.
From a long chat with the current owner it has been rebuilt a few years agp and clearly restored and not used much, for 45 years old it looked well. My only slight concern was getting it started, the owner did say it was rarely used although he took it out at the weekend. However it must have taken 25+ kicks to get it going, I could tell this wasn't usual as the chap looked very surprised / concerned (no-one wants to be showing a bike they are selling and it won't start!). When it was running we let it settle off choke and it restarted on the first kick straight away.
Definitely looked a solid thing, a couple of very minor jobs required to tidy but the twin disc conversion had been done already which was nice.
There is a YPVS F2 (matching numbers) for sale which is the same money, currently thinking on it, I think if it hadn't have been for it not starting for so many kicks I might have put a deposit down.
mark seeker said:
Thanks for everyone's thoughts and feedback, I did go to take a look at Bounty example, it was a UK bike but not numbers matching.
From a long chat with the current owner it has been rebuilt a few years agp and clearly restored and not used much, for 45 years old it looked well. My only slight concern was getting it started, the owner did say it was rarely used although he took it out at the weekend. However it must have taken 25+ kicks to get it going, I could tell this wasn't usual as the chap looked very surprised / concerned (no-one wants to be showing a bike they are selling and it won't start!). When it was running we let it settle off choke and it restarted on the first kick straight away.
Definitely looked a solid thing, a couple of very minor jobs required to tidy but the twin disc conversion had been done already which was nice.
There is a YPVS F2 (matching numbers) for sale which is the same money, currently thinking on it, I think if it hadn't have been for it not starting for so many kicks I might have put a deposit down.
A 350 YPVS F2 was always one of my favourite bikes and been on sale until the early 90’s, I would imagine is quite different from an RD250LC. From a long chat with the current owner it has been rebuilt a few years agp and clearly restored and not used much, for 45 years old it looked well. My only slight concern was getting it started, the owner did say it was rarely used although he took it out at the weekend. However it must have taken 25+ kicks to get it going, I could tell this wasn't usual as the chap looked very surprised / concerned (no-one wants to be showing a bike they are selling and it won't start!). When it was running we let it settle off choke and it restarted on the first kick straight away.
Definitely looked a solid thing, a couple of very minor jobs required to tidy but the twin disc conversion had been done already which was nice.
There is a YPVS F2 (matching numbers) for sale which is the same money, currently thinking on it, I think if it hadn't have been for it not starting for so many kicks I might have put a deposit down.
Whilst I liked the F2, I preferred the TZR 250, which could be bought for a little more. Nostalgia is a dangerous thing and a few years ago I seriously considered getting an 80’s 2 Stroke Race Replica.
When these came out in the UK I seem to remember the 125 law followed soon after meaning you couldn’t ride a 250 on the day of your seventeenth birthday with L plates on. 250’s seem to devalue for a while because of that.
Also going back a few years earlier I remember the predecessor to the RD400, the RD350, was more popular to some who’d had a 250 because their insurance covered 225cc to 350cc machines so there was no need to pay more insurance if you quickly passed your test on a 250 and made the quick step-up to a 350.
Just a useless bit of nostalgia for anyone in their early 60s.
Also going back a few years earlier I remember the predecessor to the RD400, the RD350, was more popular to some who’d had a 250 because their insurance covered 225cc to 350cc machines so there was no need to pay more insurance if you quickly passed your test on a 250 and made the quick step-up to a 350.
Just a useless bit of nostalgia for anyone in their early 60s.
Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff