A bit of 2-stroke nostalgia for all you 50+ year olds out there. This 1981 RD350LC is my pride and joy
I always regretted selling both of my LCs back in the 80s and have since owned 30+ different bikes but always looked back with fondness. I bought this fully restored German import a couple of years ago and have since made some personal mods like we all did back in the day. Miles wise, it was converted from KMH to MPH so I don’t really know what the genuine mileage is but I’m not one of those purist collectors so don’t really mind.
If you have the chance, get yourself to Biggin Hill Heritage Hanger. They have a small bike display in the hanger, some nice RD's and FS1's. Oh, and a couple of Spitfires and Hurricanes if you like that sort of thing
Nice looking specimen. All my mates had either the 250 or 350 version. I quite liked the sound but preferred my Honda VT250F which was just as fast (contrary to the tall tales spun by the RD owners) and I didn’t have to thrash the gearbox to keep in in the power band. One friend is keen to get back into biking and has had an eye on a classic RD for ages. I think he might go with a Triumph twin which might suit his middle aged image better Thanks for sharing.
I think I’m sporting a woody… I never owned one, but rode a few. The first sorta “date” I took my wife (of 30ys now) out on was to test a 350LC from a private seller in Barrow in Furness. I left her with the seller as I went for a run, but the feckin thing seized on me… I felt it nipping up, so clutch in and coasted. There wasn’t enough LC in the LC department! I can’t remember how I got it back (I probably just left it and walked) but my wife-to-be thought I’d been gone so long, I must have crashed! I didn’t buy it…
That's a peach. I used to work at Holloway Motorcycles, in Bath, selling these. Beautifully made little missiles
Now we are f*cking talking - proper f*cking motorcycle that one. 48 Had 2 A 250 LC @ 18 that showed me what happens when you get it right and what happens when you get it wrong - showed more than 1 wanna-be sunday hero what corners are for and this prime bell-end what the inside of A&E looked like. Which when you're 18 amounted to girls in nurses uniforms that just made you drool... And a 350LC after that - SS stage 3 blah blah, road weapon of the highest order - Basically a home tuned f*cking - sh*t brakes, scarey sh*t handling if the swingarm bushes had done more than 100 miles, belter of a passenger seat for the fearless schoolgirls, a powerband that stuck 2 fingers to world and then ran away screaming "f*ck you" and nothing in a 20 mile radius that would touch you if you committed to the corner. Long gone but never forgotten, a million smiles per mile. Come back 1992, all is forgiven....
Jealous, just jealous. That is beautiful…I only ever had an air cooled RD250F and loved that bike. Would like to ride one now just to see what they are like again….
Something if a giant killer in it's day when setup correctly, plus it eventually evolved into one of these..... I never owned one but rode one on a test day at Carnells in Doncaster in '86. Suzuki's RG500 was also there which my mate rode but ultimately no match for the first, slab sided GSXR1100 which rewrote the rule book for big 4strokes and effectively put another nail in the coffin of 2 stroke sports bikes. These old 2 strokes should be given special status and b******s to the clean air brigade.
Ohh god, square 4 vs vee 4… those 500s were summat else… on tickover, the Gamma used to sound like a broken flask being shaken!
I am loving all the responses to my post and the fond memories these older bikes stir up. For me the LC to this day still provides the biggest smile from ear to ear when I go out for a thrash and that sweet sound and smell of a 2-stroke never ceases to draw attention. If I had a pound for every geezer that says to me "nice bike mate, I used to have one of those in the 80s..." Here's a pic of the LC I should have kept from circa 1985.
Lovely, got to admit to taking a deep breath when a two stroke goes the other way and want to turn round to follow, especially if it’s running on Castrol R Had a mildly tuned Suzuki X7 which could keep up with RD 400’s.
Seriously though, Honda did have some nice handling lightweights… I had a CB250rs which was the single cylinder 4 valve engine … a great back lanes scratcher; this is a stock photo, but I’ll see if I can find an old one of mine.
A popular learner bike (round our way at least) of the 250cc days was the Honda 250 Superdream. Not the cheapest of the learner bunch and a lot more pipe and slippers compared to the manic 2 smoke offerings.