Show us your Motorcycles

[mulester7]

So uh Mulester... is this all family.. or riding buds or AK members or what? Just showing off you actually have some friends?

.....James, many are railroad friends, and some I didn't know....Kirk is a welder in track maintenance for Union Pacific, and draws people like flies....and he's been known to party a lot....he's engaged to Willa....David and I have been friends since 1979, and he's engaged to Charlotte....riding in groups like this to designated places is like you're on a vacation together....we stop often, at a gas station or store, and everyone is in groups talking and laughing with the guys wearing baseball hats and the women with freshly brushed hair....then it's back on with the helmets for another 20-40 minutes.....

.....I get all the riding I want with these guys, but if I owned a motorcycle and had ridden by myself so much I was losing the vision, I'd put an ad in the classifieds to find some riding friends....seriously....to ride motorcycles with friends on a decent warm day brings a whole new meaning to the enjoyment....

 

[kirk57]

What?? no Kawasaki triples in the whole bunch? I'm in the process of restoring a 73 H1, pics in post 19. http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=363084

Had one of those for many years. The power curve is 'interesting', I'll say that . Fun bike, price gone up quite a lot in recent years, probably due to middle-aged guys who never got the opportunity for an H-1 to try to kill them when they were younger....

have a Yamaha now, but no pics cause it's in storage for the winter.

 

[mulester7]

Restoration is going slowly but surely,

.....the Kawasaki triples from the seventies will run, that's for sure....a good friend had a 500, and I watched him eat a Triumph Bonneville alive one afternoon....the friend and I both knew what was going to happen, but the guy with the Triumph was confused and said he had a bigger engine :stupid:.....

 

[epifanatic]

Had one of those for many years. The power curve is 'interesting', I'll say that . Fun bike, price gone up quite a lot in recent years, probably due to middle-aged guys who never got the opportunity for an H-1 to try to kill them when they were younger....have a Yamaha now, but no pics cause it's in storage for the winter.

Case in point, although I don't plan on trying to kill myself with it.

 

[mulester7]

Had one of those for many years. The power curve is 'interesting', I'll say that .

.....Kirk, about what would a Kawasaki triple 500 do in a quarter?.....

 

[similost]

.....James, many are railroad friends, and some I didn't know....Kirk is a welder in track maintenance for Union Pacific, and draws people like flies....and he's been known to party a lot....he's engaged to Willa....David and I have been friends since 1979, and he's engaged to Charlotte....riding in groups like this to designated places is like you're on a vacation together....we stop often, like at a gas station or store, and everyone is in groups talking and laughing with the guys wearing baseball hats and women with brushed hair....then it's back on with the helmets for another 20-40 minutes.....

.....I get all the riding I want with these guys, but if I owned a motorcycle and had ridden by myself so much I was losing the vision, I'd put an ad in the classifieds to find some riding friends....seriously....to ride motorcycles with friends on a decent warm day brings a whole new meaning to enjoyment....

I hear Ya... I was just giving you a hard time.

We really miss all our old friends and riding buds... We were members in a riding club, somewhere well over 100 members... BUt most of them were good friends when we weren't with the club. We were usually out at least nightly during the week riding with someone somewhere hanging out... dinner, bar, out visiting other friends....

In this area it's not easy to find people to ride with. We did get involved with one club no too long after we moved here, but they were based too far away and it was a ride long just getting there to meet up and home, much less adding a few more hundred miles in a day... Everyone else we've met that rides in this area either just ride to commute, or seldom bet out on weekends because of family.. so we just ride on our own any more... not near as much fun...

 

[mulester7]

.....here's a shot of me David took with his phone....I had just changed to my hat at a gas station/quickstop....it was actually cool for motorcycle riding and I was layered in lightweight clothing....three T-shirts, Nike parachute top, and my old down-filled puffer jacket which has
lost a few feathers....I enjoyed the whole afternoon.....

 

[similost]

Cool. so the V-max is yours? Always wanted to take one of those for a ride...

 

[kirk57]

.....Kirk, about what would a Kawasake triple 500 do in a quarter?.....

Pros were able to clock mid-12s on a stock H1 when it was new.

Believe me, you are better off going in a straight line on that thing.

 

[mulester7]

Pros were able to clock mid-12s on a stock H1 when it was new.

.....that's moving right along....what about the 750 version?.....

 

[epifanatic]

From Wiki:
The first Kawasaki triple was the 500 cc H1 Mach III, introduced in late 1968.[1] The original H1 was unique for using a CDI ignition which operated through an automotive style distributor. The H1 offered a high power-to-weight ratio for the time, but had generally poor handling and weak drum brakes front and rear. It was the quickest production motorcycle at the time. When motorcycle journalists expressed some disbelief, Kawasaki suggested they take a new H1 to the drag strip. Using a regular production model with only 7 miles on it, Tony Nicosia ran the quarter mile in 12.96 seconds at 100.7 mph (162.1 km/h) for the press to witness. The official figure was 12.4 secs by Mike Wenzel - quite believable on a well run in machine. Tony Nicosia set many world records with Kawasaki triples over the following years, including some land speed records at Bonneville Salt Flats.

In 1972, the 750 cc Kawasaki H2 Mach IV was introduced and was essentially a scaled-up version of the H1 500.[2] A stock H2 was rated at 12.0 secs for the quarter mile. Updated with more power and better front disc brakes, the H2 became the undisputed king of the streets, even beating legendary muscle cars of the era such as the Plymouth Hemi Cuda. It was notoriously dangerous, being prone to up-and-over wheelies and speed wobbles. The dangerous handling characteristics arising from its mediocre frame design caused it to be nicknamed the "Widowmaker" by motorcycle enthusiasts of the 1970s.

 

[mulester7]

Cool. so the V-max is yours?

.....yes, it's the second one I've owned....a 2002....bought a new '92 and rode it until 2004....had 31,000 miles and was still in great shape....gave it to my son-in-law, and found this used 2002 a month later that had 1700 miles.....

 

[epifanatic]

Pros were able to clock mid-12s on a stock H1 when it was new.

Believe me, you are better off going in a straight line on that thing.

The joke used to be; find the hidden hinge in the frame.

There are mods to improve handling, such as tapered steering stem bearings and some swing arm mods that greatly improve stability.

 

[epifanatic]

Then there's this:
The 750 H2 Mach IV holds the world's record for the fastest normally-aspirated 750cc production motorcycle, running the standing quarter-mile in 7.756 seconds, with a top speed of 170 mph.

 

[mulester7]

From Wiki:
The first Kawasaki triple was the 500 cc H1 Mach III, introduced in late 1968.[1] The original H1 was unique for using a CDI ignition which operated through an automotive style distributor. The H1 offered a high power-to-weight ratio for the time, but had generally poor handling and weak drum brakes front and rear. It was the quickest production motorcycle at the time. When motorcycle journalists expressed some disbelief, Kawasaki suggested they take a new H1 to the drag strip. Using a regular production model with only 7 miles on it, Tony Nicosia ran the quarter mile in 12.96 seconds at 100.7 mph (162.1 km/h) for the press to witness. The official figure was 12.4 secs by Mike Wenzel - quite believable on a well run in machine. Tony Nicosia set many world records with Kawasaki triples over the following years, including some land speed records at Bonneville Salt Flats.

In 1972, the 750 cc Kawasaki H2 Mach IV was introduced and was essentially a scaled-up version of the H1 500.[2] A stock H2 was rated at 12.0 secs for the quarter mile. Updated with more power and better front disc brakes, the H2 became the undisputed king of the streets, even beating legendary muscle cars of the era such as the Plymouth Hemi Cuda. It was notoriously dangerous, being prone to up-and-over wheelies and speed wobbles. The dangerous handling characteristics arising from its mediocre frame design caused it to be nicknamed the "Widowmaker" by motorcycle enthusiasts of the 1970s.

.....12 flat....that's moving, especially for the seventies.....

 

[mulester7]

Then there's this:
The 750 H2 Mach IV holds the world's record for the fastest normally-aspirated 750cc production motorcycle, running the standing quarter-mile in 7.756 seconds, with a top speed of 170 mph.

.....that's 4.244 seconds faster than a stock effort of 12 seconds....there just about had to be nitrous and special gearing involved....you can hop-up any motorcycle to do much better in a quarter....

 

[kirk57]

The joke used to be; find the hidden hinge in the frame.

There are mods to improve handling, such as tapered steering stem bearings and some swing arm mods that greatly improve stability.

Yes I'd heard this before. Are you going to leave yours stock or do these mods to it?

I mean, it's not going to just try to kill you as soon as you get on it, but things get interesting at high speeds. I'm guessing you already know this, anyway.

My favorite Kawasaki was my KZ650. Very well-rounded bike. 3 weeks after I got it repainted it was stolen

 

[epifanatic]

Yes I'd heard this before. Are you going to leave yours stock or do these mods to it?

I mean, it's not going to just try to kill you as soon as you get on it, but things get interesting at high speeds. I'm guessing you already know this, anyway.

My favorite Kawasaki was my KZ650. Very well-rounded bike. 3 weeks after I got it repainted it was stolen

Yes, mods are forthcoming, stem bearings and brass swing arm bushings. Not to mention, expansion chambers and bigger carbs.
When riding these things you have to beware of the powerband starting at about 4k. If you don't, you'll be looking at the clouds in no time.:thumbsdn:

 

[Adventater]

2002 Suzuki Vstrom DL1000!

 

[motorstereo]

Here's mine waiting patiently for spring to arrive here in New England. It's an 04 Kawasaki vn2000a that I bought new in 05. Now if I can find a little bit more time to ride it this upcoming season.