1971 Yamaha R5 350CC Project

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Price: 3,500.00 GBP

I have for sale a 1971 Yamaha R5, recently imported from Canada. The R5 was superseded by the ever popular RD350 in 1973.

She appears pretty much complete. I have a NOVA and Certificate of Title. Registration is usually a simple process involving the completion of a V55/5 form, payment of £ 55.00 and sending documents to the DVLA first registration team. I can provide some help with this process if the buyer is unfamiliar with it.

FRAME NO. : R5-023309

ENGINE NO. : R5-023309

She has a MpH speedo that is showing 13052 miles. I can not substantiate the mileage but I believe it to be correct.

I gave the carbs and the spark plugs a quick clean, connected a battery and she fired up. The points were in a very bad state so I replaced them with new ones and she runs well. Please see video of her starting from cold.

A compression test showed 130 psi in the left hand cylinder and 140 psi in the right. The measurement was taken with a cold engine, throttle wide open and 10 kicks. Oil is flowing through the pipes to the crank case injection points.

Most of the electrics are working. The head light low and high beam, taillight, brake light, tacho and speedo back lights and horn are working. The speedo indication lights for high beam and neutral are not working, could be bulbs or a loose connection I have not checked. Once she is running and revved up the indicators work as they should.

I have one key that fits the ignition.

As stated above she looks very complete, notable exceptions are the air box (fitted with cone filters), the handlebar grips are a square type and not the round Yamaha style I would expect, missing battery strap and missing the 2 rear fuel tank mounting rubbers. She needs a new battery and will not come with one. The clutch lever is incorrect for the bike.

The front and rear tyres need replacing. They are old and have deep cracks in the side walls and tread.

I took her for a short test ride. The clutch is working and she went through all the gears. She pulls well but I only went slowly because of the tyres. Front and rear brakes work. She should have more power and will run smoother with a good clean and set up of the carbs and ignition timing.

The exhaust downpipes look OK. Some small dents as usual.

The left silencer has some scratches, small dents, rub mark from side stand and some corrosion to chrome but generally pretty good.

The right silencer has some scratching and tarnishing.

Both silencers have some black gunk on the bottom. I have cleaned most of it off on the outward facing part of the silencers with white spirit and elbow grease to show what the silencers are like underneath.

Obviously on a bike of this age there are some chips and scratches.

The fuel tank has chips and scratches and a dent about 2 inches long just below the tank badge on the left hand side. Both tank badges have damage. The tank is fairly rusty inside but a tank treatment should sort that out.

The fuel tap works but seems a bit slow feeding fuel to the left hand carb. This carb also overflows.

The front mudguard has corrosion spots, a small dent and some scratches.

The forks have corrosion near the top of the visible part but it is not in the fork seal travel area. Front suspension is working but I think she will need new fork seals. There is a small dent in the fork chrome dust cover cap on the left hand side.

The front wheel rim and spokes look very good, obviously some scratches and corrosion. The worst spot is on the outside of the rim and I have taken a photo of it.

The rear wheel rim and spokes look OK, there is some corrosion.

The rear Sprocket and chain will need replacing. Once again see photo.

The rear mudguard has lots of small dents. Most are not noticeable being under the seat but there are at least a couple that can be seen.

The chrome on the rear shock absorber springs is flaking off.

The chrome on the indicators is flaking and pitted.

The seat cover has some holes and has been stitched at the back.

The details above are based on a fairly brief examination of the bike and I have listed any faults that I have found. There will be the odd nuts and bolts missing and there may be other issues that I am unaware of. The bike is sold as a project. If you have any questions please message me

All in all an excellent opportunity to buy a mainly complete bike, a fore runner of the much sought after Yamaha RD range.

The bike is situated in Bredgar near Sittingbourne, Kent and viewers are welcome.

I do not arrange deliveries but can suggest some courier names if required. I am happy to work with your courier in arranging collection.

Payment by bank transfer is preferred but cash is accepted.