The first year for Yamaha’s “Baby RD” was 1973, and they’re really interesting bikes. They’re also fairly rare and don’t often come up for sale. This 1973 Yamaha RD60 is listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Slinger, Wisconsin, and the seller is asking $2,450 or best offer. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip!
Yamaha only made 2,440 of their new RD60 two-stroke bikes in 1973, and this is yet another one I’d love to have. I prefer the olive green color, but there isn’t a bad choice for this model. You would likely have the only one at any vintage motorcycle show, and they’re supposed to be fun to ride, despite the 55-cc single-cylinder engine. Hey, it’s a Yamaha, it’ll be fun! I’m bummed that the seller took vertical photos, so my apologies for the composites to get them to fit here.
Most sources say the RD60 was made for 1973, 1974, and 1975, but it shows up in my motorcycle bible (Standard Catalog of Japanese Motorcycles 1959-2007) for model year 1976, called the RD60C. I believe the 1973 was RD60, the 1974 was RD60A, the 1975 model was RD60B, and according to this publication, the 1976 RD60 had a “C” designation. You can see the sporty design of this bike, with the long, skinny gas tank and the cafe-like seat. The gigantic taillight is a little jarring, and those turn signals aren’t exactly tiny LEDs as would probably be on a more modern bike. I like that it’s a quirky look.
A lot of people laugh at anything smaller than a 750, but I beg you not to do anything to please anyone else. If they’re making fun of you, they aren’t your friend. When you’re on your deathbed, as we all will be eventually (fun stuff, eh?!), the person chuckling at you for riding a small motorcycle will not be there comforting you, and you’ll be sorry you missed an opportunity to try something different just because you were afraid of being laughed at by an online stranger.
This one has just 2,073 miles, as you can see. I don’t think you’d see 80 MPH on this one; around 52 MPH is tops. 1973 was the first model year for Yamaha’s legendary RD-series of motorcycles, including the RD250, RD350, and the famous RD400. As you guessed, I’d take an RD60 over any of those, just for the unusual factor. This has an early version of the Autolube oil-injection system, and they’re known for going out, either at speeds above 50 or just in general. A lot of owners will premix the gas for that reason.
The engine is as clean as the rest of this 163-pound bike. That engine is a Yamaha 55-cc two-stroke single with torque-induction intake and a reed valve system. They had around 4.5 horsepower, and power was sent through a five-speed manual transmission. The seller says it runs and rides great, and it sure looks nice. This one is easily a thousand dollars or more under value, and if it were local, I’d have a hard time not grabbing this one. Have any of you seen or owned an RD60?
I thought the RD125 was the smallest. This is a little jewel. I sympathetically restored an RD200 during Covid. Parts were a little hard to find. Hats off to this seller, it’s a real beauty.
Had one of these in 75, paid 50 bucks for it and top speed was about 50. Not to bad of a bike.