The Ultimate Widowmaker - The Kawasaki H1 Mach III

In this Rare Motorcycles documentary, we go into the history of one of the most prolific and even dangerous motorcycles ever made, the absolutely iconic Kawasaki H1 Mach III windowmaker. This motorcycle was the ultimate straight line rocket ship and offered truly unmatched performance for $999, but it also was an unruly beast which needed to be respected and tamed.
This video aims to provide a short history of these unique and rare motorcycles so you can learn about them in a quick, easy to digest video.
*Note, we are not historians. If you see an error in our research then please mention it in the comments!
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[@michaeljkasnter]

I think I will ride this exact bike today ❤, it’s Violent above 5k!! I absolutely love it, this 1969 H1-500 and my 1975-H2-750 Purple Haze are bikes that cure depression instantly!!! I absolutely love my Triples!!

[@mikebeste9408]

I had one of these 500s ...I think it was a 1975. It was my first motorized vehicle, before I had even driven a car. I didn't even ask my parents if I could buy it, I just did at the the age of 17 in 1982. It was highly addicting to race it up and down my suburb Seattle street as fast as it would go, and man was it fast. It was a sickness (the speed) and I would run the bike up and down the street for hours at a time over and over. The whole trick was getting it to slow down in those straight-aways (I immediately got really good at downshifting). Taking corners or turning it seemed to me to be its biggest problem as the three cylinder bike seemed to want to right itself at a time when you absolutely wanted the opposite to happen. I had it about 6-8 months before crashing it into the back of a pickup truck that was making a left turn in front of me. I tried to swerve to the right while downshifting but the bike didn't turn. I was still going really fast (I still have a speed problem and gave up bikes because of it), hit the truck and flew about 100 feet in the air landing on my head cracking the helmet. The gas tank split right open and doused me in fuel. I never sparked and there were no flames. Broke both my arms. Happened right in front ...I mean smack dab in front of my high school my senior year. I was probably exceeding 100 in a 25 mph speed zone that day. Not the dumbest thing I have ever done but a close second and somehow I'm still alive to tell the story. Those bikes were dangerous. If you ride one of these, respect it, and don't ever count on it turning like a regular bike.

[@user-vg3yc6gk5f]

I remember going to several fatal accidents involving these bikes, with young military guys with no experience, who had just bought it for $50 down and $50 a month. I never rode one but I had plenty of my experienced friends tell me that it was way too scary for a beginner

[@adammacpherson1579]

The 69 H1 MIII 500 was, is the true widow maker. 3 years before the 750 H2, same year as the Honda CB 750. The H1 was faster, even at 65hp, a little less than the CB750, the H1 weighed less than 400Lbs, a LOT less than the 750 that had around 70 hp.

[@thenefyncat6970]

Thet weren't that bad, really. So long as you threw the frame away and put the engine in a 350LC rolling chassis, that is. Worked for me.

[@alanhynd7886]

There was a guy who used to turn up at classic racing meetings with one of these. It had two Kawasaki piston-style steering dampers, one attached to either side of the headstock. One anecdote said that he glued threads tightly across the frame at various points. The plan was to take a few laps and then see which threads had snapped to find out where the flex was. Apparently, they all snapped.

[@michaeljkasnter]

Never will understand lack of throttle control? Start on Dirt Bikes before you even think about getting a street bike!!!

[@josecarlospoggian5460]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏