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Really Quick Bike

2K views 21 replies 9 participants last post by  Rev 
#1 ·
If you want to see how performance has been re defined, go to
You Tube, type in Kawasaki H2R, sit back , relax, & have a really good chuckle....:D
 
#5 ·
Works H1R.........Flexi frame flyer !! Saw a few of those in action.

The H2R (326 HP) tops out at 357 KPH...

The road going version H2 (219 HP) is still $A33,000 down here.

I had the old white/blue H1 with points ignition. Quite a few video's of this new monster there. Build quality seems to have been lifted a notch or two from the already high standard in the ZX 10R.
 
#10 ·
No, he didn't make it. At the time I had an H1 500 trip. Absolutely crazy fast. Couldn't stop worth a dime, but it was stupid fast. Then I tried his 750 trip. In a second gear roll on, I was a 'frady cat' and never came close to red line. I came back and got off and just shook my head.

S
 
#11 ·
Sounds like the time I went to the dealership to test ride the new 73 Kawasaki 900 Z1. Long story short, after about a 20 minute test ride, rode back into the dealership and the salesman asked "So would you like to buy one." I said "No way, I'd be dead before the weekend was over if I did." Way more than kid my age had respect for. I was probably smart to walk away from it at that time. I have lifelong scars from the 75 H1 that I crashed and totaled directly related to the crap frame and a massive tank slapper going into jump. I spent a lot of time in the air after bouncing off the ground about 3 times in that 200' after leaving the bike. That night is a long story for another time.
 
#12 ·
I traded my first '71 Bonneville in for a brand new '75 KH500... The last iteration of the two-stroke triple. While it had been 'sanitised' over the years it was still a stupidly fast bike and it handled like a camel with three legs. Not the best trade I ever made and I didn't keep it too long. Got barely 20 miles to an imperial gallon, even on a good day.

 
#13 ·
By today's standards the acceleration of the 70's Kawasaki H bikes is just average...And the top speeds are low..
Back then they were bullets... back then I thought my 650 Triumph was a bullet...
 
#14 ·
Pharisee: I got a speedo 118mph out of mine then........:kaboom:D :D

It ran onto reserve and leaned out, partially seizing the driveside piston. Easy cheap fix though.

On the way home from Bathurst about 69/70 I got 19mpg between Albury & Wangaratta :) I was poking along a bit at the time though :ride

I loved that bike & nothing could get near it. Handled like a bag of wheat but I learned to ride around the issue :(
 
#16 ·
Ahhh the old Z1, one of the very few bikes I ever bought new. ($1845)
& I got $1300 trade in on my CB 750 K2.

Never had any regrets with that one. Still have the brochure the dealer handed me when I picked it up. It had the goods on the 750 H2 triple & everything else in between. Never had any emotional attachment to bikes then, they always had to make way for the next big thing, and the Z1 went to make way for a CBX, then that went for a Kawasaki 750 turbo. (giant killer set up right) :)

But an absolute slug compared with today's missiles.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I'd describe the Z-1 the same as I describe my XR, "You have 2 choices when riding this on the streets, Hospitals or jail." :)
The dealer of the Z1 told me it had been geared for drag racing and the speedo would be incorrect. I went down the street and pulled over to the right shoulder facing a freeway on ramp on the left. When traffic cleared I dropped a drag race start and set the front wheel down after shifting into 3rd and exited the on ramp at over 120mph. None of my friends ever thought I would live to see 21. If I had bought that bike they may well have been correct. I'm now 62 and will probably outlive them all.
 
#18 ·
When I got my Z1 40 odd years ago, people I knew & particularly work mates, tended to call me "The Temporary Australian" with a paternalistic smile, as they did to most bikers back then.

Well, I'm now 67, still here ( touch wood) while most of those smart arses have croaked out :rofl

The only thing I didn't like about the Z1 was the black engine finish which I found hard to keep pristine. When I advertised it I could have sold it a dozen times.
 
#20 ·
Rich 2: That thing is pristine, a credit to you, they are commanding top money now as well. My buddy & I with our early H1's always went everywhere with a pocket full of spark plugs :(
 
#22 ·
Well RicH2, my H1 had to go to make room for the next rung up the ladder (CB750). Nowadays they go from 250 to 1000cc 200MPH megabikes in the blink of an eye.:frown2:

I traded it at around 25000 miles as it seemed to be getting a bit more rattlier than usual :surprise:
 
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