1974 Yamaha RD200
The RD200 is
a very rare beast these days, I've been after a good one for a number of years
and almost gave up hope until this one finally turned up. They're rare, probably
because the fizzie brigade and the likes would have thrashed & trashed
them straight from the showroom floor.
The RD200 was originally known as the CS3, a 180cc parallel two stroke twin
with modern accoutrements such as Autolube & electric starter. In 1972
the engine grew to 195cc the model name changed to the CS5E, it was sold with
garish purple and white paintwork covering a new stylish bodywork. By 1974
the bike had another paint job (gold), various minor modifications but most
importantly the addition of reed valves to the engine, one for each cylinder.
The bike was now known as the RD200, the RD (short for race developed) tag
was introduced for Yamaha's entire range of sportier two stroke models. The
reed valves improved the low-end engine response, Yamaha called this technical
advance Torque Induction.
This bike shown here is a real beauty, completely original and totally unmolested.
The speedo reads a touch under 4,000 miles and if you could hear the crisp
engine burble away you'd not dispute it. The bike starts on the button or
via a quick prod of the kicker first time every time no matter how long its
been left, which is not long to be honest. It rides as well as the day it
left the factory with a surprisingly strong pull from very low revs, in fact
the motor seems to have more low down grunt than my GT750, so for a change
the hype about Torque Induction could well be true, those reed valve thingies
actually do work. The five speed box is a delight, no false neutrals or missed
gears even with ones left foot tapping frantically to keep the bike on the
boil not that you'd need to as the engine has power throughout the rev range,
the gears seem to be perfectly spaced for the engine characteristics. Apparently
for the European market the RD had one more tooth on the rear sprocket, which
gave even more of a zip and added to the wheelie factor at the expense of
fuel economy and top speed. In its present form it can potter around town
all day without the need to exceed 5000rpm, even using the bike to this sane
level of usage trying to keep up with the London traffic is never a problem,
once the engine exceeds this threshold all hell brakes loose, well almost,
once the 5000rpm mark has past the bike really takes off, as if a turbo charger
suddenly cuts in, the bike just revs all the way up and over 8000rpm where
almost as instantly the power disappears just before the 9000 red line is
met, to be honest the bike feels livelier than many 250's I could mention,
it really is a very nippy bike. I remember back in the 70's one of my buddies
riding behind me on one, he was never that far behind me no matter how much
stick I gave the Honda 400/4. Even today this bike would be considered to
be something a little special, its a real shame we'll never see the likes
of these again and a shame that the two stroke has been killed off. Handling
is I bit on the bouncy side, the rear shocks probably had their day 30 years
ago but for the sake of originality they'll stay on the bike for the moment
and hopefully I'll find a specialist who'll be able to rebuild them. The brakes
are excellent especially the front TLS unit, none of that lag in the wet and
I've yet to notice any fading if used constantly. Fuel consumption can be
less than 50mpg - mind you that's if it's thrashed, but hey these Japanese
sporty two strokes were never sold for their economy.
At the moment it's the favourite bike in my modest collection, my first choice
for zipping down the road or going for a 40 mile run to Boxhill and back,
and about as far as I'd go as the seat seems to be as hard as nails and its
not long when the old arse starts to complain, a tourer this bike is not.
As can be viewed in the photos below its in superb condition however there
are a few not so good bits. The right hand exhaust, which seems to have been
re-plated sometime in the past has blistered and needs to be re-chromed again
or replaced. The front mudguard has a few dinks in and both the wheels are
pitted and will need a rebuild using new rims & spokes. I'm not in a hurry
to do this so I'll enjoy the bike this summer and leave the work for the winter.
If anyone out there has the mentioned parts I require please Email Me Here
If anyone out there has the mentioned parts I require please Email Me Here
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