Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

00 C') IClockwise from above) The engine makes good power when six-speed box is busy. The LC is e good looking motorcycle. The Autolube oil tank sits in front of the radilltor reservoir tank on the right side. The battery and fuse box is behind the left side cover. A water pump driven off the awdt Ives on the right side of the engine end edeqU8t8ly clrcullltBs the cooI8nt. Finally. the 32mm diameter of the fork legs gives you second thought, especially if you're used to seeing the massive 40 + rom tubes on motOCJ'Ol!lse1"S_ While we didn't run into any problems, though, someone who really pushes the RD to the limits might find that the forks flex. (The fork diameter on the RD400F was 35mm.) . Braking is first rate. With dual discs doing duty up front, it could be nothing else. No matter how fast the bike is speeding along, two fingers are all that are ever needed to quiclc.ly slow things down. The discs offer very good feel and never faded. They make the drum brake in bad almost a decorative afterthought because it's seldom needed. Though we only rode in rain a shon time, the brakes didn't seem to be greatly affected by it. The hean of the bike, the main reason that RD freaks get glassy-eyed and drool uncontrollably when someone mentions "LC," is the liquid-cooled engine. Besides looking like a TZ power unit, it bolsters the racer in your mind's eye by running similarly. When the tach needle indicates anything below 6000 rpm, the motor tends to shake in its rubber mounts, but it will pull cleanly if not quiclc.ly. There is no Power Valve system, but with the smallish carbs and reed valves plus a balance tube running between the two intake tracts, no blubbering or loading up occurs. Images in the mirrors remain burred at all rpm's, though. Once past six, the engine shrieks (quietly, the expansion chamber-styled pipes are surprisingly silent) rapidly to redline at 9500 rpm. Power falls off just after 9000, but the close-ratio sixspeed tranny generally provides the right gear for almost any situation. First gear is tall and necessitates clutch slipping to get underway, though. Under normal running, the tetnperature gauge runs in the middle, indio cating about 70' C. When run hard, it creeps up a bit more to around 85 or 90'. Its red zone is at 110', and we ran a 50/50 mix of anti· freeze and water. Thanks to the water-cooling - with resultant tighter internal engine tolerances and no cooling fins - engine noise is minimal. At no time did any noticeable power loss occur. In addition to being consistent, the engine's power output is plentiful. Sessions of spirited riding leave you imagining yourself to be a young Kenny Robens aboard his 350cc twin when he was learning the trade from Kel Carruthers. As long as it's kept on the pipe, 4005 are easy to stay with. The RD even holds its own with 5505 out of corners, but they will blow by on a long straight. Top speed is somewhere between 110 and 115 mph. Of course, the price of this performance is economy, and the RD averaged a guestimated 40-45 mpg overall. It's a shame that the two·stroke street bike has gone the way of 70 mph speed limits and 50¢ a gallon gasoline because the RD350H does have a potential market here, if the number of those eager and curious ,souls who stopped us to ask about it is any indication. While it is possible to bring the bike into EPA compliance privately. according to the December 1980 issue of Cycle Guide, doing so simply to be able to run back and fonh to work would be a shameful waste of the bike's true nature. The RD belongs on fast canyon runs or the race track. True, technologically, it's not the latest, but that's beside the point; the exhilaration felt when putting the RD350H through its paces reaffirms why you staned riding in the first place - fun. Welcome to our cult. • Specifications Suggested Ust PrIce N/A Engine Type Two-stroke twin. reed-valved. water-cooled Bore and Stroke 64 x 54mm Displacement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 347cc Compression Ratio 6.2:1 Carburetion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Two VM26 Mikuni Lubrication System ,,,,, , Yemaha Autolube Ignition System , , • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COl Generator System AC magneto Bettery Capecity 12V. 5.5AH Transmission Gearbox Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Constant mesh six-speed Clutch Wet multi-disc type Frame Type , Tubular. doubl.cradle Caster :D-10' Trail ...........................•................... 102mm 14_02'" Front Suspension Telescopic fork. coil springs. 011 damper Travel ........•................................ 14OmmI5.51") Reer Suspension. Yamaha Monocross. coil spring. nitrogen oil damper Travel 110mm 14.33") Front TIre 3.00 x 18-4PRYokohama Y-98& Reer TIre 3.50 x 18-4PR Yokohama Y-987 Dimensions Overall Length 2080mm 181.9") Overall Width 750mm 129.5") Overall Height 1090mm 142.9'" Wheelbase 1366mm 153.7'" Minimum Road Clearance 166mm 16.5") Net Weight 143kg 1315 lbe.! Fuel Tank Capacity 16.0113.52 IMP gal.' Reserve. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . .. . . . .. . .. . . .. . . . . . .. 1.9111.67 IMP qt.) Oil Tank Capecity; 1.6' 11.41 IMP qt.) Transmission Oil Capecity 1.51 11.32 IMP qt.)' Cooling System Capacity 1.81 11.58 IMP qt.) Reservoir Tank Capacity 200cc 10.131MP qt.) 29

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