r5 vs rd

neckyzips

Been Around the Block
ok, so i passed up rz350 long ago when i was a kid working at the bike shop, the poor thing sat there for 3 years, finaly sold for 400 bucks running and fully faired.
ive kicked myself in the ass for years for not picking it up but was striving for the newest fastest sport bike then.

anyway, the smoking bug has hit, there is a decent r5 local for not too much, but should i hold out for the rd/rz for a hot cafe build?
 
A few differences....

R5 is piston port - RD is reed valve
R5 comes with a 5spd tranny - RD comes with a 6spd

What area are you in? I have an R5 that I'm probably not going to do anything with anytime soon..
 
Both can be little monsters... I'm a bit new to 2 strokes as well.. but I'm realizing quickly why people love them. I have an RD400 that scares the beejesus out of me... pretty nasty little bike.

The RD350 is going to have a bit more potential than the R5. You also get a front disc on the RD instead of the R5's drum. This is why I'm considering selling the R5. I currently have a CS3 (200), the R5 (350), and an RD400. I like the idea of having a nice happy little family of two-smoke Yammys, but if I'm going to have a 350, I'd rather it be an RD. I see them pop up quite often on Craig's around Austin, so I figure I'll come across one that I can't pass up some day. Which makes the R5 less attractive.

It's not that I don't love it... I would just rather put that time and money into an RD.
 
The rd has a better trans and reed valves and disc brakes but the cases crank anf frames are the same so rd jugs pistons and front end and you gotta a rd i would not run off a cheap r5 drag racers love them and there cheaper than a rd all and all there the same bike so take a r5 and a few hundred bucks and build a rd or just ride it the power difference is small
 
What Brad said...
And Matty, the six speeds only came in the 400's. But the entire gearbox will drop right in any DS7/R5/RD ;)
 
hm, well the 5 is less than a grand, suposedly running, or i can change gears and pick up an old iron head for 1800 running which would be kinda cool too, but the two stroke looks like more fun!
 
R5 piston ported 5 speed
RD350 Reed valve 6 speed in most countries
RD400 longer stroke, same reeds and closer ratio 6 speed

That's about the size of it. R5 with a little porting makes a nice bike.
 
And faster, worth more, harder to find, and liter, cheaper to rebuild,everyone wont think you beat you spouse if they see you riden a yamaha they will if your on a harley plus there way kooler
 
bradj said:
And faster, worth more, harder to find, and liter, cheaper to rebuild,everyone wont think you beat you spouse if they see you riden a yamaha they will if your on a harley plus there way kooler

I suppose I should pick up the yammie, I don't own a brain bucket, muscle shirt, or even the requisite flip flops! I'd have to buy all new gear for the Harley, but wf I'd only be 30 bucks! Lol

Lol, the Harley would have to be striped and cafe'd, I bought a sportster for my uncle while he was at sea, ridding it back the 40 miles three parts vibrated off...
 
S Majure said:
Clarification; rd350 as of 1975 has a 6 speed transmission
Wait... your 350 has a 6 speed?
Then why the hell am I always out front?! :p
 
Yeah... I've owned an Ironhead. Cool bike. It was an antique 20 years before the first one rolled off the assembly line. They're loud, dirty, they shake like crazy, people want a million bucks for every part, and reliability isn't high on the list with any 70s HD.

They'll pull stumps out of concrete, but try riding it past 75mph for any real distance and you won't walk straight for an hour. That said, if I could find another for milk money I'd snag it for sure.

That said, the RD/R5 is a monster in waiting. Light, fast, somewhat inexpensive and fucking cool.

Yamaha smoke all the way.
 
the hog isnt high on the list, but for 1900 bucks with no current issues... they sure do look good all fixed up non harley like! and fun to tease my die hard harley father in law with!

the 2 stroke is where im headed, yamaha, kaw, etc, ive never ridden on on the street, grew up with rm's and yz, but i would think the street ones are a bit less harsh?
 
In stock trim and properly tuned, the RD is a peach. Easy to ride, responsive, relatively quiet, handles well enough for a 35-40 year old bike.

With some proper go fast motor work, real pipes, an updated suspension, and a little weight shaving and its a sub 300lb missle ready to spank bikes with twice the displacement. That said, if you want to go fast its not cheap. Not to do it right at least.
 
Ya really want to tease your father in law show up on a 350cc bike and stomp the guts outta his pig with wheels stop light to stop light then go home and make him a grand dad
 
VonYinzer said:
In stock trim and properly tuned, the RD is a peach. Easy to ride, responsive, relatively quiet, handles well enough for a 35-40 year old bike.

With some proper go fast motor work, real pipes, an updated suspension, and a little weight shaving and its a sub 300lb missle ready to spank bikes with twice the displacement. That said, if you want to go fast its not cheap. Not to do it right at least.

Ball park what are you talking about $ wise for the engine build and pipes? 2k 5k?

"Ya really want to tease your father in law show up on a 350cc bike and stomp the guts outta his pig with wheels stop light to stop light then go home and make him a grand dad"

That's some funny shit! I already did that with the stock cb500, no grand kids though her pipes are fried.
 
That's a tough question... Depends on how far ya want to go. Five grand is waaaay more than anyone should ever spend on a sreet motor. Basically your looking at port work, pistons, proper chambers, a six speed tranny out of an RD400 or late model 350, etc. Its real easy to go overboard on an RD lump. Ask Brad. Its a fine line between street screamer you can ride everyday amd a full on race motor that only really works from 11k rpm and up. Do your homework, spend your cash wisely and you can build an affordable bike that'll reach out and pimp slap the 500cc four stokes with ease. Search the web for a copy of Gordon Jennings Two Stroke Tuning Guide. Lots of free PDFs floating around. Tough read if you don't enjoy math, but it'll give you an idea of where to start. Another MAJOR consideration is who ends up doing the work. Not everyone can properly build amd tune a two stroke motor. Its easy to fuck it up. Make sure that whoever you get to do it (if you don't do it yourself) knows exactly what you want from the engine and has the experience to do the job correctly.

Once you get the motor sorted, you'll want to get into shaving weight. The RDs are pretty light to begin with, but there's always ways to make them more so. Fibreglass "cafe" race seats shave a bunch of weight in comparison to the stock unit. Dump the stock gauges and get a nice compact digital unit like the Acewell. It'll save a pound or two and be more accurate. Stock pegs weigh twice as much as a good pair of rearsets. Chambers are lighter than stock parts. Ditch the steel wheels for some aluminum ones (Brads got a killer set for sale). You get the point I'm sure. Keep it light and lean.

Onto suspension. The Yamaha shocks are garbage, just like all old UJM pieces. Get some proper rear shocks asap. There's a millionotions. Just make sure they're set up for your bike. Ohlins remote res shocks are awesome, but if they're set up for a 450lb sportbike, they're near useless on your 280lb RD. Front forks are also a weak point. You can have them rebuilt and upgraded for far superior handling compared to stock. Or, you can swap in a more modern set. There's tons of info here on DTT in reference to that process. Its a lot of work and not really cheap, but is a major upgrade.

Like I said, spend money wisely and know exactly what you want and how to get it done right and you'll be ok. If you do the majority of the work yourself amd hunt for deals, there's no reason you can't have a finished bike for around two grand after tje pruchase price.
 
Ok, that's not bad at all, I'm fairly patient, and love hunting deals, so it will be fun!
I was just afraid it would be some crazy amount for the build up, but that's doable and figuring it will ake a year or so to ather the parts.

It needs to be reliable, and fun, what can the performance be built to? Something like a Honda f2 600 or not that strong? Having never riden one and only experience with '70's street bikes being my 500/4's and cb750's (750's in comparison to the 500 wasn't worth the extra weight to lug round, except for the top end...) I don't need to go 150mph but would like to get to 80mph pretty quick.
 
Its all in how its built. If you were happy with what a cb500/4 was capable of, than a built RD will get ya smiling like crazy. Its a whole different animal. There are proven port maps for damn near any kind of performace you can ask for. Do it right, build a complete performance oriented street bike and it'll make your 500 feel like riding a moped.
 
Back
Top Bottom