Okay, so I mentioned that my mate Dion and I have been horse trading bikes and parts for a couple of years now. Recently he contacted me to see if I'd swap a running CB750 for a Kawasaki Mach III? Well I've always been interested in them, rode one back in the 80's and thought it was probably more impressive than a CB450, but the prices of these things have gone into the stratosphere.
CB750's are probably the most common classic Japanese bikes here, but you rarely see nice 2 stroke road bikes, so I thought a Mach III would make a great stable mate for my older bikes. Obviously I wouldn't offer up my K0, and Dion wanted a K, not an F, so I couldn't offer him the F2, so I decided that the K2 Bitsa would have to be the one. Dion liked it, but wanted it with as many OEM parts as possible, regardless of condition. That actually suited me, because I can always use the Henry Abe wheels, Koni shocks, oil cooler, finned sidecovers, oil pressure gauge, Marschall "Cats Eye" headlight, etc, and I needed to remove the K1 gauges and handlebar clamps to put on my K1, so swapped all that stuff out, and whatever K2 parts I had, I swapped in.
Bill asked me to do a "before and after" walkaround, so here's a couple of vids.
It might not look like I'd done that much, but that was 9 hours work in 75 degree weather in my driveway, and I was absolutely shattered. While trying to load it into my little truck I managed to spin the back wheel all the way up the ramp, overbalancing the bike onto it's left side, but somehow I got it onto the truck with no damage. I found 3 OEM exhaust pipes, and loaded all of the extras into the truck before it got dark around 8pm.
Next morning I jumped in the truck to drive the 200 miles to Dion's place.
MACH III Sunday 19 Feb 2023 3 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
Dion is currently recovering from a bike crash, a Kangaroo plowed into him when he was riding his dirt bike near his property in the bush. He was unconscious when some workers found him laying in the middle of the road, and called an ambulance. He had multiple broken ribs, bleeding on the lungs etc. He didn't look too good when I saw him, but he was really excited about getting his first CB750. He helped me unload the truck as best as he could only a month after the crash, and helped load the Mach III roller, the spare frame, engines (in pieces) exhausts (2 sets) and pretty much enough parts to build 2 complete bikes.
I said goodbye, jumped back into the truck, and headed for home. The little truck went flawelessly, and I drove the wheels off it, only stopping for fuel halfway home. I had to stop for a break and a walk around, it was really hot (86 deg F) in the truck with no aircon, so I drank a pint of one of those sports drinks in 5 minutes flat.
MACH III Sunday 19 Feb 2023 5 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
I got home and was too tired to unload it, so just dragged myself inside and had a shower before falling asleep in my chair. All up it was a very busy weekend, but I do love a new project, so I've already ordered some parts. Tomorrow I'll unload it all (was my 41st wedding anniversary today so just got home after a day out with the wife) and work out which engine goes with which frame, and that'll help me decide which bike to restore, and which one to sell to finance the build. Should be fun.
MACH III Sunday 19 Feb 2023 6 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr