Hi all, I'm looking to purchase a Yamaha Rd 350 LC, or possibly a ypvs model, my budget is around 5.5k,would really like the blue & white model, bounty colours I believe !? Matching engine & frame numbers a must too,to be honest, its more of an investment & to look at than anything else, although it would be ridden on the odd dry day, I currently have an early white & red, very low mile Yam R1 4xv in the front room, I'm looking for the Rd to cwtch' up next to it Any advice, greatly appreciated, what to look out for etc Steve
Well, you should get a UK matching numbers bike for that. A one or two owner bike is over your budget, most have quite a few owners. German Ones are cheaper, as are non matching numbered bikes and converted 250's Watch for cracked side panels, cut rear mudguards, rusted out fuel tanks , missing centre stand, or more importantly missing centre stand frame brackets (the bike I have just bought has no centre stand, but importantly, the brackets are there which means I can reinstate it easily. The engine shouldn't smoke when warm and shouldn't have any knocks. Standard exhausts can be pricey if you want to replace non standard cans. But the best advice is........enjoy! My RD350LC
Hi Steve Ive had a few ypvs and 350lc I like is the Lc2 ypvs best the one with the kidney shape clocks and bikini fairing they where the first ypvs model after the 350lc, the F1 model (full fairing) are fetching good money as is the 350N model (no fairing), the F2 and Brazilian models are the ones i wouldn't buy, (just my opinion) If you see a blue and white ypvs lc2 that is the French colours so could be an import. The 350lc and 250lc have different rear wheels and i often see 350 bikes with 250 rear wheels on eBay, heres a link so you can see the difference, the 250 has pressed in cush drive rubbers and 350 has separate rubbers. #57785 Yamaha RD250 LC 1981 18" Rear Wheel New listing Yamaha rd350lc 4l0 rear wheel Take off the petrol cap and have a look inside with a torch to see if there is any rust and look under the tank to check the welded seams as they all rust along there, If you see one on its centre stand and the rear wheel is touching the ground don't panic its not broken, it usually means the top edge of the stand is a bit worn and just needs a bit of weld put on and then flattened off,(or a bit of metal the size of a tic,tac). Check side panels for splits were they are push fitted in the rubber grommets, common problem (put a bit of grease in the hole will help) they can also split around the rear grab rail bolts. Tanks and mph speedo's are pricey What ever model your looking at put a picture/link up as there is a few on here that have lc's and will do there best to help. Here is my my Lc2 i had and 350 lc/rgv special. You will not be disappointed , great bikes.
Forgot, get an Lc with Tie bars as they help with engine vibration, ( bolt up under the bottom crankcase to frame) yamaha rd350 ypvs 31k Tie Bars Ypvs RD Early Lc's didn't have them.
Roadtrip is a fount of knowledge on 'em I've got his mars hybrid in the pictures - hybrids can fetch as much as standard depending on what's been done. Join the RDLC Crazy Forum for more advice and sometimes bikes appear there before the owner sticks it on Fleabay Home | The RD LC Crazy UK 2 Stroke Forum
Massive thanks for the advice chaps, really helpful ! I've picked up some useful tips there I've scoured eBay,classic cars & bikes, bike trader, etc , nothing really jumps out at the moment I will definitely post the links to anything that catches my eye, for you guys to cast your knowledgable eyes over, if any Rd's catch your eyes out there, if you could add to this thread, I would be very grateful Thanks again Steve
Thank you for the link I did contact the seller earlier, he's based some 15 miles from me too The bike has had a new engine at some point, it has no numbers on it aparantly!?, he's owned it for six months, I didn't get a good vibe about it from talking to him Search continues
"To be clear it's not a matching number bike, it's better than that as it makes it a usable classic" I love comments like this to justify something that is less sought after, just say what it is and leave others to make up their mind...............Lets see if I can think of a few. The bike has lots of scratches and scrapes, which means it's better than a minter as you don't need to worry about scratching and scraping it. The rear wheel is buckled and bent with a massive flat spot, but that's better than a round one as it'll stand up on it's own without a paddock stand. I dug this bike out of the local canal, which is better than having a bike that's never seen rain as you don't have to worry about getting caught in a shower. :Banghead:
I had an RD350B (with the rounded tank) - it was forever needing new rings and reed valves even the oil mix and fuelling were correct. Also had a TZ350 engine in one of the outfits - went like hell - if it could keep running.
This is the wording for the 2 Stroke Forum ad mentioned above.... it’s with much regret that I’m having to put what I believe has to be one of the best RD350LC2 in the UK up for sale. Even though I can take no credit whatsoever for the build of the bike it was it was a 100% keeper and felt privileged to have had the chance to buy & own it. Unfortunately due to the onset over the winter of arthritis in my hands, wrists & elbows riding the bike for anything more than 30mins or so is proving to be very painful so decided I need to face facts and let someone else enjoy her. Fortunately my other bikes all have a “sit up & beg” type riding position so all is not lost . I bought the LC2 around a year ago from fellow forum member Mitch (aka Wozzap) who spent spent must have spent untold time & money restoring the bike literally from the ground up. His warts & all diary documenting the build can be found here the2strokeforum.proboards.com/thread/975/31k-restoration. When I 1st saw the bike it looked better than new and had only covered 12mls since Mitch completed the build, since owning her I’ve only added around another 650 very careful miles so the bike looks pretty much the same today. Having said that she’s probably not quite as “clean” as Mitch had her for this show rdlccrazy.proboards.com/thread/24862/donnington-show. Since owning the bike 3 further jobs have been carried out, 1st was to have Gary Arrow refurb the oil pump (as a just in case insurance), the 2nd was to refurb the forks with new seals & bushes (they started weeping at around 300mls) and lastly on Mitch's recommendation was to have Dave Mutts do his thing with the carbs. The carbs were during this winter as after about 350mls of running her in I found the bike had a horrible flat spot around 3.5–4k. Due to the motor still only having around 650mls on it so far I’ve not taken her over 6500rpm yet but its already clear Dave is most definitely the Mutt’s as she’s now running as sweet and crisply as she looks. The only negative worthy of a mention on the running side is that neutral can be hard to find when stationary unless fully up to temperature but hoping/assume that’ll improve somewhat with miles. The only things of note as far as condition goes is that as I bought the bike to use there's the inevitable oil/grease marks here & there plus things like the down pipes etc. show signs of use compared to when Mitch was showing the bike. There also a very small chip in the top and a tiny crack in near the mounting point on in the front mudguard. Work carried out by & parts used are s follows, you’ll see that Mitch’s approach to the build was to make some sensible upgrade choices to improve the bike overall rather than 100% originality: UK bike with 10 previous owners (full DVLA history available). The bike was originally supplied by Brockliss Motorcycles in Tunbridge Wells Matching frame and engine numbers. Powder coating by LSN. Paint by Andy Two Bikes. Calipers refurbished. All new bearings. Rebuilt engine. Uprated rear shock (I have the original with adjuster but it needs rebuilding) HEL brake lines in black. Silicone hoses. Banshee coils. Original 31K pipes. NOS pillion footrests, rear mudguard and number plate hanger & Rad Guard. No rust in the tank. Original Yamaha nose fairing and belly pan (not fiberglass replicas). Mint clock cases with no damage (even the ignition switch surround). Replica screen (from Norbo) New BT45 tyres Original sales brochure and owners manual 2 weeks after buying the bike I ordered/bought a set of large can black chrome Gibson pipes to fit after the bike was run in, that’s how much a keeper she was ☹. They cost me £625 and are still in the box so I’ll offer them for sale or part of a deal to any potentially buyer of the bike. If they’re not wanted I’ll put up a separate post here or pm me if interested, due to the waiting list at Gibson’s I hope to get my money back though but happy to pay for delivery. So having decide to face facts and put her up for sale I had to of course decide on a reasonable asking price which has been extremely difficult as I’m by no means an LC/YPVS officienardo, In fact I originally went to Mitch’s house to look at his beautiful RD400 but unfortunately it sold for way more than my budget and rightly so too, it was the best one I’d seen since 1976. I’d never really considered owning any model LC before, the early 70’s was my 2T training ground and that's the era that held my interest until I saw his LC2 that is. Thinking something different could be a nice change I asked Mitch to call me if he every decided to part with it which I'm so glad he did as in my 45yrs of riding not owned anything so unlike me, light, quick and nimble Having never given a 2nd thought to parting with the bike until recently plus the condition it's in I've had to come up with an asking price based on advice from other people rather than just bikes recently seen for sale/sold. After a week or so's deliberation I feel £6250 or somewhere very near it would be reasonable and fair price to ask but having said that I'm more than happy to take on board the thoughts and opinions you more knowledgeable LC folks. Please note that I’m currently working away and only posting this now to prevent me deliberating facts and delaying the inevitable any longer. If you’d like to see the bike in the flesh I’m hoping to be able to take it (work & weather permitting) to the Ace Blue Haze day on 21st May. Alternatively the bike can be viewed at home which is within a couple of miles of M25 J17. In the mean time I’ll try to get a Photobucket album together to go with the pictures in Mitch's diary and add it to this post ASAP. I apologise for the ramble but I wanted to provide as much detail as I could, please email or pm if you have more questions. Many thanks, Chris
Thanks for the heads up Wroughtironron I can't seem to see anything when I click the links , I could be very interested in the bike though What colours are the bike ? Steve
I've clicked on one link (I think you have to be a forum member) and I think this is it I've asked him to give me his contact details, which I'll pass on if you're interested
Thanks again wroughtironron for taking the time to help me out I've given it some consideration, and I'm going to pass on this one, even though it does look & sound to be a cracker, I'm going to hold out for a 350 LC 4l0 model ( I think that's right ) I'm keener than ever to source one, I need to join the above mentioned forum I think Steve
