Topic: Terry's Kawasaki Mach III 500 build. Let the smoke begin.....

[Terry in Australia]

Hey thanks Trevor, much appreciated! I’m not collecting the bike until the Easter long weekend, but I’ll hopefully be able to post some pics this weekend when Dion gets home and sends them to me. I don’t mind the wait as he needs to lace up both wheels anyway.

[grcamna2]

Well the parts for the build are slowly rolling in, a new pair of fork tubes arrived from England yesterday. Look to be very good quality, and I was impressed with how quick they arrived considering how slow international shipping is. I think there’s a set of fork seals in one of the tubs of parts Dion gave me, so as soon as the top plugs arrive from CI I’ll rebuild them and polish the alloy lowers. It’ll be nice to have a rolling chassis to plonk the engine into, eventually.

I would like to see an H1 set-up for precise handling under power;would be nice to do with a stock frame?

[Terry in Australia]

Ha ha, from everything I’ve ever heard about H1’s (all variants) “Precise Handling” and “H1” are usually not applied in the same sentence. I’m happy to be shouted down as I’m only a H1 noob (or maybe a “pre-noob” as I don’t have one I can even ride at this stage) but the term “Widow Maker” was coined specifically for the H1, so I’m not expecting Ducati-esque handling….

[grcamna2]

Ha ha, from everything I’ve ever heard about H1’s (all variants) “Precise Handling” and “H1” are usually not applied in the same sentence. I’m happy to be shouted down as I’m only a H1 noob (or maybe a “pre-noob” as I don’t have one I can even ride at this stage) but the term “Widow Maker” was coined specifically for the H1, so I’m not expecting Ducati-esque handling….

Well yeah  , that's what I'm saying. 
They were never precise handlers,but after a half century someone may have found ways to improve that;Terry,would that be one of your goals,to improve the handling ??

[Trevor from Warragul]

All this talk of H1's got me itching for another ride! I also took a photo (from the bike's best angle) just for Terry!

“Precise Handling” and “H1” are usually not applied in the same sentence

Mine handles okay. The big limiting factor is the exhaust pipes, when you get a bit exuberant, they scrape, and the bike starts to pogo. This is why I have multiple bikes, if I want good handling, I'll ride my Ducati Monster 750 or Morini 3 1/2 Sport.

[grcamna2]

All this talk of H1's got me itching for another ride! I also took a photo (from the bike's best angle) just for Terry!

“Precise Handling” and “H1” are usually not applied in the same sentence

Mine handles okay. The big limiting factor is the exhaust pipes, when you get a bit exuberant, they scrape, and the bike starts to pogo. This is why I have multiple bikes, if I want good handling, I'll ride my Ducati Monster 750 or Morini 3 1/2 Sport.

Excellent view 
Have you ever ridden one that's had performance suspension work done to it ?

[Terry in Australia]

All this talk of H1's got me itching for another ride! I also took a photo (from the bike's best angle) just for Terry!

“Precise Handling” and “H1” are usually not applied in the same sentence

Mine handles okay. The big limiting factor is the exhaust pipes, when you get a bit exuberant, they scrape, and the bike starts to pogo. This is why I have multiple bikes, if I want good handling, I'll ride my Ducati Monster 750 or Morini 3 1/2 Sport.

That looks magnificent Trevor, and when I finally get my T500 on the road and over to your side of town, it’s probably the only angle I’ll see your bike from. You just reminded me that I need to take my Ducati for a ride, although I might wait until after the back surgery…..

[Trevor from Warragul]

Have you ever ridden one that's had performance suspension work done to it ?

Nope. It would really be flogging a dead horse. I like the projects where people put a triple motor in a more modern chassis, that's what I would do if I was loaded! I'd also like a Harris CBX...

[Terry in Australia]

I met a guy in Sydney back in 1981 who had a Moto Martin CBX, that was a beautiful thing.

[Trevor from Warragul]

I met a guy in Sydney back in 1981 who had a Moto Martin CBX, that was a beautiful thing.

Yep, they sure are, plus the running gear is excellent.  The CBX motor is sublime, whereas the rest of the bike is sub-par.  I definitely don't look at my CBX through rose tinted glasses, it's many faults are only just edged out by that engine.

[Terry in Australia]

I had a school friend whose father was German and had a pretty poor grasp of English. His father doted on him and he was the first kid in town with a shiny XR75. A few years later he’d somehow conned the old man into buying him a shiny new CB750, when he was only 13! I joined the army in 1977, and lost contact with him, but my cousin told me that Mick was the first kid in town to get a CBX, at the ripe old age of 19. Lucky bugger.

[Tintop]

The only chassis upgrade that works is to replace it!  Denis @ CMR use to make a frame, & likely Byron can still make 1.

[C317414]

As a young lad in the early 70s, I loved visiting a neighbor's garage and admiring his motorcycle collection.  One of his bikes was a Monotrack Kawasaki H1 similar to this one:

https://www.bonhams.com/auction/25100/lot/185/1970-monotrack-kawasaki-500-h1a-mach-iii-frame-no-kaf21381-engine-no-kae19904/

He also had a Münch Mammut, a Bultaco Metralla, and a couple of Bultaco dirt bikes.

[Stev-o]

...the term “Widow Maker” was coined specifically for the H1...

There is much debate on this, but the term was actually for the H2.

"In the hands of an experienced rider, the Mach IV was the fastest production bike in the world, but with someone less skilled on board, it was an accident waiting to happen. It earned its nickname 'the widow maker' all too often."

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/news/archive/history-of-kawasaki-h2

All this talk about smoke is making me itch about getting out on my H1 but it is raining today.
The H1 is a blast to ride and I dont think much about handling or safety when riding it, but the H2 is another story, that bike is very fast and can get you in trouble rather quickly!

Trevor - your H1 looks magnificent.

[ekpent]

Here's one that handles nice !  Sold for $38,900 in 2019  https://www.mecum.com/lots/LV0119-348651/1970-kawasaki-h1r-road-racer/

[MauiK3]

I went to Daytona Bike Week in 1970 (yes, I'm old). I saw a Munch there, very strange bike but cool.
We slept in tiny tents in the rain, I was young enough to think it was fun.

[grcamna2]

As a young lad in the early 70s, I loved visiting a neighbor's garage and admiring his motorcycle collection.  One of his bikes was a Monotrack Kawasaki H1 similar to this one:

https://www.bonhams.com/auction/25100/lot/185/1970-monotrack-kawasaki-500-h1a-mach-iii-frame-no-kaf21381-engine-no-kae19904/

He also had a Münch Mammut, a Bultaco Metralla, and a couple of Bultaco dirt bikes.

I'm 'Digging it' !!  after seeing that Monotrack,which must have handled sweet and made some nice music along the way !
I imagine it would have been running neck & neck with the RD350's in the corners 'back in the day',until they both hit the straightaway.. 

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah I’m not too worried about their reputation for poor handling either, as I’ll rarely be riding it at 10/10th’s and considering what people are paying for good original H1’s nowadays it’d be silly to modify the frame for handling that I probably don’t need.

When I eventually get back into my 1428cc KZ 1000 project I’ll weld in the frame brace kit that I bought for it because it had been chopped up by the previous owner and I had to weld the various frame sections back in anyway, but looking ahead to my retirement I know that I’ll need to thin the herd, and one or two of my H1’s will have to go.

[MauiK3]

Thin the herd, news to me!
😀
I really like the look of the H1, looking forward to seeing this one run!

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Steve, so am I! I need to find a bottom triple clamp and left sidecover next, (I’ll ask Keith Davis to locate them for me) and I’ll buy a replacement seat and blinkers from Z1 spares, and hopefully Dion will have everything else. Thinning the herd has to happen, 25(+) bikes are far too many to maintain once I’m retired, and anyway the money I make from selling them will finance my intended world travel plans post 2025.

[MauiK3]

World travel!
If you happen to pass through Maui be sure to contact me.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Steve, I will definitely take a side trip to Hawaii, I love watching all of those “Foodie” videos and the burgers etc in Hawaii look magnificent! I can’t eat fish so that’s off the menu sadly, but everything else is fine with me, so once I’m a free man, you can expect a visit. With luck you’ll have your Z1 finished by then so I can check it out.

[Terry in Australia]

Well Dion sent me the pics of the 1969 H1, so I thought I'd post a couple here while I wait until next weekend, when we're doing the swap.

H1 f by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

H1 s by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Dion realised that he'd stuffed up and had the wrong frame powder coated, so the 1969 engine is sitting in a 1970 frame. After some wheeling and dealing, we agreed that he'd give me both frames, and the matching 1970 engine cases and lots of other 1970 parts, so with one hell of a stretch of the imagination, I technically now almost own a 1969, 1970, 1973 and 1974 H1, or at least, lots of parts, thereof.

And there are lots of nicely vapor blasted parts:

H1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

H1 n by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Anyway, I'll post more pics when it eventually happens, on Sunday. I'll probably start another thread, so as not to confuse either of us. Keith Davis' box of rare unobtainium H1-D parts arrived today, along with a nicely bound copy of the factory workshop manual, and the parts manual, so I can work out what goes where when I reassemble it. I got so excited I loaded the '73 frame into my car to get it blasted, before I paint it. It's starting to happen, I think.

Wheels and parts 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[PeWe]

Wow! Fantastic!
You will call yourself Kawa-Terry now?

Very special tank with Kawasaki displayed so no one will miss it

Windy.com will soon show extra smoke over southern Australia!
Filter on 2-stroke smoke or similar

Policemen will be puzzled about sudden disappearing bikes.
Lost as an UFO in a fat cloud in supersonic speed. At least sound.

[grcamna2]

I'll be thinking of Terry as 'Smokey'