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Rz50- King of 50cc's


JonnoBass
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Hi all. I'm not sure if these were available in the UK. but growing up as a kid in South Africa the rules were- you could ride a 50cc legally with a Learner's License from the age of 16. It was the ultimate badge of independance being 16 and owning 'A 50''.

There were two major players that kids used to aspire to- the Honda MBX50 and the king - the Yamaha Rz 50cc. Gang wars could break out depending on which one you supported :rolleyes: I got mine just before turning 17 after doing God knows what to scrimp and save to get the money together. Buying fixing and selling BMX's, selling fruit- eg. a crate of oranges repackaged into bags of 5 would sell for a R1 (about 8p) outside the local liquor store like hotcakes. Finally I got my very own 50 from a neighbour's kid who had 2 and wanted another riding buddy. My dad hated the idea but relented in the end.

rz50.jpg

this bike was quick. let me tell you. You could have the 'ports done' or even 're-bore' it. I kept mine stock except for a spacer put on the single back shock to lift the tale a bit.

There was nothing like the smell of 2stroke first thing in the morning. or sneaking out to mom and pops car to siphon some petrol out ;)

to be clear the pic above is not mine unfortunately-- not one photo exists of my RZ50 <_< ., but it looked damn near this after loads of repairing and a re-spray with same original colour scheme. they came in either white and blue or white and red. I had to replace all kinds of bits and pieces, including a new seat, tank and indicator lights to get it into roadworthy condition. Only a 50 but it had heart. In my eyes a Yamaha Classic.

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  • 1 year later...
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Hi all. I'm not sure if these were available in the UK. but growing up as a kid in South Africa the rules were- you could ride a 50cc legally with a Learner's License from the age of 16. It was the ultimate badge of independance being 16 and owning 'A 50''.

There were two major players that kids used to aspire to- the Honda MBX50 and the king - the Yamaha Rz 50cc. Gang wars could break out depending on which one you supported :rolleyes: I got mine just before turning 17 after doing God knows what to scrimp and save to get the money together. Buying fixing and selling BMX's, selling fruit- eg. a crate of oranges repackaged into bags of 5 would sell for a R1 (about 8p) outside the local liquor store like hotcakes. Finally I got my very own 50 from a neighbour's kid who had 2 and wanted another riding buddy. My dad hated the idea but relented in the end.

rz50.jpg

this bike was quick. let me tell you. You could have the 'ports done' or even 're-bore' it. I kept mine stock except for a spacer put on the single back shock to lift the tale a bit.

There was nothing like the smell of 2stroke first thing in the morning. or sneaking out to mom and pops car to siphon some petrol out ;)

to be clear the pic above is not mine unfortunately-- not one photo exists of my RZ50 <_< ., but it looked damn near this after loads of repairing and a re-spray with same original colour scheme. they came in either white and blue or white and red. I had to replace all kinds of bits and pieces, including a new seat, tank and indicator lights to get it into roadworthy condition. Only a 50 but it had heart. In my eyes a Yamaha Classic.

This brings back memories. I never had a RZ though, i was the MBX guy, felt better and bigger.

Havn't seen a 50cc here in years. Don't know what happened to them all, very sad.

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Friend of mine had a DT400 in the 'bad old days'.

I'll ask him about it...

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Dave says:

"The Rz and MBX were both a bit later than when I was interested in these things.

Before the MBX, Honda did the MB50 and MT50. The MB was a road bike, the MT was offroad, but could be fitted with the necessary bits to make it roadworthy. Those tended to be the two most popular 50s in the early 80s (up to about 83, I think). If I recall correctly, the MB was the "Meteor", and the MT was the "Tornado". Which just goes to show the gulf between reality and marketing. (Two very clear and severe cases of "wantage")...

I got my DT400 in '83. About the same time, the DT series was being replaced by the XT series. Never liked those - the tanks were big and ugly. Much preferred the lines of the DT."

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I'm 28 and 6'0" /160lbs., and I still cruise town every day in my 50! Right past 20 or so undergrad bars and a couple biker bars, I go cruisin past with that 2-stroke wound up to 10K! Sometimes they yell or cheer in some way.

I've been riding some friends' 50cc mopeds some lately, and holy crap they are slow in comparison to my '83 Yamaha RX50. I'm not sure how Yamaha is able to crank out over twice the power from the same size engine, but the RX50 is much more fun than anyone ever expects out of a 50cc.

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