250cc on L plates

[Hedgetrimmer]

My brother did the 250 test. Bought himself a Superdream. Mug! 

[chaz]

GP100,just before Christmas 1987,tester on foot.I've heard it said that it was the release of the RD250lc that prompted a change in the law?.

I think it was the death toll of young riders that caused the law to change, however most of the ones I knew who died had passed their test? that's the one where you rode round the block for 10 minuets answered a few questions and that was it.
At least now you get some training, we oldies just have Darwinism to get through it?

[Hedgetrimmer]

Anyone seen this month's copy of "Bike"? 500th issue, proper trip down memory lane! Fazer thou gen 1 gets a very brief mention under the banner "Wow"! Wheelie king 

Nice mention for the gen 2 as well (again, very brief). But loads of bits from old mags, many copies of which I had. Love the bit about the turbo bikes - confirms I had the only one worth having, and sums it up nicely. There really hasn't ever been another production bike quite like it 

My first issue was August 1980, the one with the Italian 500s comparison test - see the pic of the Montjuic rider removing his brain through the top of his helmet; and this mag was a major influence on my approach to biking!        

And they're at it again; article about a Rocket III with supercharger... I know, I'm easily led astray           

[dazza]

Hit the road at 16 on a Portuguese Casal moped. Was a weird one that and I remember the speedo started from the top right hand corner and went round the bottom instead of the top, I think. Would read over 60 mph though but spent more time off the road in bits
as it kept blowing up.
Passed my test and had my first accident on a GP 100.
Then bought a RD 350 Powervalve in 1983.
Oh the memories.

[pilgo]

the whole reason im into bikes is i joined the post office/Royal mail as a Telegram boy so had to get around on a bloody puch maxi 50cc thing ( sadly not the BSA bantam 175's of 'back in the day' ),passed my 50cc test in summer 1981 ( not sure if that was an offical test or a PO test to  be honest ? )i brought a suzuki TS 125 ( old original 'P' reg ) and id do the telegrams on that untill the head of wentworth golf course reported me  ,id of probably not bothered doing another test but a bloke started working on the post who had a 750 something or other,he took me out on it up to the bike show at Earls court and i was hooked,passed the new 2 part test in febuary 1983,did the part 1 at Catford and passed part 2 in the pissing rain/dark/cold in that wonderful town of slough,instructor on foot the miserable jock wayne kerr 
 
sadly all my photo's of my early bikes are at my mums house up in leafy berkshire,im up there this weekend,i must bring them home and add to this classic bike topic 

[chaz]

Anyone seen this month's copy of "Bike"? 500th issue, proper trip down memory lane! Fazer thou gen 1 gets a very brief mention under the banner "

And they're at it again; article about a Rocket III with supercharger..

500th issue............ I bought the first one, and still got it? 

sorry about the crap image?

[chaz]

can't delete the other photo but this one should be better?

[Red Ceri]

FS1E-DX in 77, RD250C in 78 Hospital bed 79, H0^$a CB200 in 80

[noggythenog]

I have a stealth question for all the old farts please (ie everyone on this thread )




What is it about the Yamaha RD350?........why "did" you like it so much & if yamaha made a brand new one.........would you trade in your current bikes and have one instead?......or would it spoil your pissy mattress dreams .


Obviously im not really asking the big touring types but rather  the average weekend rider types.


That is all


Here's a pic incase yous have all forgotten since the start of your last memory this morning.

[dazza]

Noggy,  in it's Day it was the latest cutting edge technology incorporated into a lightweight 2 stroke machine that would trouble even the fastest machines of the era up to 100 mph +
Most of us had been forced to ride restricted 125's and for many this was the first real taste of power and speed that gave you the ultimate adrenalin rush.
They were also so tunable with many having Stan Stephens stage tuning and that unmistakable sound of after market expansion chambers screaming past while having its neck well and truly rung.
I can almost smell it now.   




Or is that wee? 

[Hedgetrimmer]

So hard to describe to someone who's ridden nothing like it.

Think of the image that KTM have promoted with the 1290 SDR. Well, that's the kind of image the 350LC and perhaps to a slightly lesser degree, the YPVS 350 had. And well deserved! It may have been smaller, far less power than the big KTM, but those strokers just took off when they hit the power. That's what it was all about! And they were very simple bikes mechanically. Everyone did their own strip downs and rebuilds, replacing worn out pistons and rings and the like, and as Dazza says, loads of people took them to guys like Stan The Man for tuning, to get even more of that addictive buzz. They really were like a drug.

There was a kind of gang mentality to it all. In days of no speed cameras, when if the law wanted to bust you, they'd have to catch you first, there was a real hooligan element involved. Total bike anarchy! And everyone wore Doc Martens or trainers, bomber jackets and jeans - no one gave a foc about safety, Kevlar and CE armour were unheard of.

Compared to todays bikes, they were evil handling, with skinny, wobbly chassis and foc all brakes to mention, which doubled the thrill of launching them at the horizon. The old LC Pro Am racing is still, in my memory, some of the best racing there has ever been; all knees and elbows, fairing bashing and ungentlemanly fighting for position.

But we hadn't known much better. That was just how bikes were back then. The big improvements started to really come in the mid 80s, when frames got stronger and suspension got adjustable.

Today, bikes are all strangled by emissions requirements. All these snatchy throttles - they don't have to be that way, it's just the manufacturers are restricted in what they can do. Everything now is too refined, too slick and smooth. Back then, things were raw and uncompromised. And the Yam strokers were the epitome of it all. You could have a small bike and still have fun. And yeah, the great smell of Castrol Rrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The loss of the 2stroke is the worst thing that ever happened to bikes. Long may the memories live!


Think me colostomy bag has split 

[dazza]

Amen
I remember being challenged to a race when I strayed out of my territory by someone on an rd 250 lc
I was on the powervalve
Needless to say I beat him.
The next week he had fitted 350 barrels that had been tweeked and this time he just had the edge on me.
As Nick says this was the fun of it,  making them go as fast as you could.
And don't get me started on the Castrol rrrrr.

[Deefer666]

I had a 350 LC, and at the time it was the most barking bike you could get. If you had an LC then you were the man....then I went through a succession of Kawasaki triples, a TZR V Twin, TZR reverse cylinder, a road legal CR500.......Until I bought an RG500.


I pity younger riders because they did not get to experience the sheer lunacy of two strokes, They were more addictive than crack cocaine (& probably killed more people too)

[noggythenog]

Im feeling the love for these RD350, yous have painted the image well there.


But back to the question of having one now.......if they rolled outta the factory tomorrow....albeit with slightly wider tyres and some fazer brakes..........would you ditch your current bikes and have one instead?.


I've been reading a few reviews about a certain new bike and many of the reviewers are drawing parallels to the RD

[Hedgetrimmer]

Give up my  ? Never!

But if they did resurrect the 2 stroke, and it was good, then yeah, I'd have to try to scrape the money together. But it would have to be good, and no stupid pricing. I guess there is a fair bit of rose-tinted specs syndrome here, but they were fun. Also, I think some of it is about the context of the days in which it happened. But can anyone really go back when the years have taken their toll? I'd have a damn good try! 

[Deefer666]

If they started producing big 2 strokes again, then yes, without a doubt I would have one. An up to date version of the KH750....YES PLEASE!

[Hedgetrimmer]

Something like this would do me 

[Deefer666]

That would do the job!!!

[Hedgetrimmer]

I've been reading a few reviews about a certain new bike and many of the reviewers are drawing parallels to the RD

But it ain't a stroker Noggy! It won't be the same thing at all 

[fireblake]

My first bike was a Honda XL250S, it was 'V' reg and i got it in '81, as soon as i was 17. Passing my test in late '81, mainly just to get rid of the big flappy 'L' plate. I totally abused that bike, never having heard of mechanical sympathy and would regularly ride id down the beach when the tide was out. When i changed to oil it was speckly with all the Ally that the flapping Cam chain had removed as it carved a new route. How it never came off I'll never know.
Next came my X7. I bought it off a friend who's Dad work on the oil rigs in Libya, more money than sense. He'd seized it within 5 months and I bought it off him. A local motorcross shop did the Big ends and slightly tuned it for me with some mild porting work, Boyeson  reed valves and Micron exhausts. It was so loud, my parents could hear me coming home late at night from miles away. I could have the heads off and barrels replace the Small ends, pistons and rings and have it back together in under an hour, with Tea breaks and a few fag breaks too. So easy to work on. I sold that to a mate and bought a Stan tuned RD400E from a guy who had raced it, When i bought it he had just put the Tank and plastic stuff back on and it looked brand new. It rode around town like crap, no bottom end so i was always revving it to stop it bogging down, i was lucky ever to get above 15 MPG But as soon as the road opened up there was nothing that could keep with it. I seized that up going flat out on the motorway, luckily pulling the clutch in and saving any big damage. Once apart you could see how Ported the pistons were
After that was my RD350LC, after the 400 i realized what a smooth running and handling should be like. A  friend who was a copper rode it, his daily ride was a BMW R100 Police bike, afterwards he realized why he was never going to catch anyone again. He couldn't believe the power once it got going, and of course the lightness compared to his Police bike.
On some of my later 4 strokes I'd put a capful of 'R' in with my petrol. I must go and buy a bottle? Just for a whiff of nostalgia.


Mickey

[Hedgetrimmer]

Boyeson  reed valves

Did you open the reed stops out by a few mil? 

[maxzer1500]

   Am going to get a 350lc when i can afford it, won't be for a year and a bit though. An example of what these bikes do for older riders is a mate who is minted but tight, bought a Kawasaki 400S3 for sale that he had from new & was £4700 in a shop. He does ride it but mainly is an ornament in his living room. When there was a F(Formula)2 race series in the eighties that had 2stroke 350's against 600 4stroke twins, the 350 had to be a road engine but could highly tuned and housed in a pukka TZ race chassis. I remember one example in the isle of man that was a non powervalve lc was clocked at the Highlander at something like 175mp. An lc, tzr or whatever even quite standard but well set up with decent tyres would give a good account of itself down a twisty road, probably most bikes would just get in it's way.

[Hedgetrimmer]

There was a 350LC for sale at the Stafford show. Can't remember the mileage, something around 20k I think. Little bit shabby on the finish, but all original, nothing broken that I could see. If it was a runner, just needed some tlc, £2650. I lingered over it for quite a while. Hmmm, do I regret not at least finding out more? Oh yes, I certainly do!

Someone please lock this thread, it's too bloody dangerous 

[Mark YPVS]

Rd350 YPVS 1986 = for me:


First time 100mph
First time 120mph
First time street cred
First time women  x lots
First time banned (x3)


Thats why i still have one 


Mark

[maxzer1500]

 I did have a short phase about 12 years ago, got a TZR250 for trackdays and another one for the road. Loads of fun while it lasted, the road 250 was slow in comparison though. An LC would have a decent riding position, it's tempting to sell the Fazer to fund one then get another one later. Trouble is i think the Fazer is the first bike i've had or ridden that i would miss too much, even for just a year