An Audience With The Yamaha RD 250

[@paulcowell7588]

Its not only that you enjoyed the bike..you enjoyed the time period just as much...as we all did..as teenager's in the 70s we were lucy beyond belief..and we took it all for granted..

[@TAYM]

Absolutely 😁😂😂😂 fantastic times and we didn’t know it 😁 thanks Paul 😁

[@zedcharlie]

I was very into brit bikes when I was 17. Mate has a t140 bonneville and he swapped it for an rd400. I was not happy. Until he charged up the road on it. That crisp exhaust! Opened my eyes . He said it was best bike he ever owned. 👍

[@TAYM]

They were so refreshing and that crackle from the pipes , marvellous 😊

[@CornishMotorcycleDiaries]

This is THE bike of the '70s, Spannies, Hagons, front wheel off the ground, racing your mates from traffic light to traffic light. Simply marvellous. ps it was six speed as I recall.

[@TAYM]

Marvellous, it definitely was 😊 thank you 😊 Have a great New Year

[@davidconnelly2096]

Just seeing the Yamaha and all the others produced by Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki around that time...no surprise it overwhelmed the British bike industry....

[@TAYM]

Yep, but you can’t keep a good thing down 😊

[@mgbgth5097]

My younger brother had one of these. I'm a retired HGV mechanic. He asked me to get rid of the head gasket and grind the head to the cylinder,( like you grind valves in.) and do something with the reed valve. I told him he was mad but I did it anyway. He then had that exhaust fitted. The power band on that bike was crazy. You got to a certain revs and it smashed you in the face. He loved it, for 2 weeks when it took the bottom end out. I didn't say I told you so, honest.😁

[@TAYM]

😂😂😂😂 I seem to recall, with the reed valve, it was about getting them thin enough without too much so they would open quicker but still close. Such fun engines to experiment with 😊 thank you 😊

[@BlakesPipes]

The year my second wife was born, that has held up better I think! Sorry could not resist. That bike could be sold today as new as things have retro style. Great memories from the past for you. At that time I was looking at that bike in magazines, wishing I could try one out. Then soon after my cousin trying to put a bike between two trees, it didn't fit! My father was not willing. Then my first father inlaw, took me for a ride and it all changed for me. Thanks for the video. Enjoy Christmas 🤶 and happy new year!

[@TAYM]

Marvellous memories, thank heavens for your father in law😊 Thank you and same to you. 😊

[@hughphillips1427]

I had two RD 250’s were great fun, would always aimed to get the footpeg down on the bends or roundabouts 😄

[@TAYM]

Yes and the front wheel up 😂😂 strange weren’t we 😂😂😂

[@hughphillips1427]

@@TAYM No fear when younger, would be thinking twice before doing it now though 😄

[@TAYM]

@@hughphillips1427 most of the time 😊😂😂😂

[@stevenhoman2253]

I had an RD350 B, 1973, and before that the Susie T500 twin.

[@TAYM]

Both marvellous bikes but the 500, phew what a bike 😊

[@Scott-ph2yk]

Yamaha two strokes were so much fun to ride and work on. I had an RD350 back in the day, and upgraded to a 350 YPVS back in '85. Still have it today. I never get tired of the sound and the fury when she comes up on the pipe.😊

[@TAYM]

Marvellous 😁 dead jealous 😁 thanks Scott 😁

[@s3tthunderbolt99]

Back in '76 I started counting the yammerhammer 2-strokes in the Cal State Long Beach parking lots. This takes me back...

[@TAYM]

I like that, yammerhammer😊 must have smelled beautiful 😊 I can imagine it 😊 thank you

[@Snapper2110]

It was a magnificent bike, just not the "ton-up" bike everyone thought it was. My mate Malc bought one in 1976, blue/black not new but only a couple of years old. I had a CB 250 s.s. from early 70`s. Day out at Mallory park, rode back thinking we were Barry-Mick Grant or Stevie Parrish he had been behind me on the old A5. All of a sudden he shot past at 70 plus, I was having none of it overtook him pushed the speed up to, well it began with an 8 almost a 9 then there was a bang and a whoosh from my bike, I saw Malc brake then next thing he was scraping along the floor. He said a flame twice the length of my bike had shot out of my right exhaust, shocked him, he braked too hard,his front wheel locked up and he`d dropped it. He was shook up, I and importantly my bike was fine, running great. We had to leave the Yammie at a farmers cottage, (the exhaust was ripped off, tank dented and rear suspension had gone) to be collected later. Malc couldn`t believe it, the damage, I gave him a lift back home so he and his dad could fetch it on a borrowed trailer. They didn`t speak to me much, I think they blamed me, dunno why. Happy days eh!

[@TAYM]

Marvellous days and we didn’t have long to wait for the ton up 250’s😊 that starts in my next Audience with 😊

[@TheJamesvgnr]

Had a silver RD250,an F 1980,the last version. My best-ever bike; comfortable,fast,but you could also tour on it,as I took mine all round North Wales. Faultless.

[@TAYM]

Very underestimated as a general purpose bike two strokes 😁 thanks J 😁

[@michaelpopelka1483]

In 1985 I won an RZ 350 from a magazine contest and only kept it for one year before a friend bought it from me and raced it for several years. Fun little bike!

[@TAYM]

As they say in Monty pythons life of Brian, you lucky, lucky, lucky bast***** 😂😂😂😂😂

[@admiralglass]

Great video and thanks, my very first bike was the rd 200 electric in blue and loved it. I can still remember the price, it was 386 pounds.

[@TAYM]

Marvellous, it would be nice to buy one for that now 😊 thank you

[@henryhartley9993]

Never owned an RD but rode a few, they were great fun, would love to have one now....

[@TAYM]

Definitely 😊

[@alain7338]

Merci pour ce voyage dans le temps.....je fût passager sur une 125 rd quand j'avais 15 ans que de souvenirs 😀✌️🇨🇵

[@TAYM]

Marvellous little bike as well, easy to wheelie two up 😊

[@dotany62]

Moi j'avais un 125 tsc. On allait au lac d´enghien et à la Bastille pour regarder les bécanes. C´était la course à chaque feu rouge. Je perdais face aux gt et rd, mais je grattais les dtmx. J´avais 17 ans, la vie était belle...

[@brettroman3218]

Wow!can’t believe it has a rear disc,and alloy rims to boot!

[@TAYM]

😂😂😂

[@TheNorfolkThunderbolt]

I passed my test on one!

[@TAYM]

Marvellous, to think we could ride these as a learner 😊😂😂😂 Marvellous. Thank you 😊

[@SOLOMOTOUK]

Beautiful bike the RD 250 👍

[@TAYM]

😊

[@greywolf9292]

Ah those were the days, the smell of two strokes and the ring of their engines in the air and petrol about 50p a gallon. I never owned the RD or any of its competitors, instead I had a Mish mash K4/G5 CB 250 Café racer, then the Yamaha XS250 Custom. Of coarse we all swapped bikes so I tried most of them, the RD's 250, 350 and 400, The Suzuki GT 250 and X 7, the Kawasaki Z 250 which I liked the most, I think because of its style. The RD's though we're the most flighty as I remember, at least untill one mate gave me a go of his Kawasaki Z 1300. I remember giving it what I thought was a little throttle, letting out the clutch only to burn rubber on the rear tyre as my mate sitting pillion was shouting " Less throttle!! Less throttle!!" 😂

[@TAYM]

Marvellous times in deed. Yes everyone did seem to swap about a lot in those days😊 I did something similar with my brothers CBX1000 😂😂😂

[@GapBahnDirk]

That was very enjoyable. Looking at the Yamaha RD 250 made me want to try and find one to ride. A very 1970s 2 stroke that looked good and went well.

[@TAYM]

Thank you 😊 I feel the same 😊

[@kennethheldreich6604]

I had the lc in Mars bar colours, beautiful wish I had it now 👍🏍🇬🇧

[@TAYM]

Rode a couple but preferred my Gamma 😊 marvellous bikes though 😊

[@crumblymal8479]

Fabulous TAYME I loved the old strokers I had a KH 500 and could afford a set of spannies for it one of my regrets because they sounded so good .That's one classic I would like to own but I think it would be a triple either Suzuki or Kawasaki or maybe the T500 twin Suzuki but ohh they are not cheap these days .

[@TAYM]

No they are not cheap, but the sound of the kettle 😊 simply marvellous 😊

[@electricsandotherstuff5258]

I bought one new strait out if the showroom from Elite in Tooting South London at 16. Too young to ride legal so didn’t register it and put false plates on! Managed to pull a wheelie over Chelsea bridge with a girl on the back. It was the monthly Chelsea cruise for cars mainly. Got myself pictured into a car mag in full wheelie mode.

[@TAYM]

😂😂😂😂 marvellous memories and caught on camera too 😊😂😂

[@ivormorris1917]

Lovely RD250 , I only had the 125 but still the dog’s doo daa’s, those pipes look a lot like allspeeds to me but hard to be sure… nice looking whatever 🏍️👍

[@TAYM]

Thank you, yes I think you may be right, I had completely forgotten about Allspeeds 😊

[@stevenhoman2253]

The other exceptional rode bike was the Susie 250 which was so much fun to ride.

[@TAYM]

Loved my Suzuki’s, though think the Gt looks better than the X7😊

[@splodge57]

I had a Honda CB 250 then a CB750. Preferred 4 strokes until I rode a mates Suzuki GT750 then wished I'd bought one. I would love a 70's 2 Stroke today but they go for good money.

[@TAYM]

Me too but they do, even the 125s. I live in hope though 😊

[@-old-school-motorcyclesltd]

What a lovely bike never ridden one and would love to one day what a beautiful machine 😊😊 Yes great bike RD 250 It’s ok I was watching your Triumph just after thinking it was a continuation went to get a coffee 😎😎

[@TAYM]

😊

[@TriumphBeezaman]

They were a six speed gear box on all RDs but the very early models had a blank on top gear that could be removed, not sure why Yamaha did this even though top was more of an overdrive. The low warning oil light used to be on earlier models a brake light warning as i had on my 350B though i think it's more use as an oil warning.

[@TAYM]

Marvellous, thank you. Do you know what the mpg was on them, I just can’t remember.😊

[@TriumphBeezaman]

@@TAYM it wasn't very much especially the way we used to ride them, i think if we got 40mpg we were doing good & the oil put extra cost on them, i seem to remember if you were on reserve & hit more than 12 miles you were pushing it to the fuel station, but we didn't worry about those things in the old days 😃

[@TAYM]

@@TriumphBeezaman that’s as I recall. My race bike (X7) was only doing about 15 and the outfit (gt750 kettle bored out to 810) was between 5 and 10 depending on the track 😂😂😁😁

[@jools2323]

The RD's a bit new fangled for me, I had the earlier one with the straight pipes & proper spokes in the wheels. 😀

[@TAYM]

The splendiferous YDS7? 😊

[@jools2323]

@@TAYM Thanks for that info - it had pipes & wheels that look like the YDS7 but it had a coffin tank and the engine looked a bit different. Was a long time ago - no idea what it was - first bike & bought it well used...

[@TAYM]

@@jools2323 marvellous 😊

[@bambalam9170]

Love the smell of a stinkwheel in the morning.❤

[@TAYM]

😂😂😂😂 thanks B 😊

[@patthewoodboy]

as an ex KH250 owner , yes you have to ride them like a nut job. Beautiful RD 🙂 A good friend of mine went 250 , 400 , 350LC , he was a nutter RIP Simon

[@TAYM]

Yes we lost a few good friends over the years 😞 still marvellous bikes 😊

[@patthewoodboy]

@@TAYM the irony is he didnt die on a bike , he died at work , in New York in a certain tower

[@TAYM]

@@patthewoodboy I see, that’s terrible, poor bloke, to survive the madness of two stroke heaven and then get murdered by a group of …. Well let’s leave it there I think 😞

[@JJPelszynski]

Stick to the script, TAYM. Mutter, mutter mutter.. I’m late for work 😅😂 That Yamaha is a thing of beauty though. Absolutely tasty machine and it’s only a year older than I am. Hardly broken in lol

[@TAYM]

Next you’ll be telling us you’re low mileage and one careful lady owner 😂😂😂

[@robertkirk4387]

the RD LC was the first to get the Halogen lights

[@TAYM]

Really, I don’t know that either. I don’t even think I knew that at the time. Very modern 😊 thank you 😊

[@rolandodecamilli8310]

If only I knew then what I know now haha I probably wouldn't have tried to get my knee down a bit to tall I loved my rd was air cooled a bit of tuneing to run right was never the go to bike for the haves but it made my teenage years the boy that had it what a friend that bike was to me so simple so much character

[@TAYM]

😁 great memories 😁 thanks RD 😁

[@electricsandotherstuff5258]

Got some old cinny camera footage somewhere of racing with mates on kh250 Kawasaki and GT250 Suzuki

[@TAYM]

That would be marvellous to see 😊 and hear 😁

[@electricsandotherstuff5258]

Mine was an RD250F. Last one before the LC took over.

[@TAYM]

Bet you wish you still had it 😊

[@johnhorner769]

Had an orange RD200 many years ago 😀

[@TAYM]

A tango two stroke 😊 marvellous 😊

[@MindfulMotorcyclist]

Just realised I wasn't subscribed!! Just corrected that mistake 👍👍

[@TAYM]

Thank you 😊

[@stevedocking3885]

All my mates had RD250s. l chose the RD200, to be flash. lt had an electric start!

[@TAYM]

😂😂😂😂 show off 😂😂😂

[@capoxspring3323]

That's a D model with Allspeeds exhausts most likely and it's got 6 gears. No rear decals for a D model.

[@TAYM]

Marvellous, thank you 😊 I love how everyone adds a bit more detail to help identify these old bike, have a great Christmas 😊

[@ianhughesroyalenfield]

The pipes have the look of Allspeeds, not 100% though. A proper naughty boy’s bike, unless you were a nutter like me and had the 400 😂😂😂

[@TAYM]

Forgot all about Allspeeds, now you mention it😊

[@ianhughesroyalenfield]

@@TAYM the best Spannies 😎😂

[@TAYM]

@@ianhughesroyalenfield 😂😂

[@chrisnightingale6417]

Ahh that is a bit of you TAYM. I can imagine a very fast and frantic mutter on that 😂😳

[@TAYM]

It would be frantic and I would have to shout I reckon 😊😂😂😂😂

[@chrisnightingale6417]

😂

[@Stefan_trekkie]

Will you make a audience with this nice red Vespa in background ?

[@TAYM]

Already have 😊

[@Stefan_trekkie]

@@TAYM Spoilers 🤩

[@JeremyHollier]

Was it Roberts or Kenny Rogers, can't remember.

[@TAYM]

😂😂😂

[@rover100bunson]

allspeed exhausts maybe

[@TAYM]

Yes, forgot about Allspeeds 🙄

[@julesyoung8975]

Good looking but not original , good effort though . Headlight prob a cibie or similar . Back in the day ( 18 yrs old ) passed the test and traded for a Kawasaki h1 500 .

[@TAYM]

A very naughty boy then, and you survived 😊 well done 😂😂

[@julesyoung8975]

@@TAYM Still carving it up , got a Speedtwin 1200 now

[@TAYM]

@@julesyoung8975 splendid motorcycle the speed twin and such a marvellous sound 😊

[@bananabrooks3836]

He's done it again, unbelievable, false information spews from his mouth like a lying volcano. Desist l beg of you.😢

[@TAYM]

Sorry you don’t like my videos or the purpose of them. The answer is easy though. Either comment properly and correct the inaccuracies 😁 or you can always not watch any more 😁 In fact I can tell you, just so you don’t have to waste your time getting angry and upset watching any more, all my videos contain errors, unchecked facts and statistics. 😁 thanks for trying though 😁

[@bananabrooks3836]

@@TAYM lf you're happy publishing videos with such knowingly misinformed content then what is the purpose? To make a film without the narrative would be more truthful. Perhaps the many inaccuracies are a deliberate ploy.

[@TAYM]

@@bananabrooks3836 my hope is people will engage which is exactly what happens, but in your case I would particularly like to know what it is you seem to disagree with 😁 I enjoy all comments good or bad 😁 so thank you for engaging 😁

[@johnstonstewart9683]

I've an old "bat" in the house......

[@TAYM]

😂😂😂😂😂 feeling brave today I see 😂

[@johnstonstewart2298]

@@TAYM living life on the edge...

[@TAYM]

@@johnstonstewart2298 😂😂🤗

[@johnstonstewart9683]

Fork legs and swinging arm look spindly now

[@TAYM]

But feel so solid 😊