Yamaha | Rajdoot | RD350 - First INDIAN RACING MACHINE

First true PERFORMANCE MACHINE of India.
A bike which set up a Bench Mark for Indian Motorcycle Industry.
A legendary two-stroke RACING MACHINE which was too good for its era.
After "30 years"of launch,  the fan base of this RD is becoming bigger.
It is a "dream machine" for every 2 stroke motorcycle lover to own one.
This is a machine which that leaves enthusiasts swearing by its name.
With some proper modification," this beast can kick anyone's butt".

RD350 was not for everyone, you need a professional hand to tame this wild beast as this bike always ready to pop up his front tiers at 1st, 2nd and even in 3rd gear.
As you sit on this bike you and the moment you shoot up its engine you smell 2T (oil), listen to 2 strokes sound,  you feel like gasoline is fueled in your body and you just want to drop a gear and disappear. Smoke from its exhaust notes would make world blur, the roaring of this beast warns everyone that RD is on its way. This was bike with which you would love to zip of the Traffic and You would be  ready to rip off its throttle as soon as you find open road.

RAJDOOT RD #

History of RD in INDIA (produced from 1983-1989)

Back in the 1980s,
the RD350 was the first performance offering bike for Indian motorcyclists at that time(1983) when the Indian roads were just having the Jawa (Yezdi) 250 2 strokes, the Bullet 350, and Rajdoot 175 cc 2 stroke. Bajaj Priya, Chetak, Allwyn Pushpak, Vijay, and Lambretta were some daily commuters for the Indian roads.
So to compete with the Big engine of bullet 350, RD350 was launched ..

RD stands for 'Race Developed', promoted by Rajdoot in India in collaboration with Yamaha (Japan). The Japanese RD350B was capable enough to derive 39-40 BHP .

RAJDOOT RD350 was a licensed copy of YAMAHA RD350B and modified for the Indian road and Indian condition.
Although the Indian Version of RD350 was detuned for Indian market this bike is capable of throwing 30bhp(High torque)  and 27 bhp(low torque) due to lower fuel quality and to improve fuel economy.RD 350 was much ahead of its time for the Indian market in 1983. Its chassis was packed with two-stroke parallel twin engine (347 ccs), 6-speed manual transmission, torque induction system, Dual exhaust, with Tachometer, 180mm big drum breaks(international models were having disc breaks).

RD could go 0-100 barely in 7sec and 0-150 in just 16 seconds. With all these RD set a benchmark for a Performance bike.  after 25-30 years of production, it's still incomparable.
RD failed to retain its success on India roads as all over the world but made a place in INDIAN motorcycle enthusiast Heart.
RD production stopped in 1989.
After having so much potential, this bike did not perform well in terms of sales in Indian market due its low fuel efficiency, lack of safety, lack of disc breaks, skinny tyres.
Cost Cutting measure so brutally inefficient that led many to belive that RD stands for RAPID DEATH. Due to some pollutions norms and low sales figure were the reason which ended the production of this LEGEND.

facts about RD350

• clutch plates of Rajdoot RD350 are guaranteed for life of 50,000kms.

• Rd 350 was 1st Indian motorcycle with the tachometer.

• The "Rajdoot Super" had the same turn indicators and yoke/switches as the Rajdoot 350.

• The RD350 in India NEVER came with YAMAHA Decals on the Tank. It was always RAJDOOT.

• Dhoni’s first motorcycle was a Yamaha RD350, which he bought for 4,500 rupees.

GUYS PLEASE COMMENT DOWN YOUR VIEWS ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL MACHINE.
DO SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES AND STORIES WITH YOUR "RD"