Yamaha scholars, or just mega fans, can tell what year a Yamaha R5 350 is just by the colors, as they only came in one color scheme for each of the three years of production. The street version of the R5 is an offshoot of Yamaha’s legendary road racer, the RD56 250, with more than one Grand Prix win under its name. This 1972 Yamaha R5-C 350 is listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Goose Creek, South Carolina, and they’re asking just under $10.09 per cc, or $3,500 or best offer. Here is the original listing, and thanks to PRA4SNW for the tip!
Yes, that’s more than this bike cost new, just for the record. I love the or best offer part; that means less than $10.084 per cc! And even at $3,500, examples this nice regularly sell for more. JP’s – John Parham, founder of J&P’s Cycles and founder of the former National Motorcycle Museum, which closed after he passed away a few years ago – R5-C from his collection sold for over double this price, and it didn’t appear any nicer than this one. That museum was a mind-blower, but sadly, being in the middle of Iowa, visitation wasn’t enough to make ends meet, and they had to close. It was a huge loss for motorcycle enthusiasts.
The first R5 (R5-A) came out for the 1970 model year, and they were Metallic Purple and White. Then the R5-B 1971 model was Mandarin and White, and finally, the final model was the R5-C in Mandarin and Black, as seen here. Unfortunately, this one is wearing a replacement seat cover. It looks a little loosey-goosey, and I’d 100%, without hesitation, find an OEM-looking one with the YAMAHA letters on the back and have my upholstery guy (don’t we all have an upholstery person?) put it on. I couldn’t live with the loose-looking sides like that. Here’s a fun ad showing the ’72 R5-C. At 335 pounds, this one weighs more than twice what I do, but still handles like a bike weighing less.
The seller doesn’t mention a new seat cover, but they do mention that it has new tires (always nice) and a new sprocket and chain. Rear sprocket, I’m assuming. My brother and I changed sprockets on our late-60s Yamaha YL-1 Twin Jet 100 like most people change their socks. I could change it in a half hour easily, about the time it took me to put new brake pads on my 1991 Dodge Spirit or change the oil, or do almost anything in the pre-computer era for vehicles. Ahhh… memories. This photo of the gauges is a screenshot of the seller’s driving video. Please check it out to hear the sweet, sweet sound of a two-stroke named pretty much the best 350 on the globe by every magazine and almost every rider at the time.
I love Yamaha’s black engines, and this one is no slouch. It’s a 347-cc two-stroke air-cooled twin with 36 horsepower and 28 lb-ft of torque, screaming through a 5-speed manual, sending power through that new chain and sprocket to the rear wheel. Autolube oil injection makes sure things stay slippery inside, and kick start makes sure your right leg will be a bit bigger than your left. The seller says it runs great, and this is another gem I’d love to have if I wasn’t clearing out the SG Museum of Oddball Vehicles and Other Random Stuff (i.e., a couple’a storage units). Have any of you owned or ridden an R5 350?
My unreliable roommate back in the early 80’s (we were about 25yrs old) had a similar used one for about 6 months. He would ride from our place in San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge to San Rafael, even in the rain as I refused to lend him money for a car (he was always late on his rent share). He finally moved away to Memphis. Good riddance.
My first road going bike that was actually licensed to be used on the road. I loved it. Very quick little bike. Later I put expansion chambers on it, and had the ports worked over and the carbs re-jetted. It became a lot like riding an early Kaw 500 triple. Power was either on or off, and when it was on the front wheel was in the air.