Kawi2strokes.com Forum

My friend's brother has a '73 H1 that I can get for $250. He bought it many years ago but never restored. It's been garaged all this time. I'm not sure whether to get this bike and restore it.

The bad:

- nonstock front forks (dual disk brake)
- nonstock rear shocks
- missing seat
- missing sprocket cover
- nonstock handlebars
- the shifter, kick starter and pegs look like they could use replacing
- speedo bezel is cracked
- no air filters

The good:

- engine turns over
- carbs look complete

There are a few areas that concern me.

1. The exhaust pipes are each one piece, not two like the stock ones. There doesn't appear to be a flange of any type on the end of the exhaust where it goes into the head. I'm not sure how these are held on.

2. There is a toggle switch below the three indicator lights. Did a key go here?

3. Are there any parts that are unobtainable? I want to make sure I can get this bike back to running condition.

Thanks for reading.

Hi, welcome! The asking price sounds very good..and all of your "issues" can be put right. The thing to know for sure is, that these bikes cannot be restored on the cheap -- even if you're only looking for "rider" quality. I got a 400 going which was in similar condition to what you have described, and it cost me close to $3,000. The bike runs strong and looks OK, but it is not even close to being a good restoration.

- your forks might be stock as some bikes were fitted by the dealer with dual brakes
- reproduction shocks are cheap
- seats for 500s are available on eBay ..sometimes reasonable
- sprocket covers are really cheap
- the rest of the stuff is easily fixed

Expect $1,200 on mechanics and $1,500 on cosmetics..you will have $3,000 in it..but it should be worth it!

The pipes on an H1D are one piece
There should be a key on the dash, not a toggle
You can get most parts and 500's (except a few items) are plentiful

IMO, the H1D offers the best performance vs looks vs modern parts (share the H2 iginition).
Wish I could have afforded to keep my 5,000 mile original bike
I agree with Zambia regarding the budget; in this economy it is probably less expensive to buy a partially restored / nicer bike although many here get tremendous satisfaction restoring them

_________________
There are only two types of motor sport racing:
Nitro and everything else
(Sometimes referred to as fast and slow)

Or more. Depends how nice you want it. I have at least $4000 into mine. I say at least, because I quit keeping count!

Take the plunge...we all did

Just figure out what you want to achieve in the end and make sure you got a lot of time to do research, forum posting, and resto work. Guys on the forum have been a life saver for me and the http://kawtriple.com/mraxl/ site has been priceless.

But, a word of caution...a lot of these guys make restoration on these bikes look easy, but it’s a lot of work, time, and money if you don’t know much about triples to begin with.
I'm still on my first build/resto and haven't really even got to ride much at all...after about a year and 2k in parts/service.

Good luck if you go for it...sounds like a good deal!

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Greg

I am still in the beginning stages of restoring an S3. I want to add to what was already said here.

The guys on this forum are great.
It will cost some money to get your bike road worthy. A lot more money to make it look like a new bike from Yamaha. You decide.
You should enjoy the build/resto process or take a pass on this one.

I bought mine in December of 2010. At this point I have gathered all the parts that I need to completely restore the bike except new rims and spokes (later). I have all the black parts ready for powder coat. I am delaying powder coat until I get the extra cash. I should be building though Fall and Winter of 2011. I hope to get it finished before spring of 2012. I can work much faster than this but I have money limits right now.

Good luck.

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Rotortech
Indianapolis
1974 S3

Thanks for the responses. I just finished restoring a CB360 this past winter and now I have a bike to ride. So I'm in no rush to restore this one. Not even sure if I want to go completely original or the cafe route. Do the exhaust pipes with no flanges sound right? Still don't know how these stay attached to the heads.

We need pics......

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Twist the throttle, tilt the horizon, and have a great time. What triples are all about...........

$250 is a steal even for the condition you described. If a title is available then it's worth at least another $100 on top of it. If it has sparks then add another $300 (stator, ignition units, coils). A grab rail even with surface rust is $30. $600 to $700 probably is a fair price. Pictures would help me better assess it.

To bring a bike like that back to a running condition with all key parts as a safe runner would cost at least $500. On the other hand, a frame-off total restoration to look like showroom original bike would cost over $5000 and tons of hours. If you just wanted to make a profit on it, don't bet on it. What you really get out of it is pure joy when done.

BTW, '73 H1D is my favorite triple of all and a close second is '75 H2C. Despite the stock power is not as high as the early models, it doesn't take much to put all the loss power back in par with the early bikes and you get a better handling bike.

I'm looking to ride this when I'm done and I don't mind the amount of labor involved. That's the fun part for me.