Grand Prix Hero: 1984 Yamaha RZ500 for Sale

1984 Yamaha RZ500
Miles: 22,000*
Clean Title
Listing Price: $24,000
Listing Ends: June 14th, 2024

Today’s 1984 Yamaha RZ500 is from the two-stroke era of motorcycle performance, when Grand Prix grids were the exclusive playground of snarling, smoking, lightweight machines running on fragrant premix. Motorcycles have always been associated with speed and racing, and it makes sense for manufacturers to capitalize on fan enthusiasm for their respective competition efforts. But race engines that only really function at wide-open throttle and extreme revs, along with a complete lack anything resembling road-going equipment, mean that making a “road-going race bike” is not as simple as slapping lights and signals or a prototype racing machine and calling it “done.” Race engines often employ exotic materials or engine configurations, some of which aren’t so simple to retune for street use and aren’t necessarily designed to go more than one race before being rebuilt. This issue confronted Yamaha in the 1980s: how do you build a roadbike that offers the feel of a Grand Prix machine, but without the worst of the headaches? They definitely got the engine right: nothing in their catalog of powerplants was suitable, so in 1984 they built a two-stroke, twin-crank V4 to match the general format of their YZR500 GP contender. That new engine included a component that seems somewhat out of place on a rip-roaring GP replica: a balance shaft, added to the design in order to smooth out engine vibrations and make the bike feel more developed and refined, but also made the experience less visceral. In their efforts to create a bike that was a better motorcycle, Yamaha missed out on creating a truly inspiring machine and, when it was released, the bike suffered in comparison to the Suzuki RG500Γ “Gamma,” a machine that was less refined, but much lighter. For a long time, this perceived lack of performance meant that RZ500 values were significantly lower than the Gamma’s. But as Gammas have become more and more expensive, RZ values have risen to match, although they still lag behind the now nearly unobtainable Suzuki.

1984 Yamaha RZ500. A low mile bike in amazing original survivor condition that has been extremely well taken care of.

It has also just been serviced fully by a specialist and runs and drives as it should. Please look at all the photos. They tell the story.

Extremely difficult to find here in the states,especially in this condition. Canadian bike originally. Imported and titled in 1985. Been here all its life.Buy with absolute confidence and don’t hesitate if you’ve been looking for a great one.

The RZ500 was not available in the US when new, due to emissions regulations. But many have been imported over the years from Europe and Japan, and some found their way down to the US from Canada. This example appears to be in good, original condition, although there are also the minor cosmetic blemishes that are often found on unrestored, forty year old motorcycles, such as the broken taillight lens and the paint peeling from the frame on the left-hand side.

-tad