While surfing around the classic bike sites I happened upon a forum discussion between a couple of anoraks. It was a circular argument revolving around whether the Yamaha RD250/350/400 had 5 or 6 speed gearboxes.

I very quickly became bored with this argument as both of them were right, and wrong, at the same time.

These guys were obviously mixed up between the RD series and its immediate predecessor the YDS7 (250) and the YR5 (350)

The YDS7 and the YR5 both had 6 gears but for some strange reason (probably lack of horse power) Yamaha engineers had fitted a blanking off plate meaning only 5 gears were accessible to the rider.

As usually happens some bright spark splits his engine, removes the factory fitted blanking plate and ‘Hey Presto’ a six speed Yamaha!!

The problem was if the YR5/YDS7 gear jammer was cruising in his newly acquired 6th gear and, as one does, he checked if he was actually in "top gear". That was a mistake as the extra lifting of the gear lever resulted in the bike jumping back into first.

This actually happened to a friend of mine. He was crusing on his YR5 circa 1973 "looking good and feeling fine", enjoying the fruits of his labour, enjoying his newly discovered 6th gear. He toe'd the gear shift again and engaged first, the result being a catastrophic collision between his "plumbs" and a candy purple petrol tank!!

He claims the aforementioned collision left two spherical indentations in his candy purple paintwork!!

In the immortal words of DR. Zachary Smith, antihero from 60's sci-fi show ‘Lost in Space’, "the pain, the pain".

Anyhow, the argument between the two internet anoraks was a purely academic exercise as any RD Yamaha I ever rode only had 2-speeds, "flat-out" or "parked". Neither of these nerds probably ever rode an RD in the good old days when the RD ruled the tarmac.

The truth is anyone who never rode balls-out with their hair on fire on an RD Yam probabably, in all honesty, never ever truly was seventeen!!

Brian