This brutal-looking Yamaha RD350 is nearly fifty years old, but when the lights turn green, not much will be able to keep up. It might not be pretty, but it?s pretty fast.
Built by land speed record holder Eric LeVine, it?s a street legal (just add mirrors) race bike. Designed to run in the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials, it weighs just 281 pounds [128 kg].

Eric hails from Bainbridge Island, a town in western Washington State that?s just a ferry ride away from Seattle. He?s a principal for an architecture firm in Seattle called NBBJ, and builds one-off customs as a different kind of creative outlet.
It?s a productive outlet for him: he still holds a 350cc speed record he set in 1993, with an RZ350 at El Mirage Dry Lake in California. He clocked 146.7 mph?a stunning 236 kph.
This RD350 left the factory a year after Eric set his record. ?It was in good condition, and complete,? he reports. ?It was actually a purple 1974 model, but the new paint scheme is based on the 1975 Yamaha factory orange scheme.?
Eric has replaced, rebuilt, and/or modified all the mechanical parts, but the frame is essentially stock?except for the slightly lengthened and underbraced swing arm.

It?s all in compliance with the rules for the Modified Production class and the RD350 has turn signals and a horn. It just needs mirrors to be street legal in Washington State.
?The motor modifications are typical for competition,? says Eric. ?Porting, port matching, and head squish reshaping. Ignition...