Skip to content
Bike Shed Motorcycle Club
Login
Cart
Search
Home Shop Locations
London Los Angeles Tattoo Barbershop
Membership
Membership Home Join Us Calander Bike Shed Adventures
Community
Journal Social Media YouTube Moto Sales
Barbershop Show 2025 Tickets Show 2025 Bike Submissions Custom Classifieds Journal Calendar & Events
Your Basket

£
Quantity
-
+
Remove { item.title }

Your cart is currently empty.

Subtotal
Subtotal { cart.total_price | money Currency.currentCurrency }
Continue Shopping
Check Out
Tickets - Bike Shed Moto Show 2025 Shop the Bike Shed up to 50% Off Sale! Free Delivery on UK orders over £100 Shop Our Newest Gear & Apparel
Bike Shed Motorcycle Club
  • Bike Shed Motorcycle Club
  • Shop
    • Clothing
    • Accessories
    • Gear
    • New Arrivals
    • T-Shirts
    • Headwear
    • Denim
    • BSMC x Dave Buonaguidi
    • Sweatshirts & Hoodies
    • Tubes & Scarfs
    • Outerwear
    • Retail Gift Cards
    • Jackets & Shirts
    • Leather & Silver
    • Jackets & Shirts
    • Restaurant Gift Cards
    • Womens Fit
    • Patches & Pins
    • Helmets
    • Gifted BSMC Membership
    • View All
    • View All
    • View All
    • Sale - Up To 50% Off
  • Locations

    Los Angeles

    London

    Barbershop

    Custom Classifieds

  • Community

    Journal

    Instagram

    Custom Classifieds

    Youtube

  • Membership

    Membership Home

    Join Us

    Calendar

    Adventures

  • SHOW

    SHOW HOMEPAGE

    SHOW TICKETS

    MOTOGP COMPETITION

    2024 SHOW

We've sent you an email with a link to update your password.

Login

Create account
Forgot your password?

Reset your password

We will send you an email to reset your password.

Access Denied
IMPORTANT! If you’re a store owner, please make sure you have Customer accounts enabled in your Store Admin, as you have customer based locks set up with EasyLockdown app. Enable Customer Accounts

Spirit's RD400

By Hugo Eccles - 28 Nov 13

  • Category_Bikes
Spirit's RD400
Spirit RD400 1 Chris Bullick originally bought his RD400C in 1977 when he was a sixth former, and the same year that EMI signed the Sex Pistols, Star Wars was released, and Elvis left the building. The RD400 was a relatively short -lived model, produced for only three years from 1976-79, but was a bike that did wheelies off the throttle at a time when nothing else did, and handled better than its 'characteristic' Kawasaki and Suzuki counterparts. On a good day, a set-up RD could give a Triumph Bonneville or Norton Commando a run for their money. Spirit RD400 2 1977's model was supplied with US-spec tall handlebars, giant rubber footrests sedately positioned below the engine, and large self-cancelling indicators. It wasn't long before Chris had removed the cow-horn bars, replaced the weighty chrome silencers, and repainted the bike with the classic yellow-black-white race livery of Kenny Roberts' TZ750. ...But that's where the story stopped for 30 years. Spirit RD400 5 Chris pursued a career across the globe, started a family and the RD slumbered behind a false wall in a garden shed. In 2012, having eventually got the kids to leave home, Chris decided that a restoration was in order, and a natural choice was Spirit of the Seventies in Chris' native Kent where he used to thrash along the same A-roads as a lad. Chris' plan solidified that summer when he visited Tim and Kev at Spirit and a chance sighting of a Yamaha RD400/TZ350 hybrid behind the shed started "a conversation", which turned into some ideas, then renderings, then a bone fide rebuild. Spirit RD400 4 Spirit started by replacing the flimsy front end with an R6 setup, chosen for its performance and authentic-looking RWU forks, complemented by a Spirit headlight on LSL brackets, machined clip ons and Oury grips. Tim and Kev retained the original clocks and key-worn instrument panel as they are the familiar face of the bike: "Chris was looking at them all those years ago and it seemed appropriate to keep them. They could've been replaced but it wouldn't have been right." Spirit RD400 3 Next, the "ridiculously heavy" original cast alloy wheels were replaced with refurbished later-model, lighter-weight RD400E rims wearing modern Bridgestone BT45s with a short carbon fibre Spirit mudguard. The engine was vapour-blasted and powder-coated before receiving a re-bore, porting and jetting by Martin at Taymar Racing who shares the building with Spirit. Martin is a specialist in Yamaha 2-stroke restorations ever since racing and tuning LC350's at nearby Brands Hatch way back when. New flat-slide Mikuni carbs (from a TZR250-2MA racer), foam air filters, and race-bred expansion pipes (that had been hanging in Martin's workshop for 20 years but perfectly matched Spirit's needs) helped release more power from the 40bhp motor. Spirit RD400 6 Chris's original aim was to lose 10kg to give the bike "a bit more zest" that could convincingly do a track day. Spirit's and Taymar's combined efforts created an extremely light 145kg rocket (20kg saved by ditching the original cast wheels and replacing the rear swingarm with a lightweight FZR400 alloy unit) that produces 50bhp at the rear wheel. Spirit RD400 7 Since the lines of the bike were in Chris' words "so timelessly right" he wanted to retain the original side panels and tank. A sophisticated grey-and-black Revolution paint job, subtly echoing the Roberts Yamaha race livery of the past, and a two-tone leather seat by Glen Moger did just that: keeping the original spirit but simultaneously updating it. Well done Tim and Kev. See more from Spirit of the Seventies on their Bike Shed Pages or on their Website. Posted by Hugo@TheBikeShed
Share
Share on Facebook Tweet on Twitter Pin on Pinterest
Invalid password
Enter
Menus
Book a Table
Barber
Classifieds
FRANCHISE
Invest
Calendar
About Us
Contact & Opening Hours
Venue Hire
Delivery & Returns
384 Old St, Hackney, London EC1V 9LT United Kingdom
Tel: 020 7729 8114
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Payment methods accepted
  • American Express
  • Apple Pay
  • Diners Club
  • Discover
  • Google Pay
  • Maestro
  • Mastercard
  • PayPal
  • Shop Pay
  • Union Pay
  • Visa
Copyright © 2025, Bike Shed Motorcycle Club
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website, including personalised ads. By clicking 'Accept' you agree to our Privacy/Cookie Policy