Restoration of my 1974 Yamaha RD350 street bike. One of the best motorcycles of the 70's, light fast and nimble. Feel free to view at a faster speed if you wish.
Wow cool I did the exact same thing to my 74 RD and this vid made me remember the labor of Love.. ...still ride it all the time...66 yr old me Excellent Fun ...Thanks Stan
I have been crying with joy..as seeing that bike better than brand new...friend of mine had a 74 version . And I had a 250 dx blue with the coffin tank. But the old 350 was I thought more pleasing to the eye
Im not doing a restoration on this level, but my rd400 has been taken completely apart & is ready to reassemble. This video is a great help for me to know what order to reassemble. Thank you. .
That was my first motorcycle. Later in life I bought another one. Restored it, it didn't take much it was pristine when I got it. It had been setting for a long time. Lots of memories. Very nice work.
This brings back memories. My very first motorcycle was a Yamaha RD350, just like this one in the video. For its size, it was very quick and could wheelie easily in first. I wish that I could find one to restore. (Yours is beautiful.)
excellent work. Those bikes are amazing. the front end comes up in the first four gears. My brother had an orange one with Bassani expansion chambers. I believe that was the 75.
My older brother had this exact bike, right down to the color. That was absolutely the quickest bike l ever rode. First gear, get going, easy on the throttle, lay up on the handlebars and open up in 2nd gear, hang on cause it's gonna leave from under you. Hit 3rd, look down, 80mph.
One of the finest restoration I have seen. RD350 have cult following in india, it's the original performance machine released by yamaha in 80's. Thx for the wonderful visual treat. Love from India...
Had two of those in the early 70's and recall taking them apart and reassembling them a few times - mainly after crashes. A big step up from dad's immaculate BSA Bantam (which I also crashed but without noticeable damage). Very simple to work on and mine were very reliable although they had a fondness for plugs and points. The foot peg bracket would ground though and caused at least one of my road crashes and a very near miss on a track day. I didn't like the rain delayed disc brake response (which caused my first ever crash) and found the seat to be pretty uncomfortable. The good old days.
It’s really rare to find an RD in that good of shape. Most were owned by young people and parked outside in the elements and the paint was faded and chrome rusted. The pipes were always rusted and the baffles stuck in the pipes,covered in carbon. A real bitch to remove if you could get them out at all. This one was very nice,a prime candidate to restore without replacing half the parts,and a lot of the parts aren’t available at all anymore. Beautiful job!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
RD 350 was my first bike. It still has my affektion. Also I took it all apart, had it painted and reassembled. A wonderful simplicity. And in 1983 it was a really fast bike when talking about acceleration. 👍👍👍
Stan, what an Amazing job you've done on your bike...........Unreal .........I used to have one exactly the same in 79 as a teen. Except yours is way cleaner that mine ever was.. I was never a guy who cleaned my bikes, at least not often. But I did enjoy putting mine one the back wheel as I passed the police in there little mini's. They never did catch me. ;). Well done Stan :)
I bought my 1974 RD350A in early 1974, while it was still in the crate. I have to say it probably never looked as good as this bike. This bike was the first new vehicle we had ever bought in out married life. It came to a little over $1,000, plus the fairing and saddle bags. One problem it had from day one was that it would foul a spark plug in 250 miles. Eventually I discovered the carbs came set from the factor one notch too rich. Wish I still had it today.
I had 3 of them one identical to yours that I restored. The only thing I saw was you're missing the Yahama badge on the timing cover. Still looks sweet!
That was the second thing removed as soon as you got home.Only newbs left them on.The first thing was scratching the key number off of the ignition on the dash. Clever thieves who owned RD's would case the college parking lots for fresh RD's to steal.They would write down the 4 digit key code from off of the ignition, present their registration, proving that they did indeed own that model, and the Yamaha shop would grind them a new key. I lost a shiny new orange one that way.
Cool to see this pop up as I’m taking a break in the shop from doing the same thing to a 75’ RD350 that will be done soon! Although I’m on a bit of a budget with mine so it’s not as thorough as it could’ve been. Very nice build though!
I worked at a Yamaha Dealership from 72 to 78 and had the pleasure of working on many of those. Best part was ALL parts were Immediately available in the Parts Department.
Good job,m a n t a b..👍🏼👍🏼saya punya rd 350 '74 piston bolong,tidur dalam gudang 23 thn.5 hari yang lalu baru saya coba untuk memperbaikinya total,semoga berhasil dan bisa jalan lagi,saya juga punya suzuki gt 250 tidur dalam gudang 23 tahun juga sekalian saya restor juga,terima kasih pak..video anda membuat saya bangun dan bergairah untuk memperbaikinya,Malang indonesia
I had one of these back in the day. It was a 75 250 with 3k on it, when it bought it. At 18k I bought a box of parts with a 350 top end in it. After buying gaskets and jets for the carbs, it was off to the races. That bike spent as much time on the back wheel as it did on two. I had it mildly ported, fiberglass reeds, chambers, gold anodized heads and K&N filters. At one point I was running wheelie bars on it. Cops would pull me over just to look at it. It was wickedly fast. My brother wrecked it at 33k. Bent the crank in it. Never ran right again. If you want one of these to be really quick off the line, use a 250 crank gear and clutch basket. Smaller crank gear. You also need to change the oil pump gear as well. Be sure to set the pump to pump more oil, as engine will be consuming more fuel. I had more fun on this bike than any of my others.
@@ZSharkPH Spec 2 in california (Call Gary 818-837-1313), Jim Lomas ( www.fastfromthepast.com/jl-exhaust/yamaha-r5-rd350-rd400-street ) or Millennium pipe/Moto Carrera ( www.2strokeworld.net/forum/index.php?topic=1191.0 )
Looks fabulous & they were lovely machines.... A little known fact is the UK ones had a blanked off 6th gear for some bizarre reason & although I don't remember how I did it, I did manage to remove the block & that 6th gear made a heck of a difference to the bike.
The title of this video should be, "How a motorcycle is born."
Immense respect for your valuable time and effort.
Going to be restoring and building a RD250/350 cafe racer and this video is absolute gold! thank you
Thanks, I like to share things that I know.
Wow cool I did the exact same thing to my 74 RD and this vid made me remember the labor of Love.. ...still ride it all the time...66 yr old me Excellent Fun ...Thanks Stan
I have been crying with joy..as seeing that bike better than brand new...friend of mine had a 74 version . And I had a 250 dx blue with the coffin tank. But the old 350 was I thought more pleasing to the eye
Im not doing a restoration on this level, but my rd400 has been taken completely apart & is ready to reassemble. This video is a great help for me to know what order to reassemble. Thank you. .
Well done Sir. Happy to have this pop up. I'm about to attempt the same with a 76 RD400
Check out my RD400 engine build, full build from crank up.
That was my first motorcycle.
Later in life I bought another one.
Restored it, it didn't take much it was pristine when I got it. It had been setting for a long time.
Lots of memories.
Very nice work.
Yes, great motorcycle!
This brings back memories. My very first motorcycle was a Yamaha RD350, just like this one in the video. For its size, it was very quick and could wheelie easily in first. I wish that I could find one to restore. (Yours is beautiful.)
Unfortunately, I did the opposite back in the late 70s. Thanks for giving this one new life. Great job. Rear sprocket looks different as I recall.
That is a great restore, I have an original '72 R5 350 and a '73 RD 350, both are in great condition. Love those old Yamaha's.
Hats off Stan for the amazing work !! Wish could hear it roar too !!
excellent work. Those bikes are amazing. the front end comes up in the first four gears. My brother had an orange one with Bassani expansion chambers. I believe that was the 75.
That was my first bike a 1973 I purchased in 1975. I did not understand what I was buying. I loved that bike because it was so much fun.
Very nicely done.
Thank you for the upload 😊 👍
My older brother had this exact bike, right down to the color. That was absolutely the quickest bike l ever rode. First gear, get going, easy on the throttle, lay up on the handlebars and open up in 2nd gear, hang on cause it's gonna leave from under you. Hit 3rd, look down, 80mph.
Had the 400 and raced it for four years. Loved it to bits!!!
Me too!
One of the finest restoration I have seen.
RD350 have cult following in india, it's the original performance machine released by yamaha in 80's.
Thx for the wonderful visual treat.
Love from India...
Had two of those in the early 70's and recall taking them apart and reassembling them a few times - mainly after crashes. A big step up from dad's immaculate BSA Bantam (which I also crashed but without noticeable damage). Very simple to work on and mine were very reliable although they had a fondness for plugs and points. The foot peg bracket would ground though and caused at least one of my road crashes and a very near miss on a track day. I didn't like the rain delayed disc brake response (which caused my first ever crash) and found the seat to be pretty uncomfortable. The good old days.
I had one like that too. It had very nice handling characteristics and fun to ride. Still miss it.
A huge piece of gold you have there sir. I would love to own one as fine as
I had wonderful memories from the seventies whatching your video. Cheers!
Great job sir.. I m glad to see this bike brand new restored and pray to god to bring this bike again in market for us, not everyone
Amazing work.. worth the effort !! ❤❤❤
That brought back happy memories of working on my 350b back in the day
my favorite two stroke bikes love it thanks I have a 79 daytona
That bike is absolutely gorgeous.Great to watch someone working with so much skill.Well done.
Beautiful job, great bike to ride! I had a 1975 RD 350 and loved it!
IeeuNya akuqw
Me too. I was given a rusted wreck; saved it and resto modded it. looks standard-ish. Chambers and around 59hp now.
A legendary bike restored. An engine exhaust note would have soothed our souls.
I had that same year of bike...i miss it so much
Hats off to you and your work. The bike was looking like on assembly line, virgin pure, surgeon like precision .
Beautiful work of art. As a child inus d to run out the door when I heard the sound of a RD 359 go by.
You Got Awesome Passion . First Time I See How RD Would Have Been In Early Days . Great Video
Really impressive restoration! Had a 1973 in the mid 80s, but in bad shape. Dangerously fast as it revs up!
just beautiful, love these old bikes
It’s really rare to find an RD in that good of shape. Most were owned by young people and parked outside in the elements and the paint was faded and chrome rusted. The pipes were always rusted and the baffles stuck in the pipes,covered in carbon. A real bitch to remove if you could get them out at all. This one was very nice,a prime candidate to restore without replacing half the parts,and a lot of the parts aren’t available at all anymore. Beautiful job!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Loved watching it till the end. But, we've been deprived of the exhaust note 😒
It kind of made the project seem incomplete
Yep awesome job but wanted to hear it !!!
If want here Rd 350 exhaust note
Search in youtube
Bluesmoke custom TH-cam channel ..
th-cam.com/video/_pvNBRc9ZqE/w-d-xo.html
I was hoping for a smoky note
Amazing work it's so much fun to watch I have 1973 all original 5400 km driven
If it is all original, the engine will need fresh crank seals.
Parabéns!
Possuí uma motocicleta igual e foi muito bom rever os detalhes. Obrigado!
Excellent job mate thanks for sharing .
RD 350 was my first bike. It still has my affektion. Also I took it all apart, had it painted and reassembled. A wonderful simplicity. And in 1983 it was a really fast bike when talking about acceleration. 👍👍👍
I would love to have a workshop like that, oh and the skill and now how I suppose would help
Stan, what an Amazing job you've done on your bike...........Unreal .........I used to have one exactly the same in 79 as a teen. Except yours is way cleaner that mine ever was.. I was never a guy who cleaned my bikes, at least not often. But I did enjoy putting mine one the back wheel as I passed the police in there little mini's. They never did catch me. ;). Well done Stan :)
Thanks!!
Thank you again...true craftsmanship!!
Beutiful machine , Love to watch it .
Thanks for uploading this rebuild video ..
Beautiful work. I can tell that you were there back in the day.
Riding RD Yamahas since the mid 80's.
Lovely Bike - Great work!
Excellent job and really appreciate the effort 👌
Beautiful restoration, a fun handful of a bike to ride.
Sir I respect you with all my heart that is one masterpiece
Amazing Job.. its like brand new.. the legendary bike i had a chance to ride once , the torque is insane
RD 350 Was a Great Bike then , love that bike.
We used it for RACING... 💥Wonderful Job 💥
Not riding now..., already 60 yrs old 😊🙏
In 70's this bike a amazing riding after that i have also change many bike but this ride is dreaming
Great work. Really love it. :-)
I love this bike Yamaha RD 350👌
Nice! Back in the day I knew a guy who had the RD400 and it was a very wicked bike.
Beautiful work 👏
Great work. Really love it.
Got to be one of their all time greats. A real giant killer.
Nice job! Brings back memories. I had that bike brand new in 1974. It was a real rocket back then. I still think it was the best color they ever made.
I had the paint shop match the large metal flake to original.
I loved the '73 color, just beautiful.
This is a museum quality restoration. What was also impressive was there was no stopping to refer to a shop or assembly manual. Well done Sir!
Thanks, Jim. RD Yamahas are one of my favorites!
@@stanlipert8513 my favourite too sir and I want to buy one
@@stelsonmajhong7226 AND NO cursing ON cameras with air box TO y- PIPE install. pro!
@@davestrain9529 I did not think about that.
wow superb skill and lot of patience, he is one man army...
Wow really loved your compassion n hardwork you put in to that. I subscribed
Outstanding work!! I got a 79Daytona RD400f not as nice as your RD350 but it's a blast to ride .
Awesome job.....lots of knowledge there......a masterpeice
Beautiful bike!
good skills and a lot of work to produce a real gem
I bought my 1974 RD350A in early 1974, while it was still in the crate. I have to say it probably never looked as good as this bike. This bike was the first new vehicle we had ever bought in out married life. It came to a little over $1,000, plus the fairing and saddle bags. One problem it had from day one was that it would foul a spark plug in 250 miles. Eventually I discovered the carbs came set from the factor one notch too rich. Wish I still had it today.
Most important part is the crank seals.
Piece of art !
I had 3 of them one identical to yours that I restored. The only thing I saw was you're missing the Yahama badge on the timing cover. Still looks sweet!
That was the second thing removed as soon as you got home.Only newbs left them on.The first thing was scratching the key number off of the ignition on the dash. Clever thieves who owned RD's would case the college parking lots for fresh RD's to steal.They would write down the 4 digit key code from off of the ignition, present their registration, proving that they did indeed own that model, and the Yamaha shop would grind them a new key. I lost a shiny new orange one that way.
Cool to see this pop up as I’m taking a break in the shop from doing the same thing to a 75’ RD350 that will be done soon! Although I’m on a bit of a budget with mine so it’s not as thorough as it could’ve been. Very nice build though!
Thanks for watching!
Incredible work 🤔👍
I worked at a Yamaha Dealership from 72 to 78 and had the pleasure of working on many of those.
Best part was ALL parts were Immediately available in the Parts Department.
Nice to see the full assembly. I have a 73 RD350 that I want to breakdown and do a full restore on and this video process will help.
Beautiful!
Good job,m a n t a b..👍🏼👍🏼saya punya rd 350 '74 piston bolong,tidur dalam gudang 23 thn.5 hari yang lalu baru saya coba untuk memperbaikinya total,semoga berhasil dan bisa jalan lagi,saya juga punya suzuki gt 250 tidur dalam gudang 23 tahun juga sekalian saya restor juga,terima kasih pak..video anda membuat saya bangun dan bergairah untuk memperbaikinya,Malang indonesia
I love Indonesia, I have been to Jakarta. Be sure to replace the outside crank seals before running. Good luck!
I had one of these back in the day. It was a 75 250 with 3k on it, when it bought it. At 18k I bought a box of parts with a 350 top end in it. After buying gaskets and jets for the carbs, it was off to the races. That bike spent as much time on the back wheel as it did on two. I had it mildly ported, fiberglass reeds, chambers, gold anodized heads and K&N filters.
At one point I was running wheelie bars on it. Cops would pull me over just to look at it. It was wickedly fast.
My brother wrecked it at 33k. Bent the crank in it. Never ran right again.
If you want one of these to be really quick off the line, use a 250 crank gear and clutch basket. Smaller crank gear. You also need to change the oil pump gear as well. Be sure to set the pump to pump more oil, as engine will be consuming more fuel.
I had more fun on this bike than any of my others.
Sounds like you know these machines well.. i just picked one up.. what chambers do you recommend?
@@ZSharkPH Spec 2 in california (Call Gary 818-837-1313), Jim Lomas ( www.fastfromthepast.com/jl-exhaust/yamaha-r5-rd350-rd400-street ) or Millennium pipe/Moto Carrera ( www.2strokeworld.net/forum/index.php?topic=1191.0 )
@@nkreigline01 Thank you
Awesome work indeed.....
Uma das mais amadas Moto da Yamaha, uma verdadeira lenda pra quem é apaixonado por Motos 2T.
nice work man . liking the jack :)
Great job Sr
Great work chief 👍👍👍
He don't say much, but he does a bloody good job!
Much thanks! Sometimes showing is better than speaking.
What a heart warming bike ...!!!
Great work congratulations
Superb efforts making this bike.
Nice work 💯🔥
Great work salute
Excelente trabalho de restauração 🙏🏻🙏🏻👍👍🆗
Such a quality stuff
Amazing well done
I love this bike very much...
Great Job Sir
great build, love the color! always wanted a RZ or and RD. Swinedog
Exactly like my first bike. 👍🇺🇸
Sir super job God bless you forever ❤️
I see that your hard work.
Looks fabulous & they were lovely machines.... A little known fact is the UK ones had a blanked off 6th gear for some bizarre reason & although I don't remember how I did it, I did manage to remove the block & that 6th gear made a heck of a difference to the bike.
Wonderful and awesome work 👌🤞 my favourite bike 🥰💜😇👍
Thanks for sharing.