Purchased a Swiss RD250LC a few weeks ago. I was going to turn it into a hybrid but had a change of plan, now it’s going to be a wipe over and replace just to get it road worthy. So far I’ve added a front tyre, the rear awaits fitting. I’ve taken the front calliper off seized piston awaiting repair I’m hoping it’s just crud underneath the seal holding hard on the piston my Son’s trials bike brake did the same. The carbs have been cleaned by my local indie mechanic, renewed the fuel lines and balancing pipe. After this it started 3rd kick, I just injected pre-mix into the float bowls as the tank is off the bike it ran until the bowls emptied. Next is to check the oil pump works. Also handlebar grips have been taken off they were ghastly foam grips. I’ve also today replaced the original coil with twin Banshee coils as pictured
Looking forward to this thread. Please keep the updates and pics coming. Was the bike over or under £3k if you don’t mind?
£2650 cash, seller needed it gone he was in a rush to return to Belgium to see his children before and over Christmas. He said he’d previously listed it at 2850 on the dreaded bay but dropped to shift it so he could get moving, I hit the BIN button, I took faith in his word that it started as the carbs were fouled happy to find he was honest. He also had a TS250 in his van which was mint, he bought and sold some he kept most he sold from what I could garner from my brief conversation with him. He’s been dealing a while as he stated the prices to buy from Europe are rising as they cotton on that there’s a kinda insatiable demand for them in the Uk. TBH at 2650 I thought it high but these just seem to keep climbing in price ATM there’s a similar 250 on eBay bid at 3100, which would be too rich for my pockets. Good luck with your hunt...gone are the days when these were 600 holes all day long lol
^ thank you for that frank and full reply and well done. I’ve fancied having a 350 for a few years. “Won” one in the Bay about 6 years ago at £2250 but seller disappeared (surprise?!). They are too much now hence the possibility of the 250 (which is in all honesty more likely to be closer to original than a supposed 350).
TBH I wanted the 350 but as you say they are getting to nigh on unobtainable at any sensible figure IMO. My rational on the 250 was price and originality, I was going to get an Athena big bore kit think you can get as high as 475 but sanity prevailed. I’ll run a rag over it for now and use it as my nip about bike local, I’d like to say there’s plenty for sale on the rdcrazy forum but I think they’re hoarding them lol
Agree some are by reaching silly money. I have had my 350 for about 9 years currently in boxes and waiting on me to rebuild. Some parts are ready , even now I have had people offered 1-2k for it.
TBF, I’m sure you’d realise more than that even in boxes, seen folk ask 1500 just for an engine....love to be seller hate to be a buyer with the way prices are. Every biker I meet of my age range is after a 2 stroke of some sort, even the tiddlers are climbing now such is demand. Bumped into 3 fandoms today in my local parts supplier looking to purchase.
I’ll not comment on watch prices bud having paid what I consider a lot for a 1955 Brietling off eBay from Argentina.....a moment of pure madness. I don’t even wear it such is the shame of it just sits in a draw just to remind me of a moment of madness. But yes I have seen.
Half the blokes I know have at least one of those watches (the never worn & in the drawer kind). On the plus side the guy in Argentina is nearly rich enough to retire!
Lol should think so, he had multiple high end old wind up watches, he lived out in the sticks. No where near a major city, he was a good ebayer though got proper jumpy because I hadn’t picked it up to his time scale. Think he was concerned either by it being returned to him and him having to foot the import duty or me negative feed backing him. Only just made it to FedEx from work due to the M6 and A5 being fubarred.
Most people are good ebayers, then there's the scammers - not many & with PayPal its only an irritation- and the strange ones who refuse to ship. I often wonder if they think we are all driving around the country to buy their stuff!
Yeah the refuse to ship folk I think are odd, you’re really restricting your customer base. Although I have just bought a set of 1 piece Hideout leathers for £75 and I have a 2 hour round trip lol. Sometimes though if it’s local you can grab a bargain.
If I really want the item I write to them about a courier. They often reply that they would be fine with packaging the item so long as I arrange it (DUH) Then I I ask them when they will be home for collection. They say they're not certain due to work etc... So I suggest they call the courier and I will pay for it Most of the time this process takes a day or two, they have mentally spent the money -so they typically say yes!
To think I paid around £1,150 ISTR for a brand new 350LC back in the day, my first new bike... A few bikes before that I had an FS1E (original candy orange one with pedals) that I bought used for £350...
These kinda interest me but not sure I like the trellis frame https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-R...rentrq:4f0b4f2616f0a866cbe88f2dffbe96e6|iid:1
I used to proddy race a 250lc at places like Elvington, Cadwell, Three Sisters and Aintree round about 1985-6. I think I paid £600 for the bike (with a road trailer thrown in) which was Beckett tuned, after the lad who was racing it, died in a car smash. It went down the track a few times and I got rid after falling off three times in one day at Three Sisters (Wigan). There used to be around 30 LCs on the grid they were so popular and cheap to buy/maintain.
