Kawi2strokes.com Forum

just??? picked this up today, Guy said it is a Denco drag frame but saw old pics on line with tony Nicosia sitting
on one and it said R bike

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Bad decisions make the best stories.

Not even close to an R Series H bike.

saw this, actually says H1R

The above photo is of Tony on the same H1R in his Hot Bike Engineering shop with Dennis Dean, owner of Denco. Tony started Hot Bike Engineering in 1973 after leaving Kawasaki due to budget constraints. There he started manufacturing expansion chambers for the 500 triples with pyramids inside the collector, which added 3-5mph and shaved a ½ second off the quarter mile times

heres another

Here is the H1R in front of Kawasaki headquarters in Irvine, CA with (L to R) Alan Masek, VP Kawasaki Motor Corp., USA, Yoji Hamawaki, President, Tony, Al Goslee, National Service Mgr., and Don Graves, National District Mgr.

If a 500cc triple was good then a 750cc triple had to be better. In 1972 Kawasaki released the H2, which today has become the staple for three cylinder drag racers around the world. It was also the bike that got recognition in NHRA with some of the Pro Stock legends like Dave Schultz and Paul Gast racing them. As I remember the bike from its introduction when I was eleven years old, it was a wheelie monster. For the long list of riders who could not handle its power or the ill handling effects of rapid deceleration, it also earned the nickname “widowmaker” around the globe. For all of Tony’s hard work and dedication to the triple program, Kawasaki gave Tony H2 Serial #00012 after setting the new record of 11.95 at the AHRA Spring Nationals.

The H1-R designation refers to Kawasaki's Lime-green road-racing bikes of the early '70's, and most people would identify with that. I guess you can call a bike anything you like, but I haven't seen the "R" designater on anything but the Road-Race bikes.

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"One day, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching." : anon.

nice thing but not H2R engine.

Yes, an H1R ENGINE in Tony and Jack's drag race chassis, NOT an H1R or H2R bike. It took an Act of Congress for Jack to get that one engine out of road racing back then.

After going through a bunch of parts, they started to use regular street bike H Series engines.

BTW, back then, the Jack was Jack Murphy, he did magazine test bike setup, and owned and ran a floor refinishing company in West Covina, Calif.

Dennis Dean was the DEN of DENCO. He and Tony worked together after Jack left the scene. DENCO was headquartered in Fremont, Calif., two miles from Fremont Drag Strip.

If that's truly a Denco frame, that's a super cool find!

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"Only cheat the cheaters, boy - you can't cheat an honest man!" Mordecai Jones - The Flim Flam Man.

Hey thanks, that is pretty cool. the guy I bought it from said it was made the first year. I didn't look it over that close yet but I think he said it had a low serial number. like 003 or something. also got a set of denco wheelie bars with it.