Well, that's quite amazing! It even has the original spark plug wiring harness which was later recalled and another fitted that warded off arcing across the wires; very powerful ht ignition system, worked on many of them. Only a few failures of the 'boxes' but the alternator armatures were prone to getting internal breakages. Amazing that it has survived without some obvious damage to the main bearings by sitting in one position for so long. Good fortune there... .
+Penny Rogies A few years later, they went to a CDI system like used on the 750H2 model and I don't recall any ignition faults at all then. A neighbor bought one from the dealership I worked at and we sharpened the carburation for commuting - he was getting ~55mpg, about the same as my 250cc Suzuki! I serviced quite a few of them, really a solid engine basically. Ah, memories..!
+Penny Rogies In the U.S., they came with a shift pattern of down for first and up for the rest. I'm not recalling the shift shaft coming out of the case on the right for a conversion on the Kaw but I do remember the 500 Suzuki twin having one. Edit: refreshed memory, they did have it.
Yeah, been a few years, I think on quick recall, I sort of lumped them all together. I did remember the A-1 250cc and the A-7 350cc were all up. There were a few Bridgestones around that had rotary shifting, all the same stroke on the shift lever, back to neutral from top gear..! Now I don't recall for sure about the H-2, wasn't first on the bottom with all of them? Edit: It had neutral on the 'bottom' also, funny how some things are so fresh after so long and others more difficult to recall. I think it was all 'second nature' after a while.
Wow! I can’t believe that after so many years in storage that beauty runs/sounds great! Had myself a ‘72 350 cc Triple Kawasaki as well, first bike I learned what a powerband was! Very cool find, make it safe and enjoy 😉
I knew a guy that bought the first one ever sold in our town. It was a beast and as other said when you hit 6000 RPM hold on!! I think they went from about 24 hp to about 60 all of a sudden. I rode one a few years later (the two tone green) and quite enjoyed the experience.
Wow...I had one of these in 1980, fantastic bike. Had a tendency to try and kill you! But I was a young man and knew no fear 😂 Great memories Looks wonderful, enjoy it my friend 👍 Thanks for sharing
The value, for those who don't 'get it' is the crustiness of the barn find and it's original funky parts. If you were purchasing to restore, then this wasn't a great deal. Leaving it as it is, and showing it will ALWAYS draw a knowing crowd. I get it.
I had one of those when I was 18. It was good at just one thing: going really fast. It vibrated like hell and was scary to handle, but I was king of the road in High School!
I have a 1969-H1-500 also, its absolutely glorious above 6,000 rpm, at 7,000 it’s mental for a motorcycle that is 56 years old, the trick is never give it full throttle until 4-th,5th gear. I can only imagine what happens if it was pinned in a lower gear 😂
Rick, you probably lucked out a bit that these were set up to be very rich on oil feed on this early model so had some good protection from that. There was a service bulletin within a few months of the first sales that had the dealer cut back the oil delivery at the pump, either with a new control arm or we cut and notched it to crimp the end of the control cable for more free play. Easy starting was amazing on this model. I could just hit the kick starter firmly with my fist and it would pop to life...!
I had a long twisting road duel with one of these way back in 1979. I was on a Suzuki T500 which went like a shower of shite, but the bloke on the H1 was just insane. To be fair though, the H1 and T500 were really two totally different bikes. Both were 500cc two strokes but the similarity ended there. The big twin T500s were much more refined with large heavy crank flywheels, a longer wheelbase and slower steering geometry- the perfect two stroke tourer! The H1s were peaky. Maximum power came on at a much higher rev range to the Suzuki which was reflected in the shorter wheel base and challenging handling. I rode an H4 a couple of times around a race track before a mate rode the bike in "forgotten era" category races many years ago. The H4 scared the shit out if me. You ride the thing thinking, 'wow, feel the triple power pulses and hear that ring rattle', then out of nowhere the revs peak and off you go like a rocket!
Nice find. You need to check the oil pump output and that there are no air bubbles in the oil lines caused by a blocked oil tank filter. I had one seize because of that. There was at least smoke coming out of the exhausts so that was good.
It was not ridden since 1974. My guess is that it was stored with the better quality ethanol free gas they had back then. The new modern 10% ethanol gas will gum up the carbs within months, but that old gas was a lot better. I've bought bikes that sat for decades, and got them to start without rebuilding the carbs. On the other hand, if I let my lawnmower sit over the winter with modern pump gas in it, I'll have to rebuild the carbs in the spring. That is, until I learned my lesson, and started using truck fuel.
IIRC, Tony Nicosia, a 120lb drag racer who could really ride, ran a razor tuned Mach III thru the 1/4 mile in 12.40 seconds@111.6mph.....50 YEARS ago!!!
Holey moley! First kick! Great bike. My favorite is the green and black. So what if you spent $5k. It's your money, enjoy your life. People spend tons of money on paintings and sculptures and jewelry. You can't take it with you when you die. Happy for you.
I had one of those back when they were new. Hit that power band and zoooooooom. These bikes will kill youif you don't ride them with respect, drum brakes and poor suspention but what fun. I'm in my mid 60's and still scrape footpegs.
1969 was the fastest year. we had 70's and 71's then I got the 72' 750. Hey guess what. All 3 of us guy's are still alive and never really did get hurt riding them. Lucky I guess. We sure did win alot of races. People didn't even know what hit em when we did.
I paid $100 for mine( same condition as yours) Ended up at the salvage yard near home before it made it to the crusher. took her home and 3 weeks later I heard it purr for the first time. Even at this point I didn't know what I had this whole time till I watched this very same video. $100 "very well spent"
Bring back 2-strokes! Even the 50cc 2-strokes like the Kawasaki AR50 or Honda MB5 were a total BLAST to ride! 55 MPH on a 5-speed, 50cc bike was magic! I can't imagine how much these 500cc machines pulled hard in their powerband!
Nice bike, love the sound! There was nothing like it in '69. I recently bought a Yamaha YM2 scrambler in pristine condition for $3,750. Being a millionaire, I don't care about the price. I drove a YDS-C in my teens and my friend had an H1. My brother raced an H2 in the '70s and was champ in his class for three years. He still has the racer. A little TLC and you'll have a beautiful bike!
@@rickbrett9173 Sure hear alotta bull shit, dontcha Rick? You go guy!! That is THE 500 KAW to have. The 1970 model is a classic, too. Anything after 1972 is nice, but the '69 &'70 Mach IIIs are the top dogs. I can't remember the last time I saw a '69 Mach III out running around on the streets.
Man I wish my 74 S1 ran that good, mine just immediately revs to 5k rpm or more then stays there.....But at that you could sit back and watch it run all day long tho.
Loved my ‘71 blue streak. Get up close to the tank, drop the clutch @ 5 grand, when the rear tire grabs HANG ON TIGHT & keep shifting. At about 100 or so the steering shakes...quickly let off the throttle plus make sure you don’t need to stop for anything - drum brakes worthless
Well done my uncle owns nearly all the kh kawasakis, 2 strokes and I was always around them or on the back, so his love for them has rubbed off on me. Keep it original were his words on them, piss about an they give you trouble. Lol 😂
Any engine I have that sits for a while gets a good dose of Marvel Mystery oil . I run one full tank with that and another one (second tank with the first one empty or very near ) with Berryman's ( pour in ) carb and injector cleaner and it does wonders . In 41 years of muscle cars , motorcycles and erasing the damage of crap fuels , those two have proved to be worth their weight in gold for breathing life into old engines and maintaining new ones . PK
+Rick Brett You would know more than I do about these but I did ride a lot of these in my youth ,I worked in a few motorcycle dealerships when they were new, remember the first one I rode I hit 4.000 rpm and it lifted the front wheel, shit brakes horrible in corners but fast, they managed to kill at lot of young boys...
Interesting comment Brian, I am sure that a LOT of riders came unstuck on the bikes, lets face it there was bugger all back then that you could buy at a dealership that would perform to this degree - It was the start of the turning point from commuter bikes to performance bikes!
Back in 1996 i rescued an old rd 200 dx from a rubbish tip, probably left outside for years, but minimal fettling , and it exploded back to life, in a huge cloud of blue smoke
The early Mach 3 had CDI ignition which was excellent for 2-strokes cos there was no misfiring at high revs like you get with the horrible points ignition. Kawasaki switched to points ignition around 1971 to save money and the engine always misfired when the points had more than a thousand miles on them. -The carburetors should be disassembled and the jets properly cleaned. Also change the oil in the transmission. This bike deserves proper restoration.
Johan Engqvist Well I wouldn't have given a crap about someone else's car radio at the time lol. Riding a modified Triumph Street Triple R for the last 5 years; what a fun bike! My 1971 Mach 3 was the first bike I ever owned that power wheelied in first gear and a 100+ mph quarter mile was very fast back in the day. High speed bumpy corners were scary though even with the hydraulic steering damper.
+Burt Hulbert True, in my day nothing went like them either. Just the thing for a luny like me those days. Denco`d up with pipes the H2 blew everyone and everything off !!!!. Goodbye Z1, See you a lot later Honda 750 slugger. The problem was fuel consumption. No good for a long run unless you were "on the pipe " then you were going far too fast. The H1 certainly was very quick too. It had two power bands I remember. Oh! Those far off halcyon days. I gave my son my old RG500 Gamma which was a great stroker as well. I later on had 4 strokes as well, Commando, Suzy GS 1000. Borrrinnnnnggggg. But practical. I`m old now (74) Anyone got an H2 I can borrow to scare myself shitless?. No problem to do that on those strokers.
Crobular I in 1972 I was 17 with a new s2 350 triple. It came on like a rocket at 6/7 grand on the tach. At 55/60 mph it maxed at 28 mpg. There was hardly a day I didn't bust 100 mph. It sounded like a screaming formula one car. Two neighbors had Honda CB 450s. My bike ate them in corners and acceleration.
My Brother had that exact bike back in '69. He paid $500.00 for it. He laid it over going around a turn and it was never the same after that crash.. He promptly sold it.
Brakes? Who ever tried to slow down on this rocket. I thought that the entire idea was to keep in on the rear wheel at all times to save wear and tear on the front suspension.
Steve and Rick?? It's Wayne. Good to see you last year at the Vintagefest!! Lana and I will be in Y19 this year in the upper swap meet at Barbers. Be sure to come see us!
Sounds like a bag of nails, but they did :>) I had a 1971 H1-B. Now I have seen yours, I miss it. How did the restoration go as it is now 5 years later?
Just shows how good the Japanese bikes were, when compared to other makes of that time. If that was a British or Italian bike it would be scrap long ago.
5k is nothing these days and on a beautiful old kwacka i would have spent also. people are very short sighted when it comes to classic collectors. my favorite is the yam rd 400 what a lil champ.
I had one of those bikes when i was 16 years old it was my first bike i used to race this bike so fast then one day the motor blew up because i had it in the red too long the piston exploded in the cylinder.
discharged from the military, summer of 1969,,,two weeks home and i bought one!! Fun every mile,,,never a bad day,,,never a fall. As i remember it,,,at 6000 rpms, the beast was let loose. Nearly 30 mpg if you were careful,,,,20mpg if you were having fun!! So,,,with the limited tank,,about 4 gal,,,you had to be careful how far the next gas station was! Annnd,,keep that right hand side oil tank filled!!
The '69 and '70 models were the quickest and fastest. '71s were close, but slightly detuned. From 1972 on they were detuned considerably. I believe 1975 was the last year of production. Make no mistake; All of them were fast, but the '69-'70 models were just unreal. You could get one rolling to maybe 5mph, then twist the throttle wide open. They just made a huge intake "honk" and slowly accelerated. Until the tach needle hit around 4,500rpm. Then it came on the pipe, and all Hell broke loose. The front end started rising, and if you didn't back off the throttle or slip the clutch a bit, it would flip over backwards!! These were so far ahead of their time that a really good rider on one, even today, would give anything made today at 500cc one Helluva run for their money-in a straight line. They handled awful. When I told a buddy it felt like the frame had a hinge in the middle, he shot back "or a u-joint"!!
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I love it. Keep the myth alive. Will make my 70 gray Mach lll worth more.
Funny you didn't mention the CDI ignition. You hear the beeeeeeeeeeeeep before you kick it over. I owned two of these at one time as well as a 73 and a 75. Raced the 69's on the drag strip. Far as I know am the only living or dead rider to use Cox airplane for a major boost. Self preigniting.. One thing you never wanted to do is fall on the right side, that would take out the CDI sparker. Just a note to. Don't ever use the Cox, I went over the finish line with the throttle shut down, the kill switch off and at better than 160 reach up and shut the key off, all to no avail..Way be-on the red line, Grace of God i didn't burn to death. Luckily it ran out of fuel. These were called the widow makers to. They killed one of my school buddies at 20 years old, There not a toy.
Its comes from the box under the seat. soon as the key is turned on, its not real loud but loud enough to hear it..in latter years they moved the rear tire 4 inches back as to many people were going over backwards. these 69's sort of hurt Kawasaki to as a lot of parents said, your not owning one of those as long as you live at this house.. there called the widow maker for a reason. google Nick Pappas in lodi california. he was a friend of mine that got killed on one hitting a car hauling ass from a stop sign and landing on his head with no helmit.
![ILLSLICK - KILLSHOT REMIX [FULL VERSION]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RIK8RrqIAzE/mqdefault.jpg)
i am 59 and i have rode one ....the sound brings back the best days of my life thank you BRO
I'm 57 life used to be fun and simple back in the 80s I used to like my life as long as I had a bike petrol money i was happy simpler times
@Sunflower Seeds nutter they are the last word in rocket ships mental fast nothing like the sound of them excelorating lol 😀
That sound bought back the H1 i rode and raced in the 70's. When it hit 6000 it was hang on time. Well done another one saved.
It's nice to see these bikes get a second shot at life. Bikes are people too, they need sunshine and and open road to enjoy themselves :)
Well, that's quite amazing! It even has the original spark plug wiring harness which was later recalled and another fitted that warded off arcing across the wires; very powerful ht ignition system, worked on many of them. Only a few failures of the 'boxes' but the alternator armatures were prone to getting internal breakages. Amazing that it has survived without some obvious damage to the main bearings by sitting in one position for so long. Good fortune there... .
+Penny Rogies A few years later, they went to a CDI system like used on the 750H2 model and I don't recall any ignition faults at all then. A neighbor bought one from the dealership I worked at and we sharpened the carburation for commuting - he was getting ~55mpg, about the same as my 250cc Suzuki! I serviced quite a few of them, really a solid engine basically. Ah, memories..!
+Penny Rogies In the U.S., they came with a shift pattern of down for first and up for the rest. I'm not recalling the shift shaft coming out of the case on the right for a conversion on the Kaw but I do remember the 500 Suzuki twin having one. Edit: refreshed memory, they did have it.
Yeah, been a few years, I think on quick recall, I sort of lumped them all together. I did remember the A-1 250cc and the A-7 350cc were all up. There were a few Bridgestones around that had rotary shifting, all the same stroke on the shift lever, back to neutral from top gear..! Now I don't recall for sure about the H-2, wasn't first on the bottom with all of them? Edit: It had neutral on the 'bottom' also, funny how some things are so fresh after so long and others more difficult to recall. I think it was all 'second nature' after a while.
Oil pumps would fail too. Kaw drove the Tach cable via the oil pump. So if your Tach quits, shutterdown!!!!
@@whalesong999 Also had optional points ignition starting in 1972.
Can't help but smile as I watch and listen to this machine.
👍🏁
Wow! I can’t believe that after so many years in storage that beauty runs/sounds great!
Had myself a ‘72 350 cc Triple Kawasaki as well, first bike I learned what a powerband was! Very cool find, make it safe and enjoy 😉
I knew a guy that bought the first one ever sold in our town. It was a beast and as other said when you hit 6000 RPM hold on!! I think they went from about 24 hp to about 60 all of a sudden. I rode one a few years later (the two tone green) and quite enjoyed the experience.
What a beautiful bike!! Sounds like sympathy playing! Worth every penny.
I owned the exact bike the cdi hummed when you put the key on ,its not a piece of junk,its a piece of history
That 3 cylinder was a beast.
Nice one Fella - yes we remember these - you have a piece of History there
Sound & Vision connection to my golden era of motorcycling...
Never gets old watching this video Rick what a great find!
I thank you sir! Barney is semi retired now and down in Florida - I'll be out on "her" this week.
A rough diamond, but what a sweet sounding engine... You lucky sod!!
what a beauty the engine roars like a symphony of perfection.
Incredible it runs as it does looking like that. Awsome bike! Iam restoring a h1 500 Mach my self, from 71 though
What a great find. Have fun!!!!
Wow...I had one of these in 1980, fantastic bike. Had a tendency to try and kill you! But I was a young man and knew no fear 😂
Great memories
Looks wonderful, enjoy it my friend 👍
Thanks for sharing
Me too
They are one of the best looking bikes. I like that version without the tail and the drum on the front.
the air intake is noisier than the exhausts!
She's a runner, just needs a little TLC. Nice score, Rick!
The value, for those who don't 'get it' is the crustiness of the barn find and it's original funky parts. If you were purchasing to restore, then this wasn't a great deal. Leaving it as it is, and showing it will ALWAYS draw a knowing crowd. I get it.
Wise words! - Thankyou!
Aaaaaah! There's always something special about the sound of any 3 cylinder engine. It's like a demon howl!! :¬D
I had one of those when I was 18. It was good at just one thing: going really fast.
It vibrated like hell and was scary to handle, but I was king of the road in High School!
I have a 1969-H1-500 also, its absolutely glorious above 6,000 rpm, at 7,000 it’s mental for a motorcycle that is 56 years old, the trick is never give it full throttle until 4-th,5th gear. I can only imagine what happens if it was pinned in a lower gear 😂
Enjoyed the video and appreciate the beauty of these bikes
Very impressive indeed, also pretty brave of you to ride it with those tires.
Rick, you probably lucked out a bit that these were set up to be very rich on oil feed on this early model so had some good protection from that. There was a service bulletin within a few months of the first sales that had the dealer cut back the oil delivery at the pump, either with a new control arm or we cut and notched it to crimp the end of the control cable for more free play. Easy starting was amazing on this model. I could just hit the kick starter firmly with my fist and it would pop to life...!
I had a long twisting road duel with one of these way back in 1979. I was on a Suzuki T500 which went like a shower of shite, but the bloke on the H1 was just insane. To be fair though, the H1 and T500 were really two totally different bikes. Both were 500cc two strokes but the similarity ended there. The big twin T500s were much more refined with large heavy crank flywheels, a longer wheelbase and slower steering geometry- the perfect two stroke tourer! The H1s were peaky. Maximum power came on at a much higher rev range to the Suzuki which was reflected in the shorter wheel base and challenging handling. I rode an H4 a couple of times around a race track before a mate rode the bike in "forgotten era" category races many years ago. The H4 scared the shit out if me. You ride the thing thinking, 'wow, feel the triple power pulses and hear that ring rattle', then out of nowhere the revs peak and off you go like a rocket!
Nice find.
You need to check the oil pump output and that there are no air
bubbles in the oil lines caused by a blocked oil tank filter.
I had one seize because of that.
There was at least smoke coming out of the exhausts so that was good.
Amazing that the Jets weren’t clogged. I found a GT 750 wants fresh gas bark plugs fired right over
It was not ridden since 1974. My guess is that it was stored with the better quality ethanol free gas they had back then. The new modern 10% ethanol gas will gum up the carbs within months, but that old gas was a lot better. I've bought bikes that sat for decades, and got them to start without rebuilding the carbs. On the other hand, if I let my lawnmower sit over the winter with modern pump gas in it, I'll have to rebuild the carbs in the spring. That is, until I learned my lesson, and started using truck fuel.
That thing is a Little Beast! Man I would leave it as it is.
Thankyou Johnny, I intend to do just that!
IIRC, Tony Nicosia, a 120lb drag racer who could really ride, ran a razor tuned Mach III thru the 1/4 mile in 12.40 seconds@111.6mph.....50 YEARS ago!!!
Amazing that the crank seals haven’t given up the ghost.
Nice score Rick..Good for you!
love it ...hahaha picked my sweetheart for 150 bucks Canadian low clicks also parked since 1976 bought it 2016 , all in one piece !
Holey moley! First kick! Great bike. My favorite is the green and black. So what if you spent $5k. It's your money, enjoy your life. People spend tons of money on paintings and sculptures and jewelry. You can't take it with you when you die. Happy for you.
Awsm find. Been trying to make a find like that for 20yrs. Lol
Nice find , and we thought those finds had long gone :-)
I had one of those back when they were new. Hit that power band and zoooooooom. These bikes will kill youif you don't ride them with respect, drum brakes and poor suspention but what fun. I'm in my mid 60's and still scrape footpegs.
Nutter lol they had short swinging arms too when it dried out boy they would go love the smell and sound
1969 was the fastest year. we had 70's and 71's then I got the 72' 750. Hey guess what. All 3 of us guy's are still alive and never really did get hurt riding them. Lucky I guess. We sure did win alot of races. People didn't even know what hit em when we did.
I paid $100 for mine( same condition as yours) Ended up at the salvage yard near home before it made it to the crusher. took her home and 3 weeks later I heard it purr for the first time. Even at this point I didn't know what I had this whole time till I watched this very same video. $100 "very well spent"
nice sound - remember that sound - I was 10-11 year old.
Blimey ! What a barn, all my barns are empty.
Bill Bright Thats because . . . . I'm filling mine UP 👍
+Rick Brett good on ya mate! Love it keep the good work Sir!
Wow, what a find. Love it.
Bring back 2-strokes! Even the 50cc 2-strokes like the Kawasaki AR50 or Honda MB5 were a total BLAST to ride! 55 MPH on a 5-speed, 50cc bike was magic! I can't imagine how much these 500cc machines pulled hard in their powerband!
Music to my ears! God it will take a fortune to restore it.
Nice bike, love the sound! There was nothing like it in '69. I recently bought a Yamaha YM2 scrambler in pristine condition for $3,750. Being a millionaire, I don't care about the price. I drove a YDS-C in my teens and my friend had an H1. My brother raced an H2 in the '70s and was champ in his class for three years. He still has the racer. A little TLC and you'll have a beautiful bike!
Wow!I Rode pillion on a red one of these in 1970.It was amazing.
Awesome video!
you got screwed on that one,, im looking at 3 of`em out my back door of my friends Florida junkyard.
I seriously doubt that . . . . They aren't 1969 models . . . .
I’m in Alabama not far from Pensacola, would like to find a nice H1 69
Preferable but will look at others if they are available
@@rickbrett9173 There are 69 models
@@rickbrett9173 Sure hear alotta bull shit, dontcha Rick? You go guy!! That is THE 500 KAW to have. The 1970 model is a classic, too. Anything after 1972 is nice, but the '69 &'70 Mach IIIs are the top dogs. I can't remember the last time I saw a '69 Mach III out running around on the streets.
hard to believe crank seals not dried up and when started never pop back and blew the seals or started idling high
The rubber was absolutely astonishing! Every single rubber is if it just came out of the bag 😱
Nice find!
Man I wish my 74 S1 ran that good, mine just immediately revs to 5k rpm or more then stays there.....But at that you could sit back and watch it run all day long tho.
I wouldn't change a thing I didn't have to. looks awesome
I dont see any rust? i see a beauty.
Loved my ‘71 blue streak. Get up close to the tank, drop the clutch @ 5 grand, when the rear tire grabs HANG ON TIGHT & keep shifting. At about 100 or so the steering shakes...quickly let off the throttle plus make sure you don’t need to stop for anything - drum brakes worthless
Well done my uncle owns nearly all the kh kawasakis, 2 strokes and I was always around them or on the back, so his love for them has rubbed off on me. Keep it original were his words on them, piss about an they give you trouble. Lol 😂
That SOUND! I hope you restored the bike.
Any engine I have that sits for a while gets a good dose of Marvel Mystery oil . I run one full tank with that and another one (second tank with the first one empty or very near ) with Berryman's ( pour in ) carb and injector cleaner and it does wonders . In 41 years of muscle cars , motorcycles and erasing the damage of crap fuels , those two have proved to be worth their weight in gold for breathing life into old engines and maintaining new ones . PK
WOW!!! Lucky guy!! "MONEY WELL SPENT!!" That is a great Bike.. Not " A PIECE OF JUNK" Hang on to it.
Its Very cool like the 69s stuff in all makes!
Absolutely fantastic
Wow an original Widowmaker and still runs after all those years
WOW that's funny! I've probably forgotten FAR more than you will ever know about these engines 😜
+Rick Brett You would know more than I do about these but I did ride a lot of these in my youth ,I worked in a few motorcycle dealerships when they were new, remember the first one I rode I hit 4.000 rpm and it lifted the front wheel, shit brakes horrible in corners but fast, they managed to kill at lot of young boys...
+Rick Brett I believe it Rick.
+brian critchley Denco`d up with pipes the H2 was a bloody rocketship!!!!!!!!.
Crobular I They sure were fast, if you learnt how to ride them...
Interesting comment Brian, I am sure that a LOT of riders came unstuck on the bikes, lets face it there was bugger all back then that you could buy at a dealership that would perform to this degree - It was the start of the turning point from commuter bikes to performance bikes!
That's a belter Rick,,
blackhat400 yes it is! one of my favourite bikes 😎
Those motorcycles are quick and fast
Back in 1996 i rescued an old rd 200 dx from a rubbish tip, probably left outside for years, but minimal fettling , and it exploded back to life, in a huge cloud of blue smoke
Wahoww !!! Hope you intend to restore this wonderful bikee :-D
Hearing a Blue 1971 h1 changed my life course
The early Mach 3 had CDI ignition which was excellent for 2-strokes cos there was no misfiring at high revs like you get with the horrible points ignition. Kawasaki switched to points ignition around 1971 to save money and the engine always misfired when the points had more than a thousand miles on them. -The carburetors should be disassembled and the jets properly cleaned. Also change the oil in the transmission. This bike deserves proper restoration.
Actually, the switched to points because the CDI ignition caused disturbances in radio at the time...
Johan Engqvist Well I wouldn't have given a crap about someone else's car radio at the time lol. Riding a modified Triumph Street Triple R for the last 5 years; what a fun bike! My 1971 Mach 3 was the first bike I ever owned that power wheelied in first gear and a 100+ mph quarter mile was very fast back in the day. High speed bumpy corners were scary though even with the hydraulic steering damper.
wow, what a find!!!
That bike sounded good.
Nothing sounds like a kawasaki triple.
+Burt Hulbert True, in my day nothing went like them either. Just the thing for a luny like me those days. Denco`d up with pipes the H2 blew everyone and everything off !!!!. Goodbye Z1, See you a lot later Honda 750 slugger. The problem was fuel consumption. No good for a long run unless you were "on the pipe " then you were going far too fast. The H1 certainly was very quick too. It had two power bands I remember. Oh! Those far off halcyon days. I gave my son my old RG500 Gamma which was a great stroker as well. I later on had 4 strokes as well, Commando, Suzy GS 1000. Borrrinnnnnggggg. But practical. I`m old now (74) Anyone got an H2 I can borrow to scare myself shitless?. No problem to do that on those strokers.
Crobular I in 1972 I was 17 with a new s2 350 triple. It came on like a rocket at 6/7 grand on the tach. At 55/60 mph it maxed at 28 mpg. There was hardly a day I didn't bust 100 mph. It sounded like a screaming formula one car. Two neighbors had Honda CB 450s. My bike ate them in corners and acceleration.
For sure and right on man. In their day nothing went like a Denco H2 either
Just bet it did !.
Burt Hulbert I had two 350 triples. A friend crashed one and I was left with one. I'd love to have another one.
mental machines, i was recovering from a big off when a mate brought the 500 h2, i ended owning a s2 350,then the hi and h2, and i survived lol
Sounds like the crank seals are still workin,, rite on
Very nice bike to fix up
billjones citrus county florida where are you at in Citrus Bill? I am Inverness . . . .
three cylinder two strock !! is a rocket and dificult to stop !! be carefull !!!
My Brother had that exact bike back in '69. He paid $500.00 for it. He laid it over going around a turn and it was never the same after that crash.. He promptly sold it.
Brakes leave a lot to be desired...LOL Understatement for early H1s
Brakes? Who ever tried to slow down on this rocket. I thought that the entire idea was to keep in on the rear wheel at all times to save wear and tear on the front suspension.
beautiful machine
Don't restore it, just run as it is when legal .
It crop dusts just fine... Started without taking carbs apart for cleaning? That's very hard to believe but...possible I guess
A real survivor, amazing. Don't have to touch the engine, is OK
i bought a complete '72 h2 in 91 for 1250$
Steve and Rick?? It's Wayne. Good to see you last year at the Vintagefest!! Lana and I will be in Y19 this year in the upper swap meet at Barbers. Be sure to come see us!
What? I live and was raised in Minnesota lol jeezy crazy to hear u say ur friend from mn
Sounds like a bag of nails, but they did :>) I had a 1971 H1-B. Now I have seen yours, I miss it. How did the restoration go as it is now 5 years later?
Amazing!
Nice knees!
Just shows how good the Japanese bikes were, when compared to other makes of that time. If that was a British or Italian bike it would be scrap long ago.
No way that's fucking awesome
Any restoration plans?!
nope, ride as is 😎
please tell me you're gonna keep it like this!
+max ter Denge Yes, Sir, No intention to clean or restore it :)
5k is nothing these days and on a beautiful old kwacka i would have spent also. people are very short sighted when it comes to classic collectors. my favorite is the yam rd 400 what a lil champ.
very nice i like it very much
is it me or is it quite compact
As kids, these bikes were HUGE . . . Now they are skinny and small . . .
Rick Brett so were we 😄😄😄
I had one of those bikes when i was 16 years old it was my first bike i used to race this bike so fast then one day the motor blew up because i had it in the red too long the piston exploded in the cylinder.
Cabbager, to have one of these at 16 yrs old, you're lucky you didn't end up as sauerkraut!!!!
discharged from the military, summer of 1969,,,two weeks home and i bought one!! Fun every mile,,,never a bad day,,,never a fall. As i remember it,,,at 6000 rpms, the beast was let loose. Nearly 30 mpg if you were careful,,,,20mpg if you were having fun!! So,,,with the limited tank,,about 4 gal,,,you had to be careful how far the next gas station was! Annnd,,keep that right hand side oil tank filled!!
that's desrbed it to a T 👍
My god! . . . someone that talks sense! :)
The '69 and '70 models were the quickest and fastest. '71s were close, but slightly detuned. From 1972 on they were detuned considerably. I believe 1975 was the last year of production. Make no mistake; All of them were fast, but the '69-'70 models were just unreal. You could get one rolling to maybe 5mph, then twist the throttle wide open. They just made a huge intake "honk" and slowly accelerated. Until the tach needle hit around 4,500rpm. Then it came on the pipe, and all Hell broke loose. The front end started rising, and if you didn't back off the throttle or slip the clutch a bit, it would flip over backwards!! These were so far ahead of their time that a really good rider on one, even today, would give anything made today at 500cc one Helluva run for their money-in a straight line. They handled awful. When I told a buddy it felt like the frame had a hinge in the middle, he shot back "or a u-joint"!!
I love it. Keep the myth alive. Will make my 70 gray Mach lll worth more.
sounds minty
Funny you didn't mention the CDI ignition. You hear the beeeeeeeeeeeeep before you kick it over. I owned two of these at one time as well as a 73 and a 75. Raced the 69's on the drag strip. Far as I know am the only living or dead rider to use Cox airplane for a major boost. Self preigniting.. One thing you never wanted to do is fall on the right side, that would take out the CDI sparker. Just a note to. Don't ever use the Cox, I went over the finish line with the throttle shut down, the kill switch off and at better than 160 reach up and shut the key off, all to no avail..Way be-on the red line, Grace of God i didn't burn to death. Luckily it ran out of fuel. These were called the widow makers to. They killed one of my school buddies at 20 years old, There not a toy.
thedrloboski stevens interesting anectdote, it was a popular mod to fit a (Chrysler cdi box) cheap and cheerful and performed better !
Never heard of that, interesting, I still like the beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep...
I heard no beep, only birds.
At what time does the beep happen?
Its comes from the box under the seat. soon as the key is turned on, its not real loud but loud enough to hear it..in latter years they moved the rear tire 4 inches back as to many people were going over backwards. these 69's sort of hurt Kawasaki to as a lot of parents said, your not owning one of those as long as you live at this house.. there called the widow maker for a reason. google Nick Pappas in lodi california. he was a friend of mine that got killed on one hitting a car hauling ass from a stop sign and landing on his head with no helmit.
+thedrloboski stevens
Sorry about your friend.
That's QUALITY for u.