Yamaha RD Series ! 2-stroke Classic
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- Опубликовано: 11 фев 2018
- Yamaha RD 50, 125 ,250, 350, 400. Generation of AIR-cooled two-stroke engines manufactured and assembled into Yamaha RD motorcycles before 1980.
Compilation with original sound and technical description.
Many thanks to all bikers and motorcycle fans who contributed their videos to our motorcycle channel. If you have a motorcycle at home that you built yourself, or an old, interesting or unusual motorcycle that you would like to show, please send me short videos from your camera or mobile phone to: We Transfer - jawatinomoto@gmail.com
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ALL the RD’s are amazing bikes. I had a rd125lc mk3 in 1987 aged 17. 20 in 1st, 40 in 2nd, 60 in third and 0-60 in about 4 seconds. Crashed it and wrecked it, nearly died, but I still want it back! Nothing is quite like an RD.
As a 16 year old in 1981 an Rd 250 was my dream bike. I never had one, I ended up with a suzuki hustler (still a bloody quick 250). Out of the 7 or 8 mates that had an RD at least 4 didn't reach their 18th birthday. What I now believe was a clear case of ambition outweighing talent. They may have only been a 250 but you needed skills to ride them that few 17 year olds possessed.
@sambrooks7862 your 5 years older than me , my two older brothers had an hustler and an red250 - both fantastic bikes and then my eldest brothers mate appeared one day on a rd400 - life was never the same after that - IN A GOOD WAY! 😎
107 mph must be an underestimate. i had a first motorcycle engine was an rd 200. I could easily get up to 110 mph.
RD350 is what I owned. I loved it. 1974 the color was purple.
@@texasblueboy1508 bet you wish you still owned it, it would be worth a fortune now!
I also had the T20 Hustler back in the seventies. It went well and was quite fast for a 250, but eventually spat its bearings out via the transfer ports, taking a piston with it.
Thank you Japan for providing such great bikes us for us Brits. They were truly wonderful machines that gave us such joy & an affordable means of transport.
These Yamaha RD’s are just as good looking, purposeful and quick as in the day. I remember when the RD350 entered the stage. Scaring the owners of the big BMW’s and Guzzi’s, leaving them in a haze of blue smoke
When I had my 350 (82) my friends had 750 Hondas and KZ 650 . They didn't like to play too seriously. A buddy with a CB 900F WAS Untouchable down the straight but usually reeled him in a few corners later .
I had one of these... I'm lucky to be alive.
Your NOT kidding !!!
Massive power band from the GODS of torque
@@timschutte6924 Coupled with scary 70's frame and brakes..
Just like the 2 stroke dirt bikes. Scary stuff😬
Mine was just like the one at 2:45, I was 24, life was great. Aloha
You just had not sorted your suspension. I've got gravel-rash scars on my elbows.
I had a RD-400E . It was crazy quick . The biggest problem was keeping the front wheel down . I like it .
Me too had mine a week lol trying to show off in front of some girls trying to wheelie didn't happen on way home stopped at some lights give it hand full first and second third hit power band hadn't done my lid up up it went lid over eyes back of a cortina lol wild ride like buckaroo lol went like heck when it dried out
lol, mine would scrape its number plate along the ground in 1st or 2nd if you hit the power band!
Even my old R5 was a wheelie machine. You just had to know how. Below 3000 there was no power, which is why Yamaha gave the RD series reed valves. Gave them some actual low RPM torque. Starting from a stop was - rev to 3000, slip the clutch and roll the power on holding the engine at 3000 until the clutch was fully engaged, then shift to 2nd! How fast you accelerated depended on how much throttle you rolled on and how fast you slipped the clutch. At 3500 RPM in first gear with full throttle, the front wheel would not be on the pavement.
let me guess ? white tank with red decals ?red alloys or yellow and black
i still have my wheels
my buddy bought five of these things in disrepair... we all couldn't get enough of them... We helped him get all five of them running great.. he and I and three other Buddies rode them to a motorcycle show a few miles away that had beer and burgers and dogs
Oh, how i'd like to ride an Rd 400 again! It wouldn't make me a young man again but it would remind me I once was one.
I'm getting mine running again this year. So, if you're at the Raven( Whitchurch ) next year, you might see it there.
Omg I know..
I had a slew of RD 350's as a teenager. A '79 RD 400 Daytona Special in my early 20's. In the 1/8th mile , these bikes would outrun 750 & 900cc machines
I see vids today of RD 400's at the drag strip running hi 8 second quarters
The TZ 350 twins ruled Daytona for years in the 70's
Oh-Well, such are the joys of 2 strokes.
phlodel
I had one to
Dam they were fun
I had a couple of H1 500's. Great on oil (injection), horrible on gas. S2 350? Go forever on a tank of gas, but the oil would be sucked up. Go figure. (YES! I was at the Loudon/Laconia Classic in 1983! I jumped the "Gauntlet"!!) Wild weekend. Had to use my shoelace to replace the kickstand spring that went flying into the woods. Yes, I rode my H1 500 back to CT. On I-91. Sunday night.
Even the small ones are so beautiful. Miss the 70s 80s 2-strokes, despite all disadvantages.
ALL RDs were beautiful, air cooled and water cooler. That 70's look is sooo appealing today!
RD 350's & 400's = Giant Slayers! Awesome then - awesome now.
Same for mine, mine is a 78 DX
Yes!! RD350 stock vs KWA 900. I got him on an early Sunday morning. circa, 1980.
john thonig Why? I can’t forget the experience!
@john thonig
30 years ago my roommate had a CB900. He rode my RD400F and said there was no comparison in the acceleration. In the 1/8th mile, light to light, these little two stroke twins would smoke the UJM fours. Ride one..
I had three RD400’s, a C, a D and an F model, superb bikes, so much fun!
Same exact ones I had. But:
A shop had a wrecked RZ350,
I was able to get for $350. Engine
was good, front end was good, wiring
was good. My Daytona turned into a
water cooled 350 CC screamer!
steve
I miss my rd350. Nothing like a 2 stroak, the sound or smell.!!!!
Great video! I love the RD bikes. I still own and cherish my all original 74 RD60 that I got new for Christmas in 74. I was 10 years old. I could barely touch both toes on the ground at the same time. Very tough bikes as I rode it off road the first 5 years. I got my motorcycle license on this little bike. I switched out the 12 tooth cog for a 13 which gave me a few more mph. I didn't take very long as a 16 year old for it to get really small on the open road. The bike has 2535 miles on it now. I still get it out on nice days, fire it up and put a mile on it every now and then in my driveway.
Nothing , in my opinion, beats the sound of a 2 stroke motorcycle . Reminds me of belting around a fields as a youngster .
I can smell that blue smoke from here. Best aftershave ever! 😊
ah yes, that "full bore" racing oil, some of the best cologne ever. ! 👍
Blendzall, too.
Back in the 70's those 250 / 400 RD's were all that. Insane off the line.
My word I can still smell my Rd 250 wonderful times and happy days
The 2 stroke Yams, Kawas, and Suzukis where the soundtrack of my youth growing up in the 70s. We used to be able to tell them apart from the exhaust note. The RD 400 was a rocket as was the later 350LC.
I use to dream about rd350 lc's
@@ianmangham4570 I still dream, literally, about my LC which I sold 33 years ago!
Had 3 different rz350's 1 black and yellow and 2 red white and blue. Rode them to highschool....from Wyoming USA 🔫🤠🇺🇸p.s stay safe and healthy everybody GOD BLESS OUR COUNTRY AND stop this foolishness!!
350LC was a rocket 400 not that much...standart conditions.
lol
My first bike was a 73 RD350, a little magenta beast! Minor spec correction, both the 250 and 350 came initially with the 5 speed R model gearbox, mid year they switched to the 6 speed. Mine had the 5, so was about as early as possible. I still have gravel scars in my leg from dropping it on a dirt road 30 odd years ago, lol. Those puppies could go anywhere, though my handlebars broke from serious dirt pounding in a cattle field (replaced them with braced dirt bike bars to prevent a repeat performance). Nothing like the blue exhaust and "swarm of seriously pissed off hornets" exhaust note at redline exists today, unfortunately. Hardly a day goes by I don't wish I still had it!
Wow.. what a blast down memory lane. The air cooled engines really had a distinctive sound, my first being the 125, haven't heard that engine in decades, sadly they all seemed to get forgotten once LC's came along. I bet now that everyone regrets selling theirs as much as I do..
Alasdair McC
I have a fully restored RX100, of 1995.
There are a few RD350 , 2 cylinder beauties around.
Wish I had my 400 and 350 again. Worth a small fortune now.
I actually gave my full race RD400 away before I got married in '91.
I would buy an RZ350 now though.
I had two RD350s, traded a bag of weed and an equalizer for both. Probably the best barter I ever made. Then my dad made me sell them when he found them in the garage.
I had the 350A, the 350B, and I've still got an RD400, with around 16,000 on the odometer...What's great about the RD series is that you can still get both original NIB Yamaha parts for them; along w/ new aftermarket parts; that's how popular the RD series was worldwide...
I had a Yd3 250 in 1969, love the old 2 stroke street bikes!
Ahh,yes. The smell of 2 stroke in the morning. After ‘75, when I had a Kawasaki 350 triple, which I considered pretty darn quick for small cc’s, I went out in the winter and ordered some new bike that Yamaha was putting out, with unbelievable new tech, such as (1) First bike with mag wheels (2) first bike with self canceling turn signals (3) first bike with front & rear disc brakes. Only saw it in the magazines, but the tech and specs were above and beyond what the magazine writers ever expected. Light,fast and nimble, everything a boy racer was looking for. Having come from the Kawa, I didn’t know what to expect, but when I picked it up in the spring of ‘76, it blew my mind. Our colors here in Canada were Gold and White over Black, racing colors if I ever saw. Had the shop install flat bars and a set of K81 Dunlop’s and I was ready to go. I’ve been through many bikes in my 62 years, but those 2 years I had, embarrassing EVERY 750cc biker (except of course, the 500-750 Kawasaki’s), were the best! Spent many weekends on trips down to Lake George, NY, taking #9S from Plattsburgh down to the Lake. If you’ve never been on that curvy,twisting back road for 160 miles, you’ve missed cycling Nirvana. What I’d give to go back in time...🏍🏍
Warren552011 ooops, just going by what was in the Cycle Magazine, fall of ‘75. Wasn’t much of an Italian bike fan, so if it was, my bad 🤗
I recall in 1977 when we were 17yrs old my workmate Cam bought a brand new Yamaha RD250 in dark blue. I was so envious of him it hurt. More so when my Dad refused to sign the guarantor forms so I could get one. Cam was great though. Let me ride his Yam whenever and we often cruised around Whitley Bay on sunny summer nights. Great days.
I absolutely adore 2 strokes, and I miss them so much.
Me too. After my RGV250 I always hoped Suzuki would make an RGV500. If they had done so I'd have sold my mother for one.
I just got a 75 rd 350.
Awesome compilation! YAMAHA 2 strokes can't be touched
Dream machines. Music to my ears.
I had the DT 360 Yamaha. Scary quick. Only a single 2 stroke. Went like a maniac. Loved those 2 strokes.
An old friend of mine whos family owned the Yamaha shop in the little town I lived in, in the 70s had a Yamaha RZ 350. It was cool. About like this but even better I think. He always had all the best toys, including a supercharged 74 nova and a Ford 23' T-bucket with a Chevy 400 smallblock engine. This was back in our teens and twenties. Man, He was spoiled
Music to the ears !!!.
Ahh the RD400 ... a sound I knew from forty years ago.
Had two RD 400 C models #1 standard and #2 with J&R expansion chambers and fitted with the larger XS 750 60/55 Watt halogen headlight for night riding.
Good to see these clean RDs.
cheers.
Lighting the night sky how thoughtful lol
Back in the 70s here in So California my friends brother worked for Yamaha. One day he pulled up on a prototype RD 400 for marketing purposes. It had a nylon rear sprocket (which didn't make it on production as far as I know)is really the only thing we commented on. I didn't really think much of the bike at first, but he followed me and my other bud who had a muscle car he pulled nxt to us on the RD the light went green the bike and car launched together but I was blown the fuck away the little twin was 1/2 a block away and getting smaller and we were barely through the intersection!!! WTF I was flabbergasted I could not believe what I just witnessed and herd, truly amazing bike.
a Beautiful and fast motorcicle.,🏍️
TRIPPY,first I've heard about the nylon rear cog
You have captured RDs spot on mate, anyone who hasn't had the flat out induction roar & scream of these icons and thinks they have experienced bikes are living in a plastic deluded world. Beautiful Video!.
The ''78 RD200, '80 RD400 ate my wages quickly.
Worth every ounce of Castrol TT!
And the smell mate, more addictive than crack
thanks for this brother,had an rd400f when i was 18,what a bike,now im over 50,really do need another one,
Had one of the 350 models back in the day. what a beautiful little bomb it was. Miss my two strokes.
Just amazing! Thanks! I had a 2nd generation 1987 rd350 ypvs and restaured a 1989 one in 2002. What a joy!
Growing up in the 60's where my parents owned a small neighborhood grocery store and gas station in western Washington state (one of our famous customers was a young Mark Fuhrman (later the OJ Simpson detective) who lived on nearby Clear Lake who had just got out of the USMC and bought and drove a brand new red 1968 Z-28 (with the high winding 302 under the hood) at the time. That was but one of the many cool cars that came into our store and gas station in those years.) that was like Happy Days (really) I remember my neighbors who had a little red 125 Yamaha 2 stroke twin obviously a road bike as it had the low exhaust pipes. Their's was almost new at the time in 1968 or so. I remember it distinctly being a Yamaha as nobody had heard much about them unless they were motorcycle people at the time. Anyway it was a good runner and a novelty being a small twin and the neighbor used it for short trips to our corner grocery store gas station. The neighbor liked to imbibe once and awhile and one time removed the exhaust pipes for some reason and decided to take it for a couple of short unmuffled blasts up and down the main drag in front of our store/gas station one evening. I'll never forget the sound of that little twin screaming like a bunch of mad mosquitoes. Or when he shut it off and laughed all the way in to show everyone the motorcycle that was making all that racket out there. Him and the neighbor across the street who rode a mid 60's vintage 250 Ducati single thumper (remember those?) used to drag race each other laughing like a couple of crazy kids on those motorcycles. Of course they knew better and were never more than 2 or 3 blocks from home but they were fortunate those bikes were..."small" and unable to go highway speeds. Those were the days...
I miss my RD250. It was a kick ass ride.
From 1968 to 1975 drove a Bridgestone 350 GTR 2 stroke rotary valve twin. 19” rims. Incredible road bike. Downside loved to foul NGK 7S plugs.
Thanks for the memory. I had a RD250 DX in 1975. Brilliant bike. Passed my test on it in 77
We still have cult following for rd350 in India back when I was kid I wanted this bike so bad still to this day even when i own this bike I still look like a fanboy the immense love I have for rd450, Enfield g2,Jawa 250 is way beyond anything😎we have big group of people who owns and ride rd350 it's still the headturners.
love to hear those 2 strokes, need smell vision with castrol R
Rock oil sachets from work used for the two stroke circular saws .
Yes!
14 when I got a RD250 as a basket case builder , and I was hooked !
Since , I’ve had a RD400, RZ350 and an RZ500...... even had a friend who put a built RD400power in a FZR 400 frame , whatta rocket!....I miss those 2stroke days
I never got any further than a yellow FS1E 😂 but I was still king of the road in 1976 aged 16. That’s a long time ago now 🤣
Great video, thanks.
Right there with you brother, my mate had a fizzy with an expansion chamber, you could hear him coming from about 2 miles away. Best days ever and yeah as 16 year olds back then we were kings of the road and we had a new found freedom that had never been seen before, or since for that matter. Happy new year sir.
I bought a blue FS1E brand new back in the days, micron pipe added and 2 teeth bigger sprocket on the gear box and I thought I was some kid, I still have it and when I get it going and sit on it im 16 all over again.
I traded a Fiat Spider for a 1969 Yam RD 350 in 1973. Still have that bike. Love it.
Red line! What red line! The thought of my old 350 LC makes me happy inside! Wish I still had her!
Thank you for this video! Those two stroke Yamahas were great. My first was a 1964 YG-1 (80cc) and it was traded two years later for the 305 YM-1. I wish I still had them!
Thanks!
jimsz0100
Had several RDs. 250 350 and 400.
The air cooled models looked the best imo, the 350s where were fast. The 400s were my favourite , best mid range torque and crazy fast acceleration.
I had a GT 250cc Ram Air cooled with allspeed pipes no silencers! I used to race all the RD coffin tanks on the street! The RD`s did have a slight difference to them mine used to just win. My best friend bought a second 250cc one that was ported and jetted blimey that was a rocket. The old owner came back and took the barrels back it slowed right down. I converted mine too a 350cc customed it to the max and changed the sprockets used to wheelie in most gears until I came off and bent the frame. Cannot beat a punchy two stroke and used to love the smell too. By the way I was racing at the strip near Whips cross and some guys stepped out with baseball bats due to the noise, the RD 400 I was on the forks bent when I slammed on the brakes!!
I just love these vintage bikes.. their make and design.. they have very simple look but they capture everyone's attention as they look awesome
Drew tears in my old heart , sweet vid. RD400E for sure where best rd ever,in fact I had a production tuned 400e that power wheeled in first 3 gears and pull ya arms off with its 60 plus hp , problems where chassis n brakes couldn't really handle even up to 80 hp fully race tuned.😎😎😎😎
The good old days .
4 rd 400s later I ended up with UK Stan stevens 430 cc conversation. Was dogs bolls back in the days.
Great, nostalgic video! I remember the venerable, classic Yamaha RD series bikes. Even the small RD50 was a total blast to ride, like the Honda MB5. 2-strokes were the essence of motorcycling!
Don't forget the susuki x1 50cc the first of the governed bikes looked great but the extra 10 mph the fise had priceless
As a 17 year old teenager, I was once asked by my girlfriend's neighbor to walk my '79 RD400 (Daytona Special) down her driveway, and then down the road before starting it. Apparently their bedroom backed onto her driveway and on weekends I'd leave at all hours. Now 58yrs old, after hearing the startup of this bike, I laugh at my ignorance of my surroundings. Youthful bliss, really!
I’m a diehard motocrosser but the RD 350 gets my blood pumping every time
The YZ series have got to be my all time favorite motocross bikes! My buddy even turned a YZ 250 into a cafe racer using a gearset/ frame/ other parts from a RD 250; yes, they do match up!
Thank You JAWA TINO for the wonderful RD series Video ! I saved it to my favorites playlist and replay them when I feel cabin fever creeping in, lol.
Always been a vespa and lambretta man , But I'm looking at these bikes and thinking of seriously going down this route , thanx for the video....
GO! You'll NEVER regret it ...... :)
Thanks for the video, I'm sat here with a big stupid grin on my face. I owned several Yamaha 2 strokes from 50cc to the LC 350. Superb bikes.
Wow nostalgic! I saw my high school favorite car RD-350 after a long time. It was a straightforward handling, but the long distance touring was tired.
貴重な映像ありがとう。
I had a divorced friend and every Saturday afternoon in 1976 he would trade me his RD400 and use my car to take his young child.Awesome bike.My favorite 70's machine.
My first street bike!!! Rd400 piped ported and carbed,,,, flew in a strait line. . I was ALMOST 14yrs old at the time....from Wyoming USA 🔫🤠🇺🇸p.s stay safe
This was my dream bike at 14 in 84 then came 88 bought a wht and blue gsx r 750 ,but never forgot about the RDs .If you do research you will find this us every 40 to 60 yr old Canadians dream this is what they ride ,some good vids out there .
greetings from new zealand.in 83 when i was 14 i had a 78 rd400 bored out 18thou oversized.six speed.cop killer i can vouch for that,thrashed it for a few years till i traded it for a honda cb750k2.amazing bike.called the rice rocket
Any RD from 50 to 400cc is a WONDERFUL thing! So nostalgic in the bumblebee livery or in white with the blue strioes😍😍😍😍. And then there are the RZ’s....😍😍😍😍😍😍❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thanks for the memory flashback👍 Had the 75 350B and the 85 350N😎 Miss them both.
Used to used to own a 71 Rd 350 with that canary yellow and flat black it was badass bike
Ah , the look , the sound, the smell 👃 ! Greetings from Portsmouth England 🏴
Oy, i miss england, havent been back since late 1979.
Enoch Powell, ❗🤪👍
Had a DS7, like an RD 250. Loved that bike! Handled great, fast, reliable, 70mpg!
I need to make a video, I have a decent 2 stroke Motorcycle collection mostly 70's air cooled Suzuki GT's, Yamaha RD's and Kawasaki Triples. Ive a handful of water cooled bikes too. I'd love to add a couple of these bikes to my collection... that 50 wow
Buy a Kreidler or a Zündapp
I have an 1983 RD 350 YPVS for sale if anyone's interested. It's just sitting in my shed goin' nowhere and needs a loving partner.
Please do !!
@Paul Reed What do you think? How many people have such a collection? Why would it be an imposter?
@@voornaam3191 I dunno, I'm older and have money; I own 14 bikes mostly acquired off of craigslist in the USA; vintage Honda's, Yamahas, even a Ninja & a Suzuki DRZ; It's not like living in the Police State, economically restrictive EU, you know...Sure the US kinda sucks; but at the same time there is still a lot of opportunity here that you will not find in a lot of other countries...Besides, I was a bike mechanic for years before I got into construction. I love motorcycles. The newest bike I own was manufactured in 2004.
All my bikes I have paid less than 3000 USD each; some as cheap as $700.
The RD series was Yamaha's hayday, you couldn't touch my RD 350 back in the day...then I bought an H1R, 500cc 2stroke, 3 cylinder drag bike and the only factory option was a 42" wheelie bar , peaky as frig and you better be holding on when it hit the power band. Out of the box with a 160lb rider I consistently ran high 11s and low 12s in the quarter mile with 38mm Mikuni carbs and a slight chamber mod!
You didn't have yellow leathers did you? I used to drag bikes in the 80's and a guy with full yellow leathers on a RD 350 always running left lane right up against the wall ate anybody running less than 11's. He was always fast and never screwed up a run. Gave me a few good runs too.
Damn I miss those tight power bands of my yester-years!
YEA AN EMPTY ROAD AGAINST SOMEONE 2
Jon Rothenbusch, Sorry, I don't want to burst your bubble, but the 250 was not only faster but much more reliable and better handling. Even on paper.
Back in the late 70's and early 80's had 2 RD250's and then the RD400. Switched out the carbs, put on power pipes and the 250's were little screamers! The 400 I kept stock except the pipes and it was a little beast, put down so many 2 cylinder 4 stroke 750's I quit counting. Pretty much kill anything around up to 80mph at that time. So many friends with broken limbs and road rash resulting from having no clue how fast and torquing these things were, climbing on a new one and damn near killing themselves on their first ride. How nice would it be to be 17 again instead of 60?
My best friend lost his leg on a RD 400 yellow, I had YDS7 250 that got nicked in 1977 and my brother had the YR5 350 that nearly killed him 4 times. All so bloody quick for their weight, but they sounded great and with the 3 of us going down the road we'd leave a blue haze behind us. Thanks for the memories, thanks for the video. I'm 60 now and can remember it as yesterday.
RD 350,400.RZ ASWELL.Im a 80s kid.2 stroke is the shit.I smoked 600 ninjas in the 80s qter mile like nothing. Lmao. Lol.Rd is like a rotary engine.Thank you for this video lots of memories.
A trip down memory lane, thank you for sharing. Amazing RD's.
Cut my teeth on a 1977 RD400 at 16, in Ft Lauderdale Fla. Raced anything and everything red light to red light. Never lost a race a 1/8 or shorter. 750, 900, 1000, cars of every description. Lucky I survived the bike. Loved it. Would never my let boys own one at that age. Lol. My dad got a life insurance policy on me right after I bought it. Best grand I ever spent.👍
Awesome display of machinery with actual speed rides! Air cooled, easy to work on, faster than snot!
I miss my RD 350!
I had a new RD 400 in 1980. I put Bosnia pipes, kickback shifter pegs, jetted the carburetors, honeycombed aluminum gold anodized heads, down bars and a 1/4 fairing on it. It was Yamaha racing orange. It was a scary and bad ass cafe racer. Oh how I wish I still had it.
The RD 200 1974-75 ( in the USA) was a great model too. All the RD models were bad ass in my opinion. Loved riding them in my youth in the 70s. Great video, thanks for showing. Cheers
Thank you very much for old memories!!!
A very cool line of bikes from Yamaha, shouldn't they make a modern remake of this one? Would love to see it!
no market for them due to the emissions laws
Still the best, most fun street bikes ever. I paid
...RD 250 - a dream machine of our youth.....when we drove 50ccm and 6,3 Horses...
You mean Road but I agree 250 Yamaha the best
'And that son is the *proper* way to treat a 50mph limit'.
Classic.
The 1967 Yamaha 250 YDS 3 was, IMO, one of the best looking bikes around in the 250cc category back then. It's electric blue with white pearlescent paint was an absolute stand out. It had a shitload of torque off the mark and felt light and very easy to handle. I particularly liked it's signature exhaust note from the twin megaphone styled mufflers, accompanied by a blue smokescreen under full acceleration, that alas, would have the "greenies" of today baying for blood. I also liked that the oil was injected into the cylinders from it's on board oil tank. Yamaha could do well to re-release this as a retro model, without the smokescreen of course...
Wow. I've forgotten what it's like to hit the redline and have the front wheel airborne. I traded a 79 Suzuki GT250 X7 for a 1980 RD400G, the last of the aircooled. I raced it and drag raced it and even broke the New Zealand 400cc streetbike class 1/4 mile speed record at 96 MPH. That record stood for a number of years. A year later I traded up to a GSX750. Those were the days of nice looking bikes, unlike today where they all look the same. Watching this video took me back to my younger days. Thank you.
I had the rd 400, it was an absolute beast. You could lightheaded front wheel accidentally in third gear.
The first bike I had that actually ran was a 76 RD 400 I bought new. One of the very first ones. I took a crash course (literally) in motorcycle riding on it. 40 years later, Im still riding. I've had other bikes that were better handling, more sophisticated and faster but none more memorable.
phlodel fantastic!😀
Mark Ali-gilkes
Wheelies!
New big bikes are predictable you could not say that about the Rd 400 cofin tanks no two rides the same
I remember these bikes. keeping the front of bike down on the 350 and 400 was only achieved by restraint. Addictive to ride, madness in the lowers gear at WOT.
.I had them all..ih the 80's & early 90's.....the RD 125, 200, 250 & 400E...they were great fun...!!!
My father owned a Yamaha dealership from 77 to 86, God knows I love 2 stroke and the sound, smell and accelaration
As I was growing up I had all the AC & LC RD's, including the 200 which was same as the AC 125 except it had electric start, will always have awesome memories and a place in my heart for those.
This takes me back. I had a Yahaha TZ 350 factory road racer I got pulled apart in boxes from my friend who was too big for it....240# and 6'-6" tall. I restored it and licensed for the street and changed barrels to the 400s to make it more streetable with more torque. Had that for 10 years before selling to a collector. They were crude compared to modern bikes but they were scary fast. Mine had full fairing with fiberglass tank, seat, complete fairing with headlight cut in to make it legal. Cut and welded in the steering tube from a junk 350 along with the engine casting...both had matching serial numbers so was easy to get it registered. It was light...way under 300# and lots of fun. You did have to be careful with those bikes to always blip the throttle a bit when stopped....otherwise the engine could start running backwards which would make a fast launch not fun. It had a single rear shock to the swingarm that ran through a milled section of the head and bolted to the steering tube, large disk brakes front and rear, expansion chambers, electronic ignition. I first saw a TZ350 in a race at Laguna Seca in 70s. The guy had an issue getting started so was about 1/2 lap behind everyone else. Within a couple of laps he caught everyone and almost to the front driving like a madman. That was what got me hooked. No more bikes now though....got it out of my system ;-)
I had the rd250lc and it regularly scared the shit out of me,mad thing.One day it caught fire and i was glad in a way because i knew i would live longer.The acceleration and the noise is completely addictive ,pure motorcycle theatre.
Nicely done video!! Just the bikes and sounds. That RD50 was beautiful.
...great video on all the different models...thanks...
In high school I had a 1972 Yamaha 250 Enduro . My 6'4" best friend had a 1972 360 Enduro . Boy those were the days !
Jawa are still making and selling their 350cc two strokes, with fangled modern kit like electric start, proper brakes and reliability. God, just imagine Yam were still making RDs. They're FLY out-of the showrooms.
...I ran the old purple disc braked RD 350 thru it's paces back in the '70s but the real cream of this whole Yamaha 2 stroke crop are the newest models of the RZs and RZVs that are still being sold in Japan and parts of Europe and Asia...I would LOVE to have a new, state of the art, Yamaha RZV 500...that would be a treat of epic proportions!!! : )'