Kawasaki Triple Extravaganza! Two Stroke MADNESS!
Twelve cylinders of two stroke madness. Come along for a fast ride on SoCal twisties. Two pairs of legendary Kawasaki triples, H1 500 and H2 750's bring back the world domination of these original 70's Superbikes. Fast riding, details and history in ten minutes of fun!
Special thanks to:
Z1 Parts Inc. z1parts.net/ Oceanside, CA
Triplestuff triplestuff.net/index.html
Curt Jordan Engineering 760-758-6996 Oceanside, CA
Outrider Motorsports www.outridermotorsports.com/
Dave Singleton Crankshafts davestriples.com/contact_us
Cadillac Plating www.cadillacplating.com/
Mid Atlantic Cycle Company www.midatlanticcycle.com/wp/
Jess Bikes jessbikes.com/
Niche Cycle Supply www.nichecycle.com/ncs/
HVC Cycle hvccycle.net/
Crusin' Image www.cruzinimage.net/
VJMC Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club vjmc.org/
Riders: Victor Montijo, Gordon Robinson, Scott Harges
BEST DECADE EVER! WE were Like a Swarm of Angry Mechical Bees! Fond Memories 4EVER! ...😊
Big fun to watch! As an owner of a triple I really enjoy to see other peoples bikes. And no one, I mean no one, ever forget the sight and noise of a screaming Kawa triple!
Just sold my 500 collection . Buddy was speechless .. an he was a collector .
Loved my 72 h2 750 with denco stingers !
Great Bikes
Back in '78, I bought a new diamond sky blue '77 KZ1000 and one of these beasts wanted to go for it. My friend on a red SR650 four watched both of us disappear down the road. I got him pretty good, but he gave me a strong challenge. After only installing a Kerker header and re-jet, I took my bike and ran it in !/4 mile. An H2 with wheelie bar pulled up with chambers and I knew I was in trouble. This time he got me good. Always had a soft spot for the big triple.
That is a nice collection of H1 and H2 bikes. All you need is an S3 or KH400 to round out the set. Always a Yamaha man myself, but I had a buddy with an '73 H1. His H1 was a monster, I could barely keep up with it. I love the exhaust note of the 120 degree triples. Very different from the RD twins. While not period correct, I really like the Kawi racing green paint work. I have seen others with a white base color with Kawi green accent stripes in reverse pattern to your bike. That looks good too. Kawi triples and palm trees in sunny Cali, life is good. Thanks for sharing.😊
Can't beat ringing the nuts off a stroker, miss it so much. Thanks for sharing, cheers.
Ahh the memories, my friend had a 250 or 350? triple that was also so quick!
My 1975 Yamaha RD350B gave those riders of those Kawasakis' heartaches 😅
I want this series back in production! kawasaki pleasssssssse! 🙏🙏
What an excellent and well done video. I'm glad I stumbled upon it!! Thanks for the history lesson and those are some NICE bikes you've got there!!! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
1971 H1A (Red) with contact breakerpoints ignition system was not any slower or less powerful than the earlier CCD ignition models (White and Blue) but if anything lent itself more easily to tailoring the ignition timing if more advance better suited the quality of the fuel being used. Another tweak was to cut about 8 inches from off the three resonators' rear padded baffles. And finally, the fitting of the much larger volume inlet manifold from the H2. Now you insane torque and power! But always ~ front UP!!
Slow down somebody could lose an eye!
Had one like the first one , green and lime green . Loved that bike and it was really fast .
I had a 1972 S2 350 . I broke the frame in two pieces. You could drag the pegs on the ground, wear the bolt out, and off would fly the pegs.😅
In the 70's there was 5 of us that had these machines. My favorite was a '69 500. We were all running Gary Shumach specialist 2 chambers. I believe up in the Hollywood area. Been so long ago. We were all from Lakewood, Longbeach area. Sundays we would rode 405 freeway to Topanga canyon to a gathering point called the rock store ( general store ) . Hundreds of bikes would show up and we would pair off with spotters each end and race the canyon. Talk about vivid memories. Thank you for taking me there again. Be safe always. 😊
Glad you like the video. Thanks for sharing your memories... that's what its all about!
The green with white & black look great. I still miss both my H1's after all this time. Kawasaki had electronic ignition on thier A - series, rotary valve twins, starting in 66. They were the first bikes with electronic ignition - with 2 CDI boxes no less. They make a fairly loud hummig/buzzing sound when you first turn the key on. I still have a 1970 A7SS, as a very long-term project.
Nice job Kirby - Great video!!! That was a super fun day riding the triples! I can't believe you have actual footage of the Tracy-Body bike's seizing!!! My stomach is still not quite the same... I can't tell if it got queasy from feeling what you had to go through, (and saving it - well done!) or from thinking about all the work it's going to be to get that fixed and sorted out. You have such a gorgeous collection, and limitless patience and energy with all your bikes! You are setting the bar high for the rest of us! I rode the other three bikes that day and as you mentioned, that Purple H2 750 was almost magic to ride - wow it must be one of the best running H2's out there! Runs as good as it looks! Thanks again for the fun day and the great video!!!
Great to have you along Victor (he is the west coast rep for Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club) VJMC.org Hope to do it again soon!
"think how rusty the world would have been without 2-strokes"
We're saving the planet one wheelie at a time.
We were always told in the UK not to change the front mudguard because it was shaped to direct more air on the centre cylinder to avoid seizures....I note your tracey has the thin front mudguard...
I've not heard about the fender issue before. A brass plug vibrated out of the center card, causing a lean condition. Hence the seizure. Never seen that happen before. Bored to the 4th final oversize 62mm. Back together and running well!
The 1972 H1 was orange correct? As I remember the 1972 had points didn't it? You have a beautiful collection and I appreciate you sharing them with us.
The 1972 came in orange or green. You're correct that the '72 went back to points ignition and from '73 to CDI. Thanks for watching!
A green 72 H1? @@cramersclassics
Also I have found that the Yamalube and the Honda GN -2 DO NOT foul spark plugs !
Thanks for the post.
Awesome Video!!
Really interesting video. Beautiful bikes. Great footage. Ace. 👍
Great Video! One doesn't see many Tracy Bodies!
Yes, Tracy bodies are rare. May do a fancy paint job on this someday. Thanks for watching! -Kirb
Excellent video as usual! That tracy body is trick on the H1. I could be wrong but I think that green bike (which is stunning) is 1974 model H2B and the Purple 73 has an EX caliper (not a disc) which happens to be the single best brake upgrade you can do. Please do more videos, I love to see California.... my old stomping grounds....
Just checked, you are correct the green H2 750 was built in 1/74. Thanks for watching!
Great video, miss that 73 H2. Glad you still having fun with it.
Thanks Danny! Best running triple ever.
Thanks for your comment on my triple vid, triples in this video are also very nice to see! Especcially the one with the special bodywork! And curious off course how your restoration of the '70 kawa will turn out. Which colour is it gonna be in?
The 1970 Triple H1 is Peacock Grey. Just got the chrome back today. Now just need to start turning wrenches!
@@cramersclassics Nice, wish you good luck, a lot of fun (and maybe some much needed patience) with the restorationprocess! Parts all available/complete?
Have all the parts now... patience seems to be on back-order 🙂 Cheers!
69 was first year as far as i know.
You're correct for retail, they started testing prototypes in '68.
Awesome video the bikes are top shelf, very nice 👍🏼.
Your doing some magnificent work on these bikes. Kawasaki triples are from one of the best times in motorcycling. My first bike after a 50cc was a kh250 in 1978. New subscriber in Britain. Have a great day.😃👍
From a 50 to a 750 Triple was a Neil Armstrong leaps for sure!
@@cramersclassicsKawasaki kh 250. ,😃👍
I had 3 H15 hundreds not so sure on his History of them
Nice bikes you have there and your bike that locked may or may not be because of crank seal issue,need to pressure test to verify that’s the issue. Just slight lean jetting cond esp with chambers & k&n type pods on a triple can easily cause mild seizure. MHad it happen on a 74 h1 I had cruising at 60mph just like in your video. Siezure was in right hand cyl & was very mild with no damage to cyl but piston done had meted flat. I light honed cyl & installed new piston & rings, then corrected lean cond & it ran great. On the h1 ign system,71 H1’s in fact had Elec ign & it was 72 H1’s that had worst issues with the Elec ign going back to points early in the 72 h1 build yr . 1973 H1’s got a new 1 yr only Elec ign that was also a bit of an issue being a 1 yr only ign design. Kawi finally got the Elec ign redesigned properly for 74 thru 75 H1’s & 76 Kh 500’s with that last design being a pretty reliable Elec ign for the 1974 thru 75 H1’s & the last yr 1976 kh 500 triple 2 stroke run in the USA.m On fuel for the h1,s, todays 91-93 octane with ethanol pump fuel will detonate causing damage like you said but there’s a better way to control that. I simply buy the real lead additive that’s the same lead used in pump fuel 40-60yrs ago to increase todays crappy 91-93 pump fuel to 98-100 octane leaded fuel which they run best on. You can buy it from Wild bills corvettes online,i mix either 2.5 oz per gal of 91 & or 93 pump fuel to get approx 98-100 octane fuel depending on which octane lvl pump fuel you start with. I’ve been running my triples in that real lead octane booster for well over 30yrs yrs with great results. I also run the real lead booster in my 69 chevelle ss 396 big block Chevy with great results too. When you do the math buying the pricey real lead booster it still comes out much cheaper per gal the buying race fuel of same octane lvl, This is coming from my 1st hand Exp owning,wrenching riding restoring kaw triples & big fours since the early 70’s. I’m 67yrs hound & currently have 2 74 h1e’s & a 78 kz1000 LTD up & running in good cond registered on the road that I ride often for real enjoyment between riding my big boaty heavy slow cruiser I ride with the wife on the back. Happy motoring. Scott
You're right Scott, a little lean mixture was the problem. One of the brass plugs had fallen out of the center carb causing a lean condition. Just got all 3 cylinders bored to 62mm (4th and final oversize). Leak-down test before disassembly indicates the crank seals are good. Should have it back together this week. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience!
The 1st h1 triple I rode was a 71 that was traded in on a car in my dads car lot and it wasn’t running well easily fouling center plug & would not run decent until you got to half or more throttle position. I pulled the left & then center carb off & pulled the bowl and found the main jet in bottom of the center cyl float bowl. Fixed that and it ran great putting a big smile on my face at only 16yrs old with a newly obtained motorcycle license & a 1967 Yami YDS5E 250 twin 2stroke road bike,the 71 h1 was a true rocket ship from 6k-8k+ rpm! My father would not let me buy it from him but less then a yr later I bought my first triple being a 72H1B in great cond with yes breaker point Ign for the rest of 72 until the new 1yr only cdi ign came out on the new 73h1 slso being a 1yr only troublesome design But Kawi got it right for 74-75h1’s & same for 76kh500 too with those cdi units being pretty reliable. Btw,are you using oem,Wiseco or Woosner for the fresh overbore on your 500? Happy motoring & good luck with your great collection of Kawi triples.
denco was the pipe back then.
The 500 has an LTD fender up front. Not crazy about the Tracey bodywork,its ok I just love the stock look except the headers. Purple 73 is my pick.
Hot Stuff. Oh, nice bikes too. 😂
I love my H1 with expansion chambers ! Sick bike! I use Yamalube 2S and also throw some right in the gas tank better to see some smoke and oil at the chambers. No seizures no bearing problems . You can eliminate alit if the detonation through careful use if the throttle to.
I've been running 100LL Avgas in the older bikes. Seems to work well and prevent pre-ignition (detonation).
Aftermarket pipes and air pod filters make them run quite lean. Scaling back timing, changing the needle clip and adjusting the air screws to a richer setting can also help.
Cool
Another thing they absolutely love is a product called Chevron Techron mixed in the gas . Really livens up this shit gas.. hope you find this helpful.
Hey where’s the twisty’s you speak of? Come to NY we got real twisty’s 🤣
Nice informative video but.....The VM 28 Mikuni carbs are still serviceable with parts not too far from you. SUDCO in San Diego has a lot of genuine Mikuni parts for those carbs and sells them no matter how small the order. Also, Lose the pod filters and inline fuel filters. The pod filters are known performance robbers and the inline fuel filters are not needed if you have the proper petcock fuel filters, (2), redundant. avgas is far better than pump gas for sure but consider Non-ethonol, (if available) with octane booster as an alternate.The rider on the green H2 has no safety gear other than a helmet? The seizure on the red Tracy bike may be due to the left outside seal failure but not likely. Lack of injection lube would be the culprit in most cases.
I agree with most of your thoughts. I just installed new Sudco carb kits in two bikes including the red Tracy Triple. I agree the pod filters are difficult to tune and will go to the 3 into one K&N filter I use on the dark green H1 500. Oil injection tested good, as did the crank seals after leak-down testing. I'm a pilot so I have easy access to alcohol free 100 octane avgas at $6 per gallon. I think the culprit was a small brass plug in the center carb which fell out after many years of vibration, thus leaning the mixture. The seizure was relatively minor, but certainly locked up the engine. It kicked over ten minutes later. Bored to the final oversize, 62mm and I'm testing it now. Thanks for your advise and comments!
@@cramersclassicsI found the Fast by gast Lectron carbs the best.
I managed to get 98 HP out of old 1976 KH-500 H1F. It came stock at 80 HP with a 6-speed gearbox and would stand up in all six. It was faster than my Z-28 Camaro that was turning 10.88 through the 1/4 mile. FYI - The redline was just a guide. The engine would turn way beyond the 12,000 maximum RPM indicated on the tachometer. The needle on the tachometer would to so far into the black that it bounced up and down on the stop pin (at least until it broke). My speedometer went to 140 mph and I broke that cable too after it pegged out.
The 1976 H1 500 had a reduction in horsepower from the previous 60 to 52. The 750 H2 had 74. Cool story bro! 😅
@@humandroid53 Mine wasn't one that had the reduced HP to comply with EPA regulations. It also wasn't a standard version with the 5-speed gearbox. It was custom ordered for racing. It was illegal to import but the guys at the border checkpoint didn't know that, so it was ridden into the US. The major problem I faced was that few parts ordered from the Kawasaki dealer actually fit. After I modified the bike even more parts had to be custom machined or modified.
Affordable, fun and fast We have lost our way with the outrageously expensive , overly complicated machines of today.
Curious where the Delkevic pipes on the H1 place the power band. My KH500 hits at 6000 right now with the stock pipes and no baffles. Just ran across your channel for the first time and subbed.
The Delkevic pipes are surprisingly good at midrange from 6k on. They run well down low too for a triple with pipes. Way better than my green H1 with the black drag pipes, you can't shift it fast enough. Just rebuilt the top end to 62mm (fourth, final oversize). Running 105 mains, 30 pilot, needles on top clip. Z1 parts 3-1 into a single K&N intake. Going to take it over to Curt Jordan's dyno this week for fine tuning. The finish on the Delkevic's is amazing.
@@cramersclassics my KH500 has the 3 into one rubber with the Single K&N in the air box canister with the snorkel missing. Is that the setup you are referring too?
Yes, that's what I running. I think 105 mains are too rich so I'm going to try 100 mains today. What jets are you running?
@@cramersclassics I’m guessing it was jetted by at least three previous owners ago. My buddy that passed away only rode it once because it needed 50 plus kicks to start and had no power (running on two cylinders). The previous owner to him really buggered things up, lots of head shaking on my part. I’ve got it running great now and just made a small fuel screw adjustment that cured my cold start issues and I’m sure will also cure the light throttle misfire. After I test ride her Saturday I’ll pull the carbs (#3 carb is in the middle) and see what jets and all are in it. Need to order some float bowl gaskets. I’ll let you know what jets and settings I’m using then. I’ve no idea if the engine has had any porting or mods to it.
Yes, check everything carefully. My first H1 had one after market needle that was too short. Took me hours to figure it out. I've found sometimes the ignition needs to run for a while to settle out on all 3 cylinders... for no apparent reason. Be sure to check the timing with a light too. Hope it goes well!
I had a 75 H1 500 when I was in the Army. The CDI Ignition always started the bike on one kick even in the coldest Missouri weather. Curious How are you legally riding those two strokes in California? I could have sworn due to emissions laws and the fact that those bike smoke have been outlawed un rideable in So. CAL.
Great story, wish I had one back then. Got my first triple just ten years ago. In CA they only smog cars made after 1975. Thanks for watching!
Pure music
I could hear the red bike had a bad miss in it.that probably did not help it eating a piston
First time I rode my 71 mach3 with a passenger I stood it straight up when it hit 6 grand. Passengers helmet hit the pavement. This happened because the passenger’s weight was directly over the rear axle.
Where you guys ride at?
That green H1 paint scheme is my all time favorite on a bike! 👍
Without a DynoJet run, your horsepower guesses are not true.
Another time I pulled a wheelie , when the front end came down, the top triple clamp broke. That one really hurt
Ouch!
They sounded much better with the standard pipes. Especially the 500. Seems silly that all of these have expansion chambers.
ace
I GOT. A 750 H 2. FOR. SALE IN PUERTO RICO