[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.

 

[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.

 

[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.