Yamaha RD400
CLASS C MOTORCYCLING HAS AT TS HEART A wh ff of nosta gia For those lucky enough to be running a Yamaha RD400 twin that wh ff is one of two-stroke oil Brut 33 bags of chips at the market square heroes Grand Prix on a Friday night and 10 John Player Special.
The RD400 was the king of the hil in the m dd eweight performance stakes in the late 1970s Among its rivals the Kawasaki KH400 was for the unh nged Suzuki s GT380 was a bit of a softy and Honda s CB400 four was for those who were sensible
The RD400 was indisputably race deve oped and owners n Wrangler flares Paddy Hopkirk Agordo ds and nylon Yamaha race jackets would run r ngs around the bigger flexi-framed fours on offer at the time For many the RD400 was a last gasp of youthful rebellion before the real world caught up and deposited them in a Barratt home with a Ford Escort so t s no wonder that they ve become the weapon of choice for those rev siting their youth And they ve ga ned a price tag to match their market
Yamaha s RD400 traces its roots back to the very ate 1960s when the company was looking to upgrade its by now outperformed YR3 Yamaha s TZ racers were wiping the floor with pretty much everything on
