1984 Yamaha RD350LC
“I BOUGHT MY Elsie in October 1997, at a time when I already had three other RD350LCS. Two of them were converted 250s, one was a genuine early 350 but had a blown motor – and all three had custom paint and various non-lc parts fitted.
“You could say I was a total LC nerd back then and wanted a genuine unmolested 350LC to restore back to factory condition.
“After scouring the south and east of England, looking at all sorts of examples, most of which looked like they had been built by Victor Frankenstein, I found what I was looking for in Tonbridge, Kent. The bike was in good condition – far from mint, but it was unmodified. So, there was no chopped rear mudguard, all the footrest hangers were olive green, even the oil feed pipes still had the clips on. A deal was struck and I rode her home.
“Four years and an engine rebuild later, my pride and joy was stolen from my front garden and burnt out in a local graveyard.
“When I discovered the burned out bike, I pushed her home, fully meaning to rebuild her to her former glory. I stripped the bike down and kept everything salvageable, but that is as far as I got. Kids and a mortgage meant I had no time and no money to complete the project.
“Fifteen years passed and just as I had given up hope of ever doing anything with my bikes, which were slowly decaying in my shed, my cousin Victor who is a certified LC nut contacted me to ask if I wanted to sell one of my bikes for a project he wanted to do.
“After a bit of haggling, Vic said he would take all of my bikes and give me one back in good working order. Happy days! We came to an agreement and eight months later I rode my Elsie home. Now she has had a custom paintjob, a full engine rebuild and tune by John Floyd, everything has been powdercoated and, after all the fettling by Victor, it’s like a brand new bike!
“I know it’s not factory original, but I don’t care. She still sounds the same as she did 16 years ago and I have the pleasure of owning and riding an amazing example of Japanese motorcycling history.”