Hi All,
New member here. Recently acquired an original 1971 Yamaha R5 that I plan to build. Bike has a tad over 10,000 miles and is in running condition. Photos below make it look to be a little better condition than it actually is. The closer you look the more corrosion and misc dents you can find. I've wanted an RD350 for a long time and when I saw this pop up on Marketplace I knew I had to go and get it. Never knew about the R5 until I saw this bike and started to do research. Story I got from the owner is that this bike was purchased new and ran for 3 years by the original owner. I still have the original license plate with 71, 72, and 73 registration tags. It was then put in the original owners basement for likely 40 years. It was then purchased as part of an estate sale (with the house). That second owner sold it to the owner I purchased it from. So I'm the 4th owner.
Sorry to any of the purest here, but this bike wasn't in good enough condition for me nor does a stock RD/R5 speak to me, so I'll be slowly turning this into a custom build.
My Plans:
Suspension Swap (modern setup)
Swingarm Swap
Disc Brake Conversion
17" wheels - hoping for 150 in the rear
Electron Ignition
Engine Refresh w/mild porting
Pipes
Lectron Carbs
Here is a photo of when I first picked it up.
New member here. Recently acquired an original 1971 Yamaha R5 that I plan to build. Bike has a tad over 10,000 miles and is in running condition. Photos below make it look to be a little better condition than it actually is. The closer you look the more corrosion and misc dents you can find. I've wanted an RD350 for a long time and when I saw this pop up on Marketplace I knew I had to go and get it. Never knew about the R5 until I saw this bike and started to do research. Story I got from the owner is that this bike was purchased new and ran for 3 years by the original owner. I still have the original license plate with 71, 72, and 73 registration tags. It was then put in the original owners basement for likely 40 years. It was then purchased as part of an estate sale (with the house). That second owner sold it to the owner I purchased it from. So I'm the 4th owner.
Sorry to any of the purest here, but this bike wasn't in good enough condition for me nor does a stock RD/R5 speak to me, so I'll be slowly turning this into a custom build.
My Plans:
Suspension Swap (modern setup)
Swingarm Swap
Disc Brake Conversion
17" wheels - hoping for 150 in the rear
Electron Ignition
Engine Refresh w/mild porting
Pipes
Lectron Carbs
Here is a photo of when I first picked it up.