1970 Kawasaki Mach III
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- Опубліковано 4 гру 2007
- I bought this Kawasaki H1 back in 1992. I restored it with proper cables, headlight, shocks, etc. I've always liked the peacock gray 1970 although it never was the most popular ! Louis Kranyak
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I had a 69 model when I was 18.
Im 60 now and I wish I still had it.
Well done.
love these old bikes, kwaks and suzi triples makes me feel young, just hearing and seeing them again is great. my FJR1300 would beat them in all ways but the old bike are so great and you guys keep then going.
The mechanical simplicity of air cooling and two stroke engine design.
Grand!
I bought a red mach lll in 1970,1104.00 out the door,I had to order it,I was there when they unloaded the crate,what a bike,the sound.Even today,it can keep up with most bikes up to 80 mph,with only 30 cubic inch.
The red ones were probably the best looking Mach III ever built !
Beautiful H1.Thanks for posting the vid. It will give me something to watch while I wait for spring when I can ride again. :)
Just watching this I can smell the two stroke exhaust from here. Like it's billowing out of the screen! What wonderful memories: Thanks for the posting!
Twenty years ago and this "squid" is still going strong, thank you very much!
This was my older brother's and my first motorcycle bought used in '72 for $500. The Sound!!! What memories. To this day on the rare occasion that I might encounter one of these on the street my brother and I heads both snap in the direction that three cylinder two stroke scream comes from and say, "Mach III!"
I bet that sound alone turns heads. Beautiful and spine tingling.
shorts and flip flops...crazy...pretty bike...
+Pete Joyce Spur of the moment video...just got the bike...all I had to wear, etc.
+xsnut1 Spur of the moment video...just got the bike...all I had to wear, etc.
Love that intake roar!! Great video, dont see many peacock grey one's, nice to see one ridden as they should be!
Best sounding two stroke ever made in the world!!!!!!!!!!
I totally agree with you!
Makes Hemi Cudas down the rollaids
A Blast from the Past! Nice.
Just like the one I had in high school. Had to listen to the video a couple of times, nothing like the sound of a wide open triple. Nice !
Thank you! I had the 1971 when I was 18. i have a 1969 now!
Rode one these in San Francisco, 1971. Just off California and Joice. Not much happened until the tach hit 6,000 rpm and it was like a JATO assist, or a sling shot. Amazing bike. Two on, at a roll through the Stockton tunnel, from a roll it hit 95 mph as we exited.
You are correct. Once the RPM's got up there, it became a demon on wheels !
My dad had one too, we lived in the Socal desert at that time. went for many rides with him. Great memories, thanks
@MACH3KAWASAKI Your memory is good. Avengers were great bikes. The 70 Mach III's came in red or peacock gray. I remember in the winter getting out of class at Junior College. The Harleys and Hondas were slow to start. It always irritated my friends when their bikes took awhile to start and I would hit the choke lever and first, second, or third kick and I'd be off. I never tried starting one by hand!
Very nice bike !! I have a 73 S2 :) I love the old triples !!
I bought my KZ1000-LTD sight un-seen, from the Kawasaki dealer, in 1977...still have it and still love it. Haven't been able to ride this year though; I'm getting the carbs rebuilt.
These motors were quick even by today's 500 standards. Great post.
@toilit You are so right...it is a magical sound! Music to my ears!
A friend of mine had one in the early 70s. It was lightening fast! I'd be putting along on my 69 Sportster, and he'd come flying past me on the rear wheel at 60.
Well do I remember the bike--my dad had one, and what a rocket it was. It was quite a thrill when it came up on the pipe.
This sound brings back memories.....Thx.
Blimey that guy must be
a. The most talented rider I've ever seen with even more confidence.
or
b. A complete novice.
Why? Look how he was dressed.
These suckers were the shiznit when I was in high school. Great to see this.
Thanks for the memories. Ive owned two of these beasts, one the same as yours and a later disc brake model.
I had one IN 1970 same color...watching your video gives me chills of history!
Thanks...Check out ua-cam.com/video/vhY3L3pxSSI/v-deo.html
My 1971 Kawasaki H1 cost $1126.25 out the door back in the day !
Awesome bike my dad had one in early 70's. that power is amazing !
Yes! Great looking tank! I wish I had mine but after it was wrecked it tracked funny and never felt the same! Take care!
I have a green 73 H1...the first one I had back in 1981 was a green 74 H1--my dad made me sell it because he nearly died on his Norton back in the 60s in New Zealand
magic sound!
Realy nice sound . and look fast too , congratulations , very very nice machine
Thanks ! As soon as weather gets better, I plan to fire it up and take some more video. It's been many years since I've ridden it ! Louis
THANK YOU!
I owned a '71 Mach III for many years and this machine is detailed in my book The Tiddler Invasion.
Midnight Blue is the color...yes with the Red Flame stripes it's classic! I've been in two recks on mine. Was sideswiped by a big four door Caddy up at Lake Tahoe. I wiped out both doors on one side of the caddy with almost no damage to my bike. The second time I went down beneath a car coming the other way. It took nine months to get my bike back; they had to get a new tank from Japan. My bike still looks great after all these years. Ride safe!
Awesome! Just completed my 1970 H1 complete resto in the same Peacock Gray colors. Video coming soon. Cheers!!
Awesome. Stupidly, I sold that 1970 H1 and regretted it. Now, I'm building another one! Looking forward to your video!
what a good bike driver-thanks -damn ace
Good sound!
Yeah, Great safety equipment. I should have had on jeans and good shoes so I could really tromp on it ! Louis
Thanks for posting this, I have never heard one of these run in person and this is quite close. Brrrrrrrr rrrrrp Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Like a KH250 could even pull the front wheel up !
I bought one in 1970,I paid 1104 dollars out the door,red with white strips.Fast as hell for the time,no brakes,poor handling.but pure fun for a 18 year old kid who worked after school to buy it.
That will get up and go. Looks like fun.
+Matt Cook It was...too bad I sold it...hope to be building another one soon!
That's a 69/70 model formally called the SS in Japan. With 60 bhp & a power band the width of a gnats nudger made for great excitement,killed off by the fuel crisis of 73.H1A through to H1F saw a reduction in power & thus performance to it's eventual demise in 76.
Yeah, that 2-stroke howl was intoxicating. My first bike was an H1 with a modded engine and bad swingarm bearings. Quite the sphincter-clenching ride. It had almost no power below 5500 RPM, but once it hit the powerband the acceleration was brutal. It's amazing I didn't kill myself on it. I traded it for a console stereo in a moment of idiocy. Doh! Definitely one of those "wish I'd never let it get away" machines.
Small world...I bought a 1977 Kawasaki 1000 LTD brand new when I was in college. Purple-ish tank with red stripe on tank. I loved that bike until an older lady pulled in front of me when I was going about 80mph.Bike was $100.00 short of being totaled and insurance company had it rebuilt. It was never the same after that and I sold it! Great motorcycle!
You have a very impressive collection of motorcycles. I especially like the RZ500. Let me know if you post any videos of it on the rode ! Thanks !
I used to have one exactly like this one: same color and same year. She scared the hell out of me.
Hey ...thats the way to ride a Kawi 500 Triple...beautiful..!!
You are right it was a '71. The blue was stock color and I had the heads done, Kalgarded and expansion chambers. I wish I still had that bike it was fun. High speed wobble a couple of times though. Suppose to excellerate out of it but at 80 MPH no way I just rode it out and hung on, lol.
I don't know about that...at the time, I rode mine all over the place and it never broke down! The English motorcycles and Harley's did on our trips to the coast. They still run and they are easy to work on but they did have their faults, brakes, handling, etc.
There are times I'd like to go somewhere and not have to wear a helmet. Although a helmet is probably the safest way to go, I believe an individual should have the right to decide whether or not to wear one. I grew up in an era that we didn't have to wear one and I've always resented the fact that I am now forced to wear one. Thanks for your postings !
The white ones were actually the first year models released in 1969. Towards the end of the year, there may have been a few peacock gray models released that wer 1969 but generally peacock gray models were 1970. At the time, that color was not well received and mid-year Kawasaki changed to a red tank with a white stripe (very sharp looking). I have noticed a resurgance of popularity for the peacock gray model in recent years, probably because it's not that common!, I like all the colors 1969-71.
I owned a 1970 red and a 1972 blue H1 500s. I had the '72 worked on and it was fast! My best story is from about 1973 with the blue, I pulled up to stop light in Newhall, CA and 2 Honda 750s pulled up next to me and were revving like they wanted to show me something. When the light went green, I dusted them both up to about 80 MPH and I lifted and they went storming by with a CHP on their asses, lol. I won and they got the ticket. I now have a 1974 H2.
These bikes were actually very hard to wheelie. I'm sure in the age of "Stunters" that's kind of hard to understand, but back in the '70s Honda made an inline 6 cyl. that was designed to be nearly impossible to do a wheelie on because of warranty issues regarding cracked engine blocks.
Enough already with the comments on my sandals! LOL!
A good sound and good smoke
very good bike driver thanks ,nice machine
@chuanist Thanks for enlightening me! Luckily, this squid has not left any jelly deposits (yet)!
Sorry to disappoint you but it's obviously a 1970 H1 Mach III. The registration papers, serial numbers, and just looking at the bike support that fact. Thanks for looking and commenting though !
My 2005 Kawasaki ZRX1200R will easily beat them but the Triples are so much more fun to ride, sound and look better too !
These, and Norton 750's, were the quick bikes of the day. These triple 2-strokes were quite "pipey" and when the power came on they could get away from you....
What a sound
@poopy50832 You are right. It was kind of a spur of the moment video. Hopefully soon when my work slows down, I'm going to make some better videos!
...nice bike...looks like the California oilfields west of Bakersfield...
I had a 2005 ZRX1200R and a 1979 Honda CBX 1000. Both would spank my H1 and H2 but they are stock! Nevertheless, in their heyday, H1's and H2's were fast and still fast as far as I'm concerned and fun to ride ! When you think about it, forty+ years later and they compare with today's muscle cars in the 1/4 mile, not with top end though!
Thanks ! Official Kawasaki Riding Sandals !
I'm not sure. I'll check it out and see. I'm curious now ! It is a low serial number and should have the early engine case like on the early 69 500's so maybe it has brided ports too. I'll let you know. Thanks ! Louis
Thank you!
Great bike. Thanks for the Video. I had a H1F in '75. Craziest bike I ever owned!
That reminds me; what do you called a Frenchman in sandals? Phillippe Phillopp! ;-)
I was thinking Arizona but Texas sounds good too!
@inagod That would be awesome to get one straight out of the crate!
@MACH3KAWASAKI Not to mention the drum brakes with little stopping power. My friend got a 1973 when I had a 1971. It stopped so much better!
I use to run surface gap plugs,no extended ground,
great stuff they are very fast
Yer right ! It was kind of a spur of the moment film job and temps out there in desert get over 100 degrees !
That is a great story! Was the 1972 custom painted blue? I thought they only came in orange in 1972. I know my blue 500 was a 1971 with a drum brake and 1972 was orange with a disc brake. Terrible brakes on 1969, 1970, and 1971 !
so good
Regardless, a 12.1 on a 71 H1A is Damn Good! That is a good running Kawasaki!
When it gets a little warmer, It's snowing right now but next week it may be 70 i live southwest of chicago it was 50 christmas day!I saved your video to favorites! I just picked up the RZ500 last year it rides like a GP bike!Did you start from ground up restoration? Patrick
A friend has a beautiful restored Kawasaki 750 triple, we are not by any means youngsters, but somehow it still makes me smile when he lifts the front wheel in the first few gears leaving a bike meet. The bike is well looked after and he has done a nice twin disc conversion on it, otherwise stock, but there is something about it that makes him a hooligan! Excellent
I'M TESTING MY MEMORY WITH THIS, BUT I THINK I'VE GOT IT RIGHT. IN 1969 I BOUGHT A NEW KAWASAKI 350cc A7 AVENGER. MY FIRST BIKE. IT WAS FAIRLY SMALL AND SCARY FAST. THE POWER BAND WAS AMAZING. I RODE IT FOR ABOUT A YEAR AND SOLD IT. I THINK I PAID $799 OR &899 AND SOLD IT FOR $600. I THEN BOUGHT NEW A 1970 KAWASAKI MACH 3 500cc TRIPLE.
I HAD MORE FUN WITH THESE BIKES. I HAD FRIENDS WITH HARLEYS BEFORE THE DAYS OF ELECTRIC START. I WOULD CRANK EITHER BIKE BY HAND AND REALLY GET THEM.
anders your 100% right the 500 had a white tank and just a little slower then the 750,all up to the driver.
@Scootertuner1000 THANK YOU!
Not sure what you mean by "breaking of " the bike ! If you are referring to whether they would break down or not, I always found them to be very reliable. If you are referring to the brakes (braking), the drum brakes were lousy and when you would get on it you had to make sure you had plenty of road ahead to stop on !
bellissima moto
I'm glad I didn't either ! That's why i took it easy on the bike, because I didn't have proper riding gear !
Sounds like bridged ports? Does this bike have them?
@chuanist What exactly is a "squid rider"?
nice drivin
I used to ride my friend's 500 all the time. Front wheel rarely touched the ground. Fastest bike for it's time, but handled lousy and was not dependable.. My BMW R1200RT is as fast as that bike was.
do you have any performance mods on that beast?
"you aint a biker- till you had a tripleH "[ as john wayne used to say ] & IF IT DONT SCARE YOU- YOU AINT RIDING HARD ENUF,top vid
Not sure why you have Egg on your face or you are sorry but thanks for comment, always good to hear from a triple enthusiast!