The motorcycle world is currently agog with the 400cc class. Earlier this year Kawasaki announced plans to release the 2023 ZX-4RR to American buyers, and comments on these pages and on the RSBFS Facebook page lit up. And while the new ZX-RR harkens back to the gray market middleweights of the 1990s, Yamaha was way ahead of that game with the legendary RD400 two stroke. And no model of the fabled RD line was more iconic than the Daytona Special.
1979 Yamaha RD400F Daytona Special for sale on eBay
By the late 1970s the move to four stroke sport bikes was in full swing. Yet nothing else in showrooms had the hooligan factor of an RD400 lofting the front wheel in the first couple of gears. Nothing required the attention to RPM more than the air cooled parallel twin, and on the club racing scene this was the ultimate weapon. Until it wasn’t. Four strokes were getting lighter and more compact, although few could boast the 45 HP and 370-ish pound power to weight ratio advantage of the RD. Still, time marches on and the basic design firmly rooted in the end of the last decade was showing its age and buckling under the repression from Mr. EPA. But what a glorious final year it was!
From the seller:
For sale is my 1979 YAMAHA RD400F DATYTONA SPECIAL in MINT CONDITION
This bike is 100% original – This is NOT A RESTORATION PROJECT – This machine has original paint, original seat, original everythingNever been on the ground – Immaculate condition (tires have been replaced for safety reasons)
I have owned two RD350’s, one RZ 350, one RD400C and three Daytona Specials
Registered in California with a clean title – Selling my entire motorcycle collection moving to the North Shore of OahuI have owned this bike for 10 years it has been stored perfectly
This bike is is turn-key and in perfect running condition
30 original miles thank you for viewing – kick start your life now!
1979 Forever!
American buyers have historically dismissed smaller displacement motorcycles as starter bikes, commuter cycles and the like. Even Yamaha acknowledged that the RD 350 and 400 series sold to predominantly younger buyers (males in their early 20s), largely because they were cheaper and offered equal or better performance than anything larger in a four stroke format. Today these are largely deemed as antiques – er, sorry, “collectables” – although the love of blue smoke lives on here at RSBFS.
Claiming an original 30 miles since new (born 44 years ago!), today’s RD400F in the vaunted Daytona Special livery looks pretty much the part. It is impossibly clean for a bike of this vintage, with bright paintwork and shiny chrome. The cylinders and exhaust look devoid of any corrosion or modification, and the overall impression is that it is very original. The seller claims it has NOT been restored, and if that is the case this is probably the lowest mileage RD I have seen outside of a museum such as Barber. Pricing is….well….in line with a valuable antique. At a $19,500 buy it now classified ad, this California beauty is also probably the highest priced RD I have seen in a while. But the last year of the right bike in the right livery means something, and the condition just might support the ask. Check out all of the details here, and Good Luck!!
MI
Holy shit!
Immaculate!! Hold out for the dough. I owned a 73 RD-350, Incredible fun.
Very, very nice survivor, but far too nice for anything other than static display.