Kawi2strokes.com Forum

This board went through uproars the 3 or 4 or 5 times it changed formats. But guys eventually got used to it. As was posted, times marches on, and the newer formats have taken over mostly. Facebook, as you know has 100's of triple posts a day on the many forums. It's just easier. But these boards still have a use as information source, or sort of library. many of us still stop by on a daily basis to see if there are questions to be answered.

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

The thing I like about this board is the layout. Other sites are too "busy" and not easy to navigate IMO.

But, to the point of a "message board" vs. "social media", I was just discussing this in a meeting at church the other day (about updating the website to get information out). The problem is there is now a large demographic (younger crowd) that will not "go to" a website anymore. They want the information to come to them (i.e. show up on their news feed). So, it is easier and quicker if you need a response to a question.

Not sure what the long term solution for message boards will be. As was pointed out, the library of information, ease of searching, etc. definitely has it's advantages. I think KTOG has some kind of an email alert feature, but I haven't taken the time to figure out that tapatalk thing.

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1972 H2 750 (x2); 2003 Buell XB9S; 2008 ZZR 600 (fundraiser for charity)

Hi everyone, I take this post to introduce myself, my name is Paola and I write from Italy, thank you for being welcomed on this beautiful site, I drive a 1970 Kawasaki 250 Samurai and a 1971 S2, I have always loved motorcycles , I started in 1985 with a Fantic caballero 50 cc, then a Yamaha 125 and then a Honda Four 350. when I met my current husband, he had 21 motorcycles, from the 500 three cylinders, the H2, the Z1 900, the GL 1000, yamaha R5.RD 350, Suzuki GT 550-750, Honda CBX and others, and it made me fall in love with these two times. we sold the 350 Four, I wanted a light, fast but not very powerful two-stroke and I bought the Samurai in France (in Italy it was not imported), then we were lucky enough to find the S2, we restored it and it is beautiful from use.
My husband fell in love with the three cylinders in 1969, he was 11 years old and an older boy, his neighbor, took him to fish driving an old Gilera, and one day this boy entered his courtyard driving a white, chromed motorcycle, that made a hellish noise and smoke (every time my husband tells this scene, his eyes shine) and it was love at first sight. but he was too young to drive it. chased that motorcycle for 8 years, in the meantime it had been sold and bought 7 times and they had reduced it to a wreck. but he bought it anyway. only that the expense of making it work well again was so high that it had been cheaper to sell it and buy a used Z1 900 testanera. years have passed but he still repents now because a white H1 was no longer able to buy it. currently as triple it has a red H1, H1A-H1B-H1D. he had a gold H2 for 27 years, which ran like an airplane even though it was 88,000 km long, but was stolen from our garage together with a 1978 Honda CBX 1000.

Welcome to the forum Paola, such an interesting story! (I had a new red H1 in 1970, then a new H2 in '72!)

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

Thanks RODH2, unfortunately my husband's H2 gold was stolen from the garage together with a 1978 CBX 1000.
I saw that you are from Moana, my husband is a researcher who deals with animal toxins, and has bred two beautiful Taipan specimens and two eastern brown snakes for almost 20 years
Paola

Welcome Paola !!!
Hope you're having an easy time of it in Italy with the present virus outbreak.

Like to see pictures of some of the bikes you mentioned.

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Busy doing more riding than wrenching.......

I was 10 or 11 when my uncle showed up in front of my school on his RD350, and said “your mom couldn’t come pick you up, let’s go!”
I’d never been on a bike and he zipped through traffic like a lunatic, scared the hell out of me, and when I got off the bike I watched him ride away, still shaking.

When I was about 15 I saw a green H1 and forgot about RDs
So I got a KH 400 which I later gave to my brother when I got my first KH 500 with H2 engine.
Later I got 2 more H2s, my current ‘74 H2 I’ve owned for 26 years

John

I got tired of walking to high school. With a lot of fast talking I finally was able to buy a friends Yamaha twin 100. Had that for a little over a two years. Some friends had 3 H1’s. 2 69 and 1 70. I got to drive a 69 once and rode on the back a couple of times, what a thrill. I figured I’d probably crash a H1. Another acquaintance bought a H2 ! I bought a car, 67 Mustang. A year later I bought a Montessa 250 and rode dirt for 2 years. A few years later (1978) I bought a 74 Honda 750 to commute to work and pleasure ride. A year later I put a handlebar windshield on it. 1980 I found a used full Vetter fairing. 1982 I sold the 750 to my brother who hardly rode it, while I bought a new 82 Goldwing Aspencade. 85 sold the Wing as we moved to country. 89 I bought a new Harley FXR. 93 traded in FXR for Electra Glide, still ride. In 05 I bought a 2001 Sportster, sold it in 12 and bought a new Electra Glide Ultra. I lowered the 93 and made it into a Street Glide. In 2018 I bought a 01 Kawasaki KZ1000P. Last month I wanted to get an older bike 60’s or 70’s and thought of a H1 or 2. I had always wanted one. Looked at a pos in 78 and passed. Bought the second 500 I looked at. 1976 KH500. Pretty complete non runner. Oh I also have a Honda Trail 110. Bought in 2008

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DennisL
76 KH500
01 KZ1000P
93 Harley FLH
12 Harley FLHTCU
67 Mustang
Factory five Cobra

My first triple was in around 1975 h1b 500 and then a 73 500 and then a 75 blue 500 for years nothing but 500 bikes finally 750,s amazing bikes i grew up in a town called hayward Ca next to fremont drags we raced are bikes every wensday night those were the days over 40 years and still have a few left nothing like them once in your blood your done ha ha lucky to still be alive many didn't make it we rode them like we stold them crazy kid's.

I got a used Honda Trail 50 for $200 when I was 12 or 13. That started it all. I traded that Trail 50 For a 1972 Suzuki T350 when I was 13.

My first triple was about 14 years old around 1981. We were hanging out in the park of the small town I grew up in and a buddy had traded for 2 Kawasaki H1s with extended forks. We would cruise around town making noise and smoke and getting in trouble.

So a we sat in the park goofing off and a guy a few years older than us pulled up on a new Yamaha Virago and challenged us to a race. My friend didn't want to do it because of the extended forks and wheelies but I said I would race him.

We went out of town and raced to the bridge about a mile away and of course the H1 beat the ugly Virago with ease.
Those two bikes got sold and I didn't ride another Kawaski for a few years.

When I was about 16 my neighbor brought home a Kawasaki S3. It was low miles in beautiful shape. He never rode it because he was scared of it and one day told me to ride it around. I got to keep it for a couple days and rode the tires off that think. I remember it was much more refined than an H1 with extended forks. It was a really nice bike. I seem to remember going 125 mph on it but according to the internet they didn't go that fast.

About the same time my Suzuki T350 got sold to pay fines because I was a juvenile delinquent and I didn't get another 2 stroke until I was 18 or 19.

I was in the Army stationed at Ft Sill and home on leave in South Dakota when I found out my girlfriends dad was selling his RD400. I had heard stories about the bike but had never seen it. Her dad was an accomplished two stroke tuner who was really into snow machine racing. I bought that very low mileage RD400 for $500 in 1985 or 1986. It was January or February and I rode it home about 20 miles in below zero weather. I was doing burnouts and wheelies all the way home.

It was a very fast bike with chambers and some cylinder work done to it. I rode it for a few years putting thousands of miles on it. I rode it across KS and NE once on hwy 81 at 100 mph plus the whole trip slowing only for the small towns. Drag raced it on an 1/8 mile track, I wish I remembered the times and speeds.

Then the car broke down and we used the bike to haul groceries and laundry and everything else and it became a workhorse for a summer while I was rebuilding the 389 in my Pontiac. Wristpin bearings went out and I sold it.
That RD 400 is the only bike I sold that I regret. Out of all the motorcycles I have ever owned that was probably my favorite. It also was the bike to get the most comments when sitting in a parking lot- everyone wanted to talk about it.

Then about 10 years ago I started looking for a Kawasaki Triple because I wanted to get back into two strokes. I picked up a rough but running H2 and have slowly been working on it.

I have had many other bikes and currently have a Goldwing and a Sportster in addition to the H2 but this is my two stroke story I guess.