These things are…. well, just plain cool. Based on KR’s (Kenny Roberts) YZR500 from 1983 this V4 500cc 2-stroke packed quite the punch in 1985 with about 80hp at the wheel. The bike was quite heavy at about 470 lbs but if you are lucky you can find the super rare RZV500R which was a Japanese only bike that was about 30 lbs less because it sported a cool aluminum frame. Dripping with bitchn’ 80’s technology like 16″ front wheel, anti-dive valve forks (with an INSANE 37mm diameter), this baby is like the mullet, ( business up front, but all party in the back). Not available in the US because of our new EPA laws at the time, most of these bikes came in from Canada. This one seems to have just about the right mods and probably makes some decent hp.
Located in Simi Valley California on EBay with a BIN for $12,500 it only has 3 days left, click now for the jump.
The bike is currently bid up to $7745 at the time of this writing so it will be interesting to see where it ends up. At the $12,500 BIN price it still seems a bit steep even though it has a host of mods. Nice clean RZ500’s are getting harder and harder to find and this one seems like a fine example, do a search on our site for RZ500‘s and see what others have been doing and selling for. With the 125GP supposedly ending in 2012, it will be a sad day when we see the last of the 2-stroke era.
Ciao for now….Jay
Update: This posting is pretty outdated. Check out some of these current listings on eBay for bikes and parts right now!
[AffomaticEbay]Yamaha RZ[/AffomaticEbay]
