“Like riding a lightweight monster…” –Derek Molinski, Bikeshop DM In late 1975, Yamaha introduced the RD400 — a stroked and updated evolution of the 350, featuring a rubber-dampened engine, disc brakes, longer reach spark plug, […]
Tag: Yamaha RD
2-Smoker: Yamaha RD350 by Marc Martin
“Don’t feel bad. You’re not the first 750 rider to get blown off by a Yamaha 350.” That was the headline of a 1975 magazine advertisement for the Yamaha RD350, and it was true. Introduced […]
Race Derived: Yamaha RD350 Cafe Racer by MotoExotica
A 1984 (!) Yamaha RD350 from the Himalayan foothills… The Yamaha RD350 is one of our favorite two-stroke street bikes, a parallel-twin standard that boasted 39 horsepower, Autolube oil injection, best-in-class brakes, and lovely colors […]
Street-Legal Dream Racer: Yamaha RD350 by Speedy Siegl
Introduced in 1973, the Yamaha TZ350 would revolutionize the 350cc GP class, a production road racer offering a 60 hp liquid-cooled twin-cylinder engine and lightweight chassis. Available to privateer racers, the bike quickly made a […]
The Wasp: Yamaha RD350 Scrambler by Danners Automotive
An RD350 dirt bike built for the Malle Mile… The Yamaha RD350, built from 1973 to 1975, is one of our favorite machines from the heyday of the two-stroke street bike — a 39-hp parallel […]
Track Racer: Yamaha RD350 by Moto Exotica
The Yamaha RD350 is one of our favorite two-stroke street bikes, a 39-horsepower parallel twin that featured Autolube oil injection and a similar frame to the Yamaha TZ350 racer. In most countries, the bike was […]
Yamaha RD400 Street Tracker by Eber Temperan
Two-stroke tracker from a professional BMX rider… The Yamaha RD400, built from 1976 to 1979, was a lightweight giant-killer, a 44-horsepower two-stroke twin capable of embarrassing many of the era’s larger four-strokes. The bike simply […]
Yamaha R5 Cafe Racer by Zanutto Engineering
The Yamaha R5, introduced in 1970, was the first of Yamaha’s new generation of two-stroke parallel twin “giant-killers” — a design architecture which would evolve into the RD350, RD400, and even the liquid-cooled RZ350/RD350LC. Lee […]
Sick RD: Yamaha RD350 Cafe Racer
Yamaha RD350 Giant Killer from California… The Yamaha RD350 is one of our favorite two-stroke street machines of the 1970s. The 39-horsepower parallel twin could compete with larger bikes due to its excellent power-to-weight ratio, […]
Ideal RD: Yamaha “RD380” YPVS Café Racer
The ideal RD, built by the man who wrote the book on Yamaha Two-Strokes… The Yamaha RD350 YPVS type 31 — sold in the US as the Yamaha RZ350 — was one of the most […]
