Any 40/50 somethings here ?

[junglejim]

Fancy a trip down memory lane ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-RD250-LC-ZERO-MILES-NEVER-USED-NEVER-STARTED-UP-NEW-1980-MODEL-/220927721053?_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D5885140598557449900

[RIDINGforKICK...]

Me and my mate put a 10 quid deposit on one just like that at Queens Park Motors.

A week later I chickened out. I lost the tenner (quite a bit of money at the time) my mate got his money back though, he wouldn't let it drop.

[Pol Anorl]

Techincly you could buy that then sue him as its false advertising, states zero miles but its actualy got 2.4 miles on it.

None the less nice bike would love to own one.
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[doggone]

I wonder what has actually happened to various components in 30+ years storage, especially things of a rubbery nature.

[junglejim]

[Babba]

If it was the 350 Elsie then maybe . . . . at £5k ish.

Those of us who thrashed their original one to death would indeed be in their 40's/50's now, but I want an 1100cc Katana which is what I should have bought instead of my GpZ 900R.

I've got a '73 Triumph Bonneville T140v still in the export crate for my retirement investment, judging the desireability/value ratio against that, I'd question if a 250cc Elsie could make £7500 at a classic auction today.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Suspect a brand new zero mile one might make something around there.

While I would like one I would want to ride it. And can't really see the point of buying a zero mile one and then throwing away half or more of its value by taking it for a spin.

All the best

Keith
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[iooi]

[junglejim]

[iooi]

[cb1rocket]

its liquid cooled and i would wonder what the state of the anti freeze is in. I'm guessing alot of corrosion has already taken place inside the engine through all the water galleries......

[Tenko]

I had a 250 and loved it, but not at that price!!!

Crankcase seals, fork seals, carb rubbers, cush rubbers, tyres etc - By the time you'd rebuilt it to make it rideable it'd be worth a few grand less because it wouldn't be 'out of the crate' anymore.

Now, if they started selling new ones at about £1,500...

[Hetzer]

That's not a proper RD, the proper ones were air-cooled.
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[Rebel]

An RD post, now you've got me started. They used to rock my world when I was a yoof.

I had a 350 lc but preferred the air cooleds. The first bike I owned was one of these beauties.

https://images02.olx.in/ui/2/67/82/23716582_1.jpg

They used to handle too, I grounded the rear crash bars two up on the 250 once .

[Nai]

Although I can appreciate classic cars and bikes being kept unused and perfect, I always feel a sort of mechanical sympathy. Its kinda like depriving a vehicle of its life. The most incredibly pieces of machinery, designed to be ridden, driven, taken through an exciting life to far off places. Enjoying all those corners and straights. All them scenes, the rush of wind, the smell of oil. It is.. Depriving a vehicle of a life...

If they are kept in a museum, OK, everyone can see it and enjoy a trip to the past and see what things were like, but private collectors? Kept in a crate? Bah! Get it out there and ride it, drive it, enjoy it!

[Suntan Sid]

Myself and a couple of mates had those as our first "proper" bikes!
Mine was the same as the picture, another had the "Mars Bar" colour scheme, and another white and red.
Two of us kept ours fairly standard, but the other got bored and stroked, can't remember the figures now, used to hole pistons regularly though. I still have fond memories of changing a set of pistons at Knutsford services!
I moved up to the 350, then onto powervalves, FTW
Well if your 50th birthady was coming up, you could splash out, I suppose, but £7k seems a bit excessive.
Having said that if, "money no object", was an option for me, I'd buy it and thrash the living daylights out of it.

The thing I remember most about the 250 LC was how big it felt, when I first got it, when compared to an X7, it had a better seat, the tank was the "right" shape and the riding position felt good.
Surprisingly, two up, didn't seem to sap it of too much grunt either.
The only bad points I can remember were the rear suspension was crap, used to wallow a bit around long corners. This could be remedied by taking my girlfriend as pillion, used to settle the suspension a bit.
Was never that inspired by the front brake, but it never let me down TBH.

Had "Microns" on a couple of my LC's, a quick play around with the jets and you were good to go, I miss that "crackle"!
If I was home late, I had to coast up the road home, so I didn't wake half the neighbourhood.

TBH I feel a bit sorry for you young whippersnappers who've never ridden or heard a decent twostroke "on the pipe", sounds like nothing else you've ever heard.

Hopefully there'll be a major update to my YPVS restoration thread soon, if it ever gets finished and I've got some spare readies, I'd be tempted to fork out on a set of "Swarbricks" for it.

Anway, I'm off to get me pipe and slippers out and read a few back issues of "Motorcycle Mechanics", I wonder how that Freddie Spencer bloke's getting on?
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[Polarbear]

[Fizzer Thou]

The last time that I visited Yamaha UK at Brooklands there was a near enough new YDS7 on a stand in reception.The only giveaway that it was not new was that one of the levers on the handlebar had scratches as though it had been dropped.But otherwise it was immaculate.

A friend had a YDS7 and I borrowed it for the day back in 1976.And what a rocket it was by comparison to the CB125 that I was riding at the time.This friend also owned a Yamaha R5 at a later date,with knife edged transfer ports and big holes in the back and front of the piston skirts.Luckily he worked in a Yamaha shop so parts were easy to come by.

Another friend had a GT250M,the one with the Ram-Air air scoop on top of the cylinder head.This bike had a 'big-bike' feel and look to it and it left me wanting something with that feel when I had the opportunity to move up to something bigger.

Strange as it may seem,I have never had 'that' urge to own a two-stroke,preferring four-stroke fours since having a go on a Honda 750 back in 1976 when I was at Navy College.This was what set it in my mind to go for one of those.And I was glad that I did as a few local lads who owned 350LCs thought that they were the nuts and would often challenge people to a race.But when my brother and I said that we would race them to Hastings and back they bottled out when we pulled out a GS1000S and a souped up CB750F2.Strangely we never saw or heard from them again.

I am soon to be rebuilding a Yamaha RD350LC for a customer.I will get some pictures up as and when the rebuild starts.
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Just talk bikes.What else is there?

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[Ariel Badger]

I had the only Mars Bar LC in Zimbabwe, and I want it back!

Edit, I had the only LC in Zimbabwe!
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[Clanger]

I had the RD125 LC MkIII - it was highly tuned and ragged to bits. But I had lots of fun when she was on the road and not being fixed.
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[Suntan Sid]

[Hetzer]

Somehow, at the age of 17, I was 'sensible' enough to choose the 250 Superdream over the RD250. I did later have a Suzuki GT550, a three-cylinder bat shit mental 2-stroke that made the RD seem like a 125.
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[Babba]

[Hetzer]

[Babba]