The Yamaha RD350 is a fondly remembered motorcycle. Much has been talked about the insane two-stroke motor which was considered too fast for its time and its own brakes. The trend these days is resuscitating old legends, and it works. Want proof? The Jawa is sold out for months! The RE twins have opened a new chapter for motorcyclists in the country and incite serious want. Naturally then, a lot of minds, including ours, have been at work dreaming about a reborn, modern-day Yamaha RD350 with open eyes.
If Yamaha does give it some CPR, there’s no way that it will come back to life bellowing a two-stroke roar and fumes from its exhaust pipes. But someone has an idea. The folks at Autologue design have rendered a modern take on the RD. Their imagination strips the R3 sportbike down and adds a retro, silver-finished 90s charm to its mechanicals. And you’ve got to love what the thing looks like. So what if it’s virtual!
There are a lot of them out there who still swear by their RD350s and if you’re after one, expect to at least spend a new Duke 390’s worth on a decently maintained example. Besides, it isn’t a modern machine and time has to be spent, both in person and at the garage to keep it running. But when it does run, it sprints, with a howl that turns the clock back to a time when blue smoke ruled.
And if you happen to be in the command of one where the brakes haven’t been upgraded by some modern kit, you could suffer from a short burst of diarrhoea. All that said, we do wish Yamaha dishes out some modern-retro stuff which revives one of their legends. Their new boss heading operations in India wants to focus on premium, fun motorcycles and does like the idea of a modern take on the RX-100. Read about it, here!