For Sale: 1985 Yamaha RZ350 Kenny Roberts Edition
Is it just me, or has this year just flown by? It is September already. The kids are back in school and in many parts of the US the riding season is wrapping up. Pity those Californians, however. Their riding season still has months left to go. Too bad they can’t register really cool bikes like gray-market import smokers. Fortunately for the Golden State, this good looking RZ is ready to go with CA title!
This 1985 RZ350 sports some nice add ons that really help make the bike. The factory RZ came only with the bikini fairing (yellow bikes had King Kenny’s signature in ’84, but both the yellow and the white/red bikes had it in ’85). This bike has aftermarket lowers – nicely color matched – which help clean up the silhouette. The fork brace, also evident in this shot, is another necessary addition for when the road turns twisty.
With only 13,500 miles on the bike, this bike is right in line with other RZs we have seen. The Toomey piles are the real deal, and the K&N filter (and requisite jetting changes) really work together to wake up the performance of this little buzz bomb. The rear sets might be more extreme than some prefer, but the stock RZ has the rider sitting a bit upright – comfortable, but hardly in line with the intent. If you scrape a peg on this bike, it might be because you are sliding down the road! The clubman bars, evident in this photo, also appear to be an aftermarket item.
For Sale:
1985 YAMAHA RZ350N Kenny Roberts Edition. Excellent Condition. Always Garaged. Original Paint Still Shines Like New. Full Fairing, Raask Rear Sets, Toomey Pipes, Front Fork Brace, K&N Air Filter. Carburetors Recently Professional Cleaned and Tuned. Runs Flawlessly. Only 13,452 Original Miles(may have a few more by the time the auction ends).The Only Flaws On This Bike that I Know of are as Follows…
Standard Road Debris Paint Wear on Bottom of Frame.
Tiny Touched Up Ding in Fuel Tank from Old Stock Mirror.
Oil Tank Mounting Tab on Frame and Plastic Tank Broke Off Clean Many Years Ago(oil tank sits in place by the hoses anyways so I never bothered to have it welded). You Can Set the Tab Back in Place on the Frame and Barely See the Crack so that is Why I Say it was a Clean Break. Another Oil Tank is Included with the Bike in Case the Buyer Wants to Fix this.
Small Touched Up Area on Top of the Rear Fender.
Minor Spider Cracks Around Some of the Screws on Fairing.
Exterior Rubber Fork Seal Covers Have Some Cracking from Age.
The Bike is Very Clean and You Have to Look Real Close to See any of the Above. The Spot on the Seat in the Main Photo is A Spec of Dust on the Camera Lens and Not a Flaw on the Seat. There are no Rips, Tears, or Flaws on the Seat.
This Bike is Street Legal in all States Including CA. It is the Last Street Legal US Two-Stroke Manufactured.
Don’t Miss this Rare Opportunity to Own a Clean, Low Mileage, Red/White Kenny Roberts RZ that is Sure to Increase in Value Over Time.
I like a seller who is not afraid to show his cards. In this case, the flaws are openly noted. I would prefer a few more photographs (preferably taken in better light), but you can’t fault the seller for sharing what he knows.
There are also a few items not mentioned here that are worth looking at. The turn signals were not originally flush-mounted – stockers sat on posts front and rear – so these have been modified. The seller also mentions a dent on the tank caused by the stock mirrors, but the stock mirrors were not bar-end mounted like the current set. That leads me to believe that when the bar-end mirrors were mounted somebody did not account for clearance between the mirror or mount and the tank. Minor, but a detail nonetheless.
Pricing on this RZ is right in the ballpark: The opening ask is $3,750 (a very reasonable starting point), and the BIN is set at $5,750. The BIN number might be a touch high for the market, but for someone who wants a titled smoker in great shape it is not an absurd price.
For your chance to check out this CA legal two stroke, click on the link and jump over to the auction. These RZs continue to be very sought-after motorcycles, and values may well rise in the coming years. Don’t forget to tell ’em you found it on RSBFS!
MI
