You mustn't forget the most current 70s bike from which the RD400 descended, the RD350, which began the legend.

Yamaha RD sound is like music to my ears. I got my licence on an RD 125 (unleashing 16 hp uphill was great!) so this video stirred that special corner of my brain, fine vibrations, smell an’all.

I worked at a BMW dealership at the time the R65 came out. They were light weight, had nice power and sold well. They also had issues with timing chains and often needed them replaced. We had one R45 show up in the shop. It belong to a young lady from Switzerland who was riding it around the USA. By the time it got to us it had been thrashed to death. It had transmission issues, timing chain problems and the pistons didn't fit. Most of the parts interchanged from the R65 but she left with an R65 upgrade because that's all we had in the way of pistons and cylinders.

Funny how I didn't realize the treasures I had back in the 70's....Norton 850 Commando, Suzuki GT 550, BSA 650 Lightning, Cl 350 and 450 Honda's, Harley's and Triumph's.....Great bikes

A lovely trip down memory lane. I didn't ride all these, but did ride alongside them and in some cases I coveted the ones I didn't own. The air-cooled RD400 was a well-kept secret on the UK market. The 250 learner license meant that the market for the 400 was limited... But it was quite a machine. Ridden solo, it was rapid. Smaller Laverda twins were vanishingly rare in the UK. You'd see the odd 750 twin, but rarely a 500 away from the track. I do recall people fitting what we then called "power pipes" to Suzuki triples. They sounded like a gaggle of badly tuned mopeds. Wonderful! A lovely parade of nostalgia-inducing bikes in this video. Chapeau!

I believe I had the first Honda CB 500/4 in Dunedin. It was the Chestnut brown, same as the first one you featured. Great bike, incredibly smooth running and good for day trips two up. Unfortunately, not enough HP for me so I up-graded to the 750/4.

Enjoyable little film.....don't forget one of the most innovative of 70's 500s......the CX500..... one of mine I've had for 30years and provides all day comfort and effortless high speed cruising.....like all 70's bikes though , shame about the brakes !

I did most of my riding in the 1970s on a Yamaha XS360, a 4 stroke twin with SOHC, and a 6 speed gearbox. It was pretty quick for that time, and I had a lot of fun on it.

Great video well done. RD400, what a great bike! A giant killer of the time. I would have included the XT500 as it was, and still is, a truly iconic bike which kick started (no pun intended) the whole Paris Dakar thing and arguably, adventure bikes as a sector.

I had a Suzuki Titan 500 twin it was very reliable. I rode it across the country with no issues. Several times I rode a friend's Ducati 500 twin and it was fun, while it was running.

I miss my '77 cb500 and especially my 1976 cb550ss. I would really like to have the '66 SEARS (Puch) 106 I used as a dirt bike in the early 80's. It was in great shape till 14yo me got ahold of it.

A friend of mine (Neil Grant) raced an RD400 and it was tuned by Stan Stevens and he cleaned up everywhere, a really good bike indeed.

One unusual but fun bike I had back in the 70s was a Moto Morini 3 1/2

All of your videos are great but this has been the best yet. The 70s was the golden era.

I have a Suzuki GS 550 that rescued from under a tree. A surprisingly good bike in today's traffic. I wouldn't mind a ride on one of the two strokes though.

I owned a BMW R65, rode It daily during 10 years, summer and winter ☺️

My vote (absolutely biased as I now own one and love it immensely) is the Honda CX500. Even though it is a Vee-twin, it is super-smooth at 110Km/h at 6,000RPM. A delight to ride.

Thanks again ,good vids. The 70s were the magic time for motorcycles . After around 35yrs of pushrod singles and twins it all changed very fast, it was dizzying. I had both the 500 and 400/4s . They divided my impressions evenly. The 500 was the long distance bike ,comfortable,giving a feeling of grandeur and quality. To my mind the 400/4 was more exiting. The first time I saw one it shouted Cafe Racer ,in fact I thought it was a unique special, and it felt quick ,probably due to the more peaky engine and less weight than the 500,and the looks of course added to the drama . It was also amazingly frugal . I obtained 65/70mpg touring France with my then new wife ( still going strong) fully laden with camping gear ect. Good bike the Suzuki 380, the 550 was definitely more in the shadows and was very thirsty.

you need the Suzuki T-500 two stroke 500 twin. Smooth, fast, and it handled well. Made a great café racer too, without much added.

Having had a cb500 and gt380 I can say I enjoyed both machines.

I had the 1972 GT550 as a kid in the late 1970's. I remember it as a bike geared for highways with a 70mph speed limit rather than the 55. It had a decent kick when it went on the pipes, but you had to keep working the gearbox to keep it in that rpm range. It felt heavy and awkward at the time. Twisties took some concentration. That year had the drum brake on the front. The only bike that I rode that handled worse was the Kaw H2 750. That being said, I rode the he'll out of it. It never left me stranded anywhere, and after the 40-odd thousand miles I put on it I sold it for more than I paid for it.

Back in 1978 I wanted to buy a new RD 400, but Barry Smith (a three-time Formula III winner at the IoM TT 1979-81 and two-time FIII World Champion; he won in 1979 and 1981 - Ron Haslem won in 1980) advised me to buy the RD 250 instead. Barry was my local Yamaha dealer and his rationale was that the RD400 was very light at the front and prone to popping inadvertent wheelies. I went with the expert's advice and bought the 250; I was very happy with it.

Big Yamaha fan love to see bloody good two strokes

I owned a 1983 Triumph Bonneville and a 1983 Honda CB750K, both great bikes I wish I still had.

Thank you for this, it rfealy brourght back some sweet memories.. I like thise middleclas bikes, so often overlooked. Well done.

I always have a soft spot for the kawasaki Z500, easy to chuck around and was the fastest accelerating 500 for quite a while.

I really like your choices in Canada we didn't see much of the Laverda or the BMW bikes you mention. The Japanese really were popular bikes here. I had two CB 500's and they were great bikes as were the Yamaha 400's. I had the opportunity to ride the Suzuki's you reviewed but they were a little more rare here. They were good bikes though. Thanks for sharing your video's bring back many memories.

Thanks for your efforts and honesty brother

Excellent video! Thanks for taking the time to produce it. Look forward to the next! 👍🏻

In the early 70s my stepdad had an RB-350 for a little 350 I thought it was one bad ass bike he'd twist that throttle and it was hang on time, never got that feeling from any 4 stroke until I got my 88 cubic inch Fat Boy and twisted that throttle, they both had the same "I'm gonna leave your ass sitting in the street if you don't hang on" feeling. Those were the days for Yamaha 2 strokes.

Nice video and I like the first one cause in the early 80s I had a 1975 Honda CB550

Owned a 550 suzuki in 76, much friendlier than the kawa triples. Piper 3 into 1 fitted later had unbelievable sound, (someone once said it had an effect on your nervous system, similar to biting on tin foil) ... Killed performance though. Nice video.

Thanks for a great video. I rode or owned most of these bikes. It takes me back to the 70's when I owned the Honda 750 4 and a Suzuki 250 super six then also. My favourite you tube channel. The 500 4 had a fantastic exhaust note.

Thank you for your great content this year. This one I loved. I'm a fan of these types of cc power. Happy Xmas.

Great choices! I think the GT380 is one of the best looking bikes of the era. Maybe second only to the Z900. Great sounding as well. Hard to think of a nicer noise than a 3 cylinder two stroke!

Great video Well done 👏

Finally the RDs get some credit, it took long enough!!

Had a 550 fourK, 4 exhaust pipes, and I loved it! TY 100 tryres and it would corner at rediculous angles. I would have the same model again 45 years later! Followed it with a 850 Suzuki but I didn’t really get on with that.

I bought a brand new CB 550 and my Army buddy bought a new GT 380. We rode a lot together. I was quicker and better fuel economy but he had the Windjammer fairing and I had only a handlebar mounted fairing. That made his a better highway tourer. I wish I had never traded it for a Harley.

Enjoyed that -- thanks. Those Laverda twins are good looking bikes.

All these bikes from my teenage years ridden most of them

Yamaha XS650. 53hp, torquey, bulletproof, flingable, held a line. Great looking engine. Sound bike.

Just got a 400 Superteam....it's a great bike around town🇬🇧👍

Great Videos,greetings from Germany

An old man used to putt around my neighborhood on an rd 400 . At that time I was riding an 82 Yamaha maxim 550 yet I still loved that 2 stroke the old man was gingerly riding . I moved across the country and returned 5 years later . I saw the old man and asked him about his bike . He told me he hadn't ridden it in years and I could have it . Oh boy was I excited . I went to his house and it was outside behind his shed almost invisible because it was covered in weeds . I dug it out and brought it home . Unfortunately it was too far gone with rust and corrosion for my abilities to bring back to life . I still get jitters just seeing one on video . Your Ass My Ass Hondas Ass Yamaha

I lust for the RD400 but I also like a bike you didn't feature--GS750 for being one of the best handlers of the time with ample power

I had a Honda CB350 twin , stripped bare to the absolute minimum . Yoshimura cammed , tuned to Dunstall two into ones , Magura clip ons and rear set pegs , single seat , no starter motor or centre stand . Front and rear guards replaced with fibre glass , running Dunlop K91 Red Arrows , raised gearing , but with standard suspension and brakes . Nonetheless this machine handled and flew. In Sydney in 1980 , this thing chewed RD 350' s and the rest , off the line and in a straight flat out drag ,opening up it's advantage to it's near top speed of a genuine 110 mph . In Canberra on the smooth bitumen roundabouts , it was unassailable .

From South Africa without a doubt the Suzie

I rode a mates GT380 back in the day.. and I had high expectations, having been aquainted with RD's. and other hot little 2-strokes fitted with spannies.... I was thinking.. hmm triple stroker, and thought it might be like a little H2 or Mach III. I was expecting the ring-ding-a-ding-waaaaa as it hit the power band.. but alas I was disappointed... there was none of hat crazy rush of revs.. I really didn't realise that a broad(er) power band was intended until I watched this....probably, If i had known that, I might of enjoyed it more... then again, at that age maybe not.. used to love that rush when a highly tuned stroker cleared its throat and hit the powerband, chucking gears at it whilst grinning like a maniac.

I owned quite a few 2 strokes back in the 70s. I bought a 76 RD400 with about 1000 miles on it for $300. The original owner knocked it off the stand while cleaning it in his driveway, and was afraid to ride it after that because the new-fangled high tech cast aluminum wheels might be cracked LOL! I never had any problem with it but my Suzuki T-500 was more fun to ride even though it vibrated and had weak brakes. More "character", I guess?

had a 1975 rd 350 put on chambers low bars rear set pegs it was so much fun and the first year 400,s i street raced 2 at one time beat them both to next light that was 4 blocks away

The Suzuki GT 500 should have been on this list, there was absolutely no quit in that bike!

16 year old Dan bought himself a '72 GT380 in 1981 - these were REALLY cheap then, I believe I paid. $300 for it. Rode it to high school I did..Catholic school at that. Great bike. Did the job of making me notorious quite well and I never crashed it. Took the prettiest cheerleader for a ride, even. All you can ask of any bike, really. My buddy Rob Perkoski had the RD400, it was much faster. Aside from a few Hellish college semesters without, I've had bikes ever since.

Wheres the Yamaha YR-5 350cc .. what a cracking bike !

The kawasaki z 650 was very good choice in the mid 1970s and it had the speed of 750, was very reliable, also looked a bit like a Z1 900, The z 650 was a good tight bike to handle twisties.

i liked the suzuki and kawsaki that was when i grow up in the 70s . i never road street bikes just dirt bikes ...

I always longed for an RD 350 or 400. They were at the time just out of my price range because I was an apprentice. I wish now they went back in production. However at the moment I have a 350 Jawa. It will have to do. Please don't laugh.

Love to see a video on my RT1 360 Yamaha. And their connection to the YZ.

I owned a 1974 Honda 500 four. It was a good reliable bike.

Had 2 x 350/4s ...one 500/4 ..about 10 x 750/4s ...loved my 500 ...and 750s

I would like to see videos about UK Learner legal bikes of the 60's and 70's. I'm sure that comparisons of the 250's, 200's etc would be interesting and certainly bring back memories! The British bikes over 200cc that were generally stroke, whilst most smaller bikes were Villiers 2 strokes. Then there was the "Japanese Invasion" of the 70's, which compares the Honda 4 strokes against the sportier 2 strokes from Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki.

Interesting to compare these to the modern retro middleweights. Forty years later the CB650R to me seems like a headbanger compared to its ancestors and, for me at least, wildly fast. R Nine T looks great.

I had a new RD400 in 1978 and it was a cracking bike. My mate had a Jubilee Bonneville 750 that was no faster......boy was he pissed. And my RD didn't leak oil.

All bikes l grew up with. My mates had 500/4's, RD 400, and l rode an XS 650.

So I gave you a Like and Subscribe ... had 3 Honda CB 500 Four ... most beautiful Honda for me with the trumpet exhaust pipes ... the power came from 5000 or 6000 rpm's up ... the brakes were a bit "adventerous" as from time to time there came oil through the shaft seals on the brake disc.

That BMW you used in the video…is that a 70’s model? Looks early 80’s to me. Great video though, enjoyed it 👍

I never had the CB 500 but I did own the CB 550 and I think it was a far better bike to own then the CB 750. I remember when they introduced the 250cc learners law into South Australia in the mid to late 70s and the amount of learner who bought the RD 250 and either put the 350 or 400 top end on them to beat it.

I really enjoyed my Honda 500/4. I stupidly traded it against a 750/4 which turned out to be a huge mistake. I quickly traded up to a Suzuki 1000 which was a great bike.

H1/KH 500, Z650, Moto Morini 31/2, Ducati 350 Scrambler, perhaps.

My first new bike was a 1972 Honda CB450 k5 my last new bike 1983 Suzuki GS750T which I'm still riding !

Thank you for posting the BMW R65 model, as it is in dead a good modest offering .

It has got to be a Moto Morini 350 sport drum from 1974, the best looking and best handling bike of the 70s, or an rd 400f in red and white, both fun bikes.

I had a GT380 in the 1970s and of the GT380 550 and 750 tge GT380 came out in the C model the other two only went to the B model

What about a five 50cc unrestricted 70s moped video with the Suz AP50, Yam SS/FS1E, Honda SS50, Gilera 50 and you must have the Fantic Captain America chop all with pedals.

I'd have a T500 or GT500 Suzuki, both of which I owned {also had a GT250, GT380 and GT750} There's a lovely T on eBay right now but I baulk at coughing up six and a half grand for a very simple, although hardy machine.

Hi, I wish that my bike would show up here. My first bike, was considered Japans first super bike. The Suzuki T500 Titan. It was introduced in the 60s as many of these were, and progressed into the 70s with upgrades to brakes etc. It seems a forgotten bike now.

Good stuff,what about the rd 350 air cooled and the kh 500.

Yamaha YR5, RD350/400,, XT500, XS650 Kawasaki H1 and KH500 Honda cb500 very pretty bike, Ducati 450, Moto morrini 350,

I dispute your claims for the BMW R65, I owned one. In top gear as the speedo reached 70 a vibration came in that hit right in the groin, a half hour of this and the ability to stand and walk was massively compromised 🤪

Those Bing pieces of aluminium floor sweepings and cheap condoms on the BMWs are the worst excuses for a fuel/air mixture device I have ever had to work on

RD 400 for me

Is there any chance of you doing a video on motorcycle tyres to tell if different types of tyres make a genuine difference for bikes around 700 cc down. Thanks. I trust your judgement.

Cut my teeth motorcycling on middle weight bikes cb 550 Yamaha xs 650 my friends all had these bikes good times. 😅

Hi, 5 mid range touring bikes would be nice. Like the Kawasaki GT550.

Had the Alpino S, CJT195Y still on dvla database probably in someone's shed.

The RD Yamaha's were Giant Killers .

Back in the day those BMW R45 as totally gutless and liked to burn oil and drop valves

What…no H1? The middleweight screamer! Used to smoke cb750s and Z1s on my ‘70 H1.

Wouldn't Mind a Kawasaki W3 or even a Suizuki GS550. if I was retricted to to a middle weight.

Didn’t see the bike I had. I’m sure you all knew it. The Kawasaki H1 Mach III 500 triple. It was fast.!!!

Tx / xs 650 please!

I drove a RD350, but twice had piston problems, hole in the bucket. All happend in 77

KZ650SR ???

2 strokes were for kids, then we grew up.

You left out the Yamaha XS650 - it knocked the Brits out.

1980 kawasaki Z500 4

Cx500 should be in

there was nothing wrong with the Cb 400 4. 37 hp did ok i owen 1 i wish i never sold it My dad had a cb 550 4 you did buy a 400 for quickness you brought it because it was simple and never gave any problems

Mechanical porn at its best. Three bikes I've owned on your list here and would have loved having the others. My RD was the 250LC (2nd hand) . Your videos should come with a health warning. My wife is very suspicious as I've started to drool and apparently making strange noises. Just off to check how many pennies I have in the savings account before getting on to a well known auction site. Thank you for making a man of a certain age. Remember his youth.

How about Kawasaki S2 350 & S3A 400 had one of the latter in the seventies, was actually faster and quicker than the RD400