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Enthusiasts from around the world dedicated to the preservation and ritual flogging of the infamous Kawasaki 2-stroke Triples
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 Post subject: Who was No. 17?
PostPosted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:55 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2011 11:04 am
Posts: 3490
Location: Capitol of Ca, USA
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 Post subject: Re: Who was No. 17?
PostPosted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 7:51 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 6:37 am
Posts: 10460
Location: Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Duhammel me thinks

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


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 Post subject: Re: Who was No. 17?
PostPosted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:32 pm 

Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:25 am
Posts: 3137
Yvon duHamel, Canadian citizen, and American Team Kawasaki Road Race premier rider.

That was a LONG time ago.

EDIT: I am very surprised that a triples lover does not know the true legends of their bike's heritage.

Gregg Hansford, Murray Sayle, Yvon duHamel, Hurley Wilvert, Art Baumann, Gary Nixon, Cliff Carr, Tony Micosia, Jack Murphy, Bob Hansen, and a host of others that are literally legends in the sport of motorcycling and Kawasaki history, aren't even known to some.

Even my old friend, Kenny Roberts, rode and raced an H1R at one time.

Just a thought, would there be any interest in another board here, "Kawasaki Triples History", about the bikes and people that made them the greatness they are today???? I realize there are other sections for some of these things, this one would be strictly about triples legend and history. John would know best to do with this.

Even "Small Parts" (Paul Smart).


Last edited by H2RTuner on Fri Apr 14, 2017 10:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Who was No. 17?
PostPosted: Fri Apr 14, 2017 10:53 pm 

Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2011 12:24 pm
Posts: 285
Location: Sierra's east of P'ville
I remember the H2r's holding down something like the top 5 places for the 1st couple laps with DuHamel Nixon, Smart Wilbert maybe Carr and Bauman , also and was that the year Yvon tried to do giant steps down the corkscrew when he crashed there as known as the frog after that! Also did they try the fubar setup that year?


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 Post subject: Re: Who was No. 17?
PostPosted: Fri Apr 14, 2017 11:17 pm 

Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:25 am
Posts: 3137
FUBAR was an ongoing project that was started in 1972, and progressed to 1976 KR750. What a lot of people don't realize is, there were only 5 triples built with this rear swing arm setup (I have one of the H2R chassis), but, two more were done to KX450 air cooled motocross race bikes that Weinert and Lackey tested for us, with only one done for a Six Day's Trials bike, by Walt Axthelm in the R&D Department.

FUBAR worked well, didn't squat was much as a single arm with two shocks. It's real intent was to stop the squat, and keep the chain in one plane to keep it adjusted through the entire swing arm arc. If you look at a single arm today, the chain gets slack at full high and full low of the arc, with just right in the center of the arc to the front sprocket.

As far as I am aware, no FUBAR triple was ever raced in any road race, only tested in closed sessions.

One of the strangest setups back then was the leading link rocker front end on production BMW's, which had a single swing arm. If you rode one and played between acceleration and front wheel braking, you'd have sworn you were riding a rocking chair. On acceleration, the rear end would lift, and the front would squat seriously. Reverse it, off power, apply front brake, front end went skyward, rear end squatted. If you played with the throttle and front brake the right way, it looked like you were riding a rocking chair.

In later years, one of the Kawasaki guys from R&D went to work running the nuts and bolts end of the US Factory Yamaha Super Bike Team. His specialty research was in getting the bike to have a falling rate suspension, not the regular rising rate usually had. the idea was to get the bike to squat down on both ends, going into and through a turn, instead of the bike reacting the other way into the turn. This would make the chassis be more stable into the turn than rising the chassis up. He never did get it to work the way he wanted, but, it is common Super Bike and MotoGP suspension tech today.


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 Post subject: Re: Who was No. 17?
PostPosted: Fri Apr 14, 2017 11:56 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:03 am
Posts: 4603
Location: Milang, South Australia
I used to be No.17 in my racing days.....unfortunately, that is about where the similarities between me and Yvon ended.............. :? :lol:
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 Post subject: Re: Who was No. 17?
PostPosted: Sat Apr 15, 2017 2:29 am 
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Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:41 pm
Posts: 3489
Location: Mount Vision, NY
Why that's a silly question.
Everyone knows who number 17 was....










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:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :clap: :clap: :crazy: :crazy:

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 Post subject: Re: Who was No. 17?
PostPosted: Sat Apr 15, 2017 8:31 am 
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Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 6:37 am
Posts: 10460
Location: Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Basketball?

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


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 Post subject: Re: Who was No. 17?
PostPosted: Sat Apr 15, 2017 1:14 pm 

Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:25 am
Posts: 3137
The real 17 lives north of the U.S. border...NOT south of it, races motorcycles and snowmobiles, doesn't whack away at insects with a bat.


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 Post subject: Re: Who was No. 17?
PostPosted: Sat Apr 15, 2017 3:06 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 3:06 am
Posts: 4364
Location: PARIS FRANCE
Rod which bike was riding number 18 on your picture?


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