This Yamaha RD350 Body Kit For The XSR900 Offers The Perfect Throwback

Modern machinery meets old-school aesthetics 

Most of us grew up fascinated by the Yamaha two-stroke braapsters. Walking back home from school, I’d often see my college-going neighbour bhaiyyas returning home on their RX100s and RX135s. The aura surrounding these bikes were elevated to another level, when I saw the Yamaha RD350. 

From the symphony cackling out of the twin exhausts, to the speed my neighbour was able to achieve, this bike captivated me. That day, 10-year old me aspired to own the RD350 once I grew up and started working. However, the Government of India brought the era of two-strokes to an end with the Bharat Stage Emission Standards (BSES).

However now, there’s a new way of regaining that old-school charm on a modern motorcycle, with a body kit for the Yamaha XSR 700 and XSR 900, that offers aesthetics that uncannily resemble the RD350.

Created by Velocity Moto, a UK-based workshop, this kit consists of a pillion grab bar, taillights, a new tail section, a belly pan, side covers, headlamp cowl and all the required brackets and hardware. This exhaustive list of bodywork transforms the neo-retro naked XSRs into semi-faired lookalikes of the iconic RD350LC. 

The original RD350LC was powered by a 347cc parallel twin, liquid-cooled, two-stroke mill that produced around 49PS, which was considered a crazy amount of power back then. Compared to the air-cooled engine in the RD350, the RD350LC’s engine received liquid cooling to meet stricter emission regulations. In comparison, the current KTM 390 Duke’s 373cc mill produces 43.5PS.

While the body kit offers the perfect throwback, it does come at a steep price, as the unpainted kit for the XSR700 is priced at 1,200 GBP, or around Rs 1.15 lakh. The XSR900 unpainted kit, on the other hand, retails for 1,700 GBP, or approximately Rs 1.64 lakh. Painted liveries of the RD350 are also offered, for an additional price of 1,100 GBP (Rs 1.05 lakh).

And even if you make peace with the steep asking price of this kit, you still miss out on the classic two-stroke sound.