Kawi2strokes.com Forum

I bought the bike as a basket case about 2 [or 3?!] years ago, found it listed on this forum by member Cody in Minnesota.
Made contact with him and we talked for a long time, super nice guy and very knowledgeable.
This bike was a project of his, his plan was to make a Denco tribute race bike.
Came with a clean title and he worked with me to get it to Texas.

After at least a month after payment, the shipper I contracted to deliver it finally made it to Texas, I was stoked!
It came in 5 plastic storage containers and the freshly powder-coated frame in a box! They were very nicely packed and labeled...







Basket cases are like a puzzle. Even though I have an H1 that I restored, the H2 is a differant animal and I will be asking you guys a lot of questions to be sure I get this bike put together right.

It was known that the motor would need a total rebuild, it came totally disassembled. I brought the cylinders to my local machine shop, he ordered the Wiseco's, bored the cylinders and chamfered the ports. He knows Kawasaki's very well, did the boring on my H1 as well.









The top of the cylinder had some minor "cratering" so I had him mill it .010. [that is the before pic] I've read that it is common, is it just bad metal?

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H2B..... H1E..... Z1B ..... RD350...... X6 Hustler..... TS250.... CB750 ..... CB550...... and a Bomber!!

Looks like casting porosity to me. You are in the same boat as me, I had an H1A decades ago but never a disc brake bike, and this H2B I am rebuilding is a bit of a zigsaw puzzle as well. It's great that so many new repro parts are available now, but get your debit card out....

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1974 Kawasaki H2B 750, 1981 Yamaha XV750 Cafe, 1986 Kawasaki KDX200, 2003 Honda XR100, 2004 SDG140. 2006 Ninja 500R Turbo intercooled fuel injected.

The porosity is not a factor, just happens sometimes in casting.

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

Good luck with the build Steve! Keep the pics coming as you go.

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Crankshaft Testimonials viewtopic.php?f=25&t=7593

"Let's keep your crankshaft great!"

Good to know, thanks.




Thanks Charlie. Sorry to say I wont be needing your services again on this crank, you already did it! It was still lightly oiled, wrapped up and boxed just as you sent it to Cody years ago.

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H2B..... H1E..... Z1B ..... RD350...... X6 Hustler..... TS250.... CB750 ..... CB550...... and a Bomber!!

.....not sure those are the right pistons for a 900 tho!......... (deadpan emo. right here!)

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

Ok, so next the motor, [case, cylinders and heads] were all sent out to RestoCycle [Nils] in AZ for vapor blasting. The Triple motors were naked from the factory, so no way did I even think about painting these parts.
There is, bar none, not a better finish out there for a motor, not exactly cheap but worth every penny.










Ready to assemble motor! Not so fast, after a careful inspection, the dogs on the transmission gears look to be worn. The last thing I want is shifting issues once this bike is back together.


Simple - just buy some new ones, right? Yeah, good luck with that. A "trans gears wanted" on the this forum netted no response. Emailed Danny, he didnt have extras for sale. Checked eBay - found 1 set but super expensive and seller said "should be no issue", not a real confidence builder there.







So while that stalled, onward to the frame. The frame came to me in a box and was already powder coated, looks great!







Got the front end together, polished lowers, new seals and oil.
Bought a nice front fender from Danny, it has a nice substantial brace as part of it. No wonder these bikes handle so well!



New bronze and stainless bushings for the swingarm....




Baby needs a new pair of shoes!




Cleaned up up and reused the stock rim, had Nils do his thing vapor blasting the rear hub and laced with new stainless spokes....





And WOO-HOO, I got a roller!!!!!!

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H2B..... H1E..... Z1B ..... RD350...... X6 Hustler..... TS250.... CB750 ..... CB550...... and a Bomber!!

Looking good! Keep the progress pics coming.....

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1972 Kawasaki H2 Mach IV (Candytone Blue),1984 Yamaha RZ350 (KRR- Yellow/Black), 2004 Honda Helix (Clipper Yellow).

“Jeff and Chris are THE MEN!”
RIP John E. Evans

Time for an update, Boys and Girls:

Motor is assembled and back in the frame...WooHoo!

https://flic.kr/p/WxG5i6 https://www.flickr.com/photos/156452678@N06/

Took the front end back apart to install the fork ears and cleaned up the front wheel, it came out very nice. Has a Conti Twin tire just like the back...

https://flic.kr/p/WxG3vD https://www.flickr.com/photos/156452678@N06/

The speedo drive had some paint missing, so removed what was remaining and gave it a couple coats of caliper paint...



https://flic.kr/p/WhGm6W https://www.flickr.com/photos/156452678@N06/


Had the fork ears chromed and ordered short blicker stems from Z1.net, they have a high quality finish on them....


https://flic.kr/p/VXkj2E https://www.flickr.com/photos/156452678@N06/

I'm scratching my head on what parts I'm missing to attach the bucket to the fork ears, believe it's a rubber grommet but the fiche is not clear, unless I have the wrong bucket? Thats the thing with basket cases, you never know if wrong parts got thrown in there!

http://3cyl.com/mraxl/microf-h2/F9-H2.jpg

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H2B..... H1E..... Z1B ..... RD350...... X6 Hustler..... TS250.... CB750 ..... CB550...... and a Bomber!!

The bucket I have is a Stanley 001-0799. The mounting holes are oval shaped, is there a rubber grommet that goes in there?

I dont see it here...

http://3cyl.com/mraxl/microf-h2/G4-H2.jpg

Help!

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H2B..... H1E..... Z1B ..... RD350...... X6 Hustler..... TS250.... CB750 ..... CB550...... and a Bomber!!