When a 1200-cc Yamaha is just too much, or a 920, 900, 750, 650, 500, 400, 250, 125, or even an 80-cc bike won’t do, we offer you this mini Midnight Special-like 1983 Yamaha RX50! This incredible and incredibly rare cruiser bike is listed here on Facebook Marketplace in West Bend, Wisconsin, and the seller is asking $1,900. Here is the original listing, and thanks to the man, the myth, the legend: Lothar of the Hill People, for the tip!
Small-cc motorcycles aren’t big (no pun intended) here on Barn Finds, as a lot of people think they’re for kids or just to learn on and then you move up to a “real” bike, like a 750, 900, 1,200, or bigger. Not true, some of us like small-displacement motorcycles at any age and any skill level. I’ve been riding for 50+ years, and I love these little bikes. This one in particular, as they are as rare as politicians being civil with each other and getting along. Actually, nothing is that rare anymore, sadly.
This bike is as rare as it gets. The story is that the RX50 was never intended to be sold to the public, and Yamaha only made around 2,000 of them. It was reportedly an exercise to showcase Yamaha’s upcoming Virago Midnight Special. The legend is that you couldn’t even buy an RX50; they were said to have been given away as a promotion to get people into Yamaha showrooms. That being said, there is a brochure on them, mentioning the Maxim series, and there are other sources that say certain dealers were given one as a promotion, and that they were made for two years, not just one year. So there doesn’t seem to be any 100% consensus on their history. As with a lot of internet information, it’s a bit conflicting. Maybe one of you will know more about these. In all of my Yamaha and general motorcycle books, I can’t even find one listed. The same with 1983 Yamaha photos and posters online, they don’t show one that I can find.
They came in both red and black, and this is the black version, more likely to promote the Midnight Special, and is set up like a bigger cruiser bike. The seller says it has been in storage for years, and they recently took it out and got it running again, with a new battery, and also replaced a broken headlight bucket. They mention a ding in the gas tank, but I don’t see one. With 2,711 miles showing, this bike hasn’t been used much. They also mention a repair in the plastic front fender.
The engine is Yamaha’s 49-cc reed valve two-stroke single, sent through a 5-speed transmission, and this one is said to start easily, idle strongly, run perfectly, and will hit 50 mph. It weighs 165 pounds, so just about what I weigh, oddly enough. It’s a sign, and as such, I’m chatting with the seller as we speak. But with shipping, I’m not sure if we can hammer out a deal or not. He’s a heck of a nice guy, hopefully it’ll work out. Are any of you heard of the Yamaha RX50?
Too cool 😎 Midnight Special🌙 what a nice looking little unit. Perfect bike for a cruise to the corner store on a sweltering hot summer nite for a cold drink 🥤
Just when we think we have a good knowledge of (car, bike, tractor etc) stuff you pull another out of the hat. Wow! Never knew these existed here. Did a double take when the screen opened to this. Two stroke motor? Being a Yamaha it’s bound to be a good one.
How you can work out a way to get it Scotty and give us a follow up on the ride!
That’s HOPE not how🤬
I have to assume the profile is what they thought this would preview. Early 80’s was twins and this is definitely the end of the 2 stroke era. Unusual yes not particularly cool any more to have the blue clouds at traffic lights , but the weight is definitely manageable. Even with limited numbers I don’t think this is really a great investment, more a toy. It’s all about smiles per mile.
Gerry at least you got to ride in anger. Ex- in-laws had ma y ties to Road America and spent over 12 years there during the summer. I occasionally worked the speed traps when they needed an extra body. Also screwed for a TransAm team. The best I got to do is tool around a,couple of laps in Volvo 144S. I didn’t really get into racing on road courses until moving west. (My thing back then was Ice Racing and Pro-Rally.
( snickering), oh please, you know, Yami made some outstanding machines, this I don’t feel was one of them. Obviously trying to cash in on the Honda MB5 market, if any, I think these are a poor example for someone to even try and ride. 2 indicators is the 10grand redline, meaning you’ll be riding around at 8 grand all day, and the low mileage, indicating it wasn’t that much fun after all, and they went on to a REAL motorcycle. Too harsh? Perhaps, but as a lifetime motorcycle rider that’s ridden practically every type of motorcycle made, give me some power, no less than a 750, 1000 preferred for street, 250 for dirt, period.
Oh, here comes remorse city, again,, I want to apologize to the author and anyone else that takes a shine for these small bikes, not my cup, but I’m sure they sold plenty,,on a whim. Start out small, the instructor said,,,nah, all these do is give you the basics, and only delay getting a bike that you can take to Yosemite, if desired. I suppose if on a strictly city basis, it could work, but I know how these things work, and personally, I’d just get a machine I could use,( grumbling),,like that KZ1000 for $800, that needed carbs cleaned, well, I waited and it showed up a week later for $4grand,,,and still needed carbs cleaned,,dang. I hope I didn’t offend anyone,
Had a Honda MB5 for awhile, so similar. Was fantastic fun(as long as you had other bikes to ride too). Have to keep it above 7000 rpm to go anywhere, so one was always shifting and always(racing). Even had the opportunity to do 4 laps of Road America on it- full throttle the whole time just to keep up! Going rate price and 40 miles from my house- boy I wish I was in the market for another bike right now!
The Midnight Special was the XS1100 (at least over here), wasn’t it? I don’t remember a V-twin variant.
Never seen one of these, tho’…
There were a few versions, Derek, but I agree, they aren’t seen too often.
https://bike.net/en/Yamaha/31137-XV_1000_SE_Midnight_Special_1983
https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/resizer/2e4ELdPU3Wbj2vOzDMlfShRg1KI=/1037×0/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/octane/YM4GN5QJFD4Q4XOTJQQS7WFEMI.jpg
Had a Kenny Robert’s replica RZ 350 that is a 2 cylinder 2 stroke that had 30 mm mikunis & Toomey expansion chambers that would whip up on larger bikes with a rather violent power band from 6 to 9 thousand rpm including a rolling wheel! So not everything small is weak!
I Agree, Had a 74 RD350 that beat almost everything, and handled like it was on rails !
Yep, the RD350 and 400 were bad mammajammas!!!
While big bikes dominated the US market, small bikes are still popular in countries where gas is high and speeds are low. When I visited the Philippines, I saw thousands of small bikes, generally in the 100cc to 125cc range. It was not uncommon to see 3 people on one, and some had a sidecar designed to carry 4 or 5 passengers. While I prefer the big twins (I’ve had both Harley and Indian big twins), I’m too old now to handle a 700 pound bike, and don’t want a trike. Something like this would be perfect for cruising around town. Seeing this has me thinking I should start looking at small bikes.
What 14 year old would not want this? Even though I have 2 full size Harleys, I still want this 56 years after my 14th birthday.
Hmm, RX50, the same engine that powered the 1987 Yamaha YSR50 sport bike. These little bikes are surprisingly snappy for just 49cc. Competition for the aforementioned (by Gerry) Honda MB5 and also the Kawasaki AR50 and AR80. My MB5 had what most of them developed over time, a leaking gas tank. My three RX50s have under 4,000 miles with one under 2,000 miles. They all run like new and are for sale. I’d like to keep the red one, though, not that I ride the gravel road to US18 much anymore. I’ve only wiped out once on gravel back when I was 14 when my Beagle saw something irresistible and crossed in front of me. He didn’t get a scratch, but I sure did. That was on my very first real motorcycle, a 1965 Suzuki K10 80cc. Wish I still had it. That began my love affair with cycles. Don’t get me wrong, I love all old things with engines.
Scotty, thanks for the info on these. I knew about dealers raffling them off and displaying as a promotional tool but wasn’t aware of just how rare they are. Not that rarity plays much into my prices which are lower than this one. I see the sellers’ bike has a black exhaust. Almost appears as though someone painted it. Mine are chrome. Also, Scotty, maybe you’ve noticed that I’ve disabled my ad block for this site. It’s the one and only with that distinction.
Wow! My dad bought me one of these brand new at Yamaha dealer in Johnson City, Tn. I rode it everywhere, would run about 54 wide open. When I was 14 I would ride it to dads house and borrow his transam (that I still have). Dad would get out and ride motorcycle to local diner for dinner. Great memories!!
This was back when I had my ’79 XS750F.
I remember being at my friends house and his younger brother had one of these. I have no idea where he got it from, but I remember thinking that it looked like the 750 Special, so I thought it was a cool ride for someone just starting out.
I had no idea how rare they are, and that is for sure the only one I ever saw.
Are the “stepped” seat and “pullback” handlebars aftermarket add-ons, or original equipment? If add-ons, does the seller have the original pieces? What is the seat height? I used to ride a GT80 enduro in high school, and I always wanted to trade up to a DT100, so I use the DT100 as a benchmark for the highest seat height I can ride comfortably, as at 59.5 inches tall, with a 26 inch inseam, many bikes don’t fit me at all! This one would be a hoot to ride, if I can touch the ground on it, LOL! The Facebook listing is gone, though, so it probably has sold already! The shipping to Boston would probably triple the price of the bike, though! GLWTS!
The seats and handlebars are original items. That’s what caught my eye when I saw one in person – a true carbon copy of its bigger brother.
Scotty’s brochure link in the article shows the same profile.
I saw the brochure, and the seat profile and bar pull back didn’t seen quite as aggressive, the bar in particular seemed flatter, but it could just be an optical illusion from the angle where the brochure picture was taken. I hope whoever bought it has fun with this little screamer! Two (2) items almost never seen on small bikes like this were the front disk brake and tach! Most smaller bikes like this used to make do with drum brakes at both ends and omit the tach to save money.
I thought the same thing initially when I looked at the brochure, but I think it is an angle thing like you mention.
The seat is the same – they mention the little lockable compartment in the brochure that you can see in the CL picture.
The biggest difference that I notice is that a lot of the chrome is black on the one for sale. Maybe an optional finish?
Seat height on these are very low – a design aspect of the Special. Same for the LTD Kawasakis of the same era. A friend had a belt-drive LTD 440 that looked a lot like the Special.
Grab it. In some states, a 49cc bike doesn’t require registration. (read: plates, excise tax, & vehicle inspection–BTW,only at a bike dealer). Considering all the sub-par, CCP built, 49cc mopeds / scooters that are on the local roads, which are essentially, throwaways. Those CCP items go for $1500 easily. This is a quality made bike that is great for running an errand in a small town, or for your kid to learn basic handling skills. Granted, it would be questionable judgement to take a 49cc bike on a road with a greater than 35 mph speed limit. Go for it !
Aww it is just so cute! I would probably just ride it once or twice and then polish the hell out if it and put it in my living room ! It looks like the product of a relationship between a V-Max and a Twin-Jet !
+10 for a Twin Jet reference, my first bike!
The seller was going to get back to me over a week ago about delivering it, but never did, so I’m going to pass on this one. I have enough “stuff” as it is. Maybe we should have a Barn Finds close-out sale on some of it before it ends up in my estate sale.
For me, The brain is always willing and gungho. But the time and/or wallet is weak!
It’s the wages of getting old. The brain keeps writing checks that the wallet and body can’t cash. So frustrating at times!!!