First time Triple

[SAM]

The first time a triple took my attention was when good friend Gary turned up on a brand new S1C!
It was so awesome in every way. The bright blue paint, deep chrome 3 pipes & that unique chirpy sound they made.
Thats when i realised my GT250L Suzuki was on borrowed time

[malc87]

The first one I seen was my mate Colly's in the Isle of Man who bought a brand new S1C. It left my CB200, in green, on borrowed time but I traded it in for an RD350

[Olde Coney]

I recall seeing them at Huddersfield Kawasaki a long time ago

The first one I purchased was an H1b bought from Martin (Bizcarts)

[husson73]

was 13 years old and mostly interesting about cars racing.
On may 1969 I bought, as each month, a monthly new paper with half was cars and cars racing and the other half motorcycles and motorcycles racing calling CHAMPION.
On the front cover was Johnny Servoz-Gavin on his Matra 650 spyder during 24 H of Le Mans test on april and the first test of the Kawasaki 500 H1 white with the blue stripe.
The tester Christain Lacombe who did all his carrier on motorcycle newpapers wrote the bike was awesome and performed than any other bike.
Seems fabulous but was humbly waiting to have 14 years old the 2 january 1970 to pick up my mum's moped as she just got her car driving licence and bought for 500 francs (around £ 60) a 1949 black VW Beetle split windows
Don't know at this time that five years latter I will got one a 69 H1

[Wolfie]

Me and local mates were all coming up for an upgrade from the Mopeds, one bought a Honda 125 and promptly wrote both the Bike and another mate off

But we started buying Bike Mag and in there was a 6 Bike 250cc roundup, by far the best looker was the S1c.. I was just coming up for an inheritance and one day on a ride around Wakefield, I stumbled upon a Kawasaki dealership with one... A few (interminable) weeks later it was mine.

[TallyB]

Back in 1971 early 72 saw an S1 and fell in love with triples there and then.

[scouse]

I started quite late I can't remember what year but I was in my 20s,
I was a Yamaha twin man.
I've told the tale before, my mate rang me up all excited " I've just bought Westy's H1 " I replied a what? His exited reply was " say there " I thought, well I wasn't planning on going anywhere.
Next thing I hear this din, I went outside and there he was sat in this bike with 3 pipes burbling away, grinning like absolute idiot, he rode off on one wheel with a trail of 3 lines of smoke
"I like that" I thought and the seed was sown .
The rest as they say is history

[Doctorpayday]

It's Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend in 1974, I'm in mum and dads Ford Cortina 1300 Deluxe and we're on our way to Ringwood in the New Forest.

The traffic is crawling slowly (the M3 isn't finished yet) it's hot and the Cortina isn't happy in the heat.

All the windows are open and dad's squeaky wheel isn't in tune with 'Beach baby ' on the radio.

I'm roused from my boredom, by a procession of bikes filterering, through the endless line of cars.

I peer through the open windows enviously and I couldn't tell you the makes, but the last one was red and had 3 exhaust pipes and sounded like nothing I had ever heard.

It would take me some time to identify the make and model and even longer to finally own one.

If i ever hear a H1 burbellingl past I'm instantly transported back to the time we first met.

Doc

[Zytec]

As a 15 year old kid in Wrexham triples were as rare as hens teeth and even rarer in the few motor bike dealers that we had in the area as we had never ever seen one when me and my mates used to make our Saturday morning pilgrimage around what motorbike shops there were looking to see if anything was different in the stock but there rarely was. The guys at the dealers must have thought here they are again

So this one Saturday we decided we had enough money for the bus fare to Chester as we knew there were far more dealers to look around so we made a list of the ones we knew and there rough location from the yellow pages and off we went. Bill Smiths was the last we visited as it was furthest out of the city and at that time a Kawasaki dealer amongst others, we didn`t know this, when we walked in we saw the usual offerings but as we ventured further inside we saw our first triple a H2 and we all went wow look at that in unison. I think we examined every inch of it and all dreaming of owning one but knowing that it was beyond our reach as we had a couple of years before we could have a licence anyway and the price tag was something a 15 year old thought was a fortune.

We continued to look then we came across a blue S1C which was identical in our eyes to look at as the H2 but smaller and cheaper, still a lot to a kid, but it gave us hope plus it was a learner bike too that made it accessible for when we eventually reached the age to own one. That was the turning point and I vowed that day that I was going to have one for my 17th birthday.

[downpipe3]

Same as Sam same bike my neighbour

[Hobbo]

My first bike was the ubiquitous Fizzy, purchased second hand as soon as I turned 16. Great fun, but as soon as the year was up I traded it in for a RD200, loved this bike, quick and very nimble. Another year and I left home to go to university, no money so I traded the RD for a battered Suzuki 125 trail bike so I could get around.
Back home one of my best mates bought a blue H1a. I remember the first time he rode up our road, a screaming banshee trailing huge plumes of heady smoke. Once I had had a go, I was smitten, but no money meant no bike.
Sadly, Dave who had the H1 traded it in for a Z900, and within the year had died in a tragic accident.
As the years rolled past I never lost my fascination for the triples, but sort of thought there would never be any left, too rusty and too thrashed to last the decades. However, a burst of curiosity brought me to searching the web to see if I could find one, and I did, a knackered old KH400 in Hull. I loved a project, discovered Maxrls bible and set too dismantling and rebuilding the bike. Once complete I absolutely loved riding it.
A year later and the itch for another project niggled so I bought a H1F from an import site. It turned over, but obviously hadn’t run in years. Another complete strip down and rebuild created a lovely looking bike, though I chose to have it painted green, just love that colour.
Riding the two bikes each summer was great fun. However, I’ve always admired the aesthetics of the blue H2, and fancying another project bought a real basket case one. This was in a far worse condition than either of the other two. Badly seized engine, lots of rust and corrosion, but since it was going to be completely stripped and rebuilt I thought wtf. Should have known better, it took ages sourcing the correct parts and the engine was a nightmare. Eventually I managed it and was right proud, it looked great but surged badly.
Then one day a few months later I had a bad accident on it, bike all bent and me with several crushed vertebrae. It took 6 months before I could walk properly again, though now with a bit of a permanent stoop, just old age!
I’ve now, this summer, recommissioned the H2 back into service and am working through a load of minor, but niggly issues. I didn’t love it before, and had decided I would sell it next year if I felt the same, I fancy trying a RD350 project. However, the more I ride it, the more I love it, unsophisticated yes, but a definite buzz, so it looks like it will stay.
I still have the three triples, and every now and then I reminisce about Dave and the first time I saw a H1.
Paul (Hobbo)

[Triple Parts]

That story needs to go in the magazine Paul, especially if you have some pictures

[Zytec]

That story needs to go in the magazine Paul, especially if you have some pictures

I agree, even without the pics it sounds a good story

[skub]

My first encounter with a triple was a white S1. One of the apprentices on my intake was the proud owner. My beat up Suzuki Hustler looked very ordinary by comparison.
Those three pipes,that glorious sound. To say I was envious, would be an understatement.

Around the same time the workforce also contained a lovely,red S2. I used to pretend i was taking time to warm up my bike,but I was really hanging on to hear ithe triple start.

Another friend at work Foxy,had a selection of triples. S1,S2,S3 and a 69 H1. A real diehard.

There was a 72 H1b owned by Sam. I recall it being started one lunchtime and the throttle stuck open. Everyone run for cover except dopey here. I just loved that mechanical mayhem. It was a rough old badger of a bike,yet for me it possessed a special magic.
Sam was too busy ingesting anything while chasing a high to look after his bikes. He bought an immaculate CBX6 and ran over a bin liner,which promptly moulded itself around the engine. It was never cleaned off. He did pokey for robbing a chemist and the last I heard he'd sadly died in a house fire,off his tree as ever.

Grant bought a new H1f,the brown one. We called it the banana. I remember him sending it vertical from a set of lights after work. Dunno if he meant it or not!

The last/first triple i recall was Brian's brand new green H2b. For me that was the proper stuff of dreams. Tales of horror handling on a Scottish trip made the H2 even more alluring!

There weren't really that many triples about in the 70s,so the above selection are all the more remarkable for that.

[malc87]

Another great story Davy. AND another one for the magazine

[husson73]

I also remember the first S2 I ever saw was a finland numbers plate in Margate Kent on july 1971 (was there to learn english and mostly going in a discotheque every night, was 15 years old) with 6000 kilometers on the speedo and low flat bar

[Tilly H2C]

OK, First Kawasaki Triple experience.................

I used to do a lot of swimming in my younger days, walking back from the Chester City baths and past Bill Smiths Motorcycles in Westminster Road on a Sunday morning, this was always a bit of a highlight as he was open until I imagine around dinner time,

I wouldn’t have started my apprenticeship yet (Sept 1971) as I gave up the swimming when as I couldn’t attend the early (before School) training sessions so it must have been early 1971, I remember it being a nice sunny warm day so maybe May?

As we were walking towards Bill Smiths there was a dark red Motorcycle outside with Bill Smith demonstrating the bike to another chap, the bike was a 350 Kawasaki and Bill was giving it quite a few revs ‘demonstrating’ it to this other chap, maybe the first owner? I looked on in wonder with that 'tingling feeling' as the 3 cylinder was revved.

That bike was (still is) ‘imprinted’ in my memory, but in those early years and having to rely on my Motorcycle to get me both to work everyday and 5 weeks of block release to college 20 miles away I went what seemed the safer Honda route.

I did have an early 500 triple that I bought ‘unfinished’ in the 1980’s but really struggled trying to find a pair of forks and eventually sold it, but the ‘imprinting’ of my memory stayed with me and about 10-12 years ago I was chewing the cud with Ade Critten over our MV Agusta’s (that’s how I met Ade) whilst sitting on the PC surfing the net for a Kawasaki, I said to Ade whilst sending him the advert of a 500 at ‘Classic Bikes’ ‘Have you ever fancied one of these’ BOOM, Ade reeled off his history with Kawasaki, bought that 500 from Classic Bikes and eventually I bought the bike that always caught my eye at shows etc, a H2c

It's a nice bike now which I have spent years buying any correct NOS part that appears and also a UK bike which brings with it a lot of painful (expensive) searches as many on here will know, If only we knew in the 70's that hacksawing the rear mudguard shorter for better looks and throwing those metal clad spark plug caps in the bin was probably a bad idea........

[Zytec]

Loved going down to Bill Smiths in Westminster Road when we could, usually most Saturdays.

Ordered and paid my deposit for my new 250 triple in 75 for delivery in 76 ready for my 17th birthday.

In the meantime the S1C was superseded by the KH250, which I wasn't disappointed about, along with Bill Smiths then losing the Kawasaki franchise in between me paying my deposit and the expected delivery.

Thats another story but turned out well

[Tilly H2C]

Loved going down to Bill Smiths in Westminster Road when we could, usually most Saturdays.

Ordered and paid my deposit for my new 250 triple in 75 for delivery in 76 ready for my 17th birthday.

In the meantime the S1C was superseded by the KH250, which I wasn't disappointed about, along with Bill Smiths then losing the Kawasaki franchise in between me paying my deposit and the expected delivery.

Thats another story but turned out well

My best mate at the time was Bill Smiths Nephew, his Mum (Bills sister) used to clean his flat above the shop, we used to go as well and 'borrow' the Honda wing badges with the little nut on the rear, his nephew was one of the Postmasters caught up in the Horizon scandel and sadly took his own life

[Zytec]

Loved going down to Bill Smiths in Westminster Road when we could, usually most Saturdays.

Ordered and paid my deposit for my new 250 triple in 75 for delivery in 76 ready for my 17th birthday.

In the meantime the S1C was superseded by the KH250, which I wasn't disappointed about, along with Bill Smiths then losing the Kawasaki franchise in between me paying my deposit and the expected delivery.

Thats another story but turned out well

My best mate at the time was Bill Smiths Nephew, his Mum (Bills sister) used to clean his flat above the shop, we used to go as well and 'borrow' the Honda wing badges with the little nut on the rear, his nephew was one of the Postmasters caught up in the Horizon scandel and sadly took his own life [/b]

Sorry to hear that

[Wolfie]

I recall seeing them at Huddersfield Kawasaki a long time ago

There was a Huddersfield H2c at the Southern Rally this weekend.

I almost quizzed the owner but to be fair it probly passed through that many hands by now that it lost it's history.

[Olde Coney]

I recall seeing them at Huddersfield Kawasaki a long time ago

There was a Huddersfield H2c at the Southern Rally this weekend.

I almost quizzed the owner but to be fair it probly passed through that many hands by now that it lost it's history.

Cheers Gra, hope you're in the rudest health