V for Victory: 1984 Yamaha RZV500R

One collector RZV invariably breeds another, and today’s offering is a slightly more used – but just as pretty and rare – 1984 Yamaha RZV500R. The last example was a zero hour, push mile only example that failed to sell at nearly $74,000 high bid. Today’s bike shows a few more miles, has been lightly modded (read: de-restricted), touched by the two-stroke hand of God (also known as the late Rick Lance), and may be priced a bit more reasonably (currently above $17k with reserve not met; no Buy It now). The seller of this Florida bike as a bit to say, so I will let him take it from here.

1984 Yamaha RZV500R for sale on eBay

From the seller:
For your consideration is my Japanese Spec 1984 Yamaha RZV500R.

I purchased this bike eight years ago out of Long Beach, CA. It was restored at RG500.com.

Since I purchased the bike, I had it up to Rick Lance where he added his petcock kit along with new suspension which included a Rick Lance rear shock and a complete rebuild of the original front forks.

More from the seller:
Rick was a pretty big guy, and so am I. The bike was setup for bigger riders. I also still have the original parts from when I purchased the bike (pipes, airbox, tool kit, and misc. other parts as seen in photos). I have never unwrapped the stock pipes to take a look at them. I was told they were in excellent condition. I have a copy of a factory repair manual. I did not keep the worn out rear shock after Rick changed it.
The motor is stock and has never been opened. The tires are the same ones that were on it when I purchased it.

The speedometer is in kilometers. It had 12,701 kilometers when I purchased it. Currently the bike has 13,082 kilometers on it which is 8,129 miles. The few times I had ridden it to a couple of bike shows, it drew large crowds. It is a beautiful bike, and it is a beautiful riding bike. It also sounds incredible with the Lomas GP style pipes. It does have one small flaw on the body work that was there when I bought the bike. It has a small crack on the left corner of the upper fairing.

More from the seller:
When Rick had the bike he said it was the best running RZ he ever rode with Lomas pipes. The bike has been sitting for a while and will need the carbs cleaned and a battery.
The bike has a clear Florida title in my name.

The collector market has gone through some pretty intense gyrations during the first half of 2022. Trends appear to show some cooling off at the high end, but I certainly would not expect the market to return back to where it was. Welcome to the new normal. Prices are high. Desired bikes – just like always – will fetch top dollar. The better the condition, the higher the pricing. This looks to be an excellent example of the Japanese home market only model; bidding has been strong with only a day or so remaining. Exotic Japanese hardware located in the U.S. of A. on one of the biggest American holiday weekends of the year. What is not to like? Check out all of the details here, and Happy Fourth of July to our US-based readers!

MI