1979 Yamaha RD400F - CL - So Cal

[SoCal250]

(Not mine)
Two nutty sellers. Neither has a photo of the bike they want to sell

79 YAMAHA RD 400 DAYTONA SPECIAL RARE BIKE. ONE OUT OF 5000 EVER MADE - $9,500 (SFV)
79 YAMAHA RD400 DAYTONA SPECIAL
ONE RARE BIKE FOR SALE.
YOU MIGHT NOT EVER FIND IT FOR SO LOW AGAIN.
CLEAN PINK SLIP IN MY NAME AND IN HAND.
REGISTERED FOR ANOTHER YEAR FROM NOW.
ITS A SURVIVOR
ALL ELECTRICAL WORKS GREAT.
CARBS HAVE BEEN CLEANED.
ONLY 17K ORIGINAL MILES.
ONLY THING IS ITS IN GREEN COLOR SCHEME.
VIN NUMBER STARTS WITH CVO SO ITS A REAL DAYTONA SPECIAL.
SPOKE RIMS.
MANY NEW PARTS ON IT.
LIKE NEW BATTERY AND MUCH MORE.
COME CHECK IT OUT.

79 Daytona special - $11,500 (La county)
yamaha rd400 79
It has original heads
Daytona special.
Come see it
Clean title in hand.
Very rare and hard to find.
19K miles

[RDFL]

I wonder what they would be asking if had RZ500.

[m in sc]

has anyone verified the 5k production amount? i though that was debunked.

[SoCal250]

has anyone verified the 5k production amount? i though that was debunked.

For years people have been stating that "only 5000 were made" or "only 5100 built". According to my old Yamaha documentation neither of those figures is correct. Based on Yamaha serial number records its 4190. And the US '78 E-model was actually lower production than the US Daytona by over 1000 units, making it even more rare

I like how the one ad states "VIN NUMBER STARTS WITH CVO SO ITS A REAL DAYTONA SPECIAL." 
Ehhh, no. It should start with 2V0. At least he got 1 of 3 characters correct.

[m in sc]

ive seen way more daytonas that 78s, thats for sure.

[Aloha808]

I have always heard the same-5,000 were made.  As Socal250 mentioned- 4,190 according to Yamaha serial number records.

Do the last four digits of a bikes vin # directly match the bikes serial number? 

Because two of my Daytona's have vin #'s over 4200.  Which would mean there were over 4,190 Daytonas made.


I did not realize the low numbers of 78's made.  I feel fortunate to have one of them too. 

Getting back to the cl post.  I find it extremely odd that there are no pictures.   That is a red flag to me.

[SoCal250]

Do the last four digits of a bikes vin # directly match the bikes serial number? 

Because two of my Daytona's have vin #'s over 4200.  Which would mean there were over 4,190 Daytonas made.

Yes, serial # = VIN.
The first 100 are reserved for pre-production and in-house Yamaha use, so the first customer model was 2V0-000101. Do you have any that are higher than 004290?  I've never seen one but always been curious, because sometimes Yamaha did make errors in their documentation back in the day.  Sounds like yours are from the end of the run.

Getting back to the cl post.  I find it extremely odd that there are no pictures.   That is a red flag to me.

A few days ago there was another local Daytona on CL without a photo and I think that guy was asking over $12K. He said he would sell the DG heads for $950 separately. Didn't save that ad though and it's gone. It could be the same as the one for 11.5K, just without the DG heads.

[Aloha808]

I not sure how to copy the above from socal250.

Anyway, both bikes vins are under 4290.  They are actually within 6 of each other.  Sibling bikes.


Thanks for the info