Kawi2strokes.com Forum

Hi everyone Im new to this site, but do recognize some of you from the two stroke world website. I did start a thread about this build at that site a year ago or so, but stopped updating it a while back. I would like to continue the thread here as it seems more appropriate. Anyway, this bike is my first build. I have done mild customizations to bikes in the past, but nowhere near the level of customization that is going into this project. I have seen some of the bikes you guys have built and am blown away with the talent I see.

This build so far has been influenced heavily by bikes like the KH750, The Frog, and the TZ 750. I really wanted to build something that handles like a modern bike but uses a vintage frame and power plant. I am going for the race bike look and feel, but am on a tight budget so I can’t afford some of the high end parts I see on some of these jaw dropping customs.

Anyway, few years ago I bought a parts lot that included 2 rollers (one KH 500 and one H1) both modified, a huge pile of parts including two sets of chambers and two running engines (h1 500 and an H2 750 both with good compression) and a running, mostly complete 75 H1 500. I ended up fixing some of the H1s issues and selling it along with a parts bike (I had planned on fixing up but gave up on as it needed way to much work) and made pretty much all my money back!

I naturally chose the KH frame as my platform and the H2 as the power plant. I liked the looks of the mono shock setup on the H1 roller and decided maybe I could use it as a mock up so I decided to throw a tank and tail piece on it to get an idea of how the bike will look. I really dig the mono shock, but the stance was far too low and the swing arm was actually resting on the brake pedal linkage preventing me from raising it to get a better idea.

Here's the running H1 and the two rollers:

This was the first concept I came up with using the H1 roller:

I stripped the KH roller down to the bare frame and started to experiment with different shock setups. I tried a dual mono type setup that I thought looked pretty cool, but didnt know how well it would work. At the time I wanted to use the RZ suspension on the front and the aluminum swing arm.

I took the top shock mount off the H1 roller and welded it to the KH frame for mono shock. I just tacked it in as I only have a pretty crappy flux core wire feed and am afraid the penetration may not be well enough to hold. I will bring the frame to my uncles to finish weld after all the mounts are in place. This is the first time I have ever really used a wire feed so please excuse the back yard butcher job I did

hi sam welcome to the forum and you have lots to play around with there .
you will find a great deal of help and info here.
were are you located.
cheers mark

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she will never be pretty but she is a fun ride.

73 KAWASAKI H1 (Sold).
82 YAMAHA RD350LC
2000 KAWI KDX200H
2001 Triumph TT600

At this point I realized I needed to upgrade the front suspension as I could practically bottom out the front shock just with my own weight. I couldn't imagine they would perform well under the weight of the 750, Plus I figured I could sell these forks to fund the project.

I then had a friend help me drop the engine into the chassis. Six beers later we had success!

Hi Mark, Thanks for welcoming me to this site! I have been lurking around here for some time now looking at some of the talented builds and picking up ideas.

I am located in MN.

Welcome! I recognize your name too from 2SW. You'll like this forum too.

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1972 Kawasaki H2 Mach IV (Candytone Blue), 1976 Suzuki GT750 (Maui Blue)
1984 Yamaha RZ350 (KRR- Yellow/Black).

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

The aluminum swing arm was not working out for me. It seemed too easy to twist, like I could literally flex it by pulling the rear tire from side to side. So I ended up swapping it for a FZR rear swinger to match the newly installed FZR forks. I should add that the FZR forks have tapered bearings installed and the swing arm has needle bearings.

I then got bored and attacked the cowl with paint thinner... Maybe Ill keep this bike raw...

Good to see you here! Should be a fun project.

I might suggest finding a nice fiberglass tail section, if you have seen any of the pics of the stock tail section moved forward, (to me) they look awful, Like they had been in a bad crash.

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