Kawi2strokes.com Forum

Enthusiasts from around the world dedicated to the preservation and ritual flogging of the infamous Kawasaki 2-stroke Triples
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 20, 2016 12:11 pm 

Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2016 7:58 am
Posts: 201
Location: Sweden
My father bought a brand new H1 in 1970. Sold six years before I was even born. But that and me being fascinated with two strokes in general, I just had to get one myself. So that's what I did, but instead of one I ended up with four. Two nice ones. Two piles of junk (a story in itself I might make a thread of if interest exists).

Anyway, managed to trace down my dads bike and amazingly it's still rolling on the streets. :thumbup:


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 20, 2016 9:02 pm 

Joined: Tue Aug 13, 2013 10:22 am
Posts: 865
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Pecka..........very cool.........4 of them, really.........wow...........post some PIC's, welcome

THX Phil :thumbup:


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PostPosted: Sun Feb 21, 2016 3:39 am 

Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2016 7:58 am
Posts: 201
Location: Sweden
BBP wrote:
Pecka..........very cool.........4 of them, really.........wow...........post some PIC's, welcome

THX Phil :thumbup:


Thanks Phil! Will show them once I take some good pictures of them, when the pesky winter is over.

Currently I only have two photos of the H1A and H1B standing in the harbor shortly after arrival.

The crap bikes thread will come soon.


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:00 am 

Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2014 8:43 am
Posts: 72
Have always been interested in bikes.Back in 1967 our older brother got a Suzuki Hill Billy.Several years later I was walking home and THREE brand new 1969 H1 500 TRIPLES flew buy one right after another and I knew I wanted one !! So I finally saved up enough to buy one.But Dad said "It is too BIG for you" !! So I ended up with a Yamaha twin.The bike was going in Dad's name.I was very young. He was proably right.
I eventually got an H1 500 in the mid 70'S.One of the guys I saw flying by on the 69 H1 500'S had an H2 750 1972 by then, and actually soon traded it in ordering a new 1973 Z1 900.He got the Z1 and several weeks later the chain broke and messed up and broke the case and some inside trans pieces.They couldn't get the parts !! The bike was too new, one of the first ones.He settled on making a deal on a new 73 H2 750 a purple one.As soon as he got the bike he bought a bunch of Denco stuff, pipes, carbs and porting etc.... Another buddy also bought a Z1 900 about the same time.Drove it home and parked it and pulled the engine out and crated it and sent it off to California to POPS YOSIMURA.The engine came back in a crate and between the purple H2 Denco bike and the Z1 Yosimura bike.They were the fastest machines around.And for a number of years the Yoshimura Z1 was "untouchable".That bike destroyed EVERY new super bike that came out.Our buddy with the Purple 750 ended up getting a Gast 750 Drag bike that he was told was a record holder.Getting familiar with the Denco 750 I ended up getting chambers carbs and ported the cylinders on my H1 500 and the bike ran exceptionally well.But was no match to, and over shadowed by the Denco H2 and the Z1 Yoshimura bike.Several other friends were running some highly modified RD 350's and 400 'S.But none were a match to or could even keep up with my 500 in a straight line.Cornering was a different story.About that time too my uncle was involved in two stroke out board boat racing and was National Champion for a few years.Seeing two stroke engines running on Nitro and and turning 17 K RPM with a narrow power band between 14K RPM and 17K RPM at over 125 MPH on water,gave me an added appreciation for two strokes.Two stroke + stinger chambers + 17K RPM + nitro = Te wildest sound ever !!
I went to those boat races and watched them run and tune the boats and hung around in the pits.It was a blast.I would like to build a Triple running on nitro !! Got out of bikes for several decades getting involved in Muscle Cars.Back into the bikes for a few years now.Luckily my brothers are into bikes too.And between us we own a bunch of triples and RD/RZ 350 Yamaha's.It was sure an experience to be around in the 70'S hey day of when these bikes were bought new, driving around with the pack.And seening and experiening the performance of these bikes new and stock and also the ones that were modified properly.It still is fun and a great hobby.IE: Restoring and modifying them and especially riding them.


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 11, 2016 10:46 pm 

Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 1:56 pm
Posts: 100
Location: Rhinebeck NY
At 15 years old I bought my first real motorcycle ......up until then it had been Mini bikes so this was fun big time ! That is until I goy my license and my G4 100 cc dirt bike didn't cut it on the street . Driving by the local used car dealer ( Wheaton Motors ) I saw something that gave me goose bumps ! A 1971 Kawasaki 500 cc BlueStreak Just sitting there waiting for me ....the only thing wrong was one side cover was primer and it needed to be washed ....I think I paid 600 dollars for it and found a side cover and washed it ...oh boy it was spotless ! I remember passing about 5 cars on a straight by my house with smoke billowing out the pipes I couldn't believe the speed remember I just got off a 100cc dirt bike this thing felt soooo fasttttt! So at 16 years old I got my cherry broke on the fastest stock production street bike in the world ......I was hooked for life ! I road the bike for about a year and had my eye on the H2 750 triple ,by then I was working at the local Kawasaki Dealer ....Dandeneau Automotive in Pleasant Vally N.Y.so I had a friend offer to buy my Bluestreak and ordered a new 1973 Candy gold H2 so with out a bike I came across a 72 S2 350 Kawasaki triple Red I picked it up used for 300 Dollars I road that bike for a couple months untill my new bike came in ,I have to tell you that was a great little bike ! Very underrated ! So with the purchase of my H2 my life would never be the same ...that's a whole different story ...that is what got me started . I still have that Triple today with many more bikes ...all Kawasaki's...I can tell you I bleed green ! Lol


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 11, 2016 10:53 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:03 am
Posts: 4603
Location: Milang, South Australia
What year did you get your '71 H1, Jack?

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 12, 2016 2:14 am 
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Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 12:09 pm
Posts: 44
Location: V-H Sweden
Hallo Pecka,
Where in Sweden do you live.

Juha
Vasterhaninge


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 3:01 pm 

Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2016 7:58 am
Posts: 201
Location: Sweden
Kaarme wrote:
Hallo Pecka,
Where in Sweden do you live.

Juha
Vasterhaninge


Hello Juha,
Sorry for the late reply! live in Linköping.


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 4:59 pm 

Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:36 pm
Posts: 166
I was eleven in 1982 and my Cousin taught me how to ride on a CT70. My Brother in law gifted me a pile of old bikes when I was 13 and I learned by doing----there was an SL70 in there and I fixed that up. I bought a CLymer manual and was able to pull then entire top end off, replace the piston, re time it, etc when I was 13. Rode that around the neigborhood trails...(remember those?!?!!?) and later I got an MC1, which was a 90cc Kawasaki with a rotary vavle. A neighbor gave me an old Bighorn that was in pieces when I was 15, and I put that together....it was a beast, and I still race one to this day in vintage mx.

As for the triple.....well the local cycle shop (Remember those?!?!?!) had this bike sitting out front for 6 months with a for sale sign on it, and I passed by every day on my way to work and back.I looked really cool to me. I guess it was about 1997 or so. This was a small shop, he did service and parts but he was not a dealer...just this one guy and his wife. Finally I stopped in and talked to the guy. It was a 1972 S2 and he wanted $400. (He did not usually even sell bikes at all) I was scraping by at that point, had no hope of buying it when I stopped, I just wanted to see what the heck it was. He had done some machine work for me over the years and my Brother used to work for him long before that. He said that there hadnt been much interest and that he knew it would have to be the right guy who would want it. He could tell I was in love with it so he actually worked out a layaway plan. I put $50 down and paid on it for a couple months and then took it home. All done on a handshake, and a piece of notepad paper where we tracked the payments.

The story on this bike was that it had been raced, everything was lockwired, etc....and the previous owner was trying to get it back on the road.. had a new top end, new ignition etc, but the road gear was in boxes. I got it running pretty quickly, but it would be years before I actually put it on the road. I rode it for about 6 years, and at one point had it looking fairly good...but it sort of decayed on me....I got too busy to keep up on it....had too many other dirt bikes, etc....then we had a house fire last year and we've been in a townhouse ever since so no place to rebuild it for now. I turned in the tags last year and it is now in a storage locker with about 10 of my other bikes.

I hope to give it a proper rebuild this coming Winter, as I hope to be back in a house by then.

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1972 S2 350, 1972 F9 350 Bighorn, 1975 KX400, 1981 YZ465, 1980 XT500 (Built for MX) , 1987 KD80, 1995 MZ Skorpion, TTR 125, 1994 KDX200 , 1978 Mobylette, 1985 KX350R-F91m (Frankenstein) and a Doodle Bug


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PostPosted: Mon May 16, 2016 9:24 am 

Joined: Tue Sep 18, 2012 7:22 am
Posts: 94
Location: rockingham, vt,usa, (dangerous driving - tourist area)
I started getting into triples when I went to look at a 1974 H1 and found I couldn't afford it so the guy offered to sell me his other projects that HIS wife told him to clean out his garage. Ended up buying 1 S1 and 5 S2's. Still have them plus a KH500.....then got laid off and the funds were not there to restore all of them.

So, now I'm 70% into restoring an S2 and 20% on the KH500.

Send money for pictures. :lol:

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Laugh at least once a day (it will keep people wondering).


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