1976 Yamaha RD250
Frame no. 1A2 100279
Engine no. 1A2 100279

Yamaha's final shot at an air-cooled quarter-litre twin, the RD250C arrived in 1976 looking just like the simultaneously introduced RD400. Indeed, the two machines were identical apart from bore/stroke dimensions, overall gearing and the use of cast alloy wheels on the RD400, the RD250 sticking with the conventional wire-spoked variety. In those days (the mid-1970s) learner motorcyclists could jump straight on a 250 after passing their 17th birthday, and the RD250, with its 15-second quarter-mile time and 90mph-plus top speed, provided all the thrills a teenager could want, on the road at least. The model was up-dated as the 250E for 1978 gaining electronic ignition and the 400's cast wheels; it was replaced by the water-cooled RD250LC in 1980.

Currently displaying a total of 22,067 kilometres on the odometer, this example was purchased in 2015 from a Dutch collector, having already been restored, and is said to run well. Offered with (copy) Belgian registration papers, the machine should require only minimal re-commissioning before returning to the road.