Guys nice to know a lot about this legend RD350...........it has excited me so much that i want to get my hands on one now, i own an R15,RX100 and a Classic Karizma and i would love to have this frekazoid in my garage and in my life.........i have seen a few refurbished ones in Karolbagh New Delhi, in mint condition............any Ideas how much it should cost.............i just want to own it to be a proud owner of a legendry bike by yamaha.

Expect around 90k- 1L for a good one.. i was offered 80k for my bike 2 years ago.. now the demand & prices are much higher.

ok since arun u got things kickin off[p.s even my first 2-wheeler was a Bajaj Spirit]

well it was when i was in my 12th had the spirit then, one fine day my friend comes late for tuition and when i asked him what happened he just smiled, then once classes were done he asked me to come home with him on his 'bike' [ usually i get dropped off in the car], i was surprised why he was insisting that i accompany him.

that was the first day i lay my eyes on the blue RD he had. we reached home from tuition a distance of 13km in 7-9 min flat, and i must now admit that that was the day i fell well and truely in love with the beast calles the RD.

Then i started the tough task of finding one, it took me one year just to locate an RD and finally when i found one it was at a mechanics place just 2km from my house and this after my search included Bombay, bangalore and chennai.

i remember it was Jan 11 2003 when i first saw the bike [ which i went on to own] in gleaming silver freshly redone and was still in the name of the first owner. The first price he quoted was 45k the bike was in mint condition. but sadly te price acc to my dad was high and he refused, i was so heart broken i almost cried. i went on for one month behind the guy but he was adamant bout the price 'take it or leave it' i remember him sayin.

then all of a sudden a month later an uncle of mine whom i hadn't seen for 3 yrs came home all of a sudden. one day we were talkin bout bikes and i told him my tale and all he did that day was listen and smile at my story not sayin a word till then. the next day just before he left he came upto me and handed me a chque for 42,000 smiled and left. [ i have since then and will forever be grateful to that uncle]

i was so overjoyed that the next day i ran to the mechs place haglled a bit more and finally bought my love on exactly Feb 14 2003, it was like i found my valentine.

My Rd years officially began and i still am mesmerised every single time i ride her, she has given me fantastic service and the only thing i have added to the bike is a front disc. imagine 5 yrs of fantastic service by a bike that is already 22 yrs plus Just Unfrickinbelievable.

well thats my story.

Nice write-up.. hey.. we all seems to have the same "Spirit" behind our RDs. he he.. it was a small 60cc 2-stroke [worth the money in those times].. was a Good looking moped like the Scooty.. but sadly bajaj butchered it with the demise of their 2 stroke engines.. it badly needed a 4 stroke engine upgrade like the Scooty pep.

^^thanks well said dude the Little Bajaj did put in a real 'spirit' in us hehe.

truth was i really liked my spirit enuf performance[ when i was just 17] and real good at cornerin i must say but for us the jump from 50 to 350cc was a magical one wasn it.

also just spoke to my mech and he said there is a cdi kit for about 6grand what model is he talkin bout, because i didn ask him too many details bout it

i had been following up on xbhp since 2005 but was a minor then, turned 18 this year. always wanted a bike since as far as i can remember. so usually came to the meets with someone and just sit and learn and watch and stuff you do when you dont(cant) have a bike. so at one of the meets with the NERDS in delhi. i had seen RDs before and also knew some about RZs. but after watching them in action i knew thats the bike i wanted. knew it had hassles and knick knacks but it indeed is the "fastest production bike ever made in India. so went tto meet the RD workshop owner in noida(sumeet mehdiratta). saw an RD being restored with a front CBR 900 setup. i was blown away like anything. so went home and started buging the folks to get me the bike so after some months of favors , chores and compromises dad agreed voila. i bought the bike which was already there at the workshop in gunny sacks but with clean papers. got it all done up as a true HT. this was in june this year that i got the bike after one month of hard work, hyper-anxieties i got it . so now i have done around 1500kms on it . its all stock on points and gives me an average of about 15-20kmpl. it was a bit troublesome during the starting portion of the run-in but runs great now. and i wont comment on the top end as i havent checked it on a gps yet , coz the speedo shows the speed somewhere around 110-150 . and anyways RD speedos are very very very true

hey welcome to the RD brotherhood and i must say u got one neat package as ur first ride. it will give u some trouble from time to time but those are just what i call 'mood swings' treat her right and i promise u u will never ever be disappointed.

post some pics of ur RD dude..

pics uploaded in my album. awaiting approval.

Talking about ownership experiences ... here's one to share

About 3 years back during a visit to B'lore, I was riding on my RD350 (unmarked ... just red paint, no stickers) with my wife behind me (in a saree, sitting sideways holding a basket). As I got close to a bridge that inclines upwards, a couple of guys passed me (one was on a yellow ZMA) and started looking back to figure out what freakin bike they just passed (they were trying to look at the engine). I dropped a gear and started getting closer to them and they started accelerating too ... I am sure you all know what happened by the time I reached the top of that incline ...

The RD/RZ350 lauched in USA in the 70s and was sold as a poor man's bike. When it launched in India in the 80s, the mileage factor caused it to perform very mediocore in the market ... but the few beasts that did get unleashed wander the streets of India in glory even today ... remaining the dream bike of many youngsters and the proud memory of their fathers.

^^ thats a nice story i guess ur missus is not that big a fan of the bike is she after that incident

right said fred.. err

Fortunately for me, she was used to riding with me during college days ... but I still did get the "what was the need to do that" ... "you are married now" etc

so true so true

well one gurl once gave me a deadline she said 'u love the bike more than me
to show me how u feel u must choose btw me and the bike' well i guess u know what i chose

does anyone here know where i can get my hands on an RD seat or seat-pan atleast.