Malc Andersons Cobra H2

[Hal]

Hey Malc, I know you don't do Facebook but if you can find a way on there a chap has just posted a pic of your Cobra on the Kawasaki Triples Club page saying his father built it 35 years ago. He is stoked to still hear it is around.

[malc87]

Im on facebook just dont post on it etc :wink:
Cheers Hal,
I will see if I can find it

[malc87]

Found it

[malc87]

Ive messaged him through facebook

[Hal]

Good lad Malc, as he has some lovely back story on it

[malc87]

Ive just read it
Brilliant

[Hal]

For those of you that don't do Facebook, this is the best I can copy from it:-

Tommy Svobodny‎ Kawasaki triples club
1 hr · Kerkhoven, MN, United States ·
Here is a picture of my dad's 750 built in 1979. It sat in a junk shop for 30 years.
"Here is a picture of my dad's 750 built in 1979. It sat in a junk shop for 30 years."

Hal Leese Here it is again exactly two years ago - just moments after it emerged from the shipping container that brought it over to the UK after being bought by Malc Anderson
Hal Leese's photo.
1 hr · Like · 4

Tommy Svobodny This is neat. My dad built that bike 35 years ago. And now it is in the uk. You got any more pictures? Dad's going to love this... I am from willmar Minnesota USA.
1 hr · Unlike · 1

Hal Leese Sorry, I don't have any more pictures. I do know that Malc is restoring the bike to keep it like this, with the Tracey body. So many people put them back to standard so it is nice he is doing this. The Denco pipes are with it and were only removed for the shipping.
17 mins · Like

Tommy Svobodny This was #3 of his builds. All looked similar with Tracy bodies. Dad got the body back from bike # 2 which was the one with the oil resivor on the side so that hole was filled. Dad knew a ford dealer back then and wanted the snake from the 78 mustang. The parts man just grabbed the snakes out of the kit and gave it too him. They did not sell the decals seperately and the kit was like $235 back in 1979. He called denco to get the king cobra 120hp porting done. The janitor answered the phone and said they closed up the shop but he knew all the guys that worked there. Dad sent the cylinders to a guy and had them ported somewhere near Fremont California. Another guy had a set of black pipes so dad bought them and had them chromed in Hutchinson Minnesota. I remember standing at the end of the driveway watching him race Harlan rohner who had a h1. Dad beat it all the time. Then another guy came over with a gs1100 Suzuki which was a fast bike back then. Dad would beat him except for when they started from a dead start. That triple was short and would wheelie. Dad was good at wheelies and would come by the house damn fast on one wheel for a long ways. I remember the smell when it came by. I remember the sound that you could hear for miles and the induction noise of open carburetors. In my area they still talk about dad on that bike... He is 72 years old now and messes with bikes. I asked him why he didn't want another h2. He says he got tired of putting rings in it all the time. He said tommy you don't own a bike like that. That bike owns you!
13 mins · Unlike · 2

Tommy Svobodny Dad sold it to Doug monson from new London Minnesota. The guy had put the words "death wish" above the tail light. Then it went to Harlan rohner and went to his museum at his junkyard and it sat there for years.
10 mins · Unlike · 1

Hal Leese Love your story Tommy. Malc doesn't (and won't) do Facebook, but I will try and see he gets this information. He always likes the history of the unusual bikes he has.
10 mins · Like

Tommy Svobodny If he ever wants to call dad his phone number is 320-235-4499.. He is 72 years old now. And his memory is damn good. He can still tell you what jet sizes and what was done to the bike.
6 mins · Unlike · 1

Tommy Svobodny This is dad today on a 05 screamin eagle vrod.
Tommy Svobodny's photo.
4 mins · Unlike · 1

[malc87]

Im in contact with Tommy and finding out as much as I can
For the next magazine :wink:

THANKS HAL

[Hal]

Brilliant.

[Steve L]

Great story

[nipper]

Great story. Malc sounds like the bike was ported after Denco shut down. Does it have the denco logos and serial no stamped under the heads and barrel tops ?

[malc87]

Nipper we always knew it was ported AS denco shut down, by Rusty, and it was the first one he put his own ID on.
flowpower I think but I would have to check.
I sent the article we did in the magazine toTom who showed it too his Dad and he was chuffed to bits

[El Presidente]

Here's the bike as I found it in 2012
.

.

.

[malc87]

Turns out, the story as we told it in the magazine is not far off the truth with just a few points that were wrong
I will rewrite what I have been told for the mag.
Hoping to get some more pics

[666rog]

Fantastic Malc. I love a story with a happy ending.

[Hal]

The picture Tommy first put on Facebook was taken at the same time as RB's one, but from a position standing a little to the right with the bike more side on. Everything is the same even checking the position of the tyre lettering. So who took this picture he found and put up there?

RB's pic:-




Tommy's pic:-

[malc87]

its one of RB's pics
its been on the internet a few times so probably came up in a search by Tommy?

[El Presidente]

I was with Cody Stone at the time and Cody was in touch with Tommy and his dad when we first found the bikes

[Hal]

I was with Cody Stone at the time and Cody was in touch with Tommy and his dad when we first found the bikes

So, he isn't really quite as surprised as he came across on his Facebook posting I guess now then.

[Neil the Don]

Fantastic Malc. I love a story with a happy ending.

Roger. Lets not bring your viewing habits into this !!!

[666rog]

Fantastic Malc. I love a story with a happy ending.

Roger. Lets not bring your viewing habits into this !!!

My viewing habits would get this site closed down.

[Mark B]

Cool story, great to hear the history of the bike