Talk me in or out of an RD 350

[Spooler]

So, a friend of a friend is selling a beautiful '75 RD 350 and it's calling to me. Pros? Cons? How easy is it to live with a two stroke these days and are there any reliability issues?

[Stromper]

Wonderful fun

All they need is an electronic ignition upgrade

And everything else a 40 year old bike would need

As a minimum there is an scr upgrade using a GM part

[cdovego]

Great idea, toss the KZ my way to make room.

[klp]

Yeah if it is sorted out you cannot go wrong - it's light and quick plus sounds cool. As an old machine it likely will need some attention, if you don't enjoy wrenching that's a problem.

If it has the oil injection that is a big plus, I am old school but I like the points systems too. They are not the stone age ignition that many make them out to be. Not maintenance free though.

I say go for it. Have you got any pics?

[Rambunctous]

Those old Rd's were like today's SV. They were the bike to race.

[Spooler]

Here's a pic.



Also, my wife would almost certainly want to ride it. She just got her license. Is it gonna be a little crazy for her to start out on? I know it's not an H2, but still, you hear things about those 70's 2 strokes...

[boosten lebaron]

I have one. Sweet bike. Stupid fast once poweband hits. Do not, and I say do not, buy one for a new person. You can not understand how fast and dangerous they are until you have ridden one. Once you ride them you won't go back to a 4 stroke. They are a banshee motor shoved into a 275lb chassis. Its quicker 0-60 than my r1 as long as I keep the front end down. It will power wheelie in 3rd gear once the powerband hits. 4th gear tappers the power down but 1-3 hit like a ton of bricks.

[boosten lebaron]

How much are they asking?

[dontpanic]

Don't buy it.

PM me your friend's contact info.

[Spooler]

I have one. Sweet bike. Stupid fast once poweband hits. Do not, and I say do not, buy one for a new person. You can not understand how fast and dangerous they are until you have ridden one. Once you ride them you won't go back to a 4 stroke. They are a banshee motor shoved into a 275lb chassis. Its quicker 0-60 than my r1 as long as I keep the front end down. It will power wheelie in 3rd gear once the powerband hits. 4th gear tappers the power down but 1-3 hit like a ton of bricks.

Thanks! Now I have to figure out how to justify buying it and not letting her ride it even though we don't have a bike for her yet...

If I don't buy it I'll ask the guy if it's ok to post contact info. He's asking $3000.

[boosten lebaron]

$3000 is steep for an rd350. Its true they dont pop up much but that's a decent amount for one. At that price you need to make sure the seals are still good and compression is top notch. Check the lower frame rails for rust/rot, make sure the gas tank is in really good condition inside because a replacement will be costly, etc.
It's kind of a novelty bike and if you have $3000 to spend on a toy thats great. If you are looking for day to day bike its a poor choice. I can only do about 50 miles to a tank before i start getting really worried about gas, they are terrible on the highway but thats mainly because you cant let them rip like you can on side roads and you need to check things like bolts and oil on an almost daily basis. You will find that some bolts will loosen up no matter what you do and until you get a handle on its oil consumption you will need to carry around 2t oil with you everywhere. Once the pump is set right and you know how long it lasts your in much better shape but if you forget to check it and run out bye bye motor. They arent bikes for everyone but if you like to tinker and arent relying on it for daily transportation, only weekend fun, you will love it.
Mine is in pieces in my basement still waiting on me to finish its rebuild. Im not kidding when i say i wouldnt sell it for $10k, even before i rebuilt it and it was ratty. They are such pure bikes that nothing can compare to them. Even the H2's arent as fun or exciting to ride mainly because the rd is so friggin small. Its super tiny in person, especially once you put low handle bars or clipons on and a set of rearsets. Way too much fun on 2 wheels.

[klp]

Its quicker 0-60 than my r1 as long as I keep the front end down.

Are you towing a landscape trailer with your R1?

Unless it is tuned within an inch of it's life you are not going to get modern bike speed out of an RD. You do get a very light bike, cool sounds and 2 stroke powerband. I have an rd400 which is a bit less of a hooligan than it's little brother. Long stroke brings a little more torque, rubber mounts make it a little less vibe prone. The mags wheels definitely dope down some of the power and handling.

With your pipes and carb tuning you will be floating the front for sure. Mine is all stock and will power wheelie 1st and second. These are short wheelbase bikes with a light front end. Think big dirtbike.

Your oil tank will run for a long time. I get a season out of a fill easy, I fill it in the spring and ride 1-1.5k without draining it.

3k is certainly top of the market for these bikes. If you like it go for it.

I think your wife could ride it but would need to exercise caution and use common sense. Most women are good at that. It is light and can be mellow if not twisted wide open.

[Stromper]

Go on cycletrader and compare prices including rd400

I loved mine but detonated it, when in high tune had to start with clean hot plugs then once warm put in cold plugs

Cycketrader only has a few but I swear last year they sold in the teens

[boosten lebaron]

Are you towing a landscape trailer with your R1?

Unless it is tuned within an inch of it's life you are not going to get modern bike speed out of an RD. You do get a very light bike, cool sounds and 2 stroke powerband. I have an rd400 which is a bit less of a hooligan than it's little brother. Long stroke brings a little more torque, rubber mounts make it a little less vibe prone. The mags wheels definitely dope down some of the power and handling.

With your pipes and carb tuning you will be floating the front for sure. Mine is all stock and will power wheelie 1st and second. These are short wheelbase bikes with a light front end. Think big dirtbike.

Your oil tank will run for a long time. I get a season out of a fill easy, I fill it in the spring and ride 1-1.5k without draining it.

3k is certainly top of the market for these bikes. If you like it go for it.

I think your wife could ride it but would need to exercise caution and use common sense. Most women are good at that. It is light and can be mellow if not twisted wide open.

My r1 is crossplane so its a little piggy out of the hole and my rd is seriously built. It is stupid quick. Its more a stroked and bored banshee than rd now.

[Stromper]

You need launch practice

My RD ended up with radial heads, some porting, Pipes, big ignition, velocity stacks

It had a power curve you think you were hit from behind

My brothers was stock

I could beat him by a length

[Expat]

If you get it for a decent price and look after it, you won't lose money on it. Agreed the asking price is pretty steep. Check sold listings on ebay for pricing.

[breakdirt916]

do it!!!!!!!!! go 2 strrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroke!!!!

looking @ your sig - you got enough of other bikes to use when you're not smoking everyone out!

[Spooler]

So I didn't end up buying it. Got my wife a pretty nice KZ550 and now that she has one I can think about my next toy... Maybe next time one comes up I'll grab it.

[breakdirt916]

bummer

[clutch]

I got one now, see avitar.
It's all stock except for the handle bars.

This little guy is the 3rd RD that I have owned. Great bike, no regrets.
Power-Yes
Fun-Yes
Noisy-Yes
Smokey-Shit yes

Legendary bike of the it era, labeled as "The Giant Killer". Thats because that it out performed the superbikes 500,550, 650 and 750's.
These bikes could out and get into the corners faster any other bikes. Once they got in front, there was a lot of hard work to get around or even ahead of them.

I've had H-1's, H-2's Savages and RD 400's. But the 350 are soild.

As an everyday bike, can be done depending on the demand. Metro-Yes. Highway-No.
I do know of guys that have use these bike beyond comprehension, but I feel that it was because of lack of common sense or drug abuse.
The cost for a "Good" RD of the vintage is 3,000.00
Thats stock, no bullshit bolt on crap.
Don' get me wrong, Heads, cans, pistons, pipes all add to the fun. But take from the simple beauty of the RD.
Prefect/mint- They can fetch 5,000.00 or more.
As for letting a new rider use it, not a