[heironymous josh]

I am currently in the market for my first street bike. I grew up building and racing dirtbikes but never made the jump from dirt to pavement. I have a general idea of what I want - classic, low, hi-performance, and cheap. From what I've read, I like the cb750 four's. They have a great factory look and seem to have a lot of potential asthetically and by way of performance as well. The problem is, living in Colorado, Classic bikes can be hard to come by and I've yet to come by a cb750 at all. What other models might be a good option in the 450-750cc range, 70's - 80's that offer up the same potential as the cb750? There is a guy selling a yamaha 400 special, but I don't know much about that bike, either. Thanks guys!

Heiro

 

[Quicklimegirl]

If you want cheap, simple and high performance, forget the Yamaha 400 "Special", it is a dog..slow & unexciting. Instead you might look for a Yamaha RD400 (2 stroke). Easier to rebuild, lots of parts bikes and parts around, and a lot more bang for your buck. I'm kind of biased toward RDs but they really are a blast, much less complicated than old 4 strokes. The upside, though, of your affinity to Honda CB750's is there appears to be a lot of folks on this site into them.

 

[joe c]

cb550, not as fast, but low and the same look. plus some hop up stuff. can be had for alot less $$ too. how about a gs750? ive kind always like them. had a buddies for a summer and it was a pretty good bike.

jc

 

[joe c]

or, how about an xl650, or tt500. a dual purpose. you know, you accuntuate your dirtbike skills.

just a thought, but then, you might be too tempted to actually ride one offroad.

jc

 

[ROSKO]

VINTAGE SUPERMOTO!!!!

BORN TO LURK, FORCED TO WORK.
www.NYCvinMoto.com
www.VinMoto.org

 

[LiLBull]

there are plenty of cycles in colorado its just they are kept in garages and you just dont see them.Id look in local papers and craigs list and ebay you may fine something close to you.But being dirt bike or street bike its the same .Its like playing acoustic guitar or electric guitar they require the same skills,have basically the same make up and technics.Thinking about it it would be great to jump over traffic ,like moto xers do

Im so far behind ,that I think Im in first.

 

[joe c]

motocross is waaay different. the riding is just totally different. elbows up, standing on the pegs. more rear brake. but its as much fun.

jc

 

[heironymous josh]

Thanks everyone, that's exactly the type of input I was looking for. Quicklimegirl, I like the idea of a two-stroke. I raced yz's for years and have built up many a two-stroker. The thing is, I was just never exposed to the street/sport bike world so I don't know what models to look for. Now that I have a little more ammunition, I'm going to hit up craigslist right this second. I'll keep you guys posted on what I buy. Also, I've actually got a solid chunk of scratch coming by way of a student loan. As it stands, I have just short of $2k for a bike. I would rather find a beat up old stocker, because I can do most of the work myself. I'm guessing the powerplant in the RD400 isn't much different than the YZ125 and 250's I'm accustomed to. BTW, Quicklimegirl, do the RD's foul out as often as the smaller yamy 2-strokes? I had a 79 enduro 100 that fouled out all the effing time. I used to have to carry extra sparks in a fanny pack so I wouldn't get stranded. Don't effing laugh, I was like 10. Fanny packs were allowed then.

heiro

 

[heironymous josh]

jc,

I live in Downtown Denver, on Capitol hill. The neighborhood sits atop a hill about 200 feet higher than the rest of the city and occupies 3 square miles or so. If you head east toward the capital, there's about ten blocks that have wicked hills, seriously like 20% grade. At the top of 11th, the old street has caved a bit, creating a nice little burm. I can't say that I won't hit that hill in fourth gear (mx's don't equate mph, just gears and rpm's). And I can't say that I won't get s-loads of air and love every minute of it. Dual-purpose would be ideal for said hypothetical situation. Thanks for the input, sir.

Heiro

 

[Quicklimegirl]

quote:
Quicklimegirl, I like the idea of a two-stroke. I raced yz's for years and have built up many a two-stroker. The thing is, I was just never exposed to the street/sport bike world so I don't know what models to look for. Now that I have a little more ammunition, I'm going to hit up craigslist right this second. I'm guessing the powerplant in the RD400 isn't much different than the YZ125 and 250's I'm accustomed to. BTW, Quicklimegirl, do the RD's foul out as often as the smaller yamy 2-strokes?
heiro

If your bike is jetted properly (which takes a little time) and the oil pump, if the injector is still hooked up, is adjusted correctly, you should NOT foul plugs frequently as long as you keep the bike into the powerband. Maybe when you were 10, you were riding around, shifting @ 4k rpm or something. Sweet spot on a typical stock RD is between about 5500-8000rpm.

You should be able to find a decent, possibly running RD350 or RD400 somewhere between 500-1000, and a good running one for $1-1500k. Pristine running ones are often going for more than $2k now, & the much more rare RD400F '79 Daytona Specials, more.

I still have lots of spares & can probably help you out a bit somewhere down the road if you go that route. I love to see more of 'em on the road!

Good luck with whatever bike you go with.

 

[heironymous josh]

Quicklime, what do you know about r5's? I found this bike close to me. Tell me what you think.

<a href="http://denver.craigslist.org/mcy/269880740.html">72 Yamaha R5</a>

 

[heironymous josh]

i guess html doesn't work in here. The link:

http://denver.craigslist.org/mcy/269880740.html

 

[Quicklimegirl]

Josh, I see that ad is gone, but here's the lowdown between R5's and RDs. Often people not in the know will mistake the two as the same because they look so close.

The main differences between the R5 and RD350's are as follows:

Brakes: Front disc on RD, drum both ends on R5
Tranny: 5-speed on R5, 6-speed on RD
Intake/Engine: R5 = Piston port with no reed valve intake;
RD = 7 transfer port cylinders, with reed valve intake

Carbs: Don't have everything memorized, but I do know the cutaway on the slide is different: one is 2.5, the other 2.0. I should look in my manual(s) but too lazy right now!
The R5 also has a steering dampener of sorts at the triple clamp.
My BF's first bike was a '72 R5. He's had many RDs since then, and says the piston port R5 engine is even more peaky than an RD.

The good news, is the engine case/internals are fully interchangable.
That is, you can take a 6-speed tranny and drop it right in an R5 case. You can also leave the tranny alone, a slap an RD motor (if you also have the reed cages) onto an R5 bottom end. I don't know if the fork and stem dimensions are the same so as to put a disk front wheel on an R5 but it's probably a good bet you can do so.

If anyone else out there knows of other differences I haven't thought of, feel free to let him know.