Topic: Mach III 500

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Sean, I’d never ridden a KZ750 before whereas I’ve ridden a couple of Mach III’s, but I am keen on putting the ‘69 together. It’ll be great to sell off all the later 500 stuff, just to make some room in the garage for bikes I want to keep.

[Stev-o]

Well Holy Jesus Terry, priorities man!  What the hell are ya doing mucking about with that horrible 4 stroke 750 twin when you got 500 2 stroke triples!?

Was thinkin' the same thing, Sean!   

It's time to ride mine, will do it this week, but not today as it's raining.

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah, this one is a slow process as I locate the missing parts for the build. ‘69 parts are hard to find whereas later model parts are everywhere, so to build a “mostly original” bike that’s worth the silly money that the ‘69’s are selling for, I need to grab what I can when I can afford it. The top triple tree had to come from England, a speedo from Germany and I was really lucky to find an original seat for “only” 500 bucks. (Reproduction seats go for about $600 from memory)

Later Mach III’s like mine and Steve’s are much more common so finding parts isn’t such a problem. I only want to restore the ‘69 because it’s more interesting to me than the later bikes, which were probably better than the ‘69, but more common. Once I finish it, I’ll sell all the ‘73 and ‘74 parts, I have a couple of guys here in Oz who’d sell their souls to get hold of them.

[MauiK3]

That 69 will turn many heads. Keep photos coming!

[Terry in Australia]

That 69 will turn many heads. Keep photos coming!

Thanks Steve, and you’ve reminded me to take the bike cover off my Z1-B and sort it out so I can get it registered and on the road. I found a set of engine cases within 300 numbers from my frame number so I’m waiting for the to arrive, then I’ll build another stock engine for it in case I ever decide to sell it. Z1-B’s like mine and SteveO’s are going for over $20K USD in Oz now, which is pretty good, as I don’t have that much in mine, but then again your’72 Z1 is probably worth twice as much.

[Stev-o]

Rolled the H1 out the garage yesterday, aired the tires, check the gas, oil and kicked it over.  About 6 kicks later, she roared to life! Bike is running great, had a good ride...

[Kelly E]

That 69 will turn many heads. Keep photos coming!

Thanks Steve, and you’ve reminded me to take the bike cover off my Z1-B and sort it out so I can get it registered and on the road. I found a set of engine cases within 300 numbers from my frame number so I’m waiting for the to arrive, then I’ll build another stock engine for it in case I ever decide to sell it. Z1-B’s like mine and SteveO’s are going for over $20K USD in Oz now, which is pretty good, as I don’t have that much in mine, but then again your’72 Z1 is probably worth twice as much.

I couldn't sell my 77' KZ 1000 LTD, it's become my favorite bike and the other bikes are jealous.

[Terry in Australia]

That 69 will turn many heads. Keep photos coming!

Thanks Steve, and you’ve reminded me to take the bike cover off my Z1-B and sort it out so I can get it registered and on the road. I found a set of engine cases within 300 numbers from my frame number so I’m waiting for the to arrive, then I’ll build another stock engine for it in case I ever decide to sell it. Z1-B’s like mine and SteveO’s are going for over $20K USD in Oz now, which is pretty good, as I don’t have that much in mine, but then again your’72 Z1 is probably worth twice as much.

I couldn't sell my 77' KZ 1000 LTD, it's become my favorite bike and the other bikes are jealous.

They’re a great bike Kelly, I really need to get mine on the road and scare sports bike riders!

[Tim2005]

Hey Terry, rather than getting new rims have you got your originals & an you get them rechromed? One of the things I have noted while sorting out my H1 is that there are a lot of very fussy originality freaks in the triples world and one of the zillions of things they look for is that the rims have the correct date codes for the bike. It'll all help you sell it eventually...

Mark, I found a schematic of the ignition units at last, see attached. Is it any use?

[Stev-o]

One of the things I have noted while sorting out my H1 is that there are a lot of very fussy originality freaks in the triples world and one of the zillions of things they look for is that the rims have the correct date codes for the bike.

Almost like an "H1 cult" that we are in, isnt it?!  Would like to see a pic of your H1, Tim.

[Tim2005]

Here it is from just a few weeks ago, on it's last run out of the year (so far anyway). It's a nice bike and goes well, lovely engine to ride and pretty decent handling for what it is. #$%*e brakes though.

[scottly]

One of the things I have noted while sorting out my H1 is that there are a lot of very fussy originality freaks in the triples world and one of the zillions of things they look for is that the rims have the correct date codes for the bike.

Almost like an "H1 cult" that we are in, isnt it?!  Would like to see a pic of your H1, Tim.

Are the H1 cultists as picky as the sand-casters? I recall a discussion about the proper tire tube valve stem caps.