Well I've been looking for a smoking stroker for a while with the intention of stripping it back and restoring to a reasonable level. So I happened across a the RD200, not too far away from my location so 12hrs later it was sat in my garage.and now all it resembles is a collection of metal rubber and plastic. With a long list of parts required I will set too and try rebuild this little 2 stroke beauty..watch this space First shock!! quoted £600 for silences rechroming ouch.
Nice, will be following this as I have an RD400C that I need to finish, it's only been in a million bits since 2012
The price of Yamaha parts for these older models has been high for a while now and prices are rising. You might want to join the RD LC Crazy forum as they cater for many Yamaha's not just LC's. They may also be able to help with information on parts etc. Webike in Japan may be able to help with NOS parts as they carry a good inventory. Malaysia is also a good place to look as many of the older Yamaha's are still being used over there today and dealers keep good stocks although they can be pricey.
I’ve got a lovely RD250D that I cherish but don’t use, keep thinking of selling then remember the fun. I have barely ridden it since Covid. Maybe I should polish it up and sell it, let someone else enjoy it.
Still a popular bike although many go for the RD400. I have a 250LC which I do ride in the better weather, it's now classed as a historic vehicle, so no tax or MOT to worry about and therefore cheap to run. I have had this bike from new and rebuilt it a few years back at a cost of over £3,000, when new I paid £999 for it. It's totally original apart from having to buy expansion chambers for it as really good secondhand exhausts are either impossible to get or are very highly-priced if you were to find new originals. Most people do go for the 350LC when rebuilding but certain parts for those like barrels are pretty astronomical.
I was looking at 400 buy there ridiculous money at the moment my Rd200 came with a box of spares including wheel engine casings x2 spare cylinder heads and other parts only just over 8000 miles on the clocks!
If that's original that's a good low mileage, my LC has done 13,000 miles from new and looking at LC forums etc. that seems to be on the lower side. However, the engine has been rebuilt twice during the time I have had it due to lack of use at times.
It’s funny you mentioned getting spares from Malaysia. When we visited Sri Lanka there were two streets that were completely dominated by motorcycle shops. Many were general repairs but there were specialists in parts as well.
Time to tackle cleaning up the engine and send the frame away for powder coating the list of parts required I growing..x2 snapped bolt heads on the reed valve assembly ended up drilling one of the out. Looking at re spraying the cylinder heads and side covers any recommendations for which rattle cans to use?
When i did my 350lc engines i always used PJ1 satin on the head/barrels and side covers which lasted very well and is easy to respray touching up the odd bit, Crankcases vapour blasting and left as they are and never had any problems,
Really struggling with the pivot arm bushes from the swing arm..time to get the blow torch and the persuader out.tried threaded bars to drive them out but ended up bending the swing arm.
Cut a slot along the length of them with a hacksaw to take some pressure off them and then drive them out.
Following this with interest, I had a RD200 back in the early 80's (before the 125 law came in) and had LOTS of fun on it ;-)
Frame,swing arm,battery box,top and bottom yolks,and forks getting refurbished all at triple s in Bingley
Time to concentrate on the engine clean and re piant.. concerned to find what looks like a chewed up washer in the bottom of the sump not sure if it's from a previous rebuild? Cylinders both like fine no scoring on the linings.just a little de coke on the top of the pistons.
