Street fighters?

[Port V.P.]

Deano (Speedolips) had some really great pic's of an XJ fully customized. Before he bought his new 1300, he said he had thought about modifying his XJ.

If you're reading this Deano, send me those pic's again please.

they are long since lost on my old clunky puter.

Thanks,
Glen Gorringe
Port Alberni, B.C.
'81 LH "HoRee Cow"
'83 XJ "Horse Trade"

[oldbiker648]

Mike,
You are carrying this thread on your back and have turned it into an illustrated history lesson. Thanks for all of the photos and personal comments. Nothing can replace recollectons from someone that was actually there. I'm a little embarassed to say that in 1968 I bought my first bike, a 1965 Honda Super 90 ($200), and then moved up to a 1965 Honda 305 Scrambler the following year.
I always thought that owning a Brit 500 or 650 would have been the hot tip, but then Kaw unleashed the H1(500 triple, "flexible flyer") in 1969 at a list price of $999 and then the 750 Honda 4 showed up along with the 750 Triumph Trident & BSA Rocket 3, and it was off to the races. What a great time to be alive and tuned into the bike scene. I Jumped into dirt bikes after being hit by cars 3 times in the same year on the street, but still kept active in the street scene at least in the Mags. Went through a long "bikeless" period raising 2 boys and then after kissing SWMBO goodbye, bought the '66 Honda and the '80G. The rest is history, as they say. Seven old bikes in the stable now. I'm too old to get too far into the "street fighter" scene, but the pics are still cool to look at.

[xs650mike]

One of my friends had a Honda 305 Scrambler and another friend had a 305 Superhawk. Of the two I liked the Superhawk better (handling) but they were both really good bikes. I once chased a guy on a Superhawk over Mt. Tamalpais on my Matchless and I couldn't for the life of me stay with him and the main reason was the Honda's brakes, mine just faded away. The Japanese were the first to fit decent brakes on their bikes. Right after that I put a Norton 8" TLS on my Matchless which was a real improvement.

When the H1 Kawi came out my friend Lloyd bought one but soon sold it after it spit him off. He replaced it with a BSA Rocket 3. I used to pass H1s all the time in the twisties on my Matchless. I remember looking over at one Kawi rider as I motored around him on the outside of a turn and noticing that his face was white with fear. I guess he was afraid to open the throttle just a little bit more. The H1s did rule the dragstrip back then though. My friend Jim did manage to beat one on Grudge Night at Fremont Dragstrip with his very trick 650 BSA which after that was generally considered to be the fastest 40 inch streetbike in Frisco. I remember the PA announcer shouting over and over and over, "The Beeza beat the Kowalski!"

[Port V.P.]

An old KH1 was my very first Bike.... wow talk about a flood of memories!

I once dropped down from 4th to 3rd to pass a lane of RV's, I dumped the clutch and twisted the throttle,
and was doing my very first wheely at about 65mph.
Not knowing anything about wheely's I passed probably 6 motorhomes before the front wheel decided to come down.
You wanna talk about white faced and white knuckles!

The other unforgetable feature was the cloud of 2 stroke smoke when you walked on it (oil injected) It was my James Bond get-a-way bike It was metalic brown with the wide yellow stripe with white Kawi lettering. God that bike could accelerate

Glen G
Port Alberni, B.C.
'81 LH "HoRee Cow"
'83 XJ "Horse Trade"

[xs650mike]

I can't imagine an H1 as a first bike, you must have had pretty good judgement since you are still alive. I rode Lloyd's bike before he sold it and what made the H1 such a tricky thing to ride was the way the power came on all at once at 6 grand. I remember being awestruck watching guys launching at the dragstrip with the rear wheel spinning and the front wheel pawing the air and all the time the rider is laying over the handlebars with his head above the front wheel. The front would go down for an instant as the rider shifted and then right back up. Those guys had a lot more nerve than I could have mustered.

[Port V.P.]

That was the first bike that I bought and paid for,
My Dad had had bikes all my life so I grew up putting
around the yard on some of his bikes, everything from
a shiny red honda with chrome patches on the tank
and gators on the forks, to a yamaha triple 360?,
and even his hard tailed custom Hardley ( which I took
for my liscence and road exam at 16.)

Which is another story in itself

My kawasaki , I melted a piston out and had it punched
out 30 thou. and wiseco kit put in... Holy Craaaaap!

Then I bought a yamaha 350 RZ
and then an XS650 twin
and then an XS850 Triple
and then an 1100 midnight special
and a '79 F for parts,
and finally my XJ1100.
and now I'm looking seriously at a Hyabusa


so after 25 + years of riding flexing framed snot rods,
I went and got qualified for Drag racing (NHRA) and
am looking for a drag bike!

ciao 4 now,
Glen.

[pggg]

My H1 Mach III Kawasaki 500cc 2-stroke triple never did more than 15 miles to a gallon, even when cruising at 50 mph in 5th and went to 180+ k.p.h real quick. The silky triple motor was smooth as below 5000 and nearly blowing up with vibrations at 10000 revs. Souped up, they did 11 second 1/4 's. Mine seized a piston one time. It was still a favourite bike.

[oldschool]

A street fighter is a modified, stripped down crotch rocket. Gas tanks are flattened to accomodate tank wheelies, grab bars, wheelie bars, extra foot pegs, are added to assist in different riding tricks.
These bikes get laid down alot, this is why the headlight assemblies, body plastics and even the "tail" are modified to avoid smashing them off the pavement when one attemts a stoppie"endo", a wheelie while sitting on your bars, standing on the tank, seat or tail ets. Some bike even get exoskeleton roll bars welded onto the frame to avoid damagine exposed drivetrain parts. Many of these bikes are built for show purposes, but all the mods are completed for the purpose of showing off your riding skills, stunts etc without destroying your ride in the process.
Fun to experience, but these guys are missing a few screws.

[GNEPIG]

.. the kawasaki triple has to be the first and baddest @ss hooligan/street fighter ever.. the wheelie factor on one of those are the stuff that legends are made of, those things were fast in there day
i've ridden three of other peoples, i think the 750 has to be the hardest to control and the one i liked the best
i've owned two and one for parts
bummer the EPA killed them for us..

my s2 of 72 in 1990,

[LoHo]

That's funny...scraped case guards, missing mirrors, and dented tanks DO show off my riding skills...or lack of same!