Many of the weird and wonderful bikes we like to feature on this site appear in time-capsule condition, as if Doc Brown put them in a trailer behind his time-traveling DeLorean and towed them from the distant year 1985 into… The future! Others are patched-up wrecks described as having “patina” with “90% tread left on…
Like any market, collector car and bike values can be difficult to predict, which is why they call it “speculating.” Sure, that Anniversary Edition Corvette looks pretty sharp in a giant, plastic wedge kind of way, but will it ever be valuable enough to really justify squirreling away one instead of driving it? The same…
Well, last week’s seemingly ham-fisted resto-mod Gamma went over like a lead balloon, so let’s see how this one flies: a very bright and shiny Yamaha RZ500 fitted with some FZR bits! Built from 1984 to 1986, the RZ500 was also known as the RD500LC in some markets. It was Yamaha’s entry into the Moto…
From a styling standpoint, motorcycles of the 1980’s were going through a bit of an awkward, adolescent phase… But continuing with that analogy, major growth and changes were occurring under the skin, and Japanese race replicas like this Yamaha RZV500 featured all sorts of wild, innovative technology. Yamaha’s GP bike for the road pulled out…
After the late 1970’s domination of the 500cc Grands Prix by Yamaha and Kenny Roberts, and the ’80s comeback and 1984 championship with Eddie Lawson aboard, Yamaha introduced a racey 500cc two-stroke for the street. Known variously as the RZ500 and the RD500LC, the bike was never available for U.S. dealers ( though many have…
Today we have a true multinational offering. Built in Japan and likely sold originally on the European continent or in the UK, this RD500LC was refurbished in Germany in 2012 and now resides in Portugal. The colors look stunning on this this retro smoker, which just goes to show that there is more than the…
A wild race-replica from the era of two-stroke Moto GP machines, Yamaha’s RZ500/RD500LC was a direct competitor to Suzuki’s RG500 Gamma. Never officially imported to the US because of emissions laws, many have found their way south across the Canadian border. The bike was powered by a liquid-cooled 50° two-stroke V4 with twin cranks. Midrange…
Perennial fan favorite, the RD500 LC (also known as the RZ500) is seen often on these pages. Not so often that you wouldn’t think they are rare, but RSBFS responds to what readers want to see, and you have told us that this ranks way up there on the top 10 bucket list of wanted…