1969 Kawasaki 500 H1 Mach III

Country: Japan
Engine: Air-cooled, 3-cylinder two-stroke
Ignition:  Capacitor discharge ignition (CDI)
Power Rating: 60bhp @7,500rpm
Bore x Stroke: 60 x 59mm
Displacement: 499cc
Valves:  None
Fuel System:  Three 28mm Mikuni carburetors
Transmission: 5-speed
Suspension: Front telescopic forks, rear twin shocks
Brakes: Front and rear drum
Weight: 383lbs.
Top Speed: 120mph

When Kawasaki introduced the 500 H1 triple in 1969, it surprised everyone with its performance and price. For burn outs, wheelies and quarter mile times equal to or better than many 750cc machines, the H1 was "a lot of bang for the buck." At $995 buyers overlooked the high gas consumption, smokey exhaust and dubious handling. The two-stroke triple had arrived!

Editor's note: Dave Gurry’s review of owning and riding a 1972 Kawasaki H2 Mach IV   generated some good comments including the following from reader Peter Hickman. Peter spared no cost in completely restoring his 1974 Kawasaki H2 Mach IV. We asked him to tell us more about the project and he responded with the following:   

I purchased the Kawasaki from a person in Wisconsin and did the restoration. I am a certified aircraft mechanic, which I think was very helpful in the resto. I stripped the bike piece by piece, cleaned, zip-locked and tagged all salvageable parts and bid for the rest of the NOS parts from all over the world on eBay.

All the black parts were powder-coated with either gloss or satin finishes by a firm in New Hampshire and all the chrome was sent to another firm in Tennesse. The paint was done in Canada by Brad at BK Custom Coatings. The paint works hand-in-hand with the decals I bought from Reproduction Decals. I installed a thin clear 3M headlight protector to the rear lower portion of the fuel tank to keep the paint from being rubbed of when closing the seat. The expansion chambers were hand-built by David Higgs of Higgspeed located in England (he has my bike displayed on his website under the H-Series Link).

I have changed certain things on the bike to modernize it including: 
• Lower forks were powdercoated with black satin. 
• Oil dipstick was powdercoated with black gloss. 
• Seat side rail and back bar were powdercoated with black gloss. 
• Rear engine mounts were powdercoated with black gloss. 
• Rear inner drum was powdercoated with black satin. All these changes were made to eliminate the old all metal look and make the bike more attractive and modern.

I also added a right hand front brake which involved the machining of a left stock caliper and hand-bending a new brake line to wrap around the fork. The rest of the brake lines were custom made in Ohio by Speigler and the disks were drilled with 70 holes per disk out in Oregon. The rear threaded brake rod adjuster was fitted with a carb vacuum boot (those threads at the end of the rod always looked unfinished to me). I rebuilt the engine myself with five over pistons and Damon Kirkland, "The Crank God," down in Alabama, rebuilt the crankshaft.

This was the first bike I have restored. I used to own one of these in high school back in ’74 and always loved it! This bike took the first place trophy in the one and only bike show I have been to.

View more photos of Peter's restoration 

Bike: 1972 Kawasaki H2 Mach IV
Owner: Dave Gurry
Hometown: Langley, BC
Occupation: Glass store manager
Bio: To the uninformed outsider, Dave Gurry might seem to be a fanatic. But to those who understand the lure of motorcycles, he’s simply a passionate collector with a vision. Dave keeps a mental list of the bikes he considers the most significant of those produced in the last 40 years or so, and has set out to acquire an example of each. His collection now includes a Honda CBX, Honda VFR750R and Honda CB400 Four, a highly tuned Norton Commando Roadster, a BMW R100GS Paris-Dakar and a 1972 Kawasaki H2 Mach IV, among others. Why did he want to own and restore an H2? “In 1972, it was THE performance bike,” says Dave. “Just the sound and feel of a big two-stroke accelerating ... ”

So determined was Dave to own and restore one that he started collecting parts for it five years before he found the bike. His patience paid off when he discovered a shabby but mostly together H2 in 1995. With used parts collected from as far away as Europe, he completed the restoration at a budget price. “I probably have around $3,000 into it,” he says.

Etc.: Dave Gurry admits the steering of his first-year 1972 H2 isn’t all it could be, in spite of the Kawi having two steering dampers, one friction-type and one hydraulic. “If I turn the handlebars at about 40mph,” he says, “I can see the frame bending at the front of the gas tank. The handling is wickedly poor. In a straight line it’s okay, but in corners it flexes a lot.”

Dave points out a couple of other H2 curiosities to me. Under the seat is a small plunger that squirts oil on the final drive chain — as though the mist from the exhaust wasn’t enough! And the gearshift is another Seventies oddity. Instead of neutral being between first and second gear, it’s below first. So shifting from neutral to first requires lifting the pedal, then the same for first to second, and so on. And neutral comes after first as you downshift. It takes some getting used to, says Dave, especially mixed with a Norton Commando and later Japanese bikes.

New parts for H2s are either unobtainable or hideously expensive. Take exhausts, for example. Dave chose to use the pipes that came with his bike, even though the fastidious would quickly spot a small dent. New 3-into-3 pipes cost $800 U.S. each! Another problem part is the Mitsubishi CD ignition system. They’re simply not available new, and finding used ones that work is almost impossible. Dave has yet to track down a correct rear fender (the one fitted is too short), rear reflectors and some aluminum trim, though he has recently acquired a “new old stock” seat. The handlebars are also lower than stock. In spite of this, the Kawi won first in its class at the Seattle Vintage Motorcycle Enthusiasts show on Vashon Island in 2001.

Outrageous in every way, Dave’s restored bike is just as antisocial now as it was in 1972.

Read more about the motorcycles mentioned in this article:  
• 1972 Kawasaki H2 Mach IV
• 1981 Honda CBX
• 1976 Honda CB400 Four 
• BMW R100GS 

Around here we like café racers, restored bikes, original bikes, customs, bobbers and sometimes even bikes that don't fit nicely into any one category — like this 1977 Kawasaki KZ1000.

We're guessing it was a nice, stock KZ many years ago, before someone decided to add the Mikuni carbs, the Vance & Hines four-into-one exhaust (which is probably painfully loud for the street, unless it's got a serious baffle hiding inside of it), the extended swingarm and more. It's also been lowered (for that "bad boy look," it says) and it's missing its gauges, but it could be yours for a "Buy It Now" price of just $2,250, according to the auction. We can't decide if we love it or hate it, or even which modifications we'd keep and which we'd replace if it lived in our garage, but we can tell you it looks like fun.

Interested? Check out the auction for this Kawasaki here. 

This week's eBay find is a 1976 Kawasaki KZ900 LTD, a one-year-only version of the KZ900. According to The Standard Catalog of Japanese Motorcycles, the LTD was more of a cruiser than the standard KZ900, and it featured a Jardine four-into-two exhaust, speacial paint and a  more deeply countoured seat. It also had  a second disc brake on the front, and the brake calipers were mounted behind the lower fork legs instead of in front as they were on the standard KZ900. The frame also received additional reinforcing, which aided in handling.

According to the auction listing, the bike was restored at a little over 19,000 miles and has had just 600 put on it since restoration. The engine was totally rebuilt and over-bored to a 1036cc from a 1015cc block using a new piston kit purchased in Australia. The frame, swingarm, brackets and any metal body frame part that was originally black were stripped and professionally black powder coated. It also features a Vance & Hines 4-into-1 exhaust.

For more info on this beautiful KZ900, go here. 

To see specs and info for the KZ900 from our Classic Bike Database, go here. 

Kawasaki has made a wide variety of motorcycles over the years. Last week we featured a 1973 Kawasaki H2 750, a fun (if slightly impractical) bike we've always loved. So, another week and another Kawasaki, but this time one that's just as happy carving canyons as it is carrying groceries on its handy luggage rack — a 1981 Kawasaki GPz550.

We've always respected Kawi's lovable line of GPzs, from the approachable 550 to the powerful 1100. Editor Backus is the proud and happy owner of a 1982 GPz750 (even if it happens to be apart this winter while it receives a new set of rings) and it's a bike that helped him remember how fun and good Eighties Japanes four-cylinder can be.

The GPz550 was recipient of many accolades when it debuted back in 1981, as reviewers found the bike to work well on twisty roads and longer hauls, thanks to comfortable ergonomics, 51mpg highway fuel consumption, a 3.8 gallon tank and a reasonably wid and supportive seat. To read more, go here to read our article on the Kawasaki GPz550 from the November/December 2005 issue of Motorcycle Classics.

According to the seller, this bike is in fine fettle and is 99 percent original, with the only modifications being aftermarket loud horns and a Dyno-Jet Stage 1 jet kit with cone air filters. With just over 7,000 miles, this bike has seen just three owners, has new tires, a newly-sealed fuel tank, and runs and rides great.

Go here to visit the auction for this sweet little GPz, and remember, this is a practical motorcycle. At least that's what I plan to tell my wife when I try to explain to her why I need it. -- Landon Hall

Got the urge for something different? We've always been big fans of Kawasaki's two-stroke triples, and the smaller 400cc S3 is one of the more unusual of the bunch. We had the chance to spend a couple of weeks riding one last year, and found the bike to be a great little two-stroke piece of the past that's fun to ride today. Check out our review of a 1975 Kawasaki S3 here.

The S3 for sale appears to be in quite nice condition and shows just less than 8,000 miles. Though it sounds like it's in need of a little care and tuning, this will surely make a great little ride for the two-stroke streetbike fan.

See the auction here.