I can still remember the brochure for the Suzuki gt750. Water cooled. Two stroke. Three cylinder. Four exhaust. Five speed motorcycle. Still miss the two strokes. Age 63.
Hey man, I'm barely 21. But trust me 2 strokes is something that just gives me a throwback to a time when I didn't exist. I really hope companies can bring it back once we master other fuels.
People really don't understand how quick these really were. I bought a new 500 Kawasaki in '71 and then bought a 750 in 1972. Bought a Z1 in 1974. Somehow I survived and at age 66, I still ride today.
What are you riding today Charlie. ??? I was around all those two strokers in the Seventies and great memories. My all time fave has to be the first edition blue H2 750 from `72. I also love the `72 Z1 900 in either colour option. I still have a Kawasaki, a 2002 ZRX 1200, but also a 2002Yamaha R1 for when I am feeling the need for speed !!! It never gets old. LOL
Hi Jimmy, I bought a new 750 H2, the blue and white one, as a left-over in 1973. I traded in my 1972 red Kawasaki 500. My first bike was a Kawasaki 350 A7SS . All of my jackets for years had oil spots running up the back of my shirts and jackets. I would take my 750, crank it up to about 5K and drop the clutch and pray I was straight up & down, otherwise it would just spin in a nasty circle. '74 I bought a 1974 burgundy Z1. (my favorite bike) That was stolen. So then I bought a 1978 KZ1000, a 1990 Gold-Wing and in 2002 a 1989 Harley Softail and now, I'm old so I ride a 2011 Harley Classic Ultra. I've done hole shots with that too :). On my Kawasakis, I used to call Harleys, Hardley-Abelsons. Because I like hole shots, I also have a 1968 SS396 Chevelle. Thanks for the memories.
You had the original and best Mach IV, worth a fortune today if all original and in great shape. A guy at my meeting place still rides a perfect one here in Ireland and still draws a crowd. Another pal has a lovely all original Kawa S2 350 in red. Its styling exactly mimics the first 750. The H2 had a hugely torquey engine, way more than the H1 could muster, and far more than even the mighty Z1 !!! You are probably around the same age as me ( 62 ), so you are never too old to ride a quick bike if you stay in shape and keep in practice !! But I agree that a bike like a ZRX is far more comfy in regular use as its got a similar riding position the old seventies standards but with the addition of a bikini fairing which cuts through the wind nicely. The SS 396 must make a boatload of power and torque, right ?? I lived in Boston for 18 years up until 2011, and always had a soft spot for the Dodge challenger of Vanishing point fame. .Remember that movie ?? A total classic.
Jimmy M, I'm 66. This past summer I was driving my Chevelle toward cape cod and I saw a new hemi Challenger ahead of me. I pulled up beside him and we did a 65 mph roll on. It was so cool, neither of us could pull an inch on the other. We got up to about 100 mph and we each gave the thumbs up, smiled and slowed down
I started riding bikes in Japan 40 years ago. Back then, the government was trying to make it super difficult to get a bike license with which you can ride bike over 400cc. They implemented super difficult riding test which is done in closed course with balance beam etc. I passed on my 9th try and my friends were congratulating me for passing this test so quickly (lol) as I think average was more like 15 times. Many gave up actually as once you failed you have to wait for a while for the next appointment (as government wanted them to.) Anyhow, what I wanted to say was that they had one beaten down GT750 as one of the test bike. This video brought back that memory! It was horrible to take the test with it. I think I passed on Z2 (750cc).
Bought a 750 GT "water Buffalo" brand new back in 1973. Put 78,000+ miles on it in about 7 years. The "+" is because the odometer broke after about 6 years and I probably put at least another 5,000 miles on it. Drove it back and forth from NJ to Virginia many times while in college and also from New Jersey to California and back, going "cross country" with a buddy of mine who rode a BMW 650. That GT750 was super dependable except that it would foul spark plugs. The GT 750 was designed as a tourer and had tremendous torque for a 2 stroke. It was super smooth on the highway. At highway speeds it sounded like an electric motor. It just hummed! Somebody remembered that the disc brakes were not good in the rain and I agree. They also squeeked. I own 5 bikes now but would love to have a GT750 in my garage. I would ride it weekly just like I do my other bikes. I think there is now better 2 stroke oil which would help to lower the amount of smoke. When I warmed that bike up in the morning when the temps were in the 40's or 50's I had to apply the choke for at least a minute and once I got going it would smoke like a son of a bitch for the first minute of riding. I mean, leaving a smoke screen behind that would almost blind anyone driving behind you.! However, all in all, a great bike and the only water cooled production motorcycle in 1973. With the water cooling and double disc brakes it was state of the art.
I had one and agree they were great bikes mine had 70,000 on it when I sold it and saw it from time to time for another 5 years. I deleted the oil injection and ran mixed fuel instead. That helped with the fouled plugs and it smoked less. If I could find one In my area I’d buy it.
Terry Melvin Oh wow there was a set of those pipes at my local dealer. I wanted them so bad but money was tight then. Right now I’m in the process of building a Yamaha rd 350 lc rat cafe bike with factory cross over tz pipes. Gonna be fast I’ll post a vid in the spring when its done.
Had a 1973 H2 which I bought when 16 yrs old. First thing it did was throw me off and teach me about respect. Been riding now for 39 years and have a few spills but still going. When I was 17 I sent my motor to a place in British Columbia called western 2 cycle. I talked to the owner and told him I was looking for more power. He must have felt sorry for me as I only had about 200 bucks to spend. Well he sent back my engine with a stage three denco king cobra set up, ported and polished, rings pistons and jugs and expansion chambers. I put it all together and the thing would wheelie. Not just from start, but in every and any gear up to 60 mph. It would literally smoke the tire at anything below 30 mph. Top speed was Unreachable due to the chassis but it never stopped pulling before I was praying for my life. Sold it to collector when I got married. Cheers. (Wish I still had it)
Those were the days. Engines that were too powerful for the frames, tyres and brakes that didn't work in the rain. Loved it, wouldn't have missed it for the world.
flees4free Me too when I first heard the triple I was addicted to that sound . Just listen to this 250/350 Kawa triple best one I ever heard ! ua-cam.com/video/Tz0XsRbygig/v-deo.html
Matt68B, the amount of smoke had to do with the type of oil you used. The first H2 in the video smoked way more than was typical. The H2 Came from the factory with automatic oil injection. No mixing. Mine barely smoked at all and I tried a few different 2 stroke oils until settling on Arctic Cat Purple Power lube, smelled great too. I found it to be the best 2 stroke oil mix, and better than Kawasaki’s proprietary blend.
Had 3 GT750's (1 of them ex police) and enough parts to last a lifetime, in the '80's. Engine cases, radiators, consumables... Sold it all for pennies. So kicking myself, now.
When I was a boy, too young to ride my own bike, a neighbour had a GT250. He took me on long rides and the sound is still reverberating in my head. Sends me shivers down my spine.
In 1974 when 16 I bought a used Kawasaki gold 250 I believe S1,after every winterI had to push it up the hill,coast down,pop it in gear to get it started,then my grandfather would say "guess Kawasaki lets the good times roll"Still love that sound to this day,im glad I grew up in the 70's
Don't know how common this was, or maybe how lucky I was, but I had both of these new back in the day. Bought a '74 Green H2 new as a '75 leftover, and also had a Blue '74 Kaw F7 175 that I bought new in early '74. In '76, bought a leftover Red '75 Suz GT750 and turned that into a tourer with Vetter fairing, Bates saddle bags, Rita electronic ignition, Koni shocks & springs, air fork caps, and an "EZ-Berg Custom Contour Saddle". Hung on to the H2 for a while as my local bike, and rode all three bikes for a while until I blew up the H2 at about 7,000 miles. Had it rebuilt and gave it to my brother around 1977. Unlike myself admittedly, my brother could ride a bike, and with some tuning and minor mods, it would take most stock bikes of the time at the stoplights. It would take a Z1 through the gears, and then the Z would catch up and slowly walk away. Used the GT750 some 60,000 miles until I sold it when I bought an '83 Honda Aspencade. I lost track of what happened to the F7, it had over 20,000 miles on it, and disappeared being loaned to friends of friends and so forth, sometime in the early 80's.
I had an H1 for a short time while stationed in Germany in 77 , am I remembering it correctly? did it have neutral on the bottom and all the gears were up.?
Yep, the shift pattern on all of the H models was "5 up", with neutral being at the bottom. When Kawasaki introduced the KH-500 in 1976, it finally became "1 down, 4 up".
My father had a midnight White 1969 h1 as daily driver, he used it also for vacation trips. After he had sold the bike, the new owner wrecked it within a week.
I made a 900cc 4 cylinder 2 stroke by joining together two RD400 engines and oversize Wiseco pistons, water cooled barrels, GT750 radiator, RD350 water pump and air cooled heads, all crammed into a KH400 frame with RD350LC swinging arm, ARE mag wheels, 1 x GT750 front disc with two calipers, four RD350LC pipes, and carbs, happy days! good job petrol was cheaper in those days! it was displayed at the motorcycle show on the MCN stand in Alexandra Palace, London
I have my dad’s H2 750. Metallic orange. 1973 or 1974. Bought it new in upstate New York. My brother pegged the speedometer when he was 16. Also when he was 16 he wiped out on it and spent a few days in the hospital. Dad was not happy. Luckily my brother worked at a Kawasaki dealership that summer and came home with all new parts to do the reconstruction. On one of my brother’s trips for a follow up visit to see his plastic surgeon who fixed up his facial road rash our family was involved in an auto accident. Bro was driving 66 VW bug, mom was front passenger, and I was 9 years old in the back seat. Got creamed at a 4 way stop intersection in the parking lot of South Hills Village Mall (Pittsburgh PA area) by a big ass Buick. This time it was mom in the hospital with stitches in her knee. On impact her knee was impaled by the plastic knob on the VW’s ashtray. This was before cars had any interior safety features like padding or smoothness on any of the dash. Anyway, fast forward to 2021. Dad is gone. Mom is gone. Bro is gone. But I survive. And now my bro’s 29 year old son wants his grandpap’s metallic orange widow maker. What am I to do? Thoughts?
In 1999 I bought a purple and white 72 GT750 with only 9000 miles at a garage sale for $500. It had always been inside and was all original, including the seat. Had to clean the carbs put a battery and rear tire on it. My buddies called it the "Grape Ape". I rode the heck out of it for several years and enjoyed it a lot. The torque and smoothness of power was amazing .That liquid cooling was ahead of its time too. Oh yea that sound was awesome!! It always got people looking due to the color and rarity. Drew lots of compliments on it as well because it was in such good shape people thought it was restored. Even got a couple compliments on about how little it smoked from people behind me on group rides. It would get up and move out too but the handling and braking were definitely old school. That being said it was still a blast to ride and I miss it. I ended up selling it for $1200 when I quit riding and sold my bikes. The guy was happy to get it. I hoped he enjoyed it as much as I did.
The TZ 750 Yamaha that Kenny Robert's made so famous for flat trac or road course. A real treat to see him do a hot lap on one after being off bikes for 30 years. He later said that he was scared to death he was gonna bust up the bike and look foolish , continuing , he said it came back to him pretty darn quick.
I had a pair of "Flying Kettles" they were fabulous(ish). I had a 3rd that i gassed, that was very interesting to say the least it was like what I thought being shot out of a Cannon would feel like, & whatever the tyre's, it was always shit on the corners.
On the early Mach 4, they were stock with about 74-75 HP. With good expansion pipes and a simple rejet to a slightly larger main and a more open air box, they would run north of 80 HP (quite a lot for a 420 lb. scooter. @ 7000 rpm, they would do well over 120, close to 130 (or perhaps a snick more if you could coax it towards redline @ 7500 rpm. Even stock, sub 12 second quarters were not unheard of, and with the above mods, an 11.5 was certainly within reach. The water buffalo was a bit slower in the quarter (mostly due to weighing about 100 lbs. more) but with some tweeks with jetting, expansion pipes and a better breather was just about as fast on top end, but was much more solid feeling towards the top... I had a '72 H2 (before they were tamed down a bit) and it was a beast to ride: grab the grips and hang on and hope the front tire stayed on the ground. And if it rained, keep it in the garage. A good bud had a water buffalo and it handled much better at any speed.
The H2 and it's little brother the H1 500cc triples were beasts. Both had frame flex problems at high speed, though the H2 had a beefier frame that flexed less than the H1. I know for a fact that the H2 could do 143 mph as my brother was clocked by the Texas Highway Patrol on the flat roads of west TX. He lost his license for that one.
Did it say in the video here that the top speed of an H2 is 120MPH? We know that's wrong or if it isn't, it needs way different gearing also drop bars. Keep the originals save.
@@stephenhurst9257 He had aftermarket pipes, had changed the carbs. As I remember, this was back in the 80's, he'd changed the rear sprocket to one or two less teeth.
The second day of my brothers senior year of high school he and a buddy left home and took his friend’s Kawasaki 250 triple across country, 2 up without telling anyone they were leaving from Massachusetts to California. Somehow they came back before graduation and graduated. Left in 1975 and came home in 1976. Later on I had a 400 and 500 triple. Loved these bikes
Before The AMA Banned Multi Cylinder 2 Strokes in the Mid 70's for Dirttrack Racing, there were a few National Number Riders Racing H2's along with the 4 Cylinder TZ Yamahas. On the Mile Tracks they were Missles and definitely faster than the HD XR's or any other 4 stroke. The Street Production H2 right out of the Crate was also a Missle and not for just your average rider.....
GREAT VID!!!SAME as a LOT of guys here, I had a 500 then the 750 in the 70s when they were born. I can still remember cranking it up and a smile would come on my face as the revs climbed really fast with the speedo pretty much keeping up. ALWAYS a smile UNTIL they put some of those dang TURNS in the road! Lost the smile pretty quick after hitting the make believe brakes and wishing it had an anchor instead. I always TRIED to be careful but these had a way of making you stupid as soon as you sat on the seat...! They came and went but my 72 Kawa 175 Enduro followed me everywhere and we traveled Alaska together n the mid 70s when I moved there. Had that bike a LONG time! I think it was because no other bike I knew of had the TWO POSITION RAKE FRONT WHEEL! LONG LIVE 2 STROKE! Oh, wait.....
As I recall, those Kawi's were the fastest production bikes available when they came out. My next door neighbor bought a 1975 750 brand new and let me take it out for a spin...OMG it was scary fast! Later I bought a used 500 with carb synch issues and it was less fast but....
I understand the engine is lubricated with oil in the fuel, I get the basics, but what about the transmission? How is the transmission lubed? With the same fuel/oil, or is there a separate system?
I had a Yamaha RD-250 then a RD-350 and a Kawasaki KZ-650 in high school, but it was the Kawasaki H-2 that I borrowed from a friend that almost killed me on the highway when I got the speed wobbles at over 90 mph. The Kawasaki H-2 was notorious for speed wobbles and I didn't know this at the time that I borrowed it.
Northeast Florida Personal Watercraft, I had a 72 H2 I bought it brand new. No speed wobble at all and I had it topped out at 135. My friend bought one, a ‘73, the following year and his started speed wobbling at 110 but went away if you eased off the throttle. I’m guessing it had something to do wheel truing but mine was not afflicted. For what it’s worth as a reference point, my thru the traps MPH was 110 with consistent 12.40 ET’s in the 1/4 mile. They were fast bikes and a ton of fun but not for every rider for sure.
here I sit with a very big smile. High school days Kaw 3 cylinder two cycle. Crisp but went like a tornado in a straight line. Oh and easy on the brakes and suspension. If I remember the 500 came first and then 750. We nick named them death machine. The power curve was unbelievable. Ten thumbs up here. :)
I was a passenger too! I was kindergarten age. The bike was brand new. My dad sold his BSA Lightning (I think that’s what it was called) to get the 750. My dad was an experienced rider and I loved being on the back. My brother was not even 2 decades out of the womb and twisted my dad’s arm to borrow the 750 to go play motorcycle with his friends. Mom told dad “You shouldn’t have” and she was right. Mom was always right. My bro wiped out showing off the 750 to his friends. Fast forward to 2019 and bro died several weeks post coronary 5 way bypass surgery. What was in his garage? 2014 Z06 Corvette. He always liked to go fast, but thankfully switched from 2 wheels to 4 wheels, which is the only reason he lived to be 59. RIP MOH 1959 - 2019.
Some memories..! I serviced and rode many of the Kaw. and Suzuki triples with the dealership I worked at in the '70s. After a while, it was quite noticeable how more refined feeling the Suzuki's were compared to the Kawasakis. The H-2 left the impression that it was an engine trying to destroy itself with it's harshness. We had several H-2s that got warranty crankshaft replacements due to main bearing cages coming apart - similar problem in a few of their singles also. Improvement made with crimped instead of riveted cages. Both the big 750s were notorious smokers, something that probably led to all four stroke models in a few years. The GT-750 had small scavenging mechanisms to rid pooling of oil in the crank chambers but it seemed ineffective over time.
Are you talking about the Suzuki SRIS System (Suzuki Recycle Injection System) which forced unburned oil through small one way valves at the front of the crankcase and fed the oil back up into the upper cylinder bores through small black tubes located at the front of the engine? I thought this was a pretty clever way of stopping the engine from choking up with unburned oil, like most two-strokes tended to do, especially after a lot of low rev town use, which caused excessive smoke later under hard acceleration.
Gary, I thought it was clever and well done too but in practice, the oils did pass through and end up in the mufflers and still smoked quite heavily when the machine was being used hard. I once had one that the mufflers were on fire internally after a test ride. I recall the oil pumps weren't all precisely equal in output either amounting to some machines over oiling.
Mel A - I liked the smaller triples better too. The GT550 was a smooth ride. I had a neighbor who bought a later Kaw. 500 (E or F) and used it to commute with. He asked me to try optimizing it for that purpose which led me to lowering the float levels, dropping the metering needles a notch, and changing the pilot jets down a size. The result brought his machine to give 50 - 55mpg on mileage, less smoking, and no mechanical issues at all. It was nearly on a par for operating 'sweeetness' to a GT550.
Well, most two strokes did put out quite a bit of smoke from the pipes. I guess it was just Suzuki's way of trying to overcome the problem of too much oil accumulating in the lower crank cases, which when the motor was revving hard, used to end up coming out of the pipes. This is why, I think, there was a big shift from the mid 70's onward for 4 stroke machines, which were more economical and did not pollute as much smoke into the atmosphere.
Gary, I always had a preference for the Suzuki models as time went on, smoke or not. They were more refined, had better finishing details, and not as flashy as the Kawaskis - just my preferences and impressions at the time. I rode a '71 TS-250 Savage as my commuter bike to my work at a fairly large dealership. It was stone reliable, smoked only little. Yes, the segway into four strokes was bound to come but I'd gladly own and take care of a decent Kaw. or Suz. these days if the notion hit me - and I could find one. I've actively been seeking a late KZ-400 Kaw for myself but none have come out of the woodwork yet..! ;-).
I had a GT 380. But 3 of my friends had H1's. They were the shit. Boggy below 5k rpm, but when the tach hit 5k, they were insanely fun. The front end would just loft, and you could hold it there, shifting through the gears. One of my buddies traded his H1 for an H2. He always had to have the fastest. He also had a 440 'Cuda with tunnel ram and 2 quads. I rode his H2. Fun bike, but I always liked the H1 better. He was killed on his H2 coming home one night. That slowed us down...for awhile. Long time ago. RIP Mike...
It takes me all back to the future - to my garage, just 15 feet away from where I'm typing this. There's a 1976 GT-750 sitting out there. Of all the bikes I had back in the day, I wish I had kept more of them.
I bought a ‘72 H2 brand new and drove it 10,000 miles with no speed wobble or stability issues at all. My thru the traps speed was 110 for the 1/4 mile. And I had it topped out on more than one occasion with the right conditions to do it safely at 135MPH. If you had one that wobbled it had something wrong with it, maybe wire wheels needed truing, bad tires, or a wore out fork bearing.
@@Columbariusify It was a long time for me. I think it is a 5 gallon tank and there are two kinds of metrics or something. Back then it was about $1.75 total to fill it and go about a hundred miles. 35 cents a gallon? Our current Prime minister had a father Prime Minister. When the Father got his 3rd term (?) He switched us all over to the Metric System in Canada so that we had no Idea what we were paying for gas any more and had it jacked it up way higher. Before that, It cost me about $7 to fill up my Stingray.
The Kawasaki 2 stroke triples were the most beautiful sounding bikes ever.It was the sound alone that made me buy my first learner bike,the KH 250,they all sounded fantastic With the standard pipes fitted,fitting expansion chambers detracted from the sound somewhat.The GT 380 and 750 didn't sound too bad either.
@@PeterSmith-ls7ut I went from a 50cc Gilera enduro to the KH,it was just unbelievable!.I currently ride a Honda VTR Firestorm,but if I saw the right Kawa in the right condition,I would be very tempted.
@@darkknight1340 where I lived when I was 16, the gilera and garelli bikes were rare. It was all honda ss50, fizzys and ap50s. I did like that gilera model you had cos, it looked like a trials bike.. Love the look of the model honda you have now. Is it red or black ?
It's painted in the VTR Repsol racing colours,metallic blue and orange tank,orange wheels red belly pan fairing and blue,orange and white main fairing and tail/seat unit.
In H.S. a friend of mine's brother had one of the Kawasaki 750s. I only got to ride on the back briefly, but even that was something I never forgot. They were definitely considered to be bikes that had enough power to make them inherently dangerous for the average rider.
I travelled the roads of Europe thin on my kettle, in the eighties. It was so damn reliable, and had no problems with the crappy gasoline you had to buy on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Eventually it died but that was my fault. I still kick my self for wrecking it. Never rode the kawa, but damn, it's a good looking bike. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. :)
Back in the day I had all n more of these man I miss the GOOD OLD DAYS.kawa. kh400.500 750 & 900..plus Yamaha 350rdand Suzuki 500 water buffalo..what I'd give to have those today fun fun fun..fast as fuk...oh 4got rd400..gr8 vid and awesome work love hearing them again
Do those bikes have a self mixer for gas&oil or do u premix before adding to the gas tank??? My Cr250, and my Banshee are both two-stroke and premix 50:1, my Cr80 & Cr125 are 32:1premix also.. So I wonder about mixing ratio for those bikes. I'd luv to have gotten one when they first came out(cheaper price probably compared to now due to rarity. Cool vid.👍..
Pretty sure all Japanese 2-strokes had an oil pump by this time. The only bikes that didn't were East European, mopeds and racing machines to save on weight.
My third motorcycle (second new), was a 1974 Suzuki GT550 (three cylinder), when I was 15. It had "Ram Air" cooling, and was a rocket that was very easy to wheelie.
The 72 H-2 was developed to be the fastest production vehicle and it was,the Kettle was a touring bike and alot slower. They were both good at what they were designed for and both very dependable bikes according to the experts.Also the H-2 didn't handle any worse than any other 72 except it had to be respected or it would bite back,then of course it was the bikes fault........Lol Also the Widowmaker was the 500,not the 750
I love how they had two smaller bore pipes running from the middle cylinder on the GT-750 --- I hate when people run all the pipes into ONE and make one side of the bike look 'stripped'
yeah agreed; They split the 3pots into 4 pipes! kinda cute and better on the aesthetics - I think the Honda's made a pretty decent Bike but the 400 four always looked kinda odd to me.
I was there in 1977 drooling over the KH750 and GT750 but I got wiff these were two machines that were way too mad for me. Didn't the H2 become known as "the widowmaker"? - all the same, it was a great time as the Japanese were designing and making such fantastic machines, exciting. we loved them, however, many people died or got seriously injured.
The original 500 cc "Mach III" by Kawasaki was never matched. I don't recall the larger 750 being any faster. the Mach III's were head shaking widow makers, but 3rd gear wheelies were now within the reach of the common man. They immediately became the fastest bike in America upon introduction.
Ive had them all. My first big bike was a h1. A cop radar me at 105 got my first reckless driving ticket on it in 1983. I still have a gt550 and a 73 rd350😁. And a suzuki bking of course. It does 150 effortlessly😁 amazing how they have evolved
Nice bikes. Before Water Buffalos, Suzuki had 500cc Titan 2 stroke twin. Miss my H1. Could stay with 750 Ninja through third gear red line before 750 would pull away.
I owned an H2 750 Kawasaki from the early to mid-70s until 1980! It was a super dependable bike. It looked like the one shown here but with stock pipes. I was looking for a water buffalo but...
I remember seeing these old two strokes on the streets of the UK back in the 70's. You have a very nice machine there, just a shame about the non standard exhausts. My personal favourite was the Suzuki GT750 water cooled "Kettle" as we called them back then. Not forgetting the awesome Kawasaki 900 Z1 which is probably my favourite bike of all time. Happy Daze.I never got to own any of them, but my brother got a GT750 back in 1986 and I got to take it around the block. Loved that sound.
such amazing bikes back in the day, thats why im a biker today...i used to lust for the H2 with its paltry 75 HP...my 796 has a mere 85 HP weighs nearly 100 lbs less but with its Brembo brakes an Marzocchi forks it feels underpowered where the H2 feels death defying (so i hear, i have yet to ride such a treasure) of course you cant beat on an old classic so i appreciate these guys even runing them for us
GeeAWDD that was an awesome sound!, wheres the green an the purple Kaw's??. lov the ol expansion chambers tho, hahaaaa. kids? look it up, its like a header only the two-stroke needs a certain amount of back pressure, not just an open header pipe. had a lil tank under the side cover for the two-stroke oil, and even auto-mixed it for U! hows that for modern technology?!- u didnt have to mix yur gas an oil in a can then add to tank anymore. wow, so advanced. and yeah put the right peg up so when kick-starting u didnt nail yur shin on it. an if u slipped off the kick?...an that thing came up hit u? owwwwwie.
I was 18 years old and I had to have one of those only they had just came out. Mine was a red Mach 3 750 . I was sadly disappointed. Riding it home the middle carburetor FELL OFF! Get over 80 mph bad front end wobble! I didn’t keep it very long Now the Suzuki GT mine was a 500 I really liked that much better machine... mine was blue too I really miss the old big two strokes. I was 14 when I got a Yamaha yd-s 3 Catalina. 250. Candy apple red with a white pearl inset. Loved the sound nothing like that today!
4213ags in the States we called them Water Buffalos. I had a 72 GT 750 Lemans...purple water pumper. Fine bike but not a good handler by today’s standards.
I used to have a GT 750 ! One of the fastest bikes I have ever owened the water buffalo I believe they called it! Wish I still had it but I was young and dumb ! I got pulled over quite often! Cheers eveyone!
I liked two stroke motorcycles, I owned two T-500 twins. Never a mention of these super reliable motorcycles. One was built to the Daytona 200 specs and it was a beast.
Cycle World Magazine ran a great ad for Kawi's in the late '60's that was a photo of the 3 pipes with the headline "Tricycle". Screaming bikes. Heck, most of those old 2 strokes were. Yamaha RD 250....a little bike but super quick.
I had a H2 750 (same color) when l was a teenager in the 70s. Before I had my license l would rev the bike in my garage. I LOVED THE SOUND! Get going in 1st gear, THEN HIT SECOND! What a rocket, unbelievable! I owed my mom $, she said sell the bike. I'll forget the debt. I did, good thing. Our l probably wouldn't be typing now. LOL
From 15 years old to 19 years old an H1 500 was my primary transportation. My buddy had the H2. From 35mph to 90 it was a rocket then above 100 it had potential to wobble so there was the occasion where you had to slide way back on the seat slowly and loosen your grip and contemplate your religious beliefs as you pray for stability to return. It didn't have the best brakes either but it was so quick and so much fun and of all the cool bikes I have had I still miss my triple.
you had to slide way back on the seat slowly and loosen your grip and contemplate your religious beliefs as you pray for stability to return. Oh so that's how you get out of a speed wobble. NOW you tell us.....
I had a Kaw 500 triple. It was a screamer. But in 1984 when the CDI went out I could not get parts for it. Now you can on the Internet. Not in 1984. The Kawasaki dealer just laughed at me. I sold it for pennies on the dollar. Suzuki also made a 750 triple, the water buffalo, but it was heavy and better for touring.
The engines were light years ahead of the tires, brakes and frames. Had a H1 and was stupid enough to soup it up, yes it was fast and dangerous. I think the frame must have been made out of electrical conduit at best, high speed wobbles were something you learned to deal with on a regular basis. Still ride but would never get on a H1 or H2 on a bet, the GT750 yes.
Identifying a Kawasaki 750 Mach IV - First you see the blue smoke, then you hear the sound; finally you smell it. When it come into the world it would pass everything on the road - except for a petrol station. The tank was pathetically small and it was as thirsty as Norwegian in a free bar.
I can still remember the brochure for the Suzuki gt750. Water cooled. Two stroke. Three cylinder. Four exhaust. Five speed motorcycle. Still miss the two strokes. Age 63.
I’m 63 this month and couldn’t wait to own one...which I did and sold but wish I hadn’t so 30 years later I’m on a mission to buy another!
Hey man, I'm barely 21. But trust me 2 strokes is something that just gives me a throwback to a time when I didn't exist. I really hope companies can bring it back once we master other fuels.
People really don't understand how quick these really were. I bought a new 500 Kawasaki in '71 and then bought a 750 in 1972. Bought a Z1 in 1974. Somehow I survived and at age 66, I still ride today.
What are you riding today Charlie. ??? I was around all those two strokers in the Seventies and great memories. My all time fave has to be the first edition blue H2 750 from `72. I also love the `72 Z1 900 in either colour option. I still have a Kawasaki, a 2002 ZRX 1200, but also a 2002Yamaha R1 for when I am feeling the need for speed !!! It never gets old. LOL
Hi Jimmy, I bought a new 750 H2, the blue and white one, as a left-over in 1973. I traded in my 1972 red Kawasaki 500. My first bike was a Kawasaki 350 A7SS . All of my jackets for years had oil spots running up the back of my shirts and jackets. I would take my 750, crank it up to about 5K and drop the clutch and pray I was straight up & down, otherwise it would just spin in a nasty circle. '74 I bought a 1974 burgundy Z1. (my favorite bike) That was stolen. So then I bought a 1978 KZ1000, a 1990 Gold-Wing and in 2002 a 1989 Harley Softail and now, I'm old so I ride a 2011 Harley Classic Ultra. I've done hole shots with that too :). On my Kawasakis, I used to call Harleys, Hardley-Abelsons. Because I like hole shots, I also have a 1968 SS396 Chevelle. Thanks for the memories.
You had the original and best Mach IV, worth a fortune today if all original and in great shape. A guy at my meeting place still rides a perfect one here in Ireland and still draws a crowd. Another pal has a lovely all original Kawa S2 350 in red. Its styling exactly mimics the first 750. The H2 had a hugely torquey engine, way more than the H1 could muster, and far more than even the mighty Z1 !!! You are probably around the same age as me ( 62 ), so you are never too old to ride a quick bike if you stay in shape and keep in practice !! But I agree that a bike like a ZRX is far more comfy in regular use as its got a similar riding position the old seventies standards but with the addition of a bikini fairing which cuts through the wind nicely. The SS 396 must make a boatload of power and torque, right ?? I lived in Boston for 18 years up until 2011, and always had a soft spot for the Dodge challenger of Vanishing point fame. .Remember that movie ?? A total classic.
Jimmy M, I'm 66. This past summer I was driving my Chevelle toward cape cod and I saw a new hemi Challenger ahead of me. I pulled up beside him and we did a 65 mph roll on. It was so cool, neither of us could pull an inch on the other. We got up to about 100 mph and we each gave the thumbs up, smiled and slowed down
Here's an old video of my chevelle do ing a burnout ua-cam.com/video/eEkKC0t9SJY/v-deo.html
I may be 66 but I still love speed and hole shots :)
I was 62 at the start of this video... but I was 20 again in less than 2 minutes.. 😜 thanks man!
I started riding bikes in Japan 40 years ago. Back then, the government was trying to make it super difficult to get a bike license with which you can ride bike over 400cc. They implemented super difficult riding test which is done in closed course with balance beam etc. I passed on my 9th try and my friends were congratulating me for passing this test so quickly (lol) as I think average was more like 15 times. Many gave up actually as once you failed you have to wait for a while for the next appointment (as government wanted them to.) Anyhow, what I wanted to say was that they had one beaten down GT750 as one of the test bike. This video brought back that memory! It was horrible to take the test with it. I think I passed on Z2 (750cc).
2 stroke engines, beautiful sound, high performance,
simple and efficient mechanics.
Согласен! Все просто, надёжно и красиво!
Oh yeah, blue smoke.
Bought a 750 GT "water Buffalo" brand new back in 1973. Put 78,000+ miles on it in about 7 years. The "+" is because the odometer broke after about 6 years and I probably put at least another 5,000 miles on it. Drove it back and forth from NJ to Virginia many times while in college and also from New Jersey to California and back, going "cross country" with a buddy of mine who rode a BMW 650. That GT750 was super dependable except that it would foul spark plugs. The GT 750 was designed as a tourer and had tremendous torque for a 2 stroke. It was super smooth on the highway. At highway speeds it sounded like an electric motor. It just hummed! Somebody remembered that the disc brakes were not good in the rain and I agree. They also squeeked. I own 5 bikes now but would love to have a GT750 in my garage. I would ride it weekly just like I do my other bikes. I think there is now better 2 stroke oil which would help to lower the amount of smoke. When I warmed that bike up in the morning when the temps were in the 40's or 50's I had to apply the choke for at least a minute and once I got going it would smoke like a son of a bitch for the first minute of riding. I mean, leaving a smoke screen behind that would almost blind anyone driving behind you.! However, all in all, a great bike and the only water cooled production motorcycle in 1973. With the water cooling and double disc brakes it was state of the art.
I had one and agree they were great bikes mine had 70,000 on it when I sold it and saw it from time to time for another 5 years.
I deleted the oil injection and ran mixed fuel instead. That helped with the fouled plugs and it smoked less. If I could find one In my area I’d buy it.
Terry Melvin Thats what year mine was. Great power terrible brakes.
Terry Melvin Oh wow there was a set of those pipes at my local dealer. I wanted them so bad but money was tight then.
Right now I’m in the process of building a Yamaha rd 350 lc rat cafe bike with factory cross over tz pipes. Gonna be fast I’ll post a vid in the spring when its done.
I had a 71 H1 500 with a few little upgrades done to the engine. Great in a straight line, made me pray more then a few times on the corners!
Yeah, that Mad Kaw speed wobble comin out of the corners could be scary as shit sometimes!
Haven't thought about these old two strokes for years thanks for bringing back the memories
Had a 1973 H2 which I bought when 16 yrs old. First thing it did was throw me off and teach me about respect. Been riding now for 39 years and have a few spills but still going. When I was 17 I sent my motor to a place in British Columbia called western 2 cycle. I talked to the owner and told him I was looking for more power. He must have felt sorry for me as I only had about 200 bucks to spend. Well he sent back my engine with a stage three denco king cobra set up, ported and polished, rings pistons and jugs and expansion chambers. I put it all together and the thing would wheelie. Not just from start, but in every and any gear up to 60 mph. It would literally smoke the tire at anything below 30 mph. Top speed was Unreachable due to the chassis but it never stopped pulling before I was praying for my life. Sold it to collector when I got married. Cheers. (Wish I still had it)
Those were the days. Engines that were too powerful for the frames, tyres and brakes that didn't work in the rain. Loved it, wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Engines too powerful for their chains.
Helmets that didn’t do. Whole lot
Oh I love this unique 2-stroke sound from 3 cylinders and that blue smoke.
flees4free
Me too when I first heard the triple I was addicted to that sound . Just listen to this 250/350 Kawa triple best one I ever heard ! ua-cam.com/video/Tz0XsRbygig/v-deo.html
Matt68B, the amount of smoke had to do with the type of oil you used. The first H2 in the video smoked way more than was typical. The H2 Came from the factory with automatic oil injection. No mixing. Mine barely smoked at all and I tried a few different 2 stroke oils until settling on Arctic Cat Purple Power lube, smelled great too. I found it to be the best 2 stroke oil mix, and better than Kawasaki’s proprietary blend.
The trick with the H2 was to always be pointed in the direction of the nearest trauma center!
And the nearest gas station.
The H2 is the fastest two stoke bike ever made.
Love 2 stroke smell reminds me of my penton 250 you have sweet bike
Had a sweet ride this was back in 1991 also had bultaco 360 pursang that was a beast big fun
Had 3 GT750's (1 of them ex police) and enough parts to last a lifetime, in the '80's. Engine cases, radiators, consumables... Sold it all for pennies. So kicking myself, now.
When I was a boy, too young to ride my own bike, a neighbour had a GT250. He took me on long rides and the sound is still reverberating in my head. Sends me shivers down my spine.
ha ha, and yes, he always took spare spark plugs and needed them!
Bought my new GT-750 in '75 when I was 19 yrs. old. $1550 after rebate. Most incredible machine ever. Nothing like it today. So regret selling.
BADASS! Big, Beautiful Sounding 2 wheelers...faster, simpler times...Thanks for Posting!
In 1974 when 16 I bought a used Kawasaki gold 250 I believe S1,after every winterI had to push it up the hill,coast down,pop it in gear to get it started,then my grandfather would say "guess Kawasaki lets the good times roll"Still love that sound to this day,im glad I grew up in the 70's
Don't know how common this was, or maybe how lucky I was, but I had both of these new back in the day. Bought a '74 Green H2 new as a '75 leftover, and also had a Blue '74 Kaw F7 175 that I bought new in early '74. In '76, bought a leftover Red '75 Suz GT750 and turned that into a tourer with Vetter fairing, Bates saddle bags, Rita electronic ignition, Koni shocks & springs, air fork caps, and an "EZ-Berg Custom Contour Saddle". Hung on to the H2 for a while as my local bike, and rode all three bikes for a while until I blew up the H2 at about 7,000 miles. Had it rebuilt and gave it to my brother around 1977. Unlike myself admittedly, my brother could ride a bike, and with some tuning and minor mods, it would take most stock bikes of the time at the stoplights. It would take a Z1 through the gears, and then the Z would catch up and slowly walk away. Used the GT750 some 60,000 miles until I sold it when I bought an '83 Honda Aspencade. I lost track of what happened to the F7, it had over 20,000 miles on it, and disappeared being loaned to friends of friends and so forth, sometime in the early 80's.
I rode a Mach 4 on the autobahn in Germany back in the 70’s. Insanity fairly gallops in my family.
I had an H1 for a short time while stationed in Germany in 77 , am I remembering it correctly? did it have neutral on the bottom and all the gears were up.?
Yep, the shift pattern on all of the H models was "5 up", with neutral being at the bottom. When Kawasaki introduced the KH-500 in 1976, it finally became "1 down, 4 up".
My father had a midnight White 1969 h1 as daily driver, he used it also for vacation trips. After he had sold the bike, the new owner wrecked it within a week.
I made a 900cc 4 cylinder 2 stroke by joining together two RD400 engines and oversize Wiseco pistons, water cooled barrels, GT750 radiator, RD350 water pump and air cooled heads, all crammed into a KH400 frame with RD350LC swinging arm, ARE mag wheels, 1 x GT750 front disc with two calipers, four RD350LC pipes, and carbs, happy days! good job petrol was cheaper in those days! it was displayed at the motorcycle show on the MCN stand in Alexandra Palace, London
I have my dad’s H2 750. Metallic orange. 1973 or 1974. Bought it new in upstate New York. My brother pegged the speedometer when he was 16. Also when he was 16 he wiped out on it and spent a few days in the hospital. Dad was not happy. Luckily my brother worked at a Kawasaki dealership that summer and came home with all new parts to do the reconstruction. On one of my brother’s trips for a follow up visit to see his plastic surgeon who fixed up his facial road rash our family was involved in an auto accident. Bro was driving 66 VW bug, mom was front passenger, and I was 9 years old in the back seat. Got creamed at a 4 way stop intersection in the parking lot of South Hills Village Mall (Pittsburgh PA area) by a big ass Buick. This time it was mom in the hospital with stitches in her knee. On impact her knee was impaled by the plastic knob on the VW’s ashtray. This was before cars had any interior safety features like padding or smoothness on any of the dash. Anyway, fast forward to 2021. Dad is gone. Mom is gone. Bro is gone. But I survive. And now my bro’s 29 year old son wants his grandpap’s metallic orange widow maker. What am I to do? Thoughts?
In 1999 I bought a purple and white 72 GT750 with only 9000 miles at a garage sale for $500. It had always been inside and was all original, including the seat. Had to clean the carbs put a battery and rear tire on it. My buddies called it the "Grape Ape". I rode the heck out of it for several years and enjoyed it a lot. The torque and smoothness of power was amazing .That liquid cooling was ahead of its time too. Oh yea that sound was awesome!! It always got people looking due to the color and rarity. Drew lots of compliments on it as well because it was in such good shape people thought it was restored. Even got a couple compliments on about how little it smoked from people behind me on group rides. It would get up and move out too but the handling and braking were definitely old school. That being said it was still a blast to ride and I miss it. I ended up selling it for $1200 when I quit riding and sold my bikes. The guy was happy to get it. I hoped he enjoyed it as much as I did.
The TZ 750 Yamaha that Kenny Robert's made so famous for flat trac or road course. A real treat to see him do a hot lap on one after being off bikes for 30 years. He later said that he was scared to death he was gonna bust up the bike and look foolish , continuing , he said it came back to him pretty darn quick.
I got to ride the gt 750 and the fuel injected, ram air (kind of) in the 550 variant. Can't recall exactly I f that was a goose or kawi
For their day the old two strokes were blisteringly fast, but the brakes and handling, not so much.
I had a pair of "Flying Kettles" they were fabulous(ish). I had a 3rd that i gassed, that was very interesting to say the least it was like what I thought being shot out of a Cannon would feel like, & whatever the tyre's, it was always shit on the corners.
On the early Mach 4, they were stock with about 74-75 HP. With good expansion pipes and a simple rejet to a slightly larger main and a more open air box, they would run north of 80 HP (quite a lot for a 420 lb. scooter. @ 7000 rpm, they would do well over 120, close to 130 (or perhaps a snick more if you could coax it towards redline @ 7500 rpm. Even stock, sub 12 second quarters were not unheard of, and with the above mods, an 11.5 was certainly within reach.
The water buffalo was a bit slower in the quarter (mostly due to weighing about 100 lbs. more) but with some tweeks with jetting, expansion pipes and a better breather was just about as fast on top end, but was much more solid feeling towards the top...
I had a '72 H2 (before they were tamed down a bit) and it was a beast to ride: grab the grips and hang on and hope the front tire stayed on the ground. And if it rained, keep it in the garage. A good bud had a water buffalo and it handled much better at any speed.
I miss those days of old..
The H2 and it's little brother the H1 500cc triples were beasts. Both had frame flex problems at high speed, though the H2 had a beefier frame that flexed less than the H1. I know for a fact that the H2 could do 143 mph as my brother was clocked by the Texas Highway Patrol on the flat roads of west TX. He lost his license for that one.
Did it say in the video here that the top speed of an H2 is 120MPH? We know that's wrong or if it isn't, it needs way different gearing also drop bars. Keep the originals save.
waw 143 and clocked / banned was that tuned or just as it was standard mate
?
@@stephenhurst9257 He had aftermarket pipes, had changed the carbs. As I remember, this was back in the 80's, he'd changed the rear sprocket to one or two less teeth.
The second day of my brothers senior year of high school he and a buddy left home and took his friend’s Kawasaki 250 triple across country, 2 up without telling anyone they were leaving from Massachusetts to California.
Somehow they came back before graduation and graduated. Left in 1975 and came home in 1976.
Later on I had a 400 and 500 triple. Loved these bikes
Before The AMA Banned Multi Cylinder 2 Strokes in the Mid 70's for Dirttrack Racing, there were a few National Number Riders Racing H2's along with the 4 Cylinder TZ Yamahas. On the Mile Tracks they were Missles and definitely faster than the HD XR's or any other 4 stroke. The Street Production H2 right out of the Crate was also a Missle and not for just your average rider.....
GREAT VID!!!SAME as a LOT of guys here, I had a 500 then the 750 in the 70s when they were born. I can still remember cranking it up and a smile would come on my face as the revs climbed really fast with the speedo pretty much keeping up. ALWAYS a smile UNTIL they put some of those dang TURNS in the road! Lost the smile pretty quick after hitting the make believe brakes and wishing it had an anchor instead. I always TRIED to be careful but these had a way of making you stupid as soon as you sat on the seat...! They came and went but my 72 Kawa 175 Enduro followed me everywhere and we traveled Alaska together n the mid 70s when I moved there. Had that bike a LONG time! I think it was because no other bike I knew of had the TWO POSITION RAKE FRONT WHEEL! LONG LIVE 2 STROKE! Oh, wait.....
Nothing compares to the power of a 2-stroke sound. In this case, 3x! :)
Or the smell 😊
OMG a GT 750 with wireless start.The "water buffalo". Also, remember, the H1 and H2 were 5 up.. Neutral was at the bottom.
jlucasound I rode a friend’s Kaw 750 in 75 with that acceleration your ass wanted to slide right off the seat!
As I recall, those Kawi's were the fastest production bikes available when they came out. My next door neighbor bought a 1975 750 brand new and let me take it out for a spin...OMG it was scary fast! Later I bought a used 500 with carb synch issues and it was less fast but....
I understand the engine is lubricated with oil in the fuel, I get the basics, but what about the transmission? How is the transmission lubed? With the same fuel/oil, or is there a separate system?
Michael McFeely
It has separate oil for the tranny , about 80-90 wt, I would change mine about once a year
I remember when every high school in medium to large cities was littered with Kawasaki H-2 , Yamaha RD, and Honda CB750 stacked like cord wood.
I had a Yamaha RD-250 then a RD-350 and a Kawasaki KZ-650 in high school, but it was the Kawasaki H-2 that I borrowed from a friend that almost killed me on the highway when I got the speed wobbles at over 90 mph. The Kawasaki H-2 was notorious for speed wobbles and I didn't know this at the time that I borrowed it.
Northeast Florida Personal Watercraft, I had a 72 H2 I bought it brand new. No speed wobble at all and I had it topped out at 135. My friend bought one, a ‘73, the following year and his started speed wobbling at 110 but went away if you eased off the throttle. I’m guessing it had something to do wheel truing but mine was not afflicted. For what it’s worth as a reference point, my thru the traps MPH was 110 with consistent 12.40 ET’s in the 1/4 mile. They were fast bikes and a ton of fun but not for every rider for sure.
I just got my barn find GT750 un seized and running for the first time last weekend! the exhaust note shook my whole shed.
here I sit with a very big smile. High school days Kaw 3 cylinder two cycle. Crisp but went like a tornado in a straight line. Oh and easy on the brakes and suspension. If I remember the 500 came first and then 750. We nick named them death machine. The power curve was unbelievable. Ten thumbs up here. :)
I was a passenger on this bike(kawasaki)when i was young, i'll never forget it.
I was a passenger too! I was kindergarten age. The bike was brand new. My dad sold his BSA Lightning (I think that’s what it was called) to get the 750. My dad was an experienced rider and I loved being on the back. My brother was not even 2 decades out of the womb and twisted my dad’s arm to borrow the 750 to go play motorcycle with his friends. Mom told dad “You shouldn’t have” and she was right. Mom was always right. My bro wiped out showing off the 750 to his friends. Fast forward to 2019 and bro died several weeks post coronary 5 way bypass surgery. What was in his garage? 2014 Z06 Corvette. He always liked to go fast, but thankfully switched from 2 wheels to 4 wheels, which is the only reason he lived to be 59. RIP MOH 1959 - 2019.
A friend had a GT750 “kettle”. The acceleration was insane if you kept it on its power band.
Some memories..! I serviced and rode many of the Kaw. and Suzuki triples with the dealership I worked at in the '70s. After a while, it was quite noticeable how more refined feeling the Suzuki's were compared to the Kawasakis. The H-2 left the impression that it was an engine trying to destroy itself with it's harshness. We had several H-2s that got warranty crankshaft replacements due to main bearing cages coming apart - similar problem in a few of their singles also. Improvement made with crimped instead of riveted cages.
Both the big 750s were notorious smokers, something that probably led to all four stroke models in a few years. The GT-750 had small scavenging mechanisms to rid pooling of oil in the crank chambers but it seemed ineffective over time.
Are you talking about the Suzuki SRIS System (Suzuki Recycle Injection System) which forced unburned oil through small one way valves at the front of the crankcase and fed the oil back up into the upper cylinder bores through small black tubes located at the front of the engine? I thought this was a pretty clever way of stopping the engine from choking up with unburned oil, like most two-strokes tended to do, especially after a lot of low rev town use, which caused excessive smoke later under hard acceleration.
Gary, I thought it was clever and well done too but in practice, the oils did pass through and end up in the mufflers and still smoked quite heavily when the machine was being used hard. I once had one that the mufflers were on fire internally after a test ride. I recall the oil pumps weren't all precisely equal in output either amounting to some machines over oiling.
Mel A - I liked the smaller triples better too. The GT550 was a smooth ride. I had a neighbor who bought a later Kaw. 500 (E or F) and used it to commute with. He asked me to try optimizing it for that purpose which led me to lowering the float levels, dropping the metering needles a notch, and changing the pilot jets down a size. The result brought his machine to give 50 - 55mpg on mileage, less smoking, and no mechanical issues at all. It was nearly on a par for operating 'sweeetness' to a GT550.
Well, most two strokes did put out quite a bit of smoke from the pipes. I guess it was just Suzuki's way of trying to overcome the problem of too much oil accumulating in the lower crank cases, which when the motor was revving hard, used to end up coming out of the pipes. This is why, I think, there was a big shift from the mid 70's onward for 4 stroke machines, which were more economical and did not pollute as much smoke into the atmosphere.
Gary, I always had a preference for the Suzuki models as time went on, smoke or not. They were more refined, had better finishing details, and not as flashy as the Kawaskis - just my preferences and impressions at the time. I rode a '71 TS-250 Savage as my commuter bike to my work at a fairly large dealership. It was stone reliable, smoked only little. Yes, the segway into four strokes was bound to come but I'd gladly own and take care of a decent Kaw. or Suz. these days if the notion hit me - and I could find one. I've actively been seeking a late KZ-400 Kaw for myself but none have come out of the woodwork yet..! ;-).
The Water Buffalo is my favorite(Suzuki).
I had 250 A suzuki ,then the 750 GT suzuki .
I had a 125,380,550 en the 750 boiler.
The best ever.
I had a GT 380. But 3 of my friends had H1's. They were the shit. Boggy below 5k rpm, but when the tach hit 5k, they were insanely fun. The front end would just loft, and you could hold it there, shifting through the gears. One of my buddies traded his H1 for an H2. He always had to have the fastest. He also had a 440 'Cuda with tunnel ram and 2 quads. I rode his H2. Fun bike, but I always liked the H1 better. He was killed on his H2 coming home one night. That slowed us down...for awhile. Long time ago. RIP Mike...
Ah, the Suzuki GT750 Kettle...
That takes me back!
It takes me all back to the future - to my garage, just 15 feet away from where I'm typing this. There's a 1976 GT-750 sitting out there. Of all the bikes I had back in the day, I wish I had kept more of them.
i had a red gt 750 great bike sound was awsome rem seeing 122 on clock seemed to get front end wobble over the ton lol
I had the blue GT 750, had to get the rear wheel spokes retightened a couple of times! - must have been due to the torque?
I had a friend in the early 80’s that had a run down GT750. He took me for a ride as a pillion (I hate riding pillion), what a bike!
Ah a kawa H2, man i never should have sell it. Had some frame stability issues but man what a bike.
there was nothing wrong with the frame !!! If ya kept it under 60 !
TRUE
I bought a ‘72 H2 brand new and drove it 10,000 miles with no speed wobble or stability issues at all. My thru the traps speed was 110 for the 1/4 mile. And I had it topped out on more than one occasion with the right conditions to do it safely at 135MPH. If you had one that wobbled it had something wrong with it, maybe wire wheels needed truing, bad tires, or a wore out fork bearing.
Everyone who owned that bike had stability issues .... 😬😂
@@JockularK the thing was shitloads of fun though. Loudest screaming wheelies ever. :)
Still regret selling it
Loved my Kawasaki triples. Had 11 of them.
H2 One of the best sounding bikes ever with aftermarket pipes.
thay sound like 2 skellitons having it off in a co co tin
how much fuel these things consume per lets say 100km or 62miles ?
160 km a tank roughly. Depends what you are doing; 20 MPG of fun
@@davidmacphee8348 how much goes into tank? 20L?
@@Columbariusify It was a long time for me. I think it is a 5 gallon tank and there are two kinds of metrics or something. Back then it was about $1.75 total to fill it and go about a hundred miles. 35 cents a gallon?
Our current Prime minister had a father Prime Minister. When the Father got his 3rd term (?) He switched us all over to the Metric System in Canada so that we had no Idea what we were paying for gas any more and had it jacked it up way higher. Before that, It cost me about $7 to fill up my Stingray.
The Kawasaki 2 stroke triples were the most beautiful sounding bikes ever.It was the sound alone that made me buy my first learner bike,the KH 250,they all sounded fantastic With the standard pipes fitted,fitting expansion chambers detracted from the sound somewhat.The GT 380 and 750 didn't sound too bad either.
I'm a KH 250 fan too. I bought a 76 plate when I was 17. After jumping off a yamaha 50, the 250 was like a rocket lol
@@PeterSmith-ls7ut I went from a 50cc Gilera enduro to the KH,it was just unbelievable!.I currently ride a Honda VTR Firestorm,but if I saw the right Kawa in the right condition,I would be very tempted.
@@darkknight1340 where I lived when I was 16, the gilera and garelli bikes were rare. It was all honda ss50, fizzys and ap50s. I did like that gilera model you had cos, it looked like a trials bike.. Love the look of the model honda you have now. Is it red or black ?
It's painted in the VTR Repsol racing colours,metallic blue and orange tank,orange wheels red belly pan fairing and blue,orange and white main fairing and tail/seat unit.
@@darkknight1340 oh wow !! I've just had a look at an image of one. It's beautiful. Like it a lot.
Oh God, I can almost smell the two stroke. Bliss!
You need to try the 900 2 stroke triple. They didn't allow them in the states.
In H.S. a friend of mine's brother had one of the Kawasaki 750s. I only got to ride on the back briefly, but even that was something I never forgot. They were definitely considered to be bikes that had enough power to make them inherently dangerous for the average rider.
Never been happier to get off a bike as much as the H2.
I travelled the roads of Europe thin on my kettle, in the eighties. It was so damn reliable, and had no problems with the crappy gasoline you had to buy on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Eventually it died but that was my fault. I still kick my self for wrecking it. Never rode the kawa, but damn, it's a good looking bike. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. :)
Back in the day I had all n more of these man I miss the GOOD OLD DAYS.kawa. kh400.500 750 & 900..plus Yamaha 350rdand Suzuki 500 water buffalo..what I'd give to have those today fun fun fun..fast as fuk...oh 4got rd400..gr8 vid and awesome work love hearing them again
Sounds like a nest of pissed off bumble bees 🐝. For a 50 year old bike, it’s in immaculate condition. Thank you for sharing your video post
The first bike I ever rode was the same timeframe and the Kawasaki's had the 5 up shift pattern, good times. PS: Those bikes are GORGEOUS!
Is this bike for sale?
Sure wish the manufacturers would go back to making these. I sure miss them.
I had one of these back in the early seventies, fast as hell but didn’t handle very well, what a bike.
If it ain't smokin', it's broken. I had many triples as well as twins. another nearly forgotten twin was the Suzuki 500 Titan
and the cobra
By far the sexiest looking and sounding bike of the 70s!
Do those bikes have a self mixer for gas&oil or do u premix before adding to the gas tank??? My Cr250, and my Banshee are both two-stroke and premix 50:1, my Cr80 & Cr125 are 32:1premix also.. So I wonder about mixing ratio for those bikes. I'd luv to have gotten one when they first came out(cheaper price probably compared to now due to rarity. Cool vid.👍..
i thought it said it was a self mixer? not sure though
Pretty sure all Japanese 2-strokes had an oil pump by this time. The only bikes that didn't were East European, mopeds and racing machines to save on weight.
My third motorcycle (second new), was a 1974 Suzuki GT550 (three cylinder), when I was 15. It had "Ram Air" cooling, and was a rocket that was very easy to wheelie.
on sale ?
Hey,im wondering that hes not made a wheelie with the Kawa, i did nearly everytime in acceleration in 1975,Tom
Boy 'o Boy did that bring back memories - I had the Kettle back in the early Eighties.
Thanx for the Upload
The 72 H-2 was developed to be the fastest production vehicle and it was,the Kettle was a touring bike and alot slower. They were both good at what they were designed for and both very dependable bikes according to the experts.Also the H-2 didn't handle any worse than any other 72 except it had to be respected or it would bite back,then of course it was the bikes fault........Lol
Also the Widowmaker was the 500,not the 750
I love how they had two smaller bore pipes running from the middle cylinder on the GT-750 --- I hate when
people run all the pipes into ONE and make one side of the bike look 'stripped'
yeah agreed; They split the 3pots into 4 pipes! kinda cute and better on the aesthetics - I think the Honda's made a pretty decent Bike but the 400 four always looked kinda odd to me.
Apik tenan, om👍 salam ko Jawa Timur, Indonesia
I was there in 1977 drooling over the KH750 and GT750 but I got wiff these were two machines that were way too mad for me. Didn't the H2 become known as "the widowmaker"? - all the same, it was a great time as the Japanese were designing and making such fantastic machines, exciting. we loved them, however, many people died or got seriously injured.
Where do I aquire one
The original 500 cc "Mach III" by Kawasaki was never matched. I don't recall the larger 750 being any faster. the Mach III's were head shaking widow makers, but 3rd gear wheelies were now within the reach of the common man. They immediately became the fastest bike in America upon introduction.
Ive had them all. My first big bike was a h1. A cop radar me at 105 got my first reckless driving ticket on it in 1983. I still have a gt550 and a 73 rd350😁. And a suzuki bking of course. It does 150 effortlessly😁 amazing how they have evolved
what country is that?
THIS is where the word “knarley” came from.
what is the 0-60 for these 750s?
good question but it depends on the rider. The Z1 900 did 2.1
Loved my GT750.....then I bought a 500 Interceptor and “had” to sell the Suzuki as it seemed to suddenly have no handling or brakes.
Nice bikes. Before Water Buffalos, Suzuki had 500cc Titan 2 stroke twin. Miss my H1. Could stay with 750 Ninja through third gear red line before 750 would pull away.
I owned an H2 750 Kawasaki from the early to mid-70s until 1980! It was a super dependable bike. It looked like the one shown here but with stock pipes. I was looking for a water buffalo but...
I remember seeing these old two strokes on the streets of the UK back in the 70's. You have a very nice machine there, just a shame about the non standard exhausts. My personal favourite was the Suzuki GT750 water cooled "Kettle" as we called them back then. Not forgetting the awesome Kawasaki 900 Z1 which is probably my favourite bike of all time. Happy Daze.I never got to own any of them, but my brother got a GT750 back in 1986 and I got to take it around the block. Loved that sound.
Those expansion chamber type exhausts may make the bike go a bit quicker but they spoil the look of the original exhaust system.
Those GT750's are really nice, just a shame about the non standard exhausts and seat covers on two of them.
Belting it was it about twelve to the gallon and a half pint of two stroke .?..
such amazing bikes back in the day, thats why im a biker today...i used to lust for the H2 with its paltry 75 HP...my 796 has a mere 85 HP weighs nearly 100 lbs less but with its Brembo brakes an Marzocchi forks it feels underpowered where the H2 feels death defying (so i hear, i have yet to ride such a treasure) of course you cant beat on an old classic so i appreciate these guys even runing them for us
Your 796 ???? What bike is that ???
GeeAWDD that was an awesome sound!, wheres the green an the purple Kaw's??. lov the ol expansion chambers tho, hahaaaa.
kids? look it up, its like a header only the two-stroke needs a certain amount of back pressure, not just an open header pipe.
had a lil tank under the side cover for the two-stroke oil, and even auto-mixed it for U! hows that for modern technology?!- u didnt have to mix yur gas an oil in a can then add to tank anymore. wow, so advanced.
and yeah put the right peg up so when kick-starting u didnt nail yur shin on it. an if u slipped off the kick?...an that thing came up hit u? owwwwwie.
I was 18 years old and I had to have one of those only they had just came out. Mine was a red Mach 3 750 . I was sadly disappointed. Riding it home the middle carburetor FELL OFF! Get over 80 mph bad front end wobble! I didn’t keep it very long Now the Suzuki GT mine was a 500 I really liked that much better machine... mine was blue too I really miss the old big two strokes. I was 14 when I got a Yamaha yd-s 3 Catalina. 250. Candy apple red with a white pearl inset. Loved the sound nothing like that today!
Iconic machines 'The widow maker' and 'The kettle'. good stuff thanks...
4213ags in the States we called them Water Buffalos. I had a 72 GT 750 Lemans...purple water pumper. Fine bike but not a good handler by today’s standards.
I used to have a GT 750 ! One of the fastest bikes I have ever owened the water buffalo I believe they called it! Wish I still had it but I was young and dumb ! I got pulled over quite often! Cheers eveyone!
I liked two stroke motorcycles, I owned two T-500 twins. Never a mention of these super reliable motorcycles. One was built to the Daytona 200 specs and it was a beast.
I had a T500 for years too, epic machine!
Cycle World Magazine ran a great ad for Kawi's in the late '60's that was a photo of the 3 pipes with the headline "Tricycle".
Screaming bikes. Heck, most of those old 2 strokes were. Yamaha RD 250....a little bike but super quick.
never got past 250cc on two strokes, would love to have my RD and KH now, even my little AP 50 sports moped.What a fun time the late seventies were.
The ap 50 was faster than my fsie lol
I had a H2 750 (same color) when l was a teenager in the 70s. Before I had my license l would rev the bike in my garage. I LOVED THE SOUND! Get going in 1st gear, THEN HIT SECOND! What a rocket, unbelievable! I owed my mom $, she said sell the bike. I'll forget the debt. I did, good thing. Our l probably wouldn't be typing now. LOL
Amazing sound !
From 15 years old to 19 years old an H1 500 was my primary transportation. My buddy had the H2.
From 35mph to 90 it was a rocket then above 100 it had potential to wobble so there was the occasion where you had to slide way back on the seat slowly and loosen your grip and contemplate your religious beliefs as you pray for stability to return.
It didn't have the best brakes either but it was so quick and so much fun and of all the cool bikes I have had I still miss my triple.
you had to slide way back on the seat slowly and loosen your grip and contemplate your religious beliefs as you pray for stability to return. Oh so that's how you get out of a speed wobble. NOW you tell us.....
That Kwaka 750 sounds a lot like my 1975 S1C 250 that I had in 1978. Reminds me of my youth when I was a right idiot. Great times though.
I had a Kaw 500 triple. It was a screamer. But in 1984 when the CDI went out I could not get parts for it. Now you can on the Internet. Not in 1984. The Kawasaki dealer just laughed at me. I sold it for pennies on the dollar. Suzuki also made a 750 triple, the water buffalo, but it was heavy and better for touring.
The engines were light years ahead of the tires, brakes and frames. Had a H1 and was stupid enough to soup it up, yes it was fast and dangerous. I think the frame must have been made out of electrical conduit at best, high speed wobbles were something you learned to deal with on a regular basis. Still ride but would never get on a H1 or H2 on a bet, the GT750 yes.
Identifying a Kawasaki 750 Mach IV - First you see the blue smoke, then you hear the sound; finally you smell it. When it come into the world it would pass everything on the road - except for a petrol station. The tank was pathetically small and it was as thirsty as Norwegian in a free bar.
5 gallon tank
I stood a Kawi 750 on its back wheel at around 60. Really wasn't expecting that. Never had driven one before.
I used to pull up the wheel at 80 MPH and keep going just to piss off the Harleys
RPM over 10k; what's the power like?