my youth was misspent persevering with old air cooled yamaha rd's when all my mates went on the new elsies.....i adore both....the yamaha 350lc and 500lc were superb fun bikes...i owned two coffin tank air cooled rd250s, one in a high state of stan stephens tune, with race cans etc...that ate pistons every othe week!!..and my favourite, a ratty black rd400...what a wheelie machine...personally, i found the damn thing absolutely terrifying.....

Maroon 1975 RD350A (5 speed one which converted to 6 speeds in an hour), blue and white 1980 RD350LC (the very first one in UK actually), 1973 green Kawasaki H2, red and white 1984 RD500LC (again, one of the first in UK) were all 2-strokes i owned and loved.

didnt you get a very very hairy two stroke kawa h1 500...virtually a race bike in a dodgy springy frame from the early, i think, seveties...

thanks google....remeber reading much the same in the ubg......

If the H1 were a lad, it would be the sort of boy you desperately hoped your daughter wouldn’t bring home. Fast, noisy, dangerous - and such brilliant fun to be with.

In the late 1960s, Kawasaki realised that the big returns on investment were to be gained from large capacity machines which cost almost the same as little bikes to make but carried a much higher price tag. The company’s first stab at big bikes was the W1, a clone of the old BSA A10. It sold in modest numbers and didn’t set the world on fire in terms of sales.

Kawasaki were already making a name for themselves with light, fast, small capacity two-stroke twins and so the first idea was to make a 500 twin. A prototype twin was actually produced but unfortunately, Suzuki beat them to the punch with the legendary T500. And Kawasaki wanted to upstage the opposition - not follow it!

Thirteen months after the launch of Suzuki’s twin, Kawasaki hit the world with the fastest accelerating production motorcycle ever made.

Viewed logically, the Kawasaki H1 had many flaws. The gearbox was odd, with neutral below first, the brakes very questionable and the handling decidedly marginal in every situation - except when the bike was stopped with the engine switched off. Not for nothing was the H1 known as, “The triple with the ripple”.

But the motor was dramatic. 60bhp - that was 10bhp more than the Manx Nortons and Seelys which were still being raced in Grands Prix at the time - was available right out of the box. No tuning, no speed kits, no careful preparation. Simply, 120mph available to anyone and everyone who owned an H1.

Quarter mile times were stunning. A standard H1 would turn in a standing quarter time of 12.4 seconds and slaughter anything else on two or four wheels away from the traffic lights. The Americans, who valued acceleration above all else, fell in love with the H1 and bought it in bulk.

In Europe, everyone had a tale of being scared witless on the bike which offered the ultimate in road bike thrills and/or a trip to casualty, on every ride.

Kawasaki also raced the H1 and when it finished a race, or didn’t throw its pilot down the track, the H1 enjoyed great success. Ginger Molloy mastered the beast and took the “Green Meanie” to second place behind Giacomo Agostini’s MV in the 1970 500cc World Championship.

Eventually, Kawasaki bowed to the pressure of consumer groups and environmentalists and made the H1 grow up, wear and tie and get its hair cut. The result was the 1976 H1 - technically the best ever H1 made but now a thoroughly sensible motorcycle. Like petulant teenage daughters, we all hated it

quote:

Originally posted by biggbn:
didnt you get a very very hairy two stroke kawa h1 500...virtually a race bike in a dodgy springy frame from the early, i think, seveties...

The drum brake original H1 500 was known as the 'widow maker' for a reason.
A well ridden RD350LC would slaughter it, but back in 1969 it was frighteningly fast, with 60 bhp.

The KH500 was actually the 'nicest' Kawasaki 500/3, but had slowed by the time it came out and was much quieter.
Gorgeous bike still, if you can find one.

quote:

Originally posted by Bamford:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by biggbn:
didnt you get a very very hairy two stroke kawa h1 500...virtually a race bike in a dodgy springy frame from the early, i think, seveties...

The drum brake original H1 500 was known as the 'widow maker' for a reason.

see above post......

Excellent! Some good bikes there. The RD350 was a lunatic's machine, and the old GS1000 and Kawasaki Z1000 that you talk of are for serious riders only! They didnt handle at all and were hedge-hunters... Hard work!

Ive always had Kawasaki sports bikes, a new one every 3 years since the age of 18. (Except the current one which ive kept beyond 3 years with no intention of changing).

Most frantic one I owned was when I was 18. It was G315 XEU, a green & white Kawasaki KR1-S 250cc two stroke. 140mph on a light, tiny bike at extremely high revs.

mate had a bonkers late seventies/early eighties yamaha xs1000...i saw him slithering down the hilltown in dundee on it one winter, both feet down and brakes on IN THE SNOW.....and its a steep old hill, hence the name.....i rolled down my window and said, jeez dougie, aint it time you got a car??..to which he replied...bloody cages..dont feel safe in them things...!!!...nutcase..

The KR1S was, sadly, rather unreliable.
The later Suzuki v-twin, fitted to the RG250 and later Aprilias was a better powerplant, although i did like the unique in-line layout of the Kwaka.
My Aprilia RS250 was possibly the best 2-stroke bike i owned. It only weighed 130 kgs, yet had 65 bhp of Stan Stephens power, achieved through porting, new pistons and a set of race pipes.

I would e mail the piccies of all these bikes i owned, bggbn, but obviously that isn't an option by the sounds of things.

I suppose you have a Enzo in the garage aswell bamford

biggbn my car has high powered disc brakes all round. No widow maker here although I am a playboy any way

For a 'new' member you are very, very aggressive! Oh dear, i wonder why that might be?
Patriot UK/Grip/Corvette Man and all his old nastiness.
Just what the forum needs.
You have never owned a decent car in your life Patsy, we are all very aware of that.
All you ever can do is argue with people who do own the cars of your dreams.
Go away.

steady on, gentlemen!

Palmy, the guy's a clown, read his posts about you and Noxide. A new member? Yeah, about as new as the Titanic.
Show us your car, Patsy, until then you are a fraud as far as i am concerned. An argumentative, sad fraud.

I fear you may be right! Ive been in Oli's car, and it is fast!

Remember, I hold a racing license and have driven some very quick cars in the past.. yet Oli's car still was fast! I was quite surprised. It is very quiet, unassuming and then WHOOOOSH! Great fun.

My S500 is far from slow, although it wasnt designed for outright speed, its an LWB luxury car which I use for my work. My E320 is far more of a driver orientated car, its fast on the open road and has superb handling. Oli has been in that one. Its an Avantgarde model which I ordered a fair few options because I wanted it to suit my driving taste rather than just to be a luxo -barge. Its a nice compact size too.

As for the S320, that keeps soldiering on! Its done a quarter of a million miles now & still is in perfect condition. I see it once a week because it is usually out chauffeuring a lady who has the car 5 days a week for the next 3 years.

Good grief, its 7 o'clock. Surely time for some Persian caviar, followed by Confit du Canard, then a Cohiba cigar?

My 18 year old cat is better genned up on cars than this guy, Palmy.

quote:

Originally posted by Misterp1:
I suppose you have a Enzo in the garage aswell bamford

biggbn my car has high powered disc brakes all round. No widow maker here although I am a playboy any way

Proof that care in the community isn't working.

quote:

Originally posted by Palmira:
I fear you may be right! Ive been in Oli's car, and it is fast!

Was?!

Rotter!

But he'll be back!