A pretty rare thing at that, but not a particularly valuable one. This is a 1983 Yamaha RX50 Special. There were supposedly only 2000 of these ever made and they appear to be pretty spread out across the world so the number here in the US is probably pretty darn low and good info is hard to come by. These were promotional bikes produced by Yamaha in 1983 and ‘84, given to dealerships to raffle off or sell to help promote then then new Virago.
This one is a bit rough around the edges, and I overpaid a little but I saw it and jumped on it and I’m pumped to have it. It’s missing quite a few pieces which is both a shame, and a relief because as cool as it would be to have a mint example, I won’t feel bad making some small modifications to it.
It is a runner which is a plus but it’s going to need a few things to make it road worthy, and a fresh set of tires before I attempt to find it’s top speed of 55-60 mph. It also has no title, something I swore I wouldn’t do again, so I’ve got to get that sorted and will likely try the Vermont registration thing. Because it has a proper transmission it does need to be registered in my state, despite being only 50cc. I’ll probably putz around on it some but won’t take it anywhere outside of my little town of 1,100 until I’ve got proper rego on it.
I’ve already got it torn apart, going through it top to bottom and I’m glad I am, there were a lot of little things wrong with it. Loose fork caps, a missing bolt on the fork brace making the forks scary wobbly, a scotch brite pad for an air cleaner etc. I’ve already got the head bearings, front wheel, and forks rebuilt, the carb will get tackled tonight, followed by the rear wheel, rear suspension and electrical once I get a headlight, taillight, and blinkers ordered.
I’m really looking forward to riding this thing, I’ve got a buddy with a hopped up QT50 to ride around with, and there’s a local 49cc club I’m thinking of joining as well. In any case, I’m gonna put some miles on this thing.