Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

seiko1 wrote:....Year of Christmas not specified .....

hahahahahah eventually someone was going to pick that up.......it hasn't been specified now since 1982 !!!!

Although it has run, quite well mind you, a couple of times before Xmas since then....once in 1987, just after Xmas.....

and once in 1994 - just after Xmas, yet again !!!!

Some more photos, these ones will make it real easy.....

ring a ding ringading

widow maker

Sulli wrote:widow maker

close.....

(the Widowmaker was the original Mach III 500 from 1968)

Geez coming along nicely Gos .

Gosling1 wrote:

Sulli wrote:widow maker

close.....

(the Widowmaker was the original Mach III 500 from 1968)

I thought it was the 750 tripple that was called that for killing so many Kiwis?

According to urban myth - yes, a lot of Kiwi's died from the first release of the H1 - the 500.

Apparently, from the first shipment of H1's to hit NZ, 9 riders died within the first couple of weeks - I have NFI how accurate this story is, but this is where the *Widowmaker* tag came from. The very first H1 weighed jack-shit compared to the big-arse pommie twins of the time, it had acceleration like nothing else, it also had really shit brakes and handled very poorly. These last 2 problems caused all the issues...

the first 750 was not released until 1972 - 3 years after the release of the first H1 back in 1969. It was during this 3-year period that the 'Widowmaker' tag was attached to the Mach III (500) - although over the years, it has been applied to the 750 as well......the 750 was also known as the Mach IV.

Back in 1972, the US magazine Cycle put all the top of the range 'superbikes' of the time against each other in a series of tests..... I have that actual issue, it makes for fascinating reading, especially when you look at the other 'superbikes' of the time !!!

The 750 H2 shat on everything. It was the worlds fastest production motorcycle, even quicker than its big brother, the just-released Z1 !!

The H2 ran the quarter mile at 12.2 seconds, hitting a top-speed of 177kmh (about 110mph) - top speed was around 125mph ( a tad over 200kmh). A H2 won the 1972 Castrol 6-Hour race at Amaroo Park, ridden by Mike Steele and Dave Burgess.

I am sure these old photos may have been put up in the past, but fuck it, here they are again !!! This is my H2, back in 1982, when I was 19 years old. This bike scared the absolute shit out of me on the few occasions I rode it - it accelerated quicker than anything else I had ridden up to that point - and I think it was quicker off the mark than the Black Pearl, when that bike was almost brand-new !!!!








Can't wait to see how much power this old girl has after all these years.......may even take a set of 34mm Mikuni's up the track just for shits and giggles in the last session !!!!

Cut cat out of the bag ....awesome reply Dave, I confused the 500 with the 750 so I was right in my guess initially considering my confusion? still that is a totally awesome bike mate to have in the 4th and would love to whore it with you, as if haha, not many bikes scare me, although if there was one this would be it, albeit the "urban myth" of dead kiwi's...and I heard 11. and they got the first release?
2smoke power is different to all else IMO, to be treasured and almost forgotten these days

Love the smell of 2 stroke in the morning

You know waaaaaaaaaaaaay to much Gos

Gosling1 wrote:This is my H2, back in 1982, when I was 19 years old.

You were 19???

aardvark wrote:

Gosling1 wrote:This is my H2, back in 1982, when I was 19 years old.

You were 19???

I was 17 then but Gos has never been 19
He was created at the age he is now from OLD Kawasaki parts with Bourbon for Blood

Hah, i remembered something about a H2 & pics of various body/engine bits hanging up in the background of the picture gos sent to me when helping me find a new pair of shocks for the gsx.

I have had a couple of excting days digging around the 4th, looking for boxes of H2 bits........found some stuff I had forgotten all about.........will post up some pictures later.....

Some basic specs about the H2....

Stock HP was 74. This was achieved with 30mm carbs, restrictive pipes and really mild port timing. Max hp developed around 6,800 rpm.

Daytona models - eg the Denco King Cobra - were good for about 120hp, with 34mm carbs, Denco pipes and improved port timing. Standard cranks had the crank-pins welded, used higher speed-rated crank bearings, and were re-built frequently to maintain reliability. This model was built using a stock H2 as the base model. Max hp developed between 10,000 and 12,0000 rpm

H2R - The basic production model H2R's were good for about 130hp. The early air-cooled models built by Neville Doyle for the TKA bikes back in the early 70's, used stock H2 barrels , which were worked heavily for port timing. 35mm Mikuni's, and factory chambers. Even in 1975, when the overseas teams ordered a H2R barrel from the factory - they would receive a stock H2 barrel ! Apparently the factory figured if that was all that TKA and Neville Doyle required, then these were good enough for everyone else !!! - max hp developed around 10,500 rpm. Top speed of the '75 model H2R was about 185mph....

140-odd hp is about the highest achievable power figure with the old air-cooled motor, mega-porting, 38mm Mikuni's on methanol, fully-welded cranks, fat spannies etc etc. The water-cooled KR750's were not actually that much more powerful than the H2R's, but had better reliability and more power for longer during a race, due to the water-cooling.

Here is a picture of your average commuter in 1972, heading down to the shops for a packet of Winnie Blues !! Every ride on a H2 was like this ......

nice!!!

Got any pics of the middle barrel starting to lock up ??