Two For The Road Part 1: 350 Yamaha RDreaming

One of my long-time dream bikes has been Yamaha’s RD350 twin built back in the mid-1970’s. My old buddy from childhood, Billy Mac, had a new 1973 RD350 and every time I rode it back then I was amazed at the power and agility of the 350cc two-stroke twin. The bike could do it all from off road to flat tracking sideways in asphalt parking lots. With power, braking, handling and style, a RD350 had it all over the other bikes built in that era. I never forgot the thrill of riding such an utterly competent motorcycle.

The 1974 RD350 was my favorite year. The deep purple paint and tasteful graphics were made for royalty such as I. Prices for RD350’s keep slowly climbing and seem to always stay just out of reach on my personal value/desirability scale for vintage motorcycles. Stock bikes are getting harder to find as every Teen-Spirit RD350 owner butchers the bike trying to improve on perfection.

Last week, on a routine Craigslist scouting mission I came upon this RD350, my RD350. The thing is bone stock and I paid too much for it but I really don’t have that many years left to spend looking for the ultimate barn find deal. I sent a link to my wife, CT, and she said “If you don’t buy the thing I’m going to buy it for you.” She knew the bike was The One as I have been telling her about how great RD350’s are for many years.

My next step was to get a set of trustworthy eyes on the machine as it was 1700 miles away. A call to Deet, AKA Dr. Enduro, was made and he agreed to enable my addiction by driving 3 hours each way to look at the bike. And, oh yeah, buy the bike for me. The bike price was at the top-end for RD350’s but was in much better condition compared to other top-price bikes I have checked out online.

“The bike started first kick and sounds fine.” Deet told me. I left the purchasing decision up to Deet, as I could add nothing to the mix from my lair in New Mexico. The seller was a flipper and knew his values well. Thankfully he had only replaced the battery and left the bike as he found it, which was fine by me. Deet managed to beat the seller down $350, understandable as it was Deet’s money funding my dream. So we ended up at $4250. I know, I know, it’s a lot of money for an old bike.

The bike is now safely ensconced inside Deet’s top-secret Enduro hospital and after I get a few things done around here I’ll be heading to North Carolina to retrieve my prize. I guess the only question left is do I ride it back to New Mexico or bring it home in the truck?

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(All photos by Deet.)

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