I'm old enough to remember these little rippers when they were brand new and man would they rev. Back when a power wheelie was really something. I could wheelie one of these for city blocks and blocks. What a great time to be a teenager.
Not a full-on factory race motor. The TZ 350s Yamaha raced were much more highly tuned. To Yamaha's credit, they did sell TZs to the public, but still not as refined as the factory racers.
That is a BEAUTIFUL machine...I used to ride in a pack of 350s..and RD 400s...used to terrorize hwy from Carmel to Big Sur and a few off shoot roads...that is a NICE bike and it sounds perfecto!!
1975 Yamaha rd350 absolutely gorgeous nice filming Ronald it's amazing how clean it is wizard tuned Carlos did an awesome job on the Chrome thank you Ken Kaplan Cycles number one God Bless America❤
I had one like that in the 80s it was stock but i acquired a set of chambers dont know what brand they were but tried them. Didn't even change the jetting and it woke it right up but.they were just too loud for the street made about 3 or 4 passes on my street then pulled it behind my house to swap the stock pipes back on. Heard a car going by my house. Looked around the corner. It was the town police. Guess someone had a cow about all that noise lol. Miss that bike. Yamaha two strokes forever!
My best friend had a 1973 Kawasaki 750 H2A and later one a 1976 Yamaha RD 400. I would sit backwards while he did wheelies. He would drag the back fender on the RD while I sat backwards behind him. I never held a case of beer though. 😂 I was holding onto the seat.
My 1st bike was a '73 RD250 and then a '75 RD350. Raced an FZ600 in the late 80's and after a few different bikes went back to my roots and now have a '76 RD400C with 19K miles. Do you guys know any reputable shops that do 2-stroke work in the Northern CA. area. I'm closer to Sacramento but, I am willing to go some distance if they are worth it.
What you talkin' bout? The Autolube system worked great. At idle they would typically go down to about 500 to 1 mixture to and as much as 20 to 1 a high throttle. You can't do that by pre-mixing yourself.
Mine too. I hope you and your family are doing well. Judas Priest's new album is pretty damn good, but I like the older Priest albums much better. I think they need to retire, when they can still go out on top.
Once again just like EVERY SINGLE video, I possess WAY MORE want than BUDGET!! 🤣🤣 💰 💵 😞😞😞🤷♂️🤣👍🏼 What a machine. Not just what a machine for its age, just what a machine period. The thing is better now than it was... Man, I thought last weekend you were done uploading but you guys have really been working on some bikes and doing some deals behind the scenes. I didn't think that we were going to keep getting new videos for this long. AMEN!!! 🙏 God bless you and your crew for finding these and saving them and restoring them. Even if I don't ever wind up owning one of them, it's just so great to follow along and see that they are being saved and kept on the road. This is history… This entire channel is history!!! God bless!!!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅🦅
Friggin beautiful! You just brought me back 40 years! I had a 79 RD400 with the same pipes! That exhaust is music! I somehow lived to tell the tale too😁
I started on a RD250. Went to a 77 RD400, then went to a RD350b that had $5000 worth of upgrades on it. And this was in the early 1980's. The 350 was the best bike. The 400 was top heavy and I felt more like I was riding on top of it. The 250/350's felt more like I was riding in it.. Thanks, I could almost smell it when you started it.
I currently own a '76 RD400 and I agree that I liked my 350 that I had when I was in H.S. a lot better. I had my 350 in 1980 as well and my backyard was Mulholland Dr. so in the summer my friends and spent nights racing up and down the canyons probably pissing off a lot of people who could hear us for miles and miles, lol. We preferred night time because of less cagers and you could see headlight beams around blind corners so you knew when you could use the whole road. All that night riding paid off when I did a 24 W.E.R.A. race at Willow in '87 as I was 5 seconds a lap faster than my 4 team mates so I got to do a double stint back to back. Of course it was basically a race prepped bike with clip-ons, rear sets and a solo seat. Only a tach and no speedo or signals. I lifted the front wheel on the pipe in the 1st 3 gears and I smoked Honda 750-4 stop light to stop light all the time. The first Honda 750 to beat me was a VFR 750 Interceptor. That V-4 was a shocker to me, lol.
In indian market this bike was introduced in late 70s or mabe early 80s it was the fastest motorcycle which did 100mph , it was dis continued by late 80s In India it remained as the fastest motorcycle till 2011 or 2013 ( ktm 390 ) 💕Yamaha rd 350💕 🇮🇳
I rode the 400 for a few years and it was a great bike. Didnt know the wheel was off the ground till it touched down. Thats front and back . Two big discs on the front. People dont talk about them though. It had the coffin tank. Ha Ha.
That's because this was the platform they used as a template for the Banshee engine. Only difference is that this is air cooled. Split the cases and they're pretty much the same aside from gearing ratio.
So funny that you said I survived it I had a 1977 red RD 400 and that’s a good term to use. These were the ultimate Hellraisers back in the day. A lot of people that rode them are no longer here.
This last Thursday, I picked up a "basket case" 77 RD400-D.the guy I got it from, said that the guy he bought it from, took every thing off of the frame, and had it powder coated. I think I've had 5 or 6 of them. Had a Daytona Special, that I put an RZ350 motor in it. It was STUPID fast! steve
I was a mechanic at Yamaha shops for years in the 1970s. God I loved the Rd350. Smoked a lot of bigger bikes on test rides. The video brought tears to my eyes. Damn that thing was fast.
In the 80s, my dad had a 1975 RD350 and I had a 1973 H-D XLCH. I would take his RD out and blow the carbon out of it, lol. My dad had a horrible heavy Western Auto, bar mounted fairing on his bike. Ugly as heck and the wind blast from passing trucks would feed back through the bars! I couldn't convince him to remove that horrid plastic fairing
I lived on the PT. Mugu naval base off highway one north of L.A. in the 80s. I have a tendency to believe that most of these were trashed on the Mullholland Highway Snake near the Rock store. Seems like every teenage rookie was wrecking one up there. Cheap. common and fast bikes then.
I rode this bike in HS too! 1984 or so. Just a young, dumb buck (without a helmet - hence the dumb) giving rides to the girls. lol Really clean!! I had the clubman bars and a solo seat. I forget the chambers I had though. I regret selling it so much :(
My dad had two over the years. On the open highway at cruise they were tough to keep at a constant speed. Always slowing down a little, speeding back up a little. Other than that they were terrific! You could embarrass guys on Kawasaki H2 750 triples! They might win but you'd be right up there really close, you would get their respect.
As much as I like this channel, sometimes I hate to watch it because I can't get one of the bikes he shows off. Kind of frustrating like watching all the cars and bikes on Mecum auction!! See all the things you'll never have. Only the rich folks can have these. 😁
Nice looking bike. Many of my dirt riding friends had the RD400 back in the 80's. I rode them a several times. They pull power wheelies which amazed me at the time for a street bike. Love your stories, Ken! I lived through it too. 😀
I had a descendant of this bike. My first ever road bike was a 1979 Yamaha RD400 Daytona Special, with a Shoi handlebar fairing. Pipes and electronic ignition. Kaplan, the bike you need to find is a Kawasaki 750 two-stroke triple. That is an animal of a bike tuned with pipes on it.
🐝🏁 i remeber when i was young my buddy had 3 of these, he always used to let me go ride with him. Moto gp bike back in the day. Its a bummer they took 2 stroke away from moto gp but now i have my banshee, love the sound of the 2 stroke and the power. But ebikes are here and they are fast, great video 👍
That is one stunning and pristine vintage 2 stroke streetbike. The fact that Wizard tuned it, makes it that much better. She sounds very nice and healthy.
I bought a yellow and black Kenny Roberts RZ 350 from Ken over a year ago. She's gorgeous and runs like a raped ape! It was a 1985 model....the last year they made them..Gotta love those old school Yamaha vintage block graphics on it.
They handled much better than the Kawasaki triples and Suzuki twins of the day. I used to ride them, they were okay in the curves. You must be thinking of the Kawasaki triples.
I had one exactly like it , stock pipes. It was fast and a wheelie machine. I got my first speeding ticket on it.
I got a lot of trophies on a long rod RD375 back in the 80's. One of my favorite bikes.
I'm old enough to remember these little rippers when they were brand new and man would they rev. Back when a power wheelie was really something. I could wheelie one of these for city blocks and blocks. What a great time to be a teenager.
A full-on factory race motor in a production street bike. The RD350. I love mine!
Not a full-on factory race motor. The TZ 350s Yamaha raced were much more highly tuned. To Yamaha's credit, they did sell TZs to the public, but still not as refined as the factory racers.
Oh my goodness, my cousin had one of those. His was fitted with rear set pegs and TT100 tires. They were known as the 750 killer
Once again YAMAHA!!! RULES!!!
That is a BEAUTIFUL machine...I used to ride in a pack of 350s..and RD 400s...used to terrorize hwy from Carmel to Big Sur and a few off shoot roads...that is a NICE bike and it sounds perfecto!!
1975 Yamaha rd350 absolutely gorgeous nice filming Ronald it's amazing how clean it is wizard tuned Carlos did an awesome job on the Chrome thank you Ken Kaplan Cycles number one God Bless America❤
Nice bike , great shape 👍🇺🇸
I had one when i was 16. It would cruise 85 mph all day. Next i upgraded to a sportster that wouldn't. Some upgrade
Oh that power band! Lordy whoosh u doin 88 in a 25 blink of an eye🎉🎉🎉
I had one like that in the 80s it was stock but i acquired a set of chambers dont know what brand they were but tried them. Didn't even change the jetting and it woke it right up but.they were just too loud for the street made about 3 or 4 passes on my street then pulled it behind my house to swap the stock pipes back on. Heard a car going by my house. Looked around the corner. It was the town police. Guess someone had a cow about all that noise lol. Miss that bike. Yamaha two strokes forever!
My first road bike, same color. That was so long ago! Went from that to an 84 FJ1100.
Man you guys are doing great things. That bike is awesome!
They would’ve been the coolest thing out back then. I’m 42 and the looks of it do nothing for me but id definitely have one.
My best friend had a 1973 Kawasaki 750 H2A and later one a 1976 Yamaha RD 400. I would sit backwards while he did wheelies. He would drag the back fender on the RD while I sat backwards behind him. I never held a case of beer though. 😂 I was holding onto the seat.
DG Gold anodized radial heads were a cool upgrade too.
I love my 74 RD350
My 1st bike was a '73 RD250 and then a '75 RD350. Raced an FZ600 in the late 80's and after a few different bikes went back to my roots and now have a '76 RD400C with 19K miles. Do you guys know any reputable shops that do 2-stroke work in the Northern CA. area. I'm closer to Sacramento but, I am willing to go some distance if they are worth it.
Love the 2 strokes.
Honda missed the 2 stroke revolution back then. However, imagine the quality if it had been a Honda.
I had one and my roommates had 1000 Kawasakis and I beat their asses all the time in town. Freeway a different story.
Freedom for a teenager
Had a lot of bikes, but still remember the RD 350 as the most thrilling bike I've ever owned or ridden.
Beast wohh very beautiful 💜🌹
Same color as my old dirt dragster RD...
Sweeeet bike
Legendary story hahahaha 😂
Carbs need synced.
Get rid of the oil injector and premix it yourself
What you talkin' bout? The Autolube system worked great. At idle they would typically go down to about 500 to 1 mixture to and as much as 20 to 1 a high throttle. You can't do that by pre-mixing yourself.
No helmet back then
yamahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!smoke life 40 yeras+++++++!!!
Buddy of mine had a 79 Daytona special rd 400 with toomey pipes back in high school, sweet sounding bike, bad ass Ken ❤👍🇺🇲
One of my favorite motorcycles of all time
Mine too. I hope you and your family are doing well. Judas Priest's new album is pretty damn good, but I like the older Priest albums much better. I think they need to retire, when they can still go out on top.
@@sonnyseabury4051 My thoughts exactly
Original Kawasaki h2 is better… well not better but scarier I geuss it’s all in the rider
Once again just like EVERY SINGLE video, I possess WAY MORE want than BUDGET!! 🤣🤣 💰 💵 😞😞😞🤷♂️🤣👍🏼 What a machine. Not just what a machine for its age, just what a machine period. The thing is better now than it was... Man, I thought last weekend you were done uploading but you guys have really been working on some bikes and doing some deals behind the scenes. I didn't think that we were going to keep getting new videos for this long. AMEN!!! 🙏 God bless you and your crew for finding these and saving them and restoring them. Even if I don't ever wind up owning one of them, it's just so great to follow along and see that they are being saved and kept on the road. This is history… This entire channel is history!!! God bless!!!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅🦅
Beautiful!!! The original pocket rocket! 😎👍
Friggin beautiful! You just brought me back 40 years! I had a 79 RD400 with the same pipes! That exhaust is music! I somehow lived to tell the tale too😁
I started on a RD250. Went to a 77 RD400, then went to a RD350b that had $5000 worth of upgrades on it. And this was in the early 1980's. The 350 was the best bike. The 400 was top heavy and I felt more like I was riding on top of it. The 250/350's felt more like I was riding in it.. Thanks, I could almost smell it when you started it.
I currently own a '76 RD400 and I agree that I liked my 350 that I had when I was in H.S. a lot better. I had my 350 in 1980 as well and my backyard was Mulholland Dr. so in the summer my friends and spent nights racing up and down the canyons probably pissing off a lot of people who could hear us for miles and miles, lol. We preferred night time because of less cagers and you could see headlight beams around blind corners so you knew when you could use the whole road. All that night riding paid off when I did a 24 W.E.R.A. race at Willow in '87 as I was 5 seconds a lap faster than my 4 team mates so I got to do a double stint back to back. Of course it was basically a race prepped bike with clip-ons, rear sets and a solo seat. Only a tach and no speedo or signals. I lifted the front wheel on the pipe in the 1st 3 gears and I smoked Honda 750-4 stop light to stop light all the time. The first Honda 750 to beat me was a VFR 750 Interceptor. That V-4 was a shocker to me, lol.
How sweet the sound 👍. Can’t go wrong with any of them ! Who don’t love them.
Sounds so sweet and fast!!!
Always been an off road rider. Bought one of these new in 1975, it was my first and only street bike. Big Fun!
It's magnificent. You had great taste at 15. And it's a two stroke. I'm in love 😂
goosebumps..ive had four two stroke street bikes. beautiful bike.
A great motorcycle. These bikes were fantastic fun to ride especially on our back roads in the English lake district.
Fricken thing looks almost perfect!
A 350 LC UK mental speed yer killed many young guys
Im hearing ya Ken , how we survived haha. I had a 350 B when I was 15 as well.
In indian market this bike was introduced in late 70s or mabe early 80s it was the fastest motorcycle which did 100mph , it was dis continued by late 80s
In India it remained as the fastest motorcycle till 2011 or 2013 ( ktm 390 )
💕Yamaha rd 350💕 🇮🇳
Great looking RD350! Here it was known as "The Black Widow" due to the number of fatal accidents, like the spider that kills its mate...
They are really fast.
There’s just something about a two stroke. 😊
I rode the 400 for a few years and it was a great bike. Didnt know the wheel was off the ground till it touched down. Thats front and back . Two big discs on the front. People dont talk about them though. It had the coffin tank. Ha Ha.
Those twin pipes put out a similar sound to a Banshee 👍🏻
That's because this was the platform they used as a template for the Banshee engine. Only difference is that this is air cooled. Split the cases and they're pretty much the same aside from gearing ratio.
@@jeredalmeida1880 that's awesome thanks for the info.
That eagine layout/architecture has been around since 1967.
So funny that you said I survived it I had a 1977 red RD 400 and that’s a good term to use. These were the ultimate Hellraisers back in the day. A lot of people that rode them are no longer here.
This last Thursday, I picked up a "basket case"
77 RD400-D.the guy I got it from, said that the
guy he bought it from, took every thing off of
the frame, and had it powder coated.
I think I've had 5 or 6 of them. Had a Daytona
Special, that I put an RZ350 motor in it. It was
STUPID fast!
steve
I was a mechanic at Yamaha shops for years in the 1970s. God I loved the Rd350. Smoked a lot of bigger bikes on test rides. The video brought tears to my eyes. Damn that thing was fast.
In the 80s, my dad had a 1975 RD350 and I had a 1973 H-D XLCH. I would take his RD out and blow the carbon out of it, lol. My dad had a horrible heavy Western Auto, bar mounted fairing on his bike. Ugly as heck and the wind blast from passing trucks would feed back through the bars! I couldn't convince him to remove that horrid plastic fairing
I lived on the PT. Mugu naval base off highway one north of L.A. in the 80s. I have a tendency to believe that most of these were trashed on the Mullholland Highway Snake near the Rock store. Seems like every teenage rookie was wrecking one up there. Cheap. common and fast bikes then.
I rode this bike in HS too! 1984 or so. Just a young, dumb buck (without a helmet - hence the dumb) giving rides to the girls. lol Really clean!! I had the clubman bars and a solo seat. I forget the chambers I had though. I regret selling it so much :(
I had a 1976 model in the UK it was so much fun but unfortunately it was stolen after only a few months of owning it 😭
My first bike was a RD 350. I bought it in 1988 and road it for three years. It was FUN!
My dad had two over the years. On the open highway at cruise they were tough to keep at a constant speed. Always slowing down a little, speeding back up a little. Other than that they were terrific! You could embarrass guys on Kawasaki H2 750 triples! They might win but you'd be right up there really close, you would get their respect.
I'm a Honda Cr guy. But i would buy that Yamaha rd 350 asap if i could afford it. Just awesome little powerful street 2 stroke 🇺🇸👍 Kaplan cycle's #1
As much as I like this channel, sometimes I hate to watch it because I can't get one of the bikes he shows off. Kind of frustrating like watching all the cars and bikes on Mecum auction!! See all the things you'll never have. Only the rich folks can have these. 😁
Sure wish I still had mine. Would've been worth a fortune now, I reckon.
Sweet 👍🏻
Thanks 👍
Kaplan cycles does the finest restore work around on motorcycles. Love the job they do
It's funny how small they look now. Back in 75 it looked big.
I had a Rd 250 loved to ride thing every day when I was 19 I ended up selling it to a girl who still has it to this day and still rides it around
A kid I went high school with had the 250 version he often rode it to school circa 1973 😊
Sound from the chambers took me back to 1982 man
Miss you orange streak, hope new owner treats you well .
Sounds like Jawa 350 😍
The yamaha banshee comes from this engine
Salut Kaplan America encore une superbe machine quel bonheur vive les usa David le français ❤
Pure awesomeness remarkable 👍
OK! I'LL BUY IT! 😃
You mean dg pipes
Where the banshee started.
Had rd 400 ds very fast ll18 at
I always wanted one
Had one when I was 15!
My 1st street bike
ROD DOG NICE
Wicked!!
Nice looking bike. Many of my dirt riding friends had the RD400 back in the 80's. I rode them a several times. They pull power wheelies which amazed me at the time for a street bike.
Love your stories, Ken! I lived through it too. 😀
I had a descendant of this bike. My first ever road bike was a 1979 Yamaha RD400 Daytona Special, with a Shoi handlebar fairing. Pipes and electronic ignition. Kaplan, the bike you need to find is a Kawasaki 750 two-stroke triple. That is an animal of a bike tuned with pipes on it.
We've done one already search the channel Kaplan h2750
🐝🏁 i remeber when i was young my buddy had 3 of these, he always used to let me go ride with him. Moto gp bike back in the day. Its a bummer they took 2 stroke away from moto gp but now i have my banshee, love the sound of the 2 stroke and the power. But ebikes are here and they are fast, great video 👍
Sounds exactly like my 75rd350 lol, I’m 200pounds and it can take me max speed of 171kph
👌👌👌
Love the rd Yamahas Kaplan America
Thank you for sharing that one is immaculate and sounds so crisp wow what a beauty
Phenomenal bike right there 😍
My bud had a 78 rd400. My first bike was an rd200. I remember him letting me take his bike for a spin. Almost perfect .
That is one stunning and pristine vintage 2 stroke streetbike. The fact that Wizard tuned it, makes it that much better. She sounds very nice and healthy.
I had that exact year and model RD350.Most bang for the buck you could get back then. Hell maybe still is today!
I’m surprised you don’t have the Rz350 Kenny Roberts special.
Love that one
I bought 1 new with Toomy kit.
I bought a yellow and black Kenny Roberts RZ 350 from Ken over a year ago. She's gorgeous and runs like a raped ape! It was a 1985 model....the last year they made them..Gotta love those old school Yamaha vintage block graphics on it.
That thing sounds awesome haha
Top motorcycle Ken there is a lot to love.
Absolute beauty ❤❤❤
Very nice bike.
You could tell Ken just couldn't wait to jump onto that bike and give her a rip!!
Sounds magical! I so remember that smell. I never road one but always heard they were great on the straights but deadly in the turns.
They handled much better than the Kawasaki triples and Suzuki twins of the day. I used to ride them, they were okay in the curves. You must be thinking of the Kawasaki triples.
@@markr.1984 you are correct, I am thinking of the Kawasaki Triples!