Zed is a hybrid supermoto: part modern YZ and part vintage RD350; all Yamaha two stoke goodness. The engine is 1973 RD 350, air cooled, auto lube 350cc. We added a little port work and an old school DG head. We wanted the modified FMF Fatty chambers to wrap up high and tight so we followed the Banshee folks’ lead and went with a two into one flat slide carburetor. When our tuner complained that we would lose top end, we answered with a wet nitrous system. We finished the power train a modern electronic ignition.
The chassis is modified YZ. We built a new cradle for the RD motor, added a bunch of tabs and mounts for the nitrous and new electronics. We built a new battery box to house the Moto gadget M Unit and shorai lithium battery. Holding it all on the road are a set of sexy black warp 9 super Moto wheels, hubs and oversized rotors.
Out front, the inverted YZ forks are held in place with our one-off custom triple tree. Integrated into the triple are the nitrous arming switch and ever-so svelte motogadget motoscope mini dash board. Motogadget switches, grips and throttle by biltwell, and a Braking master cylinder finish out the controls.
Finally, the already pleasing lines of the YZ are roughly reinterpreted with our hand built aluminum fuel tank, side panels and fenders. The fuel tank incorporates the auto lube oil reservoir and the nitrous oxide bottle. The name Zed came about because of the YZ/RD combination and a reference to a scene in the iconic movie Pulp Fiction. Except, this Zeds not dead.