How This Kawasaki Killed Its Owners
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- #Kawasaki #H1 #Widowmaker
In 1969 Kawasaki released their most dangerous motorcycle yet, the H1 500 Mach III. A huge engine, with massive power, that put fear into even the most brave motorcycle racer. It was notorious for it's speed, taking the lives of many and earning itself a nickname that only cemented its rockstar status.
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I owned three Kawasaki triples, 2 of which were 1972 H2 750 cc thrillers. I loved them, and at 67 years old, obviously lived through it.
66 bought mine in 73 from org owner Berny Montcome.
Allready had 20 k on it.
700.00 bucks /blue/matching helmet.i was 16.
My very first street bike was the H2 750 Kawasaki. I ride a Harley now but there's nothing quite like your first love . Man what a bike . I grew up riding motocross bikes RM 125 RM 250 and am thankful that I had that experience before handling that beast .
Sksk
Funny, I’m 67 as well and started with a ‘70 500 stock. 2 crankshafts later and many mods, it was the most predictable, fast and fun bike I ever had. Could rub the kickstand peg on left handers and the brake pedal on the right handers. All the way through the 1/4 on the back tire. Power band started at 7500 🙂
@@fjohnson9749 Hey glad you have that history, yes what bikes we could have and did have....
My new 71 Mach3 was the first hooligan bike. I’m 76yo now, and have only spent one night in jail, due to trying to out run the cops. Charges were dropped, but the memories live on!
That's awesome! haha! I love it
@captainblacktooth371 traded it in for a Z1 in 1973. A whole different ball game. It was 200 miles from home to college. Two hour trip!
@@tedecker3792man I bet you wish you had that ol girl back, 1st year KZ900’s are rare now and worth big $. Sorry, I’ve let a bunch go over the years and it sucks.
@@tedecker3792my first car was a 78’ KZ1000, Kerker etc. Dad said what the hell you gonna do in the winter ? I said if it doesn’t snow I’ll ride and I did and man did I freeze my ass off to prove a point 😆 damn I loved riding to school i miss those days.
@@deborahchesser7375 I kept it for 6 years and put nearly 70,000 miles on it. Never a problem. Every two years it got tires, chain, and exhaust pipes (x4!). The stock pipes rusted through quickly. At the time people would 4 into 1 headers on them, so I worked out a deal with the dealer: if someone wanted a Kerker on a new bike, I’d buy the header in trade for the four stock pipes. It helped them sell new bikes, and I got 4 new pipes for $149 instead of $100 each (x4).
I believe it was Cycle Guide magazine who road tested a H1 and couldn't believe how bad it wobbled at high speeds. They spent some time trying to figure it out and found that the rear wheel and the front wheel weren't in the same track. I think the rear wheel was around 1/2" off to one side. So, they shimmed the rear wheel so that it was straight with the front wheel and they said it was like riding a totally different bike. If anyone has one of these bikes, you might want to check to see if your bike is doing the same thing that theirs did.
Indeed, I had an H2 which was the same, it just felt unpredictable in the corners, I got the alighnment sorted, and also changed the flexi rims, with the wheels rebuilt and the alignment sorted it was a totaly different bike.
@@johnridley1038 ,
When they went to magnesium wheels a lot of the problems went away. I built my H1 into a dragbike, it was great going straight. I had many upgrades done to mine but the wife said I had to get rid of it and worry about the family.
always same problam death wobble tank slap
@@johnridley1038They probably got offset wrong when the wheels were built , later triples handled ok with basically the same setup , wish I could get H1 for $1000
I read the same cycle guide magazine, it worked !
I bought a Mach III in 1970. Over 100mph the front tire would lightly bounce and wobble until you moved your weight to the front. Cop nabbed me on a LA freeway in Granda Hills "I just followed your blue smoke". What an absolute thrill to ride. And after three speeding tickets in three months, I sold the beast and bought a VW beetle. Honestly, it was clear that my riding skill level was way under what it needed to be to not kill myself.
Our buddy Rick S. was killed on I believe Devonshire Street and he was an exceptional rider.
They where known as "flex fliers" wheel offset and under strength frames caused flex. Never heard them called widow makers
I solved the "Blue smoke" problem with "Klotz" synthetic 2 stroke oil, it had a exotic smell too. I also went with Bill Wirges Expansion chambers.
Hey, I believe riding a kawi triple fast is much like jetski's for new riders....
It is said a new rider on a jetski will crash and injure himself within the first hour of riding ....if he will ever injure himself. Meaning: the weird steering of a jetski (To turn/manuver a jetski, you must be under acceleration!) If a jetski rider trys to turn it when slowing down and trying to dock the monster, he must be into the throttle somewhat...or turning the habdlebars and expecting the monster to respond will be...desasterous!!! lol It is counter intuitive to throttle a motorized vehicle when trying to stop.....The whole point behind the first hour accident theoty. Kawi triples are heavy, akward and an undkilled rider will tend to sabotage himself when in the middle of a crutial hi speed stop without having mastered the damn thing! Sad story here...
I watched an American Indian guy on a newly purchased beautiful H2 blast like the devil down an unfamiliar road at night....right after he finished off a pint of hard liquor!!!!Poor guy completely lost control while braking and still going about 60 mph!! Shit the bike went airborn and tumbled while rider landed on his head without a helmet. Unbelievably, the guy got up and started walking away down the road... profusely bleeding from his headwound....I never figured out where the fuck he thought he was walking to! Luckly a driver saw him walking and took him to hospital.
I do not know what was sadder....seeing this beautiful but mangled machine lying down on the side of the road or watching the Indians headwound pour blood down his chest....Still troubles me and also humbles me.
Remember the distributor cap on the side of the engine? (only on 1969 through like 1973 models) Shit I couldnt afford a new distributor cap on one of my 500's and the spark plug wires had lots of tiny cracks in them....When it rained, the sparkplug wires and that nasty strong beeping CDI ignition would skock my knees where everybody trys to knee- hug the tank to not fall off the back under acceleration!!! Fuck iit hurt but not even god could peel me off the damn thing ...I couldnt get enough of that G force feeling ...and that addictive sound of the pipes. Know what I mean?
I've always had a problem adhering to speed limits! You should have seen me in my 1991 BMW 850ci with the V12! 155 mph on the 101 freeway between Calabassas and Thousand Oaks where I live!!! I too sold the car before I went to jail!
I had a 1970 H1. Some of your descriptions are wrong. It did not have "power so low in the rev range" . That was the problem. There was virtually no power below 5000 rpm's. When accelerating under full throttle at three thousand, virtually nothing happened, but when it hit 5500rpm's, all hell broke loose with the front wheel reaching for the sky and the rider sliding toward the rear. Hit the next gear and the same thing happened and it was possible to hit an inadvertent wheelie at 70mph.
I got so sick of the wheelies that I added an extra tooth to the counter sprocket, rearsets, clipons, and a racing fairing. Muffled expansion chambers and cut pistons finished up the mods.
As to the wobbles, the bike used a plastic swingarm bushing which I changed to bronze, but the biggest problem was the stock tires. The Dunlops that came on the bike were replaced with Continental Ribs and the handling was greatly improved. Better shocks and heavier fork oil also helped. Braking on these bike was merely a suggestion.
I commonly rode the bike in excess of 100mph and top speed before mods was more than 120. Hey, it was Montana!
Beginning in 1972, the 500 was slightly detuned for easier riding.
LOL
Very accurate description.
Lived through my H2 750... power hit at 4K RPMs as I recall... it could pass anything except a gas station... 15 MPG on 4 gallon gas tank...
This strangely worded biased article was apparently written by a stoner Democrat...
Did people weld braces to the frame?
BS, You just had to know how to ride it! Ive had several and NEVER had any trouble or wobbling! You're just trying to make a mountain out of a molehill!!
Marketed to young, begining riders. Yes, it did kill a lot. Didn't make many widows as they were young, single guys. Too little trail and no steering damper. Horsepower wasn't the problem.
Had two H1s through the 70's. Two problems: #1 revs and power came on quick and wanted to lighten the front end. #2 Inexperienced riders thought they could hop on and test the top speed on day 1...
Then the big surprise... fine doing zero to 60 in a straight line. Peg the throttle on a curve at 60 and all hell breaks loose. Power came on so quick, and you had to know it before hand - to keep the bike pointed straight and shift body forward. Although I learned to love riding those bikes and never was down with either one , never could get careless with that throttle. Or it would bite hard to get my attention to let me know this bike was no joke...
Later I jumped to Honda and Yamaha, both way easier on the frazzled nerves.
Bs moments the problem with the h1 was the frame was under engineered and was wean at the steering head which was resulting in a wobble causing loss of control this usually happened in excess of 80 mph
@gregreppas1952 , funny, I never had a problem with my bike, I guess you just had to know how to ride it!! Or not ride it as the case would be!! Never had a problem with wobble at all, loved that bike!! But loved the 900Z1 even better!!
@@donhebel1011good comment. The frame would also flex at high speed they were also called the flying flexer at the dealership I worked for
60hp motor in a 20hp frame & a powerband like an on/off switch. "Ride it like you stole it"...😳🤕
HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT STOLEN H1 AND H2 KAWIS?🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
To me the KZ 900 was the best bike Kawasaki ever made. The beast was called a death wish by many that would do crazy things with riding it but I just considered it a fast touring motorcycle that held it's on class with the Classic bikes of the past.
The 900 was certainly a much better machine than any of the two stroke triples. It actually handled and stopped well. I went from a '70 500 to a '73 Z-1. The 900 didn't feel as quick as the the 500 because of it's more linear power delivery, but it was actually quicker. I wish I still had that bike today. I saw a zero mile '73 Z-1 sell at an auction for $50K!
@@jamesbottger5894k
I had a 750 TRIP, Vance and Hines ex champers and a jet kit. That 900 had NOTHING for that 2 stroke.
Yup the Z900 Was a great bike. I own a 2018 Candy Blue Z900rs. I hate the wheels that come with these bikes. I ordered a set of Real spoked wheels 19 in for the front 18 for the rear with michelin tires. She looks almost vintage. I found a black Kerner exhaust off a 1978 Z900, they are being redone to fit the heads on my 2018. I can't wait till it's done. Oh if anyone curious the redo process is costing me $3,800.00 in labor. 😂😂😂
@@jamesbottger5894Great bike, I rode a friend's and was just blown away with both the acceleration and stopping power - went the next week and bought one.
I had an H2 in 73, it was electrifying. I wrote it off in a speed wobble at 120 mph. I have raced F1 Kawasaki's and Production GSX1100's with success but never been thrilled the way I was with the H2. It was totally hopeless in terms of handling but it was the biggest adrenalin rush of all time.
You were a madman ! You hit that brick wall of unadulterated acceleration!
@@Vmaxfodder ,
That's what the H2 was good for.
Back in '72 I bought a new Yamaha XS-650 (twin cylinder 4 stroke). I was a dumb 20 year old kid. I thought I was "king of the road". I would street race anything that came along. Well, the Kawasaki 500 smoked my 650. From a stop light, that Kawasaki two stroke was untouchable. My four stroke Yamaha didn't stand a chance. Then Kawasaki decides to make a 750cc two stroke beast. That bike was the "Mike Tyson" of motorcycles! We all knew to leave those 750's alone.
In 79 I was 16 and pretty nieve about street bikes but had been riding 125 mx bikes since 73. I had a really wicked 71 V-8 Vega and a 74 Monte Carlo with A/C for beach cruising. Being an irresponsible teen I let the maintenance go on the Monte and after beating it over the summer, it needed everything, rotors, alt, batt, tires etc. Saw this guy riding this maroon 400 Kawasaki triple with his kid riding on the tank. This bike was not only pretty, but it rumbled like it was cammed up! It was a 76 come to find out after seeing it at the car wash a few days later. Talked to this guy about the bike and it's fall and he needs a car and I really wanted that kaw. Made him an offer for a straight trade for the Monte and that weekend I was the owner of my first Street bike, Kawasaki 400 S-3 triple, 1976 with 3,800 miles! Anyway I didn't realize what this S-3 was all about, but learned fast. As in like torquey and squirrelly and fast for such a small displacement bike. I weighed in at 155 and with my off road experience and this triples performance, I was competition for almost anything else on the street then under 650 CC's, of course that didn't include the 500 triple or good forbid the H-2. Got revoked before my 17 th b-day and my S-3 days and nights were put on hold during that winter and started up again come April of 80 with a fresh battery and a clutch cable. This bike would come up in the first 3 and you would literally have to push down on the bars to keep the wheel down coming out of the hole! It just felt light and flickable like a mx on the street, because basically, that's what it was. Chain drive and single disc in the front, drum in the rear, I never considered it a bad handling bike considering how light it was so slowing down for a corner wasn't an issue as fast as it was. I know it wasn't a 750, but it really was a hell of a lot of bike for a 400 CC. I sold it to buy a 70 GTO and didn't ride street till 83 when I purchased a Suzuki GS- 550 E which I consider a good replacement for the S-3. I then bought a Katana, stopped street riding in 87, too many cars and I figured I had my fun. It's been 40 plus years since I rode that 400, but I can say it was my favorite bike of all time..
I had a 1973 350 S3 triple, that was eye opening for a 350cc. It would keep the front wheel off the ground without trying, and you had to respect it for being a small bike 😊
In 1978-81 I had two..both were the 350's but still had balls beyond belief. One was the blue and the other was the red. What a time to be alive! Our generation was fun fun fun!
Yes, that was a great time to be young!!! I always wanted a 2 stroke Kawasaki, but I had a '71 SS454 Chevelle that got all my extra $$. Selling that car was one of my worst mistakes!
The Yamaha 350 and 400 RDs were a kick in the arse too.
Yeah the 350 was the s2 even that bike let you know who was boss! Happy days 😉🇬🇧
My first street bike was a 73 S2 350 bought it off a neighbor when I was 14 for $400. It ran head to head with another neighbors 87 CR500R. They advertised it for it's power to weight ratio
I am 70 years old and rode, raced and sold Motorcycles in my younger years. I still own two bikes. Nothing accelerates like a 3 cylinder 2 stroke engine. The Mach 3 was a very cool motorcycle. In later years many motorcycle manufacturers built faster, better handling motorcycles. The thing that made the Mach 3 special was the shock value and the fact that it was the first of it's kind. Nobody had every heard of a 500cc motorcycle out running anything on the road, but that's what it did. Very cool bike!
YOU GOT ME BY 7 YEARS BUT I STILL HAVE ONE LEFT IN MY SHED WITH DENCOS, AND 36MM CARBS. HAD 5 OF THEM OVER THE YEARS. YOU GET THUMBS UP SIR!👍👍👍👍👍
Back in highschool in the 80s a friend had a triple, I think it was only 350 cc. The throttle was like an on off switch. It smoked like crazy and was difficult to ride sedately, it just wanted to be opened up all the time. But the acceleration was a rush, easily the fastest thing we'd ever experienced at that point.
I believe they called it, Hitting the pipe.
I owned a 350 triple and rode a 750 triple. Great bikes for the day.
The smaller versions were the S-1,250 triple an S-2 350 cc and an s-3 400cc model.ive owned 3 400 cc street bikes,2 RD 400s and an S-3 triple.all a whole bunch of fun.
My room mate had a Kawasaki 500cc triple for every day transportation. It was everything this video warns about. The term "widow maker" was justified for me when another room mate "borrowed" the Kawasaki and nearly killed himself. He did kill the bike, however. Then the engineers at Kawasaki introduced the absolutely insane, and greatly amusing 750cc triple, which accelerated so hard that it was difficult to hang on to the grips.
I had a 200 two stroke Yamaha 1968. It would do 95 MPH with two people.
Exactly!
I had a similar experience during my college days. Two young men decided to race two different bikes. I do not remember what brand the other bike was but one of the riders borrowed the brand new bike from a friend...sounds a lot like your roommate, maybe the same bike. The road they raced on was on the top of a berm designed for flood-control. The "500" easily pulled ahead of the other bike to start with but swerved a bit to the right, hit a chunk of concrete on the side of the road and the rider was catapulted into the long, green grass covering the slope on the side of the berm, while the bike bumped along the asphalt, end over end, throwing various parts off the bike for quite a way. I was concerned about the rider who had disappeared in the soft green grass for a while. Then, when the bike had stopped moving, the rider popped up out of the grass and ran up to check on the bike. He was, apparently not hurt but the bike was a mess. I decided that I would never buy one of those bikes.
I got to know the H2 very well, my buddy had one and I borrowed it a lot, never laid it down either, I guess I respected it more than my buddy did.
Had a blue H2 750 and what a wild fast ride.The cops in NZ couldn't catch me,I did one wheel stand drunk and went over backwards.Lost my licence X3 on it but rode it 70-72 and had a real blast.
You weren't from Upperhutt were you?
If only some people could understand HOW a lot of us KIWIS dealt with "running gear" of ANY description...
LoL
Also, Kawasaki was deep into rotary valves in those days except for the triples. The 250 and 350 twins, tiddlers and the 350 Big Horn dual sport all had rotary valves.
I owned a 350 avenger in 1978 but got stolen a few months later .
From 2 to 3 gear it would pop wheelies by twisting the throttle.
The frame was spagetti and the brakes non existend.
Loved my kitted Big Horn, it would hang with 501 Maicos in uphill sand!
@@a1hamer
Whadduya want brakes for ?
They'll only slow ya down !!
I had a 350 side valve. Really annoyed the guys on Harleys. Engine burned out early and that's when I bought the H1
The H1 and the H2 both were "Piston Port", no rotary valves.
I never rode the 500 but back in the 70's a friend of mine had a 750 triple. I was riding a 750 Ducati, the essence of polite handling. We switched bikes one day. Good Lord! The Kawasaki shook and smoked and didn't steer at all. And then when you let the revs up the front comes right up in your face and it steered even worse because the front wheel was off the ground. I was terrified. But yeah, it was fast.
😂😂
I was 20 stationed in Hawaii and had 2 750s. One of them had a Denco engine kit producing over 100hp. I installed 2 steering dampers, Koni shocks, better rubber and it actually handled decent for the time. The only wobbles i remember before adding the stabilizers was decelerating from high speed especially just chopping the throttle. I had a few butt clenching tank slappers but adding power or standing up on the pegs would stop it. The Denco chambers sounded so sweet and even better with the rattling baffles removed. Somehow I survived those years with the widowmakers and moved on to a Suzuki GS1000 stationed in Germany i still own. I've done everything possible over 25 years with the GS to increase it's performance and handling doubling the hp and removing over 100 pounds. I'm in my sixties now and picked up a Ducati 1198s a few years back that i couldn't leave stock either. I could have never imagined owning a bike like the feather weight Ducati with almost 200 rwhp, 200 mph top speed back when i was riding the Kawi triples. I believe it was capable of low tens maybe even high 9s with a good rider at close to 150 mph completely stock. Maybe it's just memories and being young with the 750s but i loved that thrilling modified wheelie machine with it's on/off switch powerband and wicked howl! I could kick myself in the ass for selling the stock and built bikes in the 70s when i left Hawaii.😢
@johnedwards678: it’s appropriate that you owned, rode, (& raced?), your bikes-the experience of riding one of these sounds thrilling…in the right hands. Thanks for sharing your story, and for your service.
10:25 Re speed wobble: Had a similar experience with my 750 Honda at over 100 mph. When quickly releasing throttle went into excessive speed wobble. Counterintuitively i reapplied throtle to increase speed this returned the bike to normal condition and then slowly brought the speed back down. It was a good thing i had enough road to slown down. Angel on my shoulder for sure. Never did that again.
They didn’t kill me. I got my license on my 14th birthday and wheelied away on a 1971 H1500 with chrome J&R Power Pipes and never looked back. I went on to own half a dozen Kawi Triples and scores of other bikes. I have now been riding on the street for over 52 years with no end in sight.
Got my h2 750 triple in1983 i was 16 I helped a neighbor put a transmission in his car and he gave me the bike ! that was a wild summer i learned real fast to carry an extra sprocket and nut with me after loosing a few. but what a ride.. i remember hitting dirt roads with it i could make her go sideways at 70mph loved that bike for sure.
THAT'S COOL AS SHIT DUDE! I PUT AN H2 ON MY 69 500 FRAME AND WENT 11.8@118 NO BAR AND MY BUDDY'S H2 73 500 WENT 11.3 WITH A SLICK AND BAR. THAT'S ALMOST 40 YRS AGO. YOU GET THUMBS UP!👍👍👍👍👍
@@georgecooke9010 HELLYEAH! That's flying dude. Man I miss the days when $600 bucks would buy you a lightly used 2-smoke and you'd be the fastest thing on the road.
@@georgecooke9010 That was FLYING at the time. And on a rickety '69 H1 frame? WOW!!
I bought a H2 in 1972 it was the 1st bike I ever owned I was 18. I raced 1/4 mile at Firebird raceway out of Boise I'd. It would do 12.6 in quarter mi. I weighed 120 lbs. If you really watched what you were doing it was fun to drive. I rode with a buddy on his H2 to LA on the July 4th that year we passed everything on the road it was great fun. I'm 69 yrs.old now and owed it for 45 yrs. It's now in Florida.
YES, IT WAS SOME WORK TO GET IN THE 11S ON MINE. I DID GET A 12.005 WITH PORTING AND GUTTED PIPES ANS A 69 500 FRAME. NO 12.0 FLAT LIKE THEY CLAIMED STOCK.👍👍👍 I'M 63 AND STILL HAVE A 74.
It was my first motorcycle. Rode from Reno to Detroit in four days, with the last one of 850mi. The scary part was you could cruise around using 3,500rpm and it was like a docile bike, but get on it above that and, like you say, you'd be on the rear wheel and way over your head before you know it. 80mph was 20mpg. I remember commuting to work in the rain on a freeway and noticing the rpm fluctuating...the rear tire was hydroplaning. The speed wobble, brake fade are all true. But nothing ever sounded like the 2-stroke triple.
Great video, I was born in 1980 and my dad always had a 500 and 750 my first solo ride on his 750 was eye opening and had so much respect for how fast it was, how bad it handled and stopped. Love it
I had a 1971 H1 in high school. The video’s description is mild to say the least. It was a blast at the time and I’m glad that I survived it.
When this thing came out in 69, I had a new Honda CL350. The early Kawasaki triple cylinder 500's were rare, but were on the streets. The speeds (and quickness) were not just unbelievable, they were f*cking unbelievable. Then came the triple 750, followed by the triple 1100. A guy on a 500 dropped by the local Honda motorcycle dealership while I was there, and let one of the mechanics ride it. The mechanic (accidentally) pulled wheelies in all four gears and almost lost the bike. Scared the shit out of him. At the time, the term Death Machine did cross my mind.
Never saw a 1100 triple kawi, maybe u dream.?
@@rogerdodrill4733,
I never saw an 1100 triple either.
Never heard it called the widow maker back in the day. Only in the last 5 years has that myth popped up. The bike wasn't that bad. I owned one. In left hand turns you could easily drag the kickstand and at over 100 the frame would flex a little but not bad enough to make it unrideable. Never had a problem with wobbles, but then I took care of my bikes, while a lot of people would just ride them into the ground. Like a friend of mine with an H2. That sucker needed some maintenance. The drum brakes were actually pretty good for street you could lock up both wheels. While they would probably overheat and fade if you were road racing.
The 750 was known as the Purple People Eater for a reason, they were both loopy machines, an absolute blast, if you were suicidal. Great times.
Exactly! The only real problem was the power curve which I loved.
The Suzuki TL1000SV was the widow maker and almost killed me.
Rear lock up easy on any bike, cause of weight transfer. Front is most important for same reason
I was offered an H1 for a demo ride by the owner of the shop where I'd bought several Yamahas over the previous several years. Ang Rossi, the shop owner, handed me a dollar bill and said to fill it up. It had been getting quite a bit of use in the last day or so. It was brand new in the shop. I'd just read the road test in Cycle Magazine, tossed my helmet in the back seat of my car and took off to see Ang.
I parked out front and walked past the bike, sitting against the curb. I went in and talked to him for a few minutes when he asked me if I'd noticed the bike out front. I was thinking, "No, I just happened to be in the neighborhood," but I didn't say that. I guess I wasn't very subtle about it. He had a quite a grin on when he offered me the keys and said to fill it up and be careful. The first thing that I noticed was that those pipes just looked weird... 2 on one side and 1 on the other.
Traffic through town on the freeway was pretty busy so I took it easy to about 5 miles north of town. I made the "flip" around the overpass and headed back. As I made the loop back onto the highway I saw a car moving along at about 70 (the posted limit) as I entered the roadway at about 25. I cranked it in 2nd, hit 3rd as I pulled even and just disappeared in the distance! Compared to anything else on the market at that time, acceleration was absolutely instantaneous!! It seemed like no time before I was rapidly closing on the slow-pokes ahead of me and I had to get on the brakes. I quickly found that they were nothing to brag about and all those "slow-pokes" were getting closer really fast!! I got it down to a "reasonable pace" and didn't have any more drama on the way back to the shop.
I don't remember any comments about "Widow-Maker" regarding the 500cc H1 but a lot of that came out when the 750cc H2 was released. I had built up a '67 Yamaha YR1 350cc Cafe Racer that was far quicker than anything else I had come across up to about 90mph but the H1 was much quicker yet. The H2 750 was just, as my old boss called it, "Stupid-Fast!!" It was way more than willing to turn around and bite you if you dis-respected it for even a second!
I knew them as Widowmaker in the late 70s, early 80s. 2 of my friends had them. They both managed to survive tho.
The video is wrong about the H-1 having massive low-end power. It barely moved until you hit 6000 rpm. That when all 60 horses got moving and made the bike very dangerous…fun, but…
@originaLkomatoast I was referring to the original model H-1from 1969. I rode one several times. Full power didn't come on until 6000 rpm. Later models were not as radical. Later models also come with a disc front brake.
I PUT AN H2 MOTOR ON MY 69 WITH DENCOS AND 36'S. 11.8@118 W/ STREET TIRE AND 74 H2 SWING ARM. H2S WERE 5 - 7K RPM KILLERS! H1 LIKE YOU SAID SIR. 👍👍👍👍👍
It was NOT obnoxiously loud! It made exotic music!
They sounded like Turbo vacuum cleaners
One of the magazines said the Kawa triple exhaust sounded like a swarm of angry bumblebees.
I knew a kid who had gone to our high school who bought one of the Mach IIIs. Everyone told him that they were dangerous as hell and for him to =never= go WFO in fifth gear. Well, one day, he was getting onto the freeway and decided to do the taboo. Right about that time, the bike did a 160 degree flip and landed him on his helmet. By the time it had fallen over, the top half of his helmet and his skull were gone, shaved off at a 45 degree angle. It took only seconds for it to become the Widowmaker of lore. RIP, Joel.
Unlike a 4 stroke there was absolutely no engine braking when you closed the throttle. You just kept flying, gearing down had no effect. Depended totally on the feeble brakes to halt the Rocket. When I was young "Hot Rod" magazine was required reading and they wrote this Bike up as King of the strip. Had to have one after that! Rode it for a year went back to 4 stokes and got all my money back on the sale.
nice insight
I've owned several 2 stroke bikes & learned how to use the "brakes" on Motorcycles. Motors are for going, brakes are for slowing!
No shit shirlock....On a 4 stoke you use the engine and gears to slow it as well as brakes. That is missing on a 2 stroke all you have is the brakes which makes it very hard to ride...Anyways sure glad I survived the Widow Maker and got my Money back.... @@burkestorti4586
Closing the throttle on a 2-stroke not only doesn't provide engine braking but also denies oil flow, whether injected or pre-mixed.
@@johncmitchell4941 maybe in that case go a bit richer with the full synthetic two stroke oil buying the engine a little more life
There are some inaccuracies here in regards to its performance. The bike mags got the 0 to 60 around 3 seconds but you have to get it off the line well. It hit 120 MPH easy It felt perfectly settle to cruise at 80 but bad on gas as low as 20 mpg. Mine would always start on the first 'kick' unless I needed to clean the plugs. I did that by dipping them into the tank and cleaning around with a folded dollar bill. It would never need more than 3 kick starts anyway. I never used the Kickstarter the way others had too. A sweep of my hand while it leaned in its kickstand was all I did. That engine stayed cool no matter what on the highway.
There was a Honda CB750 along side me on a really HOT day. He had to ride with his knees way apart due to heat coming of his engine. I looked at that and slipped my glove off under my leg and held my bare hand on the head fins a few seconds and then took off in a wheelie. (there was a lock screw for the throttle)
I was as light as a girl at the time and with a big change in sprockets I hit 140 with a tail wind.
Oh and there as no low end torque. It behaved like a kitten at low revs but leaped ahead like a leopard at the start of the real revs. Hitting the powerband was like touching a hot burner. YIKES! I realized the stock bars had to go to keep my body weight down on front. Wheelies on the freeways? Yes.
Kawasaki H1 500 was also called the Crotch Rocket for a reason. My Buddy bought one around 1977. He came by my House to show it to me. Said it had scared hell out of him.
Continued -- I rode it ready for something wild. Leaned low over the gas tank hugged tight with knees and 5000 rpm it exploded like a rocket. Felt like my arms were tearing out of shoulders.
@@CaptainGizmo-b3h Yeah and somehow modern bikes with double the horsepower cant seem to do that. It is bewildering. I think it has something to do with suddenness if that makes any sense.
Orgasmic maybe. Crotch Rocket it certainly was if you know what I mean. It had a very comfortable seat too!
From H1 500 Mach 3 into Kawasaki Ninja H2R. 💚🔥
I love the H2R. Such an awesome bike.
My first street bike, and I'm still alive. I will say, that machine commanded my respect and I offered it.
I road tested a 750 one time, and thankfully, the tail light stuck up because that was all that kept me on the bike from the first stop light I launched from. Left hand holding the front of the seat, two fingers of the right hand still on the throttle. Managed to pull myself forward enough to back off the gas and slow down. Took the bike back and said I didn't think it was the bike for me. Had been riding a Honda CB350, so I was way over my head on something like that. That was a long time ago, and it still makes me sweat a little thinking about it.
Out of high school, (76) a friend had a 73 H2 (he was mild-mannered) I had a 74 H2 (with expansion chambers) I was about as mild mannered, although more radical athletic, and a lesser friend had a 75 H2, he was more obnoxious type. We had these at the same time. Me coming from dirt bike experience realized the handling dis-advantages, so kept it under control. We all stayed alive. Great memories. This is a VERY well done video, thanks!
Still have my 400 with expansion chambers. Bought it when I was 16 but I was a seasoned two-stroke dirt rider . Not only did this bike cement its place in history. It changed many young man’s lives for the better. She still lives in the garage, surrounded by 12 other motorcycles, and a bunch of cars. I never walk by her without reliving the memories. I can definitely tell you,She changed my life. A lot of beautiful young ladies at the time had never experienced the power of a two stroke surge. Let’s just leave it there. If you know, you know…
Yeah baby! The girl would be screaming to get off before the first block. ❤❤❤
I got mine a few weeks after graduating high school. My friend got it for graduation and within 48 hours had smashed it and himself. The next day, after he got out of the hospital and out of jail, he showed up at my parents' house with the smashed up H-1 in a van and said "Mike, take this thing off my hands before I kill myself on it" I put it back together and, after nearly killing myself on it several times, I decided the only safe place to ride it was on a race track. After 2 years of stunting on the local streets, and nearly destroying it, I built the ever living shit out of it and went racing with CCS. I never looked back, and never rode it on the streets again.
The 750 kawasaki H2 was the widow maker.
H1 WAS THE ORIGINAL WIDOWMAKER..
No it wasnt. The 69 500 was
my stepfather lost many mates in NZ on two stroke 750's , ofcourse they were heavily ported with a racier port timing
You are correct Sir. The 1972 H2 was the first time any bike was referred to as the Widow Maker. Although the early H1's were scary they had different nick names, most common was the "triple with a ripple" referencing the light weight frame.
The name was been loosely tossed around & attatched to the A7 Avenger before given to the triples - a few years before the H2. The 69 500 triple secured it & was the worst of the lot for power vs handling / brakes.@@rizingsonmotorcycles1240
If they’d have ported the 750H2 like they did the 500 it would have hurt even more people than it did anyway. It’s kind of crazy thinking of a beginner jumping on a 500-750 cc two stroke, if they only knew. Everybody should start out on the dirt and get used to letting the bike work and get used to that two stroke hit. Personally I love the way they scare the shit of ya 😂
I started off with a Kawasaki 175 enduro as my first bike, easily passed my driver's test. A couple of years later I upscaled to a 750 cc street bike.
I learned to ride in the dirt, (early 1960's). IMO? Gaining skills away from traffic, on a surface more yielding than pavement, protects the inexperienced young enthusiasts from their bad judgement long enough for them to gain survival skills on pavement.
@@garybrown1404 heck yeh, you get so used to riding that reflexively using all the controls simultaneously becomes normal. Body English, the whole thing becomes poetry after a while.
I once tried a friends Kawa 750 (Early seventies sometime) and as the bike passed 4000 rpm it went straight up an nearly threw me off! SCARY! A quick push on the foot break saved me. But I must say that with quite a lot of crazy 2-strokes in the days, no one in my area killed them self on any of them. I miss those bikes, They were so much fun! I am 71 and still on bikes by the way...
😮That's what I remember don't full throttle as you may flip over backwards!
@@cosmicHalArizona especially with a passenger
Same here ! I took my buddies 750 Triple for a test ride. It scared the hell out of me ! Extremely fast, with almost zero control !
You almost become a rocket man!
I am now riding a Harley with a little more common sense at 74 y/o. I must admit my H1 was one helluva dragbike, the power curve when stock was 6,000 rpms but after building it up to about 105 h/p, the power curve was 4,500 rpms. I spent a lot of time on the gas tank when racing it, the front end didn't want to stay on the ground with the 4.00x18 Avon slick. It was fun I'll never forget but I just outgrew it.
At fourteen I bought my first road bike. My older brother's friend sold me his 73' H1. I had been riding a Maico 250 two stroke in the woods and on farm land . The H1 was so damn much fun to rip around on. I would rifle down road after road . It handle like a out of control horse not willing to slow down or stop. I straight line raced many a muscle cars and don't remember ever being beat . I still cherish those memories !
My brother bought a slightly used blue H1 (1970?)- on a test ride it felt like an underpowered slug until it hit about 4000K- then, it did it's best to literally pull me off the seat, a feeling I never had before, or since. What a rocket it was! I bought an orange version a few years later which had some improvements, but still a real handful.
Blue was a 71, power came on at 6000.
@@tedecker3792 Thank you- I do remember needing to watch the tach- it was like an afterburner
@@ktkt1825 when I got mine everyone wanted to ride it . I could hear them go around the block and come back unimpressed. I’d tell them to go again and get it over 6k and hold the F on. Next time they came back their eyes were big as saucers!
@@tedecker3792 Great stuff! The thing was a rocket- scared me good that first time. I ran the orange one for a long time- took it to Canada even (with a 1 tooth addition to the crank sprocket) it would run 80 all day.
80 mph was perfect except for the gas tank@@ktkt1825
I had a 500 and a 750. The 500 was hard to ride because it had no torque, but at 5600 rpm you better be hanging on tight, the 750 was much easier to ride. All motorcycles demand respect especially watching out for people in cars. I had other motorcycles after that, including Honda Goldwings,but these bikes were my favorite. Miss the two strokes. They didn’t call them Runaway Freight trains for nothing.
My neighbor rode his down the road and right into a tree , he lived but got 80 stitches in the face. Scared for life , I think he was 17 back then.
Awesome!
hope he is still around today😮
I had the KH400 A3 for about 12 years or more, it was a controllable pleasure to ride with modern quality tyres but the brakes were still old school.
They made a Kwackers 250cc triple back in the early/mid 70s - which was thought of as being the main reason that here in the UK the maximum cubic capacity for learners was reduced from 250 to 125cc. I rode a friend's one once. Once. It was madness.
This bike came out of the crate weighing 360 pounds, putting out 60 h/p, blew the side covers off of Sportsters and 750 Honda's in the quarter mile. They were quick, but didn't corner worth a spit.
You totally missed the point of why the bike was dangerous. I had a ‘72 H1. It did not have great low end power. Reasonable power on par with a CB450 happened only at 5000 rpm. The problem was that at 6000 rpm, it felt as if a rocket engine had just ignited. It was this on/off moment of good and evil horsepower that took control of the bike away from you if you weren’t prepared. You could deal with this in a straight line but it was something that you always needed to be prepared for and in an appropriate situation to deal with it. You could even get another 5 to 10 hp if you installed expansion chambers but that just made the difference between good and evil hp worse. The later year H1s were beautiful looking bikes and I really enjoyed mine. The engines were only good for about 10 to 15,000 miles before they needed new piston and rings. A problem with half of the high mileage bikes was that the crank seals would fail for the center cylinder and it took a serious guru master bike wizard to deal with pressing the crankshaft apart and then pressing it back together with new seals and having a crank alignment jig to make the crank true again.
Owned a 1974 model Mach 3 back in 1976/77 and did about 15,000 miles on it. Good power and exciting to ride. Still remember running it up to 100 miles per hour and as I backed off the front drive sprocket nut spun off into the side cover past the bent up lock tab ?? then the sprocket jumped off the output spline onto the shaft threads. I obviously wasn’t meant to die that day as the chain path didn’t lock up the rear end as I coasted to a stop with no final drive.
That happened to me on my KH250 too. Miles away from home, in the dark.
A farmer saw me pushing it and asked what was wrong whereby he undid the side cover. Miraculously the nut was stuck in the grime but the washer was gone.
It was good enough to get me home though.
I suspect I hadn't bent over the tab enough when I "went up a tooth" with a bigger front sprocket a couple of weeks earlier.
H1 Kaws were NEVER known as 'The Widowmaker". That was reserved for the H2 750s. The H1s were known as 'The Wheelie Machine', a title they shared with the 903cc Z1.
Yes sir , you are correct, the 500's were badass , but the 750 was on a different level !
As I owned a 69 H1, I learned about the "widow maker" expression. At the time a rumor was that the middle cylinder piston would seize & lock up the rear wheel causing a fatal crash.
Yep. You got it Russ. Ihad the 72 blue H2...only idiots called them the widowmaker...and it wasnt the H1...haha. The H2 could tour, race,commute, dirt roads....do everything. Magic bike!😂🎉🎉
Rubbish... the H1 is the original widowmaker. Their arrival in Australia and New Zealand, caused 18 fatalities within 3 months of its arrival. I’ve owned two and my first one nearly succeeded in my death. I still own an H1 and I’ll always will
@@Brutaga haha. Youve gotta learn to ride
I was in my teens when the Kawasaki triples made their appearance. I bought a used 750 H2 myself when I turned 18. There were many fast bikes during those years so singling out the Kawasaki 500 is just ridiculous. You needed to respect the power and sometimes poor handling of these bikes. This "Widowmaker" thing is getting really old. The Kawasaki 500 motorcycle never killed anyone. Nor did the Honda 750/4, Suzuki GT 750 triple and on it goes. All fast bikes and if ridden past their limits or by inexperienced riders, yup, I'm sure there were deaths. Dumb riders kill themselves. Back then and still today.
That suzy gt750 was a bit of a beast.
After owning, and riding the h2 750 it was never a bike for a novice rider ,but it could take on the world and win.This bike could either put a smile on your face that will last a week ,or put you in the hospital ,or worse without a second thought.Yup it was just that good !
In the early 70's, a friend of mine's dad was a policeman. He had a Mach 3 and blew the engine doing about 130 on an interstate in Nashville. You wonder how people got killed on these,
The thing about the h1 was the hp rise at higher rpm. could pull your arms off the handlebars ! Try to find a period hp/torque graph~amost vertical !
I bought mine from a racer friend who added steel trailing bushings, welded frame braces and Ceriani forks which tamed a lot of the twitch. Still went like hell. This video did not cover these areas very well.
I can attest to that . After restoring my 1975 H1-500 , bought when I was only 17 , I cranked it a few times and my hands came off the bars lol having not ridden it for some forty odd years . I still hammer it and still ride it when I can . Bike never scared me once . Loved the acceleration . And a 2 stroke puts out less emissions than a 4 stroke . Put that in your expansion chamber and smoke EPA dick heads !
I traded my 71 500 mach3 in 73 for a first gen Z1. Whole different animal. In college in 76 my transportation was the Z1 and a 63 Jaguar XKE. Fun times!
Great list of mods, especially the swing arm bushings, something that nearly everyone overlooked. Unmodded, the thing felt like it had a hinge under the seat
If I remember correctly,the power rose by around 40 hp within 1500 rpm. Acceleration out of a curve could raise your front wheel.
@@tedecker3792 that's amazing I had a 1963 Jaguar E class that I named The Blue Max, I when I lived in Palm Beach I traveled across Florida on alligator alley, averaging 160 mph , the only competition from that era was the Ford Shelby Cobra ‼️
A bit of hype with this video. Actually, it was the 750 triple that was the "widow maker". I owned two of these 500 triples, the first one was stolen, from 1970 to 1973. They had a tendency to get into a death wobble at around 90 mph; brakes were so so. Like any motorcycle the rider should have been aware of its limitations. The best thing about the triple was the sound coming from the exhaust. It sounded like a turbine winding up when it accelerated. The main reason they were discontinued was the Honda 750 and Kawasaki's own four stroke 900, four cylinder.
More sound came from the intake not the stoke exhaust.
The intake sound was fantastic@@burkestorti4586
Never owned one, but my dad did. They were so cheap to buy, and a couple years later the local Kawasaki dealer was clearing out the 750 triples for an even grand! They sold like hot cakes.
Imagine now, though, motorcycles that are two and a half seconds faster in the quarter mile than the Kawa 500.
Kawasaki now has an H-2 that puts out over 200 h/p, I've never ridden one but I sure wouldn't turn down the offer if one was ever made.
I owned one of these. It would pull wheelies with ease and was extremely fast. Fun bike! Probably could have used a bit more weight to make it safer it was very light bike.
I rode a couple H1's...they were mild compared to the '72 H2 750 that I owned. The '72 H2 caused so many insurance claims that Kawi lengthened the swing arm and detuned it with jetting in '73 and '74 to make it less wheelie prone. I grew up on two wheelers in the dirt and earned an AMA Expert license in 125cc Motocross and bought a like new '72 H2 in '74 when I was a Sr. in H.S.
I solved the "wheelie" problem by installing lower handle bars. That little bit of extra body weight on the front wheel helped.
Beg to differ, h2 was mild compared to first yr h1 that had narrow power and that hit like a 125 mx around 5k. Look at dyno chart, went from above 15 HP to over 50 almost immediately. H2 has no big jump like that. Have 3 h1 & 1 h2 now
@@rogerdodrill4733 Lol, I rode enough two strokes in motocross and road race (AMA Expert licenses in 125cc Motocross and 250/350cc Road Race including racing in the Daytona 200 in '75 on a TZ-350 (B) and a 0partial AMA Road Race season in '75...partial as I was a Sr. in H.S. and getting ready for the SAT's and Engineering College), with most/all eventually being ported to know the H1 didn't go from 15 HP to 50 "almost immediately". I stand by what I said, the H2 was a much more dangerous bike than the H1. To me the H1 rode like a fast RD350 that didn't steer as well, whereas the H2 rode like a completely different beast.
@@stevefowler2112 my memories are current , yours are further away, & of course bikes are not identical. I stand by my opinion. Wish I knew where to find dyno chart for 69 h1 to verify my assertion
@@rogerdodrill4733 Had the H2 been tuned to the level of the H1, it would have had 90HP not 75. It was much easier to ride than the 69/70 Mach III H1 which were detuned in 1971. The H1 had so little torque that if you were lugging in in third gear around town and just opened the throttle, the bike would not hit the power band and not exceed about 30 mph.
I owned one and knew 3 other people who had one. There was very little power below 4000 rpm. After that,
watch out. I once rode a KH400 and was impressed. Being lighter, it was almost as fast and handled well.
My riding buddy had the kawasaki H750 triple way back when I had a suzuki 650g katana, he would leave me like I was standing out of corners!
I remember seeing him have to put up with some very 'challenging' handling to say the least.😁😳
He said it handled like a beer crate on castors on corners at speed another analogy he describedvl it as like having a hinge at the headstock😁😳
I think the problem.was flex in the forks and frame and inadaquate suspension!
You have to remember this was1960s 1970s geometry and design.
I was 15 when I bought my first well used 500 triple. It was a blue Mach lll. I couldn’t believe how fast it could accelerate. Later during my first year in college I bought a new one painted in a metallic root beer color with yellow striping. I pushed them pretty hard on the twisty roads in foothills of northern Ca, but I never dropped one going fast. I dropped the new one once while moving slowly through an intersection in Sacramento for no apparent reason. I rode them both a bunch. I loved wheeling and generally raising hell on those bikes.
i rode on the back wheel of my 1970 H1 quite a bit. The bike was not much for cornering, that's for sure. I took it around Mosport Park in Ontario a few times and nearly ripped the pipes off. In the straight-aways the bike was marvelous. The bike started to fall apart when it reached 10.000 miles and it wasn't worth keeping after that. I have my fair share of road rash from that bike as I lost control a couple of times. I eventually put H2 front forks on it with a disc brake. I killed a lot of mosquitoes with the 2 stroke smoke.
At Mosport I realised the handling was poor. I took the corners SLOW MAN!
Got my motorcycle licence on this beast in 1970 but nearly flipped it over on take-off. A truly scary bike !
I worked at a Kawasaki dealership in the late 60's and early 70's and we would beton how long a customer would last when these bikes were purchased. The bikes didn't need a front wheel I said it just need a front skid for when it touched down.
I even told the store owner several times not to sell a bike to certan customers because I knew they would be hurt or end up in the hospital.
The shortest time for one leaving the dealer ship was 1 1/2 days and the longest was about a week.
A rich boy I knew at the time got the 750 triple and totalled it in 20 minutes. He'd opened the throttle "a bit" on an uphill, and the wheelie went over all 180°, leaving him under the hot steel. He laughed at it, telling us younger guys his leather pants had saved his ass.
About 20mpg. Power exploded about 6000 rpm. Took mine to the drag strip every Friday and smoked all the muscle cars. Fun single purpose machine.
We have bikes WAY badder now than the triple Kaw. It was fun. When the powerband hit, and I mean HIT, hang-on. My KZ750 turbo was badass. Then the KZ1000 with a Banks turbo. Can't believe I survived those bikes. Yes, I can. I rode very conscious of the power.
It was also called The Rocket with a Sprocket. My last one was a '76 café racer. Loved with respect.
Yikes!!! That's one scary bike. I had a 90cc Kawasaki G3 back in the 70s. A nice lime green one. And that was fast enough for me. Top speed about 65mph with a tail wind. 0 to 60 in about 15 seconds (I'm guessing). Cheers from Canada :-)
My first and only bike (so far) was a '69 Kawasaki Street 90. At age 15-1/2, I got my learner's permit which allowed me to drive it, and I took it on every single street, alley, and dirt road in my town before I turned 16. Now I want a Brozz 250 dual sport before my 71st birthday.
@@ljprep6250 Wow. I looked up the Brozz 250 on google and it looks like an awesome bike. But how about a Yamaha TW200. Look it up in google and youtube. Everyone that has one swears by it. Just a thought. Anyway, I have an electric bike now and that is really fun too, and handy for getting around town.
One thing is for sure though. No matter what type of bike it is, they all put a grin on our face 👍😁
Have a Merry Christmas and I hope Santa brings you the bike of your dreams :-)
🎄🛷🪆🪅⛄🧸🎅
I had a 1972 triple with disk brake up front and added chambers. Give it half throttle to 4500 rpm, bust it wide open and you were on the back wheel every time. Sold it and bought brand new a 1980 black Z1R 1000. Far fewer of these made than the 78 baby blue ones. They fixed some of the problems of the 78s. Still have that bike. Needs a little maintenance. But it has been well cared for and still looks almost new. Just a scratch on the front fender. It's much faster than my triple was. My Z1R and my 450 Maico the last year of duel rear shocks are my favorite old bikes. The Maico would steer around corners unlike the bike now days that you need a berm to bounce off of to get around them or the front washes out. And no it never broke. Those were the single shock bikes that came later. Although my 400 CZ Jawa was the most bulletproof motorcycle I have owned.
Thanks a lot. Very interesting and good presentation. The 60's for me was flat out old fashioned British 2 strokes and sidecars on big bikes ! Great fun and I survived it all. 8 of the lads didn't in 67 / 68. I'm now into old cars. Colin UK 🇬🇧
1970, I had a Honda CB350. Rode with a friend from Santa Barbara to Pine Mountain Summit on Calif. Hwy 33 and back. Twists and turns all the way to the summit and back. He wanted to ride my 350, so I rode his H1 Kawasaki. Never rode it fast, but after only a few miles and I wanted back on my Honda. The Kawasaki frame felt so flexible that I told him it felt like it had a door hinge in the middle. No way would I have tried to go fast on that flexi-flyer.
I'm a paramedic and I've been riding since I got my first mini bike on my 5th birthday. I'll be 65 in November so I've basically been riding for 60 years and I've had my share of accidents. I've also responded to a lot of motorcycle fatalities as a paramedic. My best friend was killed in a motorcycle accident so I have a lot of experience dealing with this and yet I still ride. Does that make me crazy?
Nope
I am 64 and just bought a Cagiva 900. I love both bikes. Nope
I owned a 1976 H2 500. $1,200 brand new out of the box. Turned it into a cafe style racer. Fairing,expansion chambers,drag bars, motor and carbs reworked this one badass bike for its time. Wish I still had it. Memories,memories.
Sweet, the algorithm is working for once.
Paid $500 in 1980 for a 1972 500 triple. There was a strut on the right side between the forks and the frame, meant to dampen the steering. It fell off one day, didn't bother looking for it. The 2-stroke oil injection didn't work, so I had to figure out how to pre-mix the gas and oil, which I often messed up resulting in a smoke screen pouring out of the exhaust. Oh well. Took it out to a long stretch of highway and wound it up to 125 mph. Nothing about the frame, suspension, or brakes had any business doing speeds like that. As I sped along over gentle rises and shallows, the shocks would alternately bottom out then rise to nearly their maximum extention. Once. Only did it once, lived to tell about it. Yea me. But I rode that scooter for an entire year, rain or shine (and once in the aftermath of a tornado, which cars couldn't get through but I got home ok).
One friend of mine had an H1 and another friend had an H2. You could not get get the heads off of either of them. The bolts broke off without putting hardly any force on them and the heads crystallized to the cylinders, so luckily they did not last long enough to kill either one. I hated it but everyone brought their cars and bikes to me for repairs. I learned my lesson on the first H1 I worked on to never touch another one. BTW he brought it over after he broke the head bolts off, I didn't do it.
I had a 71 model (the "blue on blue" year)...drum brakes front and back. EVERYBODY wanted to race me at every light it seemed. The clutch slipped. Swapping Triumph 500 valve springs for the OEM clutch springs cured that problem but riding in city traffic was really tiring on the left hand. I did a loop of Montreal/Chicago/Denver/ Salt Lake City and back in a month.
In Colorado I went over a pass that was close to 12,000 feet ASL....air got thin enough that the bike barely made it over the last bit near the summit...throttle wide open could only do 30-40 mph...the oil injection was pumping oil as if I was doing 110! The bike never ran well after that....back down at lower elevation I stopped at a motorcycle shop, parked in front, took the heads off and scrapped a good quarter inch of carbon off them and the piston tops with a knife.....then I went inside and asked them if i could rent a torque wrench!!! They had been watching me the whole time from inside the shop... shaking their heads, I'm guessing. They torqued my heads, didn't charge me anything and wished me well...After that the bike ran just fine all the way back home.
I had the 500cc it was fast but two things I didn't like about it were its proclivity for fouling plugs. Until I got about 1000 miles on it I had to go with a pocket full of plugs because of the fouling. I also had to keep the RPM high. The second thing was the vibration, it was like riding a jackhammer. If I took a 100-mile trip my hands would tingle and my ass was numb from the vibration.
1974 I bought a 1971 500 Kawasaki. Never rode a bike in my life. Took it to a Kawasaki dealer with a pickup truck to have turn signals installed and generally check it out. When I picked it up the mechanic came and asked if I knew how to ride? Nope first bike. He shook his head and said, "good luck". Practiced riding for a week at low speed and then took it out. Wow what a monster! Easy wheely yeah but just scoot up close to the gas tank and everything fine. Never put it down even though I rode like an idiot. Brakes awful so I bought a 1975 500 and had dual disc brakes installed. Craved even more speed so I had chambers installed (Denco) and had engine upgraded by Paul Gast Grand Island NY. Also known as Fast by Gast. Had a blast drag racing this beast. Sold it 1996 just before my son turned 16 and got his driver's license. No way he was going to get near that bike. Great times
Stock pipes would scrape the ground on a sharp left turn so chambers helped with that issue.
After reading Cycle magazine’s “Superbike Comparison Test” (March 1970), I was hooked. I saved every dime earned working on the farm to buy my Candy Blue 71 Mach III in the spring of 71. I was 16. I had experience trail riding, but this was my first street bike. I’ll never forget the angry howl and rush of power after 5000 rpm. Scary and exciting. I’ll also never forget coming up off the tank after doing a quarter mile run on a country road and experiencing a violent speed wobble. Thankfully I had some distance to ride it out, but it sure scared the s***out of me! Anyone else experience this? My best guess for it happening was coming up too suddenly at speed, thus unweighting the front end.
Yep, me too.
This was the dream bike that every kid on the block dreamed of owning.
My first encounter with the Big K was racing against one during time runs at Atco drag strip in south Jersey in '69. The lights went green, and I could see that the big K did a huge wheelie at the line. I was told later that the guy was all out of shape for a second or two. As I was approaching the finish line the big K blew past me. I turned a 13.5 on that run and the big K caught me before the line. It was really fast !
Had a buddy in welding school who had one of these. He asked me if I wanted to go for a ride with him. Being young and not knowing any better I said yes. I rode behind him and the only thing I had to hold on to was the bar going behind the seat. He did three wheel stands in the parking lot and I knew I was in trouble. We went out on a two lane country road that had a long downhill and then a long uphill. I knew we were going fast and peeked around him to see how fast we were going. We were doing 130 miles an hour and the wind felt like it was going to pull me off. We got back safely and. Believe my buddy was a veteran rider but I decided one ride was enough.
Long live blue smoke and poor handling.
I'll carry the memory of my first drive on a Mach III to my grave. I remember riding (cruising) for about 20 minutes, just getting used to the handling and feel. I was on a lonely road and decided it was TIME to rack the throttle. I can only describe it this way... It's as though I stood still, and the world came at me! The only (4-wheel) comparison I can give is the first time I drove a (850hp with the boost cranked wide open) Porsche 935, or a McLaren M-10A, formula 5000. The only 'airborne' comparison I can make, is the first time I flew a Lear 24....
I settled for the 400cc Mach II Kawa, and it was a great bike I rode for well over a decade, but I'll never forget it's "Big Brother, the 500 Mach III."
I remember the 350, that was bad enough. Super powerful and could lift the front wheel off in second gear with just about half throttle. It caught me off garuard; and with the wheel in the air and accellerating like crazy, almost screped me right off the bike. No joke, I was hanging on by my fingertips and couldn't let off the throttle. Fortunately it eventually wound out and I came down in one piece. I don't think I've ever even seen a 500 (and I'm glad I didn't).
I bought serial #00069. Unlike everyone else at the time I followed break in procedure which was not over 5,000 RPM for 1,000 miles. If you did not do this the center cylinder would seize. I was pulled over by so many cops not to ticket me but to talk about the bike. It had no power until over 5,000 RPM, at that point it came onto the pipe. Suddenly the front end ended up in the air. When I first bought the bike I remember leaving and as soon as it hit the pipe I had to deal with an immediate wheelie. If you went road racing and did not keep the RPM above 6,000 RPM, you would die. I had about 5 of these bikes. I had a 750 also. I bought that bike cheap as the previous owner let it get on the pipe in a turn and bounced off a cliff, luckily not over into the canyon. I sold the bike as I became too crazy of a driver and said "I am going to die if I keep this bike." My previous bike was a full race, stripped down, 250#, 650 Triumph with over 65 HP and no front brake. At the time nothing beat a Mach III. Who can forget this.
In one word about this video : AWESOME !
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P.S (again...) : Greetings from Brazil
I owned a Mach III and it was the machine I loved more than any other. It did almost kill me with speed wobbles. They were so popular I was able to sell it for more than I paid for it brand new.
My first bike! I had a green one. It was awesome (going in a straight line)! Only bike I had where I actually thought I'd fly off the back seat when I cracked the throttle. When the it came into the power band in 3rd gear during acceleration it would almost get out from under me. Almost zero brakes, very squishy in the corners, today's bicycles have better suspension, but I'd do anything to hear that thing scream again!
Had a buddy that let me borrow the bike whenever I wanted to ride it ....man, I fell in LOVE. He offered to sell it to me for 200 bucks and I was too broke to buy it. He told me he had to sell it because he was afraid of it. I have kicked myself a million times for not working out some sort of deal to buy that bike but, in reality, as crazy as I was I would probably not be here writing this if I had bought it. I did not have enough sense to know how dangerous it was and it was.....dangerous and FAST.
@paulblouin6955: yes, you're right. The road test was the Cycle Magazine Superbike test in Mar'70. If l remember correctly the Norton Commando ran a 12.69 quarter mile, followed by the Triumph Trident's 12.78, & then the Kawasaki Mach lll at 12.81. As for top speed 750 Honda's, Triumph Tridents, BSA Rocket 3s often ran up into the 120-125 mph bracket, so the Mach 3 Kawasaki had some competition!
Correct! I have a copy of that magazine… and a Norton Commando.
I had a powerful Honda 750-4 in 1971; it had no seat-back so sliding off under acceleration and trying to "untwist" the hand throttle was terrorizing. Responsible for a growing family, this death-trap was sold after just a few months.
If you couldn't handle a Honda, be grateful you didn't get a Kawasaki. The Honda, is like moving up from the bunny hill, to an easy slope. A Kawasaki 750 triple, is for the guy who skis double black diamonds.
I had the 72 H1 500,, I had no problems with it at high speeds not even at 125 mph, handle fairly well ,,it did love to wheelie but that was the fun of this Beautiful machine ,, and the power was unbelievable , I loved that motor cycle ❤️💯
1 or 2 steering dampers? Friction was a dial and hydraulic was a cil/piston type.
I still have my 1976 KH400. Bought it from my friend in 78 cause he wanted a bigger Kaw. He got a bigger one, then immediately got killed on it. Those triples back then were VERY fast. My 400 was fast enough for me until years later when my next bike was an 1100 Honda Ace. Nice bike but even at 1100 cc it was not near as fast as the little KH400, either in acceleration or top end. The 1100 did have the low end torque that I needed for riding in the TN hills and mountains though.
I had a 74 500 triple in my youth. With chambers and drag bars it did great willies and power slides. It was like a motocrosser with turn signals and a headlight. I do wish I’d been more mature and kept it and kept it stock but we’re all young once. I now ride a Kawasaki Z900RS and over the years many motocrossers, street cruisers and touring bikes but none as fun as my 500 triple.
Had a Kawasaki 500 triple and loved it! One problem it had if not set up properly was the steering dampener. You could het high speed wobble that could cause a wreak but if in good shape and setup right it was no problem.
Had the H1, 500cc in the early 70"s. Got to experience the wobble at a high speed. Almost slid off the seat, but managed to hold on for an out of body experience. Not funny at the time.
I owned a 900 Z1. Crazy fast.. all my friend's sad it would kill me. glad im still alive.
Had a 72 750 H2. It was also known as the rocket with a sprocket. Mine had 40mm Mikuni carbs and a Kerker 3 in 1 exhaust. At 150 mph it wanted to pull a wheelie. Speedo only went to 150 so I never knew what the top end was.
I was a young man working in a Kawasaki shop back in the early 70s. I wrote all of them the 750 was civilized. The 500 was crazy puppy but the best one was the 400 Triple. It was a nice handling mellow bike. Of course I went to the Z one next.
Wise choice, very wise choice, indeed. That Z-1 was a nice bike, quiet, sophisticated, in a word. I am still looking for a Z-1-R, no one wants to sell theirs.