Joined Mar 2016
2K Posts | 2K+
FNQ
Had one. Rg250 brought from a bloke who had run it in the shell series. Proper racer. Had to fit fairings with lights to get it regoed. Absolute weapon bike. Spewing i sold it
Joined Jan 2016
801 Posts | 401+
Uk
I loved them, had loads, X7, GT125, race tuned 350LC and finally a race tuned 500LC with everything thrown at it to make it go faster. The pipes cost a fortune but sounded heavenly. It was fast as hell and had a brutal power band, if you weren't careful it'd bite you, numerous times I only just saved it from flipping as it came onto the pipes so savagely. (Then you get idiots comparing four strokes to two strokes, saying four strokes are harder to ride...idiots got no clue at all).
Despite all this I loved the 350 and 500 and regret selling them but I needed the cash at the time.
Despite all this I loved the 350 and 500 and regret selling them but I needed the cash at the time.
Joined Apr 2008
7K Posts | 3K+
Out of Nowhere
You had the RD500? - a race tuned one and a tuned LC? Was that Beckett or Stan Stephens? - Everyone I knew had the RG, the yam 500 was a less common sight on the road. I loved LCs, never owned one, had the RD400 which was a vastly inferior bike but had the lovely red and white speed block livery. Rode a great many LCs, the power band was legendary. A group of us also shared a tuned X7 which we used to run down Santa Pod.
Joined Jan 2016
801 Posts | 401+
Uk
Both were Beckett tuned and fitted with swarbrick pipes modified by him, welded cranks were a must as they revved like crazy. The 500 used to out drag my mate's gsxr111, it was wild and definitely the bike Yamaha should have built in the first place. As standard it was a superb handling but quite anaesthetic ride, the tuning certainly livened it up a bit.
I did buy a Stan Stephens 375cc stage 3 tuned kit comprising of barrels, pistons and head for the 350 too. The Terry Beckett tuned 350cc setup was much better and revved much harder and higher, so the Stephens stuff was consigned to the shed. LOL
My 350 was a Roberts rep with yellow paint and black speed blocks, whilst the 500 was a Sarron rep Gauloises Blondes in blue as I wanted something different than the loads of Marlboro reps that were about at the time.
There's nothing like the sound of a V4 stroker screaming through open pipes, anyone who's ridden one will never forget it. LOL
I had an X7 with microns when I was 16/17 but it kept seizing even though plug chops showed they were slightly rich if anything. In hindsight I think maybe a crank seal was leaking slightly when it was hot, and leaning the mixture.
Joined Apr 2008
7K Posts | 3K+
Out of Nowhere
Our X7 had microns too. It eventually seized, the thing used to lunch pistons and score barrels for fun. Before it was sprayed black, for some unfathomable reason, it had a 7Up paint job, which I always thought was quite apt.
I recall when both the RG and the RD came, both road going race reps. They are exhausting to ride though - not just the arguably irrational anxiety of keeping the clutch covered. but the furious flurry of gear changes to desperately keep the needle floating in the tacho’s happy zone. I'll wager if you got hold of either the RG or RD today, once the novelty and the challenge had worn off and the practicalities hit home, you'd be horrified by the wafer-thin powerband, gripless tyres, and rubber band chassis which wouldn't be such fun. we've been spoilt and flattered by the diesels.
Like you, I am utterly astounded by the suggestion by some that today's four strokes are as hard to master. The tyre and chassis technology that was raced in the golden age of two strokes was equally as primitive but exacerbated by massive uncompromising power which was either on or off like a light switch. Either side and you were uncompetitive, too much at once and you were liable to a similar parabolic trajectory as Tim Peake.
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Joined Jan 2016
801 Posts | 401+
Uk
The 500s were awful on the front end, due to the fashion for 16" front wheels and the fact that steering dampers were very much in their infancy in the '80s.
As for tyres I was pretty lucky as a mate owned a tyre shop, and supplied me with race compound tyres that were cast in Michelin a/m 59x moulds. I used to get serious looks from guys wondering how I managed to get such amazing grip from Michelin touring tyres that were normally rock hard. LOL
It was a little known fact outside production racing that these tyres actually existed. How on earth did they expect the LC Pro Am series to be so competitive without them? The stuff we did on LCs could never have been done on the road tyres of the day!
Engine wise both bikes were unbelievably reliable, mostly due to Terry Beckett's meticulous balancing and welding of the cranks, and my exclusive use of Castrol A747 2 stroke oil as per his instructions.
Yes their power bands were sharp and could easily catch you out, but Beckett had done amazing work on my bikes as for revs. Both simply revved and revved, still making good power well off the tacho, which helped enormously when cornering as I could hold onto gears much longer.
If you're looking for a nasty bike though, I've got my old CR500 supermoto race bike in the garage. It's pure evil, I swear it wanted to kill me each time I rode it. LOL
You're right though, only someone who hasn't ridden a tuned stroker would even hint that four bangers are more difficult to ride...
As for tyres I was pretty lucky as a mate owned a tyre shop, and supplied me with race compound tyres that were cast in Michelin a/m 59x moulds. I used to get serious looks from guys wondering how I managed to get such amazing grip from Michelin touring tyres that were normally rock hard. LOL
It was a little known fact outside production racing that these tyres actually existed. How on earth did they expect the LC Pro Am series to be so competitive without them? The stuff we did on LCs could never have been done on the road tyres of the day!
Engine wise both bikes were unbelievably reliable, mostly due to Terry Beckett's meticulous balancing and welding of the cranks, and my exclusive use of Castrol A747 2 stroke oil as per his instructions.
Yes their power bands were sharp and could easily catch you out, but Beckett had done amazing work on my bikes as for revs. Both simply revved and revved, still making good power well off the tacho, which helped enormously when cornering as I could hold onto gears much longer.
If you're looking for a nasty bike though, I've got my old CR500 supermoto race bike in the garage. It's pure evil, I swear it wanted to kill me each time I rode it. LOL
You're right though, only someone who hasn't ridden a tuned stroker would even hint that four bangers are more difficult to ride...
Joined Feb 2007
11K Posts | 2K+
Tennessee
It doesnt even have to be finely race tuned. Someone who had ridden virtually any 2 stroke in their life would have never made such an uninformed statement.
Joined Jan 2016
801 Posts | 401+
Uk
Joined Jan 2016
801 Posts | 401+
Uk
The swarbrick pipes on my 350 were right fatties. They'd deck out and lift the back wheel if you laid it into a bend a bit too hard. I had to fit a longer rear shock to cure it...
Joined Apr 2015
6K Posts | 5K+
NJ
I'd love to ride the RG street bike just to see what it is like. A shame there's none really to be found in the US for any reasonable price.
Joined Apr 2008
7K Posts | 3K+
Out of Nowhere
Joined Jan 2016
801 Posts | 401+
Uk
Abso ...... lutely, not sure about Saturday though. The looney run to Matlock Bath needed some serious grip or you'd be rolling down the Derbyshire peaks. Not recommended at all. LOL
Joined Apr 2008
7K Posts | 3K+
Out of Nowhere
Ha yeah, always a good run - particularly when approached from the Cat and Fiddle. Haven't been there for years. Last time I did in fact the police were conducted 'random' checks on exhausts, number plates and visors.
