Hive Mentality – 1984 Yamaha RZ350

With spring in full swing and summer right around the corner RZ350s are popping up like, well, weeds. Scare in quality and quantity, 2022 has brought out a spate of strong contenders; bikes that present as well as any we have seen. So too is today’s find, a 1984 bumble bee 350 out of Montana…

The Same, But Different: 1984 Yamaha RZ350

In an earlier post, RSBFS Staff Writer Donn notes: Hardly a week goes by that a new RZ350 doesn’t pop up these days! I would like to take this opportunity to upgrade that statement considerably. Because today we have a double RZ350 Friday (take two – they’re small)! Forget Friday the 13th. This is Friday…

Southwestern Style: 1984 Yamaha RZV500R

The world of 500cc two strokes is pretty small. But within that world is an even more exclusive club of limited editions and unique models. On the Yamaha side, the RZ500 is cool. But the Japanese market restricted offering of the RZV500R borders on the unicorn. Never officially exported by Yamaha outside of Japan, the…

Quick Smoke Break: 1985 Yamaha RZ350

There seems to be a marked increase in available RZ350s as of late, a clear sign that Spring has officially sprung. Amongst the frenzy of activity with trading, selling and buying (not to mention how hot the collector market is these days), this is a quickie smoke break from the high dollar exotica and represents…

Ring A Ding Dinger: 1984 Yamaha RZ350

In those dark morning hours (for those of us who “spring” the clocks forward) and in the wastelands of eBay before riding season hits and all sorts of exotica hit the auction block, there are days of, well, nothing. RSBFS staff look through hundreds of listings daily, and some days it is hard to find…

Inflation: 1985 Yamaha RZ350

The collector world is on a tear. After years of pandemic caution, the floodgates are open and trading has resumed with gusto. With that activity comes excitement, renewed interest in classic models, and the commensurate rise in pricing. Yes, values are going up; and that is not just conjecture. As Blair, Tootie, Jo and Natalie…

The Year That Was: 1985 Yamaha RZ 350

Really a bike that needs no introduction, the Yamaha RZ350 had a brief couple of year fling in the States until the EPA shut them down for good. Today’s clean looking 1985 model has been mistakenly listed as a 1984 – however unless you lived in California, the differences between the years were minor and…