£55k 465LC article

[JonW]

www.bikebound.com/2021/04/14/yamaha-rd465lc/

"• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?
I would describe this as the equivalent to riding a box of dynamite. This bike pulls your arms off in every gear all the way up to 135mph."

Some lovely kit on it. I really like the Stack clocks (yeah i know they are mismatched) but then ive always been a fan of them, even if my Lotus one went iffy one day lol

Makes you wonder... lots of people swear that Athena is the poor mans big bore, but this one makes over 100bhp on the dyno with its +10 crank. Of course you can make a dyno say anything you like, but i think you'll al agree that this is still impressive.



Wonder if anyone knows the owner?

[steve h]

£55k?....

Expensive hobby building that... I'll stick with a SS600 with more power and no dynamite, it's crap for ones ears...eh?

[tacky1]

55k, who in their right mind would even pay half that. Beautiful bike though, doesn’t matter how much you spend, it’s still an LC.

[JonW]

haha, well publishing the cost in article is not how i'd be choosing to tell the Mrs what i'd spent on any build, put it that way...

It does sound like the work was farmed out and not done by the owner, that will always put the price up. Even at Mark Dent's (who has had mixed reviews for big engine Lc work like this over the years) £25k estimate is waaaaay beyond my price range... I'm not saying my 421 was a cheap build tho, but it wasnt 'that money' and while its not a +10, it could have been done for only a percentage over what it cost me as I fitted new pipes, carbs, crank and other parts anyway etc.

I was pleased to read he had the frame strengthened, would like to see the pics of that work as you know ive strengthened mine and like others on here Ive found it tough to find pics of that where other people have fitted it and would love to hear reasoning for what was done. Also interested to see how the filters were fitted for the same reason, the LC frame is not kind to big carbs with slim frame rails and shock in the way.

I was amused (is that the right word?) that someone has stamped/cut the banshee/YPVS cases (not a billet unit so much have a good amount of welding under the crank webs) with matching 4L1 frame number... And of course no oil pump which saddens me.

To me the rad looks smaller than I would have thought would work on this size engine and those thick forks, but the bike isnt in the heat of an Aussie summer so maybe less of a worry. It does look thick tho so multiple rows? but expect there is a big fan behind it like I have on mine. The curved snake hose using the unmodified Athena forward facing exit from the Banshee head is interesting. Ive been advised mine is too much of a 90 deg bend by some, and this is more radiused, but more of them. hmm...

I do love the carbon wheels... very very sexy. Love the Brembos too.

[dusty350]

That's Alan Philips' bike. He also owns a stunning Rd400 hybrid that was a 35k build - featured in Practical Sportsbike mag a couple of years ago. He also has a lovely Rd500 race rep. Mark Dent has done a lot of the work.

Dusty

[wwwRD350LCnet]

It's a shame JonW, for £55k the VIN number on the engine case have been badly restamped 



Xavier

[Norbo]

Yes its a very impressive bike , I know the owner and he and his wife are lovely people . This bike is pretty special and very fast . He has an A/C RD400 as well thats as nice i prefer the air cooler to the lc But both are out standing bikes.

[headcoats]

I'm surprised with all that money spent and only used Athena barrels but looks great, shit my pants every time I would have tyres changed with carbon rims though

[abar121]

A lovely bike! Lots of bling, but why not!

The rivet counters will not be happy

[tlmark]

It is a drool worthy bike. But shit that its a lot of money, you buy that mars bar thats always on ebay for that

[liffy16]

Beautiful bike I appreciate the work that's gone into it but £55k !! Don't think so ☹

[veg]

I don’t doubt he has spent that but I’m struggling to see exactly how? Mine cost me £15k plus and it has pretty much new everything including some rare stuff, some of the beautiful bikes on here probably owe similar amounts to mine or more. However I did most of the build and a fair amount of the fabrication as others do, is that really the cost then of getting one built by mark dent?
If so some of you on here should be building bikes for a living.

[reedpete]

It looks beautiful, but not 55K beautiful....

A TZ750 would look 55K beautiful.

I wouldn’t even have to think to decide which I’d prefer to own...

And it’s not the faster LC, a drag bike LC is that, and would look fit for purpose.
Doubt it’s the fastest LC round a track either....



this comes to mind...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor%27s_New_Clothes

[jon]

Apr 15, 2021 10:54:04 GMT 1 veg said:

I don’t doubt he has spent that but I’m struggling to see exactly how? Mine cost me £15k plus and it has pretty much new everything including some rare stuff, some of the beautiful bikes on here probably owe similar amounts to mine or more. However I did most of the build and a fair amount of the fabrication as others do, is that really the cost then of getting one built by mark dent?
If so some of you on here should be building bikes for a living.

I’m struggling to understand how that cost £55k too, but the closing sentence says it all “Now that we know what we know, we probably could put this 104-bhp package together for £25k – £30k.” That would be what I would think I could make that bike for give or take.

There must be a huge percentage in labour there, as although some nice and expensive parts, they don’t add up to near £55k.

Jon

[29davyt]

£55K ! Imagine the garage full of nice bikes you could have for that ?

[dusty350]

Mark Dent pipes are approx a grand a pair, and I think there were a few sets made before the final design was chosen - so I was told.
A nice hybrid, with the usual Rgv running gear, Metmachex arm and a rebuilt engine with some goodies will easily cost you 10 - 12k to build, so you can see how the costs rack up when you start buying Ohlins/Brembo/carbon wheels etc. Each to their own, but even if I had the money I wouldn't spend it on one bike. I would be starting a Tz collection !!

Dusty

[donkeychomp]

It looks like a few bikes that have been on here but not as nice. It's too blingy for my liking. Red adonised stuff splattered all over. The seat looks wrong as does the headlight but hey, it's his bike, his choices. But 55K?? Nope.

Alex

[525bri]

I get the impression that this guy has spent this amount over a few years and a few reincarnations of this bike and this is the final development.

Don't get me wrong this is a vast sum but doesn't reflect the actual build price of the bike we are now looking at, which I might add is v. Lovely but even a build price of 25k raises eyebrows.

[Robbieben]

A lovely build but @ £55K I'd be in the doghouse for years to come, I've rebuilt quite a few bikes now and haven't spent more than £6K on any of them, all of which has been recouped when they were sold. Never in creation will the owner get anywhere near what has been put into it back even if values increase dramatically.

[dougw]

Its not to my personal taste, but seeing some jealousy in the comments here !

I haven`t got anywhere near that amount of money to spend on a bike like that, but have no problem with anyone that has and wants to "waste" it on building what they want ?

I will never add up what I spend on the bikes, but this months credit card bill has just come at around £1K.

No major lumps, just odds and sodds, cables, plugs, chains, oil, seals etc to keep the 350LC, DT125, GSXR11 and KTM 250`s happy for the coming riding season.

I hate to think what the labour costs would be to keep our little lot running !

[chrisg]

Personally I like standard bikes, but when someone builds a bike like that with astonishing attention to detail you've got to like it. I think its only when you've refurbished bikes that you can appreciate the time, money and attention that someone has lavished on a build. 
11/10

[Robbieben]

Apr 16, 2021 12:03:13 GMT 1 dougw said:

Its not to my personal taste, but seeing some jealousy in the comments here !

I haven`t got anywhere near that amount of money to spend on a bike like that, but have no problem with anyone that has and wants to "waste" it on building what they want ?

I will never add up what I spend on the bikes, but this months credit card bill has just come at around £1K.

No major lumps, just odds and sodds, cables, plugs, chains, oil, seals etc to keep the 350LC, DT125, GSXR11 and KTM 250`s happy for the coming riding season.

I hate to think what the labour costs would be to keep our little lot running !

It soon mounts up on parts, I document everything I spend on each bike I build, If or when I sell a bike its good to pass on to the new owner so that they can see what has been done, what work has been done, where the parts came from and how much they were at the time.

[veg]

Apr 16, 2021 12:03:13 GMT 1 dougw said:

Its not to my personal taste, but seeing some jealousy in the comments here !

? Really, I’ve seen lots of observations about the cost and not understanding how it’s cost the amount it has, bearing in mind lots of us have built similar bikes for lesser amounts, there has been plenty of admiration and comments that it isn’t to others tastes, which is an objective opinion but can’t say I have noticed any jealousy.

[dusty350]

I agree Veg, no jealousy here, just a discussion regards the huge cost involved with that build. Alan is a successful business man, and is able to indulge his passion for his bikes to another level - good luck to him I say. I dont imagine he cares what the resale value is likely to be either !!

[chrisg]

Apr 16, 2021 15:16:04 GMT 1 dusty350 said:

I agree Veg, no jealousy here, just a discussion regards the huge cost involved with that build. Alan is a successful business man, and is able to indulge his passion for his bikes to another level - good luck to him I say. I dont imagine he cares what the resale value is likely to be either !!

I'm sure that I read a similar article in CMM that stan Stevens fitted a 500lc engine into a R6. Very expensive but looked drop dead georgious. I'm sure 25k was mentioned but this was a couple of years ago and now feels like good value for money.

[peddrotzr]

I hope the fuel hose gets re-routed away from resting on the cylinder head.

[29davyt]

[gazzatt2]

my understanding is that he doesn't have huge mechanical of fabrication skills so has to pay for the work to be done
just fortunate enough to be able to afford what he wants done

I know on some of my bikes I would want to do more but the budget does not allow it

[avb]

Apr 15, 2021 20:08:30 GMT 1 dusty350 said:

Mark Dent pipes are approx a grand a pair, and I think there were a few sets made before the final design was chosen - so I was told.
A nice hybrid, with the usual Rgv running gear, Metmachex arm and a rebuilt engine with some goodies will easily cost you 10 - 12k to build, so you can see how the costs rack up when you start buying Ohlins/Brembo/carbon wheels etc. Each to their own, but even if I had the money I wouldn't spend it on one bike. I would be starting a Tz collection !!

Dusty

if i recall 6 sets of dentys pipes were made for this

and a few blown engines till the rght ones were made it all adds up

theres 15k worth of brakes and forks

[jon]

Apr 16, 2021 21:52:45 GMT 1 avb said:

Apr 15, 2021 20:08:30 GMT 1 dusty350 said:

Mark Dent pipes are approx a grand a pair, and I think there were a few sets made before the final design was chosen - so I was told.
A nice hybrid, with the usual Rgv running gear, Metmachex arm and a rebuilt engine with some goodies will easily cost you 10 - 12k to build, so you can see how the costs rack up when you start buying Ohlins/Brembo/carbon wheels etc. Each to their own, but even if I had the money I wouldn't spend it on one bike. I would be starting a Tz collection !!

Dusty

if i recall 6 sets of dentys pipes were made for this

and a few blown engines till the rght ones were made it all adds up

theres 15k worth of brakes and forks

I got the fact that the build cost included development, but that is crazy if more than 6 pipes were made. It would make me question why? Its almost like Mark Dent admitting he didn’t know what he was doing with the first 5, but I’m sure that is not the case, so why?

I know it’s probably journalist’s not understanding as well, but after reading impressive stuff like BST carbon wheels, airbrushed paint, Ohlins forks, Brembo calipers etc why mention red hoses or racing coils as if that’s something to write about?

The thing I don’t get about this is if the 6+ pipe thing is fact, I can only assume the only reason was to chase every last horsepower? If that were the case surely the wasted £5k on pipes would have been better spent on better cylinders such as CPI and Mattoon cases rather than trenching standard cases and re-stamping them (making them illegal) with a dodgy number.

No taking away from the fact that this is a really nice bike. No jealousy at all, just disbelief someone had to spend that much to get where the bike is. If you gave me £55k to spend on an LC, I would gaurentee I’d end up with superior bike in the vast majority of peoples eyes. I know that’s not the point, and I’m sure the owner is rightfully proud and doesn’t really care it took so much to get there. However the point is it’s shocking. Maybe that was the reason?

Jon