Kawasaki Triples Club

I enjoyed reading that Jeff

May 1975 new S1c HOR 814N from Bob Gollner Kawasaki in Denmead Hants. I think it cost around £520... wish I still had it!

I bought this from king Krunch motorcycle breakers in Atherstone (warwickshire). Took me 2 years working at Fort Dunlop in the industrial shutdown in the school holidays to get the money together for the bike, and then year 2 to get the money together for the parts. Then i hunkered down and rebuilt it. First ride on a triple was on that, i thought it was an utter rocket ship. You know how some triple motors are just clean revving and sing their hearts out....this fella still does.

Rubbadub wrote:

May09s1c7.jpg

I bought this from king Krunch motorcycle breakers in Atherstone (warwickshire). Took me 2 years working at Fort Dunlop in the industrial shutdown in the school holidays to get the money together for the bike, and then year 2 to get the money together for the parts. Then i hunkered down and rebuilt it. First ride on a triple was on that, i thought it was an utter rocket ship. You know how some triple motors are just clean revving and sing their hearts out....this fella still does.

Glad you kept hold of it with history like that! Very nice

First triple I rode was the one I bought in 1987 (I was a bit of a late developer when it came to triples!).

It was an H1E, bought for about £500 from a shop in Caterham. Ran like a dog and only just limped home. Piston in backwards (!!), home made electronic ignition boxes, totally stuffed jetting, expansion chambers that completely messed up the power band. You name it......

It's the best way to learn. A few years later I took it to the North Weald Classic bike sprint and ran a mid 13s quarter. I didn't think that was much good at the time (I was running a yoshi Rickman Z900 normally) but I've subsequently realised that it was pretty respectable. Finally sold it in the late 1990s

Before and after pics attached. It did eventually get some indicators but it never lost the chrome side panels. Once sorted it was totally reliable despite regular abuse.

Pops

Bought an S3a sometime around 1976, sold it after a big off. Used to comute from kent to London on it, bloody thing kept coking up every week. Thank goodness for modern 2 stroke oil !!! Now got an S3, touch wood no real problem since restoring it apart from sticky clutch.

Hia bought Christmas 1970 registered March 3rd 1971 still own it.
I believe the first H1 sold in Wales at the time.

HID, bought in 1987, still got it.

stevie747 wrote:

Great photo. If only the bikes could be restored as easily as the pics. What front mudguard was that Steve, Z?

Yep, Z1 along with the mirrors and some Fiamm airhorns

Z1 black mirrors were very popular on the 70s, had one on my first H2A

husson73 wrote:Z1 black mirrors were very popular on the 70s, had one on my first H2A

Yeah, I put some on my H2C because I thought they looked cooler too - then threw them away pretty quickly though as they vibrated to hell, and put the standard ones straight back on.

Hal wrote:

husson73 wrote:Z1 black mirrors were very popular on the 70s, had one on my first H2A

Yeah, I put some on my H2C because I thought they looked cooler too - then threw them away pretty quickly though as they vibrated to hell, and put the standard ones straight back on.

funny mine doesn't vib and for the first time I saw what was behind me

husson73 wrote:

Hal wrote:

husson73 wrote:Z1 black mirrors were very popular on the 70s, had one on my first H2A

Yeah, I put some on my H2C because I thought they looked cooler too - then threw them away pretty quickly though as they vibrated to hell, and put the standard ones straight back on.

funny mine doesn't vib and for the first time I saw what was behind me

Mine don't either. Still have them on the H2C and the Kawacati. H1D will have them as well.

My bars were solid mounted to the fork legs so I suppose in hind sight, that must have been the reason.

Tend to find that original H2 bars had lead weights in them , which stop vibrations blurring mirrors.
And that o.e.m. Black mirrors don't tend to blur as much as the readily available cheaper pattern ones.

Unweighted bars with pattern mirrors,....BLURRRRRRRRRR

Hal wrote:My bars were solid mounted to the fork legs so I suppose in hind sight, that must have been the reason.

I was clips on at this time :wink:

stevie747 wrote:Yep, Z1 along with the mirrors and some Fiamm airhorns

I also think it's a classic period photo showing my lovingly sawn-off rear muddy, no centre stand, no airbox and K&N's - no wonder those parts are now pension funds in some of our sheds - unfortunately not mine though... and as for the flares and tassles

Bought - July - ish 1978 my first triple ride from London to Chesham in Bucks at the tender age of 17