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Joined: Jan 19, 2007 Posts: 493 Location: Burbank,CA/Lake Havasu City,AZ
Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2011 2:28 pm Post subject:
Still have my H2 I bought when I was 19 yrs. old(I'm 53 now).........it won me enough money at street races to buy gas & 2-stroke oil for it in my younger days . Nothing quite like it that I've ridden over the years including my turbo Honda CBX..........2-strokes rock!
Love the dragbike vid, not too shab of a launch! _________________
And it was loud,
Like a trashcan cherry bomb,
Like a storm before the calm,
.....it was loud!
-"LOUD" by Sammy Hagar
2009
Joined: Aug 31, 2010 Posts: 51 Location: Northern Virginia
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 5:47 pm Post subject:
Swedemoto wrote:
Like any bike, set up properly it handles fine. If you want one, get one, you won't regret it. You should at least be able to get back your investment. For an un-Honda biased opinion, check out [url=http://www.kawasakitriplesworldwide.com]/url]
I just came across this post and found it real interesting. I have a 68 and 70 Suzuki T500 and a nice 1970 Yamaha R5 350 and like that too. But when I turn the key, start up my 1970 H1, and hit the road, nothing compares to the kawi triples! Lots of it comes down to their power; for comparison purposes an early H1 is cranking out about 60 horses where as the T500 doesn't even have 50. That's not to say the T500's are "worse" bikes, they are just different and CAN be tuned to win races (the T500 HAS won the Isle of Man back in the day). Anyway, the kawasaki triples were legends when they were first produced becaus of their raw power and speed, and they are still legendary today. I get a pure adrenaline rush when riding them and they have great looks too. And in this day and age, I must agree they are THE BEST choice with regard to "investment" potential when buying an old jap bike for restoration, if you want to get your money back. You almost always WILL get your money back if you shop and buy a triple at the right price; can't say that for the other two-strokes IMHO...
Last edited by ericsattic on Sun Apr 29, 2012 1:27 pm; edited 2 times in total
Joined: Nov 02, 2008 Posts: 1087 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 7:40 pm Post subject:
While it is generally accepted that the Kawasaki triples were/are maintainance intensive the reputation is probably a bit undeserved as many riders would be unable to keep the thing running on clean plugs in the powerband. It's also a fair bet that many were rebored because of piston rattle when they would have run on for a long long time with no ill effects if the rider just accepted the rattle as part of the deal.
A word also to defend Suzuki's triples just in case anyone tars them with the same brush. The Suzuki versions were very durable and ran on reliably for a very long time.
Whatever you might think about the Kawa's riding qualities they all looked the part, looking like world beaters even sitting on the stand.
As for comments about pollution. Yes, some visible smoke, but is it any more damaging than the less discernable exhaust pollution of any 4 stroke engine of that era?
Joined: Feb 10, 2006 Posts: 27 Location: elmira, ny
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:04 am Post subject: never nail it in first gear!
I owned four H1s, three 1971 models and a 1974. The so called "hot setup" was to replace the airbox w/ three K&N pod filters, then when it came on the pipe, it was all intake howl....it's giving me goosebumps remembering it! As for the supposed ill handling, I always ran Dunlop K81s and never had a problem. I had a friend w/ a RD350 and he'd smoke me on the tight roads but he couldn't keep up on the more wide open roads (we raced daily!). Had an electrical rotor problem on my first 1971 but that was it.
Stay away from the 1972 H1. Kaw was trying to keep the cost down so they replaced the CDI w/ a points ignition....crap!
Joined: Dec 26, 2007 Posts: 1283 Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:55 pm Post subject:
malc87 wrote:
turbo_billy wrote:
malc87 wrote:
Heres a NOS one, one recorded mile ,never been used......
Nice bike but what a waste............
Not really ,I have other H2"s to ride.
A waste would be to use it now when it has remained unused for so long.
you cannot recreate a new one
If it's never been ridden and never will be, then is it really a motorcycle? Or has it become a two-wheeled piece of art? This is why I can't buy any low or no miles examples - I'd ride the snot out of them and ruin their "collector value". But then, I'm not a collector.
Joined: Nov 02, 2008 Posts: 1087 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:36 pm Post subject:
Have commented before,but perhaps worth saying again. Motorcycles are for riding.If a machine, no matter how brilliantly designed, has never been in use then it has no story to tell.
Joined: Aug 19, 2011 Posts: 5 Location: calgary, alberta
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 8:14 am Post subject: Triple mania
Just my two cents worth. I owned an H2 back in the 70's and a friend of mine also had one. Basically they both shook themselves to pieces. I can't understand why they are going for these ridiculous prices. After your multi-thousand dollar restoration, what are you going to do with it? If you start riding it, it will disintegrate like they all do. A very expensive static display unit I guess. Fast and exiting? Absolutely! Find a runner and get it out of your system. I have had several Suzuki GT 750s and they are a whole lot more usable and reliable, a ton of fun, much cheaper and you still get the two-stroke triple howl!
Joined: Dec 26, 2007 Posts: 1283 Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 8:58 am Post subject: Re: Triple mania
jeffc wrote:
Just my two cents worth.
That opinion is worth a lot more than 2 cents. Guys who bought them new back then will testify to the accuracy of those statements. Even if they were babied, the top ends rattled like crazy after 15,000 miles. And that's not hearsay - I was a service manager in a Kaw shop back then. They weren't comfortable enough for long trips, handled like the frame was made of rubber, and they got maybe 25 miles per gallon. If fast and exciting with short service life was your thing, they were a bargain. The Water Buffalo was heavier and not as fast stoplight to stoplight, but it got more than 40 mpg, was all-day comfortable, and would easily go 50,000 miles or more on a set of rings. The faster you ran one, the cooler the temperature gauge would read.
I believe the collector craze and market value on those bikes now is based mainly on clouded memories and the legend of those triples as "widow makers". And it's true. A lot of novice riders bought those things and wrapped them around a tree within the first 500 miles. Especially the early 500s with way too much power for the chassis and crummy brakes.
Joined: Oct 30, 2008 Posts: 19 Location: Mulberry, FL, USA
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 5:04 pm Post subject:
KirkN wrote:
IMO, it's because of the REPUTATION they had in the day (well-deserved...). They were the quickest stoplight racers, period. And they were from a relatively "upstart" motorcycle company - Kawasaki. A Cinderella story that only grows as the years go by. Throw in the fact that 2-strokes are all but gone in new applications, and you've got a recipe for collectibility!
Performance by TODAY'S standards? Lousy, thirsty, non-user-friendly in the extreme.
Good luck with your searching!
Kirk
'Upstart'? 'Cinderella'? Maybe as a motorcycle maker. Kawasaki is first and foremost a heavy industry giant, manufacturing ships, bullet trains, earth moving equipment, helicopters, and jet engines to name a few. Motorcycles is just a little sideby activity for them. With the resources they have, it was a given they would be a force to be reckoned with.
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. Nothing quite like it that I've ridden over the years including my turbo Honda CBX..........2-strokes rock!
