Reedy Racing

Having a great weekend racing the Norton 650SS and Yamaha RD350LC at Warwick’s Morgan Park Raceway. The finest English thumper engineering vs Japanese banshee screamer!

2026 brings a new mount which is 'Bluey' - a 1981 Yamaha RD350LC. Here is some reading on why this model has a special place in motorcycle history ....... " It produced less than 50bhp and had a top speed of not much more than 100mph, but for many riders Yamaha’s raw, racy RD350LC was the high-performance bike of the Eighties.
In many ways, the LC had the lot: acceleration, excitement and handling – plus also reasonable practicality, reliability and economy. Although it had an appetite for fuel and two-stroke oil, it was relatively cheap to buy and to run. And it looked great, too, with a restrained style that contrasted with its exuberant personality.
Introduced in 1980, the RD350LC, its LC standing for Liquid Cooled, was a descendant of the string of outstanding air-cooled two-stroke twins that had earned Yamaha an unmatched reputation for middleweight performance. The line had begun with the 347cc YR1 in 1967, and continued through the Seventies with models including the RD350 and RD400.
The familiar RD initials stood for Race Developed, and were well deserved. Yamaha riders including Britain’s Phil Read had won 250 and 350cc world championships in the Sixties and Seventies, firstly on air-cooled twins and then on the liquid-cooled TZ250 and 350.
The RD350LC was developed alongside an RD250LC sibling that was visually near-identical apart from its front brake having one disc rather than two. The larger, 347cc engine produced 47bhp, a few horsepower up on the air-cooled RD400. The LC’s liquid cooling allowed a more constant engine temperature and closer tolerances, as well as reducing noise.
Chassis layout was also influenced by Yamaha’s racers: instead of a twin-shock layout like the RD400, the LC had a TZ-style mono-shock system with the unit angled diagonally under the seat. The 18-inch cast wheels had stylishly curved spokes but in other respects the chassis was conventional, with a twin-downtube steel frame, non-adjustable front forks and slightly raised handlebars.
Initial reaction was not all positive; some testers wondered whether the LC was too aggressive to appeal to more than a limited section of the market. It didn’t appeal to everyone – but for riders looking for high performance on a low budget, no other bike came close. With a 110mph top speed, wheelie-popping acceleration and racetrack credibility, the “Elsie”, as it was soon nicknamed, was the bike of a speed-crazed teenager’s dreams.
Decades later, it still has a rarely matched ability to put a smile on its rider’s face. The entertainment begins the moment you kick the engine into life; there’s no electric starter. The two-stroke powerplant fires up with a burbling, rather harsh sound through the twin pipes, which also belch out a fair bit of smoke and fumes.
The Yamaha has excellent controls and a light clutch. Its low-rev performance is pretty feeble; there’s not much power available below about 6000rpm. And then, hang on!
By the time Yamaha retired the LC in the mid-Nineties it had been produced in its various forms for well over a decade, and sold in huge numbers all over the world. Almost 30 years after that, its reputation is intact and the original model, in particular, remains one of the best-loved bikes of all time."
So that’s the history of the RD350LC model and a speed-crazed teenager’s dream is being realised with ‘Bluey’!

Big news on a new track weapon for 2026 season coming soon! A bike that was a pinup poster in the 80s with blue stripes…

Last weekend's race meeting went well and we were spared the rain that seemed to lash Brisbane. The 650SS with its torquey twin cylinder engine ran without issues and achieved second overall in its class. While the RD400 gave that lovely two stroke smoke-and-noise thrill that I enjoy it for - that was until we departed company at the end of the main straight at about 120kmh. The damage was not too serious for bike or rider but wasn't part of the plan for sure. Oh well, learning more at every outing. Another positive experience from the weekend was dining at Stanthorpe's Anna's Italian Restaurant. Wow. The food was excellent and can highly recommend - it'll be on our must do list for Stanthorpe visits for sure.

2025 race season gets underway this weekend with the 1962 650SS and 1978 RD400 getting a chance to stretch their legs. Don’t they look super. Looking forward to a great event and having a beer on Sunday night, with body intact!

Looking forward to the Qld/Aus 2025 motorcycle racing year starting. Plenty of mods and maintenance to enjoy in the meantime. Not to mention the post Christmas get into shape program underway!

After 3 years of ownership, the FZR400 is going to a new southern owner. It has been a wonderful bike to ride and really sings when flat out. Targeted for the Japanese market, there is a handful of them racing in Australia and long may this one grace the racetracks. With the festive season almost here, bike activity for the next few months with involve fettling with the next session of on track action planned for March25. Keep upright and safe everyone 🧑‍🎄 🏍️

It’s been 4 months since having a tarmac slap and breaking 5 ribs. Although the most recent xray showed that a couple are yet to start rebonding, progress is good. Airvest is restored and just have secured a new helmet - just need a race suit to be track ready…

This is one of the best racing car museums in the world and a must see if the numbers 917 mean anything to you. The Porsche Museum is an automobile museum in the Zuffenhausen district of Stuttgart, Germany on the site of carmaker Porsche. After touring the factory, we visited it in 2019 which was the year that possibly the most prominent racing car in Porsche motor racing history was celebrating its 50th birthday: the Porsche 917. The Porsche Museum was honouring the 50th anniversary of the racing sport icon as part of a comprehensive special exhibition entitled “50 Years of the Porsche 917 – Colours of Speed”
The success story of the 917 is legendary. The car managed to secure an overall victory in its very first year of competing in the 1,000-kilometre race at Zeltweg, Austria in 1969. In 1970, Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood achieved the coveted overall triumph at Le Mans – the greatest motorsport success Porsche had ever achieved until that point, and which would be repeated by Dr Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep in 1971. Following further development of the 917 to the 917/10 and 917/30 turbo versions with over 1,000 PS, George Follmer and Mark Donohue were able to dominate the North American CanAm Series in 1972 and 1973 respectively; these Porsche models also proved unbeatable in the event’s European counterpart, the Interserie. An altered version of the turbo technology was also reused a little later in a Porsche standard vehicle – when the 911 Turbo was born in 1974.

Some more pics this time from the Petersen Museum in LA

As we have a winter rest, here are some recent pics from the National Automobile Museum of Tasmania

One horsepower fitness riding today!