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New Yamaha RD350?!

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Heres a stock photo of the original RD350. My RD was exactly the same just black in color.

PS: Mine did not have disc brakes as I just noticed as in the pic, it had all drum brakes.
 

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Too bad we'll never see it in the US. What would be totally bad-*** is to see a confident fabrication guy build a Frankin-bike smoker. Here's my conceptual base line to start with. Feel free to add your own.

08 Ninja 250 body.
08_Ninja250R.gif


Kx 500 power plant
kx500.jpg
 
RD's yes had some ! 250, 350, 400, and raced the 350, 400 and a RD350LC that was a grey market import out of Canada.
Great bikes tuff and reliable for the most part. If you could ride one fast they made you a better rider. On a ruff track they would go in to a head shake quicker than you could think about it. When it started the last thing you wanted to do was let off the throttle. Keep it pegged and ride it out !

But since we are dreaming......

jsw_tz750-2.jpg


TZ750-2a.jpg
 
4734 said:
Very nice, yes!!!

I miss my 79' RD-400 Daytona Special, I wish I could find another one.
Click to expand...

Bummer is, I know where there's an original Daytona sitting behind a shop in Austin. I've known the Owner for years and he won't sell it. Won't even talk about it. It's ratty as can be and getting rattier by the day. I'd buy it in a minute.

John
 
Yes 2 smokes are legal but they only seem to come in scooters. I can see the 2 smoke love for a dirt bike, but on the street, why would anyone want such a narrow powerband?
 
X1Glider said:
Yes 2 smokes are legal but they only seem to come in scooters. I can see the 2 smoke love for a dirt bike, but on the street, why would anyone want such a narrow powerband?
Click to expand...

Two strokes do not necessarily have to have a narrow power band. If you don't believe that get a ride on a mid 70's Suzuki GT750 aka Water Buffalo they had a wider power band than the GS750 that followed them.
A two stroke can be designed to provide power where ever in the RPM range you want it.
Two strokes are lighter in weight, cheeper to build, simpler in design, can be made to run just as clean with the addition of a catalytic converter.

But they are not as popular with American riders and I fear we will never see them again. A loss to riders to young to have not experienced them.
 
My RD250 would spank the 380 Zooks in the twisties. The Kawi 900 would take my RD350 and 400 on the top but it would give it heck everywhere else.
Love those bikes. Bought a racing fairing from Jack O'learys Yamaha. Cut a hole for the head light flipped the bars upside down and I was scrapping foot pegs. :rofl: :rider:
 
FZ6biker said:
Heres a stock photo of the original RD350. My RD was exactly the same just black in color.

PS: Mine did not have disc brakes as I just noticed as in the pic, it had all drum brakes.
Click to expand...

Heres the original RD 350 design 2 stroke bike in action.



 
While I don't keep up with those modern changes or projections on the new "RD"...I did have some of those oldie Yam Bikes, including the RD400D. Awesome! Even at work, several of us had our new Bikes, and traded off rides (helped me ride lotsa Bikes). Even the guys with the Kaw triples, had great respect for the RD. Wish I had it back in my stable today. Sometimes we can't see ahead.:giveup: :rider:
 
X1Glider said:
Yes 2 smokes are legal but they only seem to come in scooters. I can see the 2 smoke love for a dirt bike, but on the street, why would anyone want such a narrow powerband?
Click to expand...

The H1s and H2s were quicker in a straight line, but the RDs ruled the twisties.
 
The Kaw triples that showed in CRRC back in the 70s didn't do much. RDs ruled 410cc production and superbike classes, spanking anything and everything, and even 655cc production and superbike they were competitive. I would win everything from 250cc superbike up to 655cc superbike on my RD250. Thing was FAST. If I couldn't outrun it, I could definitely out turn it, especially the bigger stuff.
 
Wishful thinking, at least here in the US. There are plenty of 2-smokers on the streets in Japan though.
 
I bought my "ex" a new 1974 RD350 from Texas Yamaha in Pasadena for $1050. Orange and black. I rode a R75/5. We did a five month trip, ten thousand miles, and her bike, with saddlebags and camping gear never missed a beat. A year or so later, I was riding that little Yamaha one Sunday morning and that bike pulled the front wheel a couple of gears, so I "dropped the hammer." A Deer Park cop clocked me 90 in a 40 zone. That was a ninty dollar ticket. You know, I miss that bike a lot more than I miss her. Good looking, dependable, didn't cost too much for up-keep, a lot of fun to be with, what a ride.
 
I'm not sure I'd be "all over" one, would depend on the price. I love two strokes, sure, but if the price was 11K, heck, I prefer my SV650 for the money. What made the RDs so neat was that, for a grand or so, you could get a little dragon slayer that, with a set of pipes and maybe a little port work, could whip a CB750, come close to a Z1, and out corner either. It was a pocket rocket. I see the SV650 sort of in that vein now days, though the bigger bikes are way faster. But, it's a fun, good handling bike like the RD was on a budget.

Yeah, if the price wasn't extravagant, I'd consider one. I'd like to have a two stroke again.
 
I've been looking for an RZ500 for a while now. I would love a 2 stroke play bike. It wouldnt be my daily ride, though.
 
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