The RD350 gave Indians an idea of what a performance bike could really be like. It was the start of the sportbike culture that would come after.

Once I met a guy that said his RD350 saved his life. He said he sold it to pay for emergency surgery. He bought it back from the same person years later!

In terms of fun factor, the RD350 is still quite good. New bikes are more efficient and reliable, sure, but they don’t have that two stroke character.

No way. Street use for two-strokes is dead. Maybe it would make sense as a track only bike but it wouldn’t be the same as the original RD350.

It’s a bit dramatic to call it a widow maker. For their time it was fast, but so were a lot of bikes. The rider’s skill and judgment is all it’s about.

Yamaha RD350 is undoubtedly the best bike of its time. It would never make an entry into the Indian market again as two-stroke bikes are not legal anymore. They cannot be sold through showrooms but it is possible to buy the same from an owner who has kept it with himself from last few decades. The motorcycle comes in two different configurations for the same 347 cc engine. The India spec produces 30.5 BHP and 32.3 Nm of torque. The Japan spec was good for 39 BHP and 37.2 Nm of torque. The first one came with a 180 mm front drum brake while the second had 267 mm disc brake. Know more about RD350 here - https://autos.maxabout.com/bikes/yamaha/rd/rd350

The Yamaha RD350 was one of its type motorcycle of its time. It came with 346 cc, 2-stroke, twin-cylinder engine that also has torque induction with twin carburetor. The bike came with 6-speed transmission and produced 39 BHP @ 7500 rpm and 37.2 NM @ 7000 rpm. It also has a lesser powered version for India with 30.5 BHP and 32.3 NM of torque. The bike was more like a land rocket as it reached 0-100 kmph in 7 seconds and came with a top speed of 170 kmph. It had a disc brake in the international version whereas the Indian version was without a disc brake. It came with a 16 liter fuel tank and a 800 mm seat height.

All You Need to Know about the Legendary Yamaha RD350

The price of Yamaha RD350 was really INR 30,000 at that time, which was quiet high for that time. The bike on the website has the image of the Japanese version of RD350 whereas the Indian version was identical to it, except the disc brake being provided into it. The bike in India produced around 30.5 BHP and 32.3 NM of torque. It was the best performer of its time and was so fast that people were scared to ride it on high speeds. Riding a bike with no disc brake on Indian roads of that time could have been really a difficult task. The bike has a lot of chrome for its parts and is still remembered for its out of the world performance. The bike you are getting confused with is the SR400, which costs more than INR 3 lac and is not available currently in India.