Great web site. Awesome bike. In fact your R5 inspired me to refurbish an R5 of my very own. I would like to know where you got the turn signals for your R5 so I can relocate mine. Did you farm out most of the paint work? How much $$$ did you put into your R5?
73 RD 350 run good I have good title in hand with my name.11k miles after market exhaust and air cleaners new battery.side cover cracked $1500 obo SOON GOING TO EBAY
The film chronicles several months in Meatball's life as he runs his old BSA in vintage motocross races, embraces the legacy of Steve McQueen on his vintage Triumph Cub desert sled with the No Gooders motorcycle club, flies down the Willow Springs raceway on his Norstar, and uses all his skill to rebuild an old 650 Triumph Bonneville motor into a blazing road-ready screamer ... all while juggling his responsibilities to his family and his rock band Smiling Face Down.
From Scott Di Lalla and Zack Coffman, directors of the award-winning custom motorcycle documentary Choppertown comes their second intimate inside look at biker culture, Brittown: a British motorcycle documentary film.
The first place on the internet that will try to pull together a vast ocean of motorcycle information into one place for everyone to find and use completely free of charge or restrictions.
The site looks very empty until you log in. Once logged in you will gain access to everything. This is to help prevent spammers and other bots from wrecking the site.
So please enjoy yourself. Please strongly consider uploading any documents you may have as this is the only way we can grow. Donations are always more than welcome to help cover bandwidth costs.
I have been using your site for months now as I work on restoring my 72 R5C. I was kindly sent these files though from a fellow two stroker I met though Craigslist. He insisted that since this info is so hard to find that I should share it in any way possible. So I am sending it to you for if you want it on your site. I am not sure of the legality of this though. This info is very old and I doubt any publisher will say anything, but you never know. These files are quite large though and will take a while for people on dial-up. They have all been worth their weight in gold to get my R5C on the way to running again. Maybe in return if anyone knows of a killer deal on a pair of carbs for my bike they can drop me a line?
Yamaha YR5 350cc 2-stroke twin also sometimes designated the R5
This is an original UK bike, it has some history to suggest that it was raced in the early 70s and then converted to road use. It has only had 3 owners. The 2nd owner died in 1980 after which his widow stored the bike until it was sold to a family friend in 1999, since then it has stood almost unused for 7 years until I bought it last year.
I recommisioned the bike from the ground up
New battery
Full service,
Mot,
Hagon rear Shocks
New screen & Nosecone,
Reground Fork Stanchions and seals
The frame has been powder coated
and many parts chromed.
It has been a great bike to ride and has always drawn crowds at places like Matlock Bath. But unfortunately I suffered a seized the engine when the right hand 2 stroke oil pipe came loose.
After searching all year I have managed to find some original NOS pistons, rings& gaskets from America and Japan and have had it rebored by PJ engineering (motorcycle engineering specialists of Wolverhampton).
So far it has been rebuilt and started, that’s it. It sounds ok and has not currently done any miles.
I realised this bike is too rare to use regularly. So I have bought myself an Aprilia 250 because I enjoyed the two stoke so much
This bike deserves a collector, or Yamaha Dealer as a show piece, it would be great to parade or show.
The bike is in a Phil Read replica colour scheme, It has original Mead speed sports fairing, race tank & seat. The wheels have been upgraded at some point to RD400 alloys.
The exhausts are 1970’s originals and are stamped into the metal “Codnor Light Fabrications” this is a Derbyshire company that we now know as Micron.
It is fitted with Piranha Electronic ignition and starts first or second kick every time.
Front brake is disc with braded hoses using a standard RD350 front calliper & disc, so parts are no problem
I have some correspondence that the last owner past on to me from Padgett’s of Batley, plus Classic Bike, Yamaha, and Len Manchester motorcycles. This seems to support the case that the bike was prepped for racing, as many where from new and then put on the road by the 2nd owner. This seems correct as the fairing tank seat exhausts etc are all period early 1970,s but the rear light is from an RD400 which was not made until 5 years into the 70,s
Also included are the original Yamaha workshop manual and several magazine articles from magazines of the time in the early seventies
This is probably the only surviving example of a Yamaha proddy racer put on the road in the uk. Grab a real pierce of nostalgia.
I am selling as I have 5 bikes and my daughter is about to turn 16. I need the space for her 1st bike!!!!
The bike is MOT,ed and Taxed to October. The tax is free as it is tax exempt! The bike is in immaculate condition and is ready to show
Please ring for extra photos and spec.
Martin 07988800194
I have been looking for a nice two stroke for some time now. Something that was relatively cheap, but ran. I wasn’t looking for show quality or anything just something to get around DC on and tinker with. I came across this ’71 R5 owned by an older gentleman for over 30 years. Cosmetically it has seen some wear but the engine runs great and sounds great too. I sent along some pictures. This is exactly how I bought the bike. How about that sissy bar, amazing. Fortunately in about ten minutes the sissy and highway bar come right off. Short term I am going to put some clubman bars and some rearsets. Then slowly when the money comes in will start cleaning up the parts. It was a wedding present for myself. Great website about the only place I found good useful information on the bike.
When: 2007-07-20 through 2007-07-22, 8a.m. - 3p.m.
Location: Auburn County Fairgrounds, 1273 High Street
Cost: No charge for spectators
Largest exclusively classic Japanese motorcycle swap and show in the country, held in the beautiful Sierra Foothills at the Auburn Gold Country Fairgrounds! ONLY JAPANESE MOTORCYCLES. This is a must participate event! Hundreds of bikes, parts and more! Bring your bike to show and parts to sell! Show on Sunday only - Open to all! - Shaded area for swap meet - Shaded stage for show bikes! (with seating) - Food with drinks on premises - Camping overnight 10 dollars per car – No Fires - RV Overnight with hookup 20 dollars - AMA Speedway Races Friday night! - Swap 35 dollars per swapper / space - For Sale - Bike Corral 10 dollars - 15 dollars to show one, 20 dollars for two or more bikes - Peoples Choice Awards
Lawrence:
Two months ago my mother had to move to an assisted living home, so we had to clean out the old homestead. I came across my old Yamaha R5B I parked in her summer kitchen (shed) back in 1979. Wow, what a mess! I was going to roll it into the dumpster we rented but my brother told me I should try to get a few bucks for it on ebay. When I checked the prices these old bikes were bringing on ebay I just about fell off my chair! I decided to try to clean the bike up in hopes of upping the value of the old girl.
Needless to say, when I saw the shine come back on those fenders and the mandarin orange paint come back to life, it took me back to my college days when I used to jam a few bucks in my pocket and disappear on my R5 for days on end. That old sense of freedom I had back when times were much simpler struck me! All I wanted to do was fire up my old R5, listen to her throaty two-stroke rumble, smell the blue smoke coming out of her exhaust and ride into the sunset! I remembered riding with a gang of my friends back in the 70's, and just what a performer my bike was. They all had bigger bikes with far more cc's, but my R5 just blew them all away.
In doing research on the bikes I came across your website, which I must tell you is a real breath of fresh air. It shows the genuine appreciation you have for the Yamaha R5's and it has really motivated me to get my bike back on the road. Needles to say, I'm about half way through my restoration project. I'd like to share some pictures when I get a chance.
Thanks for the site. It's a real pleasure and something I look forward to seeing when each update comes to the net!
Dave Hess
Selinsgrove, PA
Hi Lawrence,
I just came across your R5 website. Very nice! I just took posession of my 1st R5 this weekend. It's an orange 1972 R5C that is need of some restoration. I have restored 4-stroke British bikes in the past (I'm currently riding a 1978 Triumph) but this is my 1st 2-stroke machine. Are there any listservs, discussion boards, etc. that focus on the R5 or Japanese 2-strokes in general?
I purchased the bike in 2006 and it was in the condition shown [in top photo]. It was in running condition although all of the fibreglass was crazed.
The bike was originally sold by Granby Yamaha in 1970 and set up with the full sports fairing from new... The bike has only had 2 previous owners the first for 2 years and the 2nd from 1972 to 1980 when I an told he unfortunately died of cancer, the bike was then looked after by a friend who started it regularly and rode very occasionally.
On the day I collected the bike it started with no problems and I took it into my van to my local dealers where it passed its MOT test . So I arrived home with a fully working motorcycle after it had been mostly out of use for 20 years!
The 2nd time out the oil pipe came loose and it seized on one side. After some fantastic help from Governors Bridge Motorcycles in Atherstone UK (01827 712906) who had a brand new pair of 1st oversize Dykes type pistons in stock I decided to completely restore the bike.
The forks where slightly pitted so I sent them for rechroming and machining to Philpot's in Luton who did a great and speedy job, the barrels where rebored by Paul Jones at PJ Motorcycle engineers in Wolverhampton UK. I have used Paul for years and he is without doubt the UK's best 2-stroke specialist.
Finally I repaired all of the tank, seat & fairing myself. The fibreglass was completely rubbed back through the gel coat, then had several lays of finish re-applied to deal with the crazing. Mark Burgess at Jawell paints in Wolverhampton who I use regularly helped with advice, and the final finish was 1 coat etch primer, 1 coat high built acrylic primer, 2 coats of 2 pack white gloss which was hand matched by Mark to a sample of the original fibreglass colour, and the stripe is in 2 pack Rosso Corsa. The paint scheme has been based on Phils Read's 1969 factory bike.
i have for sale a 1971 yamaha rd 350 is is an unfinished project but all the parts are included with the sale of the bike. it has after market exhaust system and clip on's.The engine runs very sweet it has a clean title.
I thought you might like these pics of my "barn find", a 72 r5c. My buddy and I bought this, 2 GT185 Suzukis and a Honda CB450 for only $400. They were all mostly complete and extra dirty, but otherwise in decent shape. I only have about $200 and some blood sweat and tears into it so far and it runs great after some carb cleaning/tuning, custom baffles, new ignition switch, bars, grips, levers and some straightening of some tweaked bits. Check out the tank emblems I made on the CNC at work out of stainless steel (about 8hrs. of cut time), I couldn't bring myself to pay what they want for reproductions. Thanks for the website, it's very informative.
Comment of [yusuke]
Is concerning DX but…
It is no [chi] [ya] [tsu] [te] TD3, (laughing)
Still, as for the place where the hand is inserted there is Sawayama, but
Slowly spending time, we would like to keep finishing.
Engine
The core of the crank it puts out.
Around front
For SR. It is heavy, being long, there is no [iitoko] is.
Chamber
○ [ni] make.
The front owner attached with being defeated, but
You do not understand whether according to rumor, with with setting [ru] whether it has not come out.
The extension above is bad, is.
Original back step
The step position of TD3 was made in reference, but this position is a certain meaning training, (laughing)
Meter
The electric rammer of the manufacturer, pivot.
With the stepping motor, being accurate, it does the movement where the response is good.
Electric apparatus
In addition to there is no light/write case, because you have supplied the battery in the seat cowl
It recreated the harness entirely.
