More bike porn - 1979 Yamaha RD400 Daytona Special

[AZjeff]

Same owner as the Elsinore. He had one of these BITD, recently bought this one on Bring-A-Trailer. Says it's highly modified, fast and LOUD. He bought it, had his fun now he's going to sell it. I'd say he has an understanding wife.

 

[Astro14]

Awesome!

 

[CarDoc66]

My brother had a 1971 RD350, that thing was a screamer.

 

[UncleDave]

looks like toomys and a head shroud - awesome.
Thats a lot of fun right there.

 

[Kruse]

I was in Phoenix last fall to visit my daughter and she lives in a great area close to some outdoor bars. My wife, daughter and I walked to an outdoor bar where a bunch of bikers rode in and I took some photos. I had a bike decades ago, but I don't any more, so these grabbed my attention. I know nothing about these bikes except they are somewhat old and rare, so perhaps a few experts here could tell me anything you know about them. OP, it is not my wish to take attention away from your initial post, I just want to add to it.

 

[CarDoc66]

The RD was what made me buy my R6. I love high revving lightweight motorcycles and I love Yamaha.
My R6, 599cc, 120bhp, 15,500rpm redline, 375 pounds dry.

 

[KrisZ]

Wow, the guy sure went on a shopping spree.
I would keep this one though, will be a better investment than the dirt bike IMO. I presume it was one of the reasons he bought such pristine examples.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Nice. Back in the late seventies I was looking for a RD350 but couldn’t find a used one so I settled on a Suzuki T350 much like the one in this photo. They both made 39 HP at 7500 rpm.

 

[vwmaniaman]

I too love the old 2 strokes. Went to a Motorcycle show in Holland and they had some like new Suzuki Water Buffalos (750 3 cylinder road bike water cooled). They were beautiful and pricing was around $2800. Wished I had one of those. You would never believe how many Harleys were there.

 

[Snagglefoot]

That tank design on the 79 RD400 was also used on the 82 650 Seca.

 

[shortyb]

Lovely bike, reminds me of mine. A 84 RZ350 KR edition colored one. Stripped the cats off and did the Power Valve mod. Slapped on some wider wheels/tires and it would embarrass the daylights out of plenty of big bores. Loved that thing.

 

[CanAmAndMore]

I'm jealous!

What a beautiful bike.

 

[paulo57509]

My best friend has a '79 Daytona Special that's been sitting in his mother's garage for +30 years. Bone stock with some NOS parts. I've been trying to get him to sell it to me since it was parked. His parked RZ350 is another option.

He still rides his RG500 Gamma but I was priced out of that market years ago.