1985 RZ500
Miles: 17,000
Clean Title
$18,500
SELLER
Fully refurbished 1985 Yamaha RZ500 for sale. Motor was recently rebuilt with all new seals etc. new aftermarket fairing. Original fairing included. New tires. Bike runs great. Odometer in picture shows kilometers. Video of bike running available. The bike just won the 520 moto “show off” show in Tucson. Bike is located in Tucson.Rare and collectible motorcycle that will only continue to rise in value.
RSBFS
Check out the Craigslist post for the video link. Let us know if you get a chance to see this beauty.
Good luck to the buyer and seller!
Certainly a cool bike, but whether or not these ‘will continue to rise in value’, given the volatile nature of the marketplace, is quite speculative.
Plenty not right with this RZ500. The speedometer is from a Canadian RZ350, so any claims about actual kms on this bike are incorrect. The tach isn’t completely visible so no way to tell if it is correct. Missing hardware, incorrect hardware, missing right side infill panel over battery. Rare and pricey to replace this panel. Bodywork is cheap Chinese version, but not the correct colours for this bike. Stripes should be blue, not black. Poor fitment. The rear panels are chinese RZV and not RZ. The missing holes for the rear grab bar are obvious, as is the missing grab bar. agian rare and expensive if one can be found. Aftermarket mirrors (genuine RZ500 mirrors will set you back at least $500 today. Everything about this bike says stay away. Missing rear foot pegs. Missing rear fender. Expect to pay near $500 for a replacement, if you can find one. Rare item these days. Bar ends look incorrect. Stone guard in fairing behind front wheel (and its attachment bracket) missing. Very rare and very expensive to replace. Windscreen fasteners incorrect. I think a closer inspection will show more issues. Expect to spend $ thousands to make this bike correct.
If it won an award all I can say is the judges clearly had no idea what they were looking at.
Harerty.com shows an average condition value of $18,700 US. That is likely where the seller’s price comes from. Unfortunately, this bike has more questions than answers. If the seller can’t get the simple things right you should expect the important issues to be questionable, at best.
1985 Yamaha RZ500 Base | Hagerty Valuation Tools
I own 2 RZ500s, A 47X and a 1GE. Restoration is what I do. I know what is correct and I know when an attempt at deception is being made.
Thank you JR for sharing your knowledge and observations!
Always gonna be haters!
No haters here, but there are well educated owners and restorers that can recognize a con job. If someone puts a bike up for sale and describes it in a way that is dishonest that person should expect to be corrected. Putting lipstick on a pig doesn’t make it any more desirable. If the seller doesn’t know the speedometer isn’t an RZ500 part it indicates brand/model ignorance. Since that same speedo is the easiest thing to verify and the seller insists it is correct for an RZ500, well, that would be dishonest, wouldn’t it? Same with the aftermarket mirrors, and missing parts. It’s extremely easy to verify what is correct for an RZ500. Five minutes of searching would show what is correct and what is incorrect. So, the seller doesn’t have 5 minutes to verify what is correct, or the seller knows it’s incorrect and offers a dishonest description and then calls those who call him out haters? The seller got caught. Admit it and do better next time.
Is the truth starting to hurt? You’ve posted at the RZ500 forum about the fueling problems your bike has, as well as other issues. Now you are here trying to con people with your lies about the bike you are trying to unload on someone else because you can’t fix it yourself. I’m not a troll. I’m an experienced builder with the courage to call you out publicly for trying to sell your RZ500 as fully restored and pristine. Interesting given the fact that it doesn’t run properly, is missing important parts, and looks more like a bitsa than a restoration.
You go ahead and keep insulting those who know more than you.It’s a sad attempt to shift attention away from your lies. As with most con artists and liars, your only defense is to use the ad hominem fallacy.
Well done Superbikerider32.
I’m a member of the RZ/RD500 forum and an RZ500 owner. JR is a respected member of that forum and knows what he’s talking about. I’ve never seen him post anything here, or on that forum, that wasn’t accurate.
Wow Owner! Ruffled feathers? Ever consider some diplomacy?
@owner – We appreciate all contributions that help our readers evaluate bikes accurately—especially when they point out incorrect parts or questionable listings.
JR’s comment addresses the bike itself and provides useful information for potential buyers. Personal attacks, however, don’t contribute to the discussion and aren’t acceptable on our site.
We welcome sellers to clarify details or correct any inaccuracies about their listings, but we expect everyone to keep the conversation respectful. Further hostile comments will be removed.