RD350: A Killer Machine or An Overachieving Giant Killer?

Rajdoot 350B was the first performance based machine that was manufactured in India. This was the first bike which established Yamaha as a performance bike manufacturer in India. The country in which a bike is defined by its cubic capacity, Tyre size and fuel economy, RD250 was an overachieving giant killer which had trounced many bikes having cubic capacity double its size. This bike hosted a 2-stroke 347cc air cooled parallel twin engine which had a six-speed gear box. This giant produced for Europe made 39 bhp power but the bike manufactured in India made around 30 bhp.

Producing a whooping 30 bhp, this bike became too much for inexperienced Indian riders. It was like giving an 86 yr old granny a brand new iphone and expecting her to be overwhelmed by its new feature. One of the major cons of the bike was its low fuel efficiency which was way too less for the Indian scenario. With power too much to handle for average riders, it hosted a front and rear brake not like its overseas sibling which had a 10.5 inch front disc brake. A cost cutting measure that was so brutally inefficient that most of the rider believed RD stand for ‘Rapid Death’. It made the bike wild and impractical to most of the people. For some of the rider it became a killer machine but for some of its appreciators it became the weapon of choice. At right setting, it can kick some serious butt. A race pepped RD350 can produce 65hp and top speed around 177kph. And with that brutal acceleration of a 2-stroke beast, it can beat some bikes double its size.