We just saw a very nice NS400R and now we have this immaculate RZ350 with just 10 miles on the clocks. It wasn’t a powerhouse, but Yamaha’s claimed 55hp combined with a dry weight of just 305lbs made for a very engaging riding experience. As long as you keep the revs and corner speed up, it was a backroads canyon carver that could leave bigger bikes in a cloud of blue smoke when the roads got twisty.
Mint Condition 1985 Yamaha RZ350 with just 10 miles!!
This particular example is sure to cause the never ending ride it/display it debate to rage on. It only has 10 miles on the clocks and appears flawless. This is another case where the eBay description doesn’t say much, because the pictures do all of the talking, but you can read the seller’s input here:
“RZ 350year 1985 2 stroke – Liquid Cooled, YPVS, TWINCompression 6.0 : 16 Speed TransmissionClassic White/Red Kenny Roberts ColoringI am not interested in any tradesPink Slip says 1985, but I am getting hit up that the tank is an 1984? it came out of the crate as is. thanks for an extra fee I can have you meet Kenny Roberts when you pick it up.”
Whether it’s the low miles, the fantastic condition or the flashbacks to what was the first “fast” bike for a lot of riders, there is plenty of interest. The bidding is fast and furious and is approaching $10,000 in the first 24 hours!
-Matt M.
Somebody gotta explain to me why a bike with 10 miles on it has different bodywork. It’sa Fugazi.
What bodywork is different, John? Are you talking about the tank? This bike doesn’t look like it’s been messed with.
Oh, and P.S., my first bike was a yellow and black ’85 RZ. I get that this thing only has ten miles, but $15k… Just seems so crazy, but I guess there are people out there with all kinds of money to burn.
Again with the 1/2 mile per year claims and cable operated speedo.
In 1984/5/6 nobody would have parked an RZ350YPVS. It was a cheap bike. Why cocoon a cheap regular production model?
$15,000 must be some kind of punch line in a stand up routine.
I had an RZ350 when it was a new bike – and after I replaced it with an RG250 I never looked back – I missed the power of the RZ but that was it.
I don’t understand the weird market trend here.
Oh well, if the seller finds a buyer that will be his good luck. 🙂
Did y’all catch that last bit:
“for an extra fee I can have you meet Kenny Roberts when you pick it up.”
huh?
The body work and tank are both canadian. My point is that unless a bike is cartwheeled end over end one doesn’t completely change tank/bodywork after 10 miles…then pop a KR sticker on it. How dificult do you think it is to get a mechanical ’80’s vintage odo to read whatever you want it to read? Scam.
What a bullshit artist. I think RSBFS needs to filter out some of the more obvious fakes.
I have seen this posted a few places with the same questions regarding the bodywork but this is the first anyone has mentioned the ‘Meeting Kenny Roberts’ part! I would at least expect some more clarity on the ad from people asking questions about this?
The problem is you never know. Motorcycles are relatively inexpensive. It is not uncommon for them to be purchased by collectors with fat wallets who consider them to be trinkets. I’ve bought a couple of low mileage bikes (’86 GSXR750 LTD <2K miles, '93 888 SPO <5K miles) off well healed owners who had very little idea of what they had and were clearly not particularly interested in them. They had sizable car collections and were too preoccupied with international travel to pay much attention to the motorcycles they owned or to be bothered answering questions about them. They also shared a propensity for very shallow descriptions of what they were selling. Very similar to looking at bikes being estate sold.
A bit of research turns up some validation for the bike being original
From https://www.tititudorancea.net/z/yamaha_rz350.htm “There were also the leftover models with revised graphics that somewhat resembled the 1983 UK versions, but had gold rims and a Kenny Roberts signature, that were sold as RZ350NC2 in California only from late 1985-6.”
http://www.rd350lc.net/page1EL-85-2.htm
I’ve owned an RZ350 before and never knew there was a late 85 version with different graphics from the ’84.
A bit of research turns up some validation for the bike being original
From tititudorancea.net/z/yamaha_rz350.htm “There were also the leftover models with revised graphics that somewhat resembled the 1983 UK versions, but had gold rims and a Kenny Roberts signature, that were sold as RZ350NC2 in California only from late 1985-6.”
A pic at rd350lc.net/page1EL-85-2.htm with description
I’ve owned an RZ350 before and never knew there was a late 85 version with different graphics from the ’84.
sigh too many people with more money than brains
This bike has been for sale on and off on CL and forums for the past 5+ years. In the first iteration of pictures, it was covered in dust and looked like it literally sat untouched for 25+ years. Anyone with visions of running this bike are going to face the cold hard fact that every engine seal will need to be replaced. It’s better to pick up a bike of this vintage that’s been run regularly (with maybe 3-4k miles) every few months than this example. I don’t get who buys mothballed bikes. Pay a premium for this ‘never-run’ example, only to have extensive engine work done…which on an RZ means disturbing the fragile cylinder jug paint and hoping nobody scratches the bodywork in the process. The minute one can TELL a wrench touched the bike, your investment sours.
RZ 350’s are such great fun. They deliver the sporty two stroke riding experience without the ergonomic penalty of a race bike. 300lbs and 60 HP endures as a recipe for fun. New in 1984 they cost about $2400. Even in todays dollars that is a pretty good fun to $ ratio. There has been a small recent drop in average prices of good used examples. They were mass produced and not exotic in terms of tech and materials. The production run of 1984 to 1989 reflects the popularity of the model. An interesting comparison would be a RZ with pipes and the new R3.
I’m currently fully restoring an 85 and I bet all in with the purchase of the bike it will cost close to $10k with 9,000 miles on the clock when it’s finished, for most it wont be as collectable as a 10 mile bike. But as noted it will have all new seals bearing, pipework, crank, brakes, tires….the list goes on. You will only buy this bike if you never intend to ride it, recommissioning a 30 year old bike will be expensive! I’ll take my 9k mile bike, looks as good (even has the right new paintwork for an 85) and more importantly will be ridden!
has rc45 ever said anything positive about any bike posted on this site? I saw an ebay add for a RGV250 where the seller stated in the listed he did not want the bike listed on the RSBFS.com forum. Its not a good trend to start.
I had one of the first in North America, a 1983 RZ350. Great bike and a 750 killer for that one year. I understand being wary of the look of some of these bikes, but my buddy bought the ’85, with full fairing and factory interchangeable exhaust canisters. I have never seen one of these again, but it may have only been a Canadian offered model. I was there when he took delivery.
Well, Jeff – if you are currently selling a bike to the uninformed then it sounds like you wouldn’t want your lies and dishonesty exposed to these buyers. Are you one of those sellers that hate to work with informed consumers?
What are you and other dishonest sellers afraid of? The truth? The only reason a seller of an RGV250 would NOT want their bike listed here is if they had something to hide and did not want their dishonesty exposed. As a 2 stroke fan and 2 stroke owner I call the BS and bogus claims out when I see them.
I challenge you to go back and expose any of my so called negative statements as incorrect or untruthful. I will post a positive comment when the seller and bike deserve it. If the seller is a liar and BSer I will call them on it. Hell I bought an NS400 that was listed here — because the seller was honest and declared everything up front. No BS claims about showroom this and limited that and zero miles here. He listed a bike at a decent price for its condition and disclosed everything and all was well.
It must really gall some sellers that now there is a place that they cannot get away with lies about the 30 year old used up POS they are trying to unload on a some rosey eyed sucker.
Do you somehow think only posting positive comments about listings with BS claims is a better trend to start?
When the time comes for me to sell my RZ, RG, NS, TZ or TZR I would gladly have them listed in RSBFS. Then again I am not going to try BS my way to a stupid price with bogus claims. They will be listed as 30 year old 2 strokes with a fair opening price and I will wait to see what price the market settle on. I surely wont expect to get the $30,000+ back that I have already spent on the RZ500 turning it into a YZR500 OW54 replica. and I certainly won’t lie about its condition (either directly or by omission).
Come to think of it, I wouldn’t want to buy a 2 stroke from someone who wouldn’t list their bike on RSBFS. They obviously have something to hide.
rc45 seriously? TL;DR
What I like about RSBFS is that the truth always comes out. You can lie about a bike on eBay, but the wise folks here will always see though the BS and tell it like it really is. Anyone coming here hoping to read just gushing wonderful comments about a bike is in the wrong place. I would expect that people come here to see comments like those posted by RC45 and others with the knowledge to tell fact from fiction. Just because a bike is pretty doesn’t make it good, or right. If you are listing a bike on eBay for big money you need to be honest. If not, someone here will quickly call you out. The recent NS400R posted here is a good example of that. Lipstick on a pig does not make a bike valuable.
And consider this, why is that RZ350 even posted here? I know they are fun, but they are also plentiful. I’ve had 7 over the past couple of years. They are everywhere. I’m always surprised when they are posted here because they certainly aren’t rare and they certainly don’t command the kind of money that seller is asking, even if it is new. The last Bimota VDue posted here was in January. It had an asking price of $25,000. That bike was new with 20 km on it. Does an RZ350 really deserve to be valued at 60% of a new Vdue? I don’t think so.
I’ve owned every model year RZ350 and RZ500 sold in Canada.
The 85 RZ350 Canadian model was a bit odd. A one year only bike… 1AG. Exactly the same awful pipes as the 83-84 Canadian model. There were no exhaust cans. They were simply a one piece big black ugly pipe, as it was in 83 and 84. 86-90 got the new pipes to compliment the new cylinder porting. Those pipes are quite good, but heavy at 22 Lbs for the pair. Exhaust cans are welded on and not interchangeable unless you use a hacksaw. Some interesting 85 (F1) items were 85 only clip on bars (changed to full cast versions in 86), 85 only stator and flywheel, 85 only CDI, 85 only powervalve controller, 85 only upper fork tubes (changed in 86 and remained the same until 90) The upper fairing was the same as used on the RZ500. I have one sitting behind me in my office as I write this. The full front fairing was the same from 85 to 90. Only the colours changed. The 85 F1 RZ350 used the same mirrors as the RZ500. They changed in 86 and would stay that way until 90.
Again, none of it is rare or hard to find.
Too long didn’t read?
Good – then hopefully you get suckered into buying a bucket of crap POS one day. If people are too effing lazy to read then they deserve to be screwed over.
For every 50 morons that are too lazy and simply TL;DR everything there are those of us informed enough to find the deals and avoid the junk.
It just seems like you are so angry and every post about every bike is negative. Just an observation, I’m probably wrong. Sorry.
JR – congrats on your collection, well done.
“Again” rare is a relative term and I guess if you have a collection of these bikes, they wouldn’t seem rare. I haven’t seen a full fairing version of an RZ350 on the road in over 20 years, and nothing for sale on the internet for quite some time. There have definitely been a few of the Kenny Roberts versions for sale on eBay and cycle trader over the last year.
I think the info posted here is great, unfortunately there seems to be a good deal of ill will directed at other contributors – kind of sad, but indicative of conversations that aren’t face to face.
Cheers
I have learned alot from the posts on this website. Reminds me of Dirt Bike magazine in the early ’70s, if its a pig call it out! Keep on keepin’ on!