Kawasaki 2 stroke

[sksxs1100]

A cousin of mine has a Kawasaki 3 cyd 2 stroke from the 70's sitting in his garage. in 82 it went high 10's in the 1/4. anybody have any ideas which bike it is? TIA

[sksxs1100]

btw it had been worked over a little to get it into the 10's

[Redbaron]

Kawasaki

The 3 cyl 2 stroke was available in 500cc and 900cc, either was more than capable of this performance, close to stock. I bought a new 500 in '74-- 2 tone green, fastest bike i ever rode. 140 mph on a regular basis, capable of wheelies in 1st or 2nd by winding out, not popping clutch. i feel this is the series you are talking about. KZ or KH, one was 2 stroke the other 4, not sure which was which at this point. The 4 stroke was a red or maroon color.
HTH

[MartyA]

Actually, if I recall, 1st there was a KAW 350 triple 2 stroke that was pretty scary compared to the two cylinder 4 stroke 350 Hondas I had.

I remember the only time I rode that 500, you would get up to around 4-5000RPM and then it was a straight UP power curve, just like the front wheel. There was no way to keep the front wheel on the ground. Very scary on the mean streets of NJ where I lived, where most of the riding was stoplight to stoplight. That was 1970? Again, if I recall, it was advertised as the fastest factory anything on wheels - no doubt in my mind. I got a 450 Honda instead, much more manageable, MUCH less vibration, and I always hated the ringggy ringggy ringggy of the 2 strokes.

Later I remember the Kaw 750 trip that came out and I thought you had to be suicidal to ride one of those, if the 500 was representative.

[sksxs1100]

the bad thing about the bike is that it was last ran in about 82. worse thing is that he is a pack rat and the only chance i would have to get it is if he dies... BTW.. he took off the stock exaust and built expansion chambers for it... much wider powerband.
I have riden a 350 2stroke, but i did not get to open it up.. but it was very peppy

[captjerry]

There was no 900 triple 2 stroke.
The 900 was the original Z1 which was a 4stroke
4 cylinder.
The real badazz 2 stroker was the Kaw 750 triple or H2 as it was called.
The 500 was the H1, if my memory serves me right.
The really fast 350 2stroker was the Yamaha RD350. Would blow away a Honda 750 with little effort.





and yes.....Im that old

[nashville_bill]

Yes, I remember the Kawa 3 cyl 2 strokes. I had a '73 350 and had friends with the 500 and 750. I loved my little 350. It had 45 HP, didn't weigh much, front wheel wanted to come off the ground and got 20 mpg. Only about a 60 range with that kind of mpg. The reviews in the cycle mags on the 750 told people it was way to scary fast for mortal riders.

[jkgrubbs]

Back in the Day...

I was on a kz900, but another rider I ran with had an"H-Bomb" 750, reddish-purple. It would walk, almost run away from me in a straight line. It was monster, but couldn't turn worth a durn. I think he still has it in his cob web basement. Anothe guy I know has an late 70's- early 80's Hardley Electra-Glide in Shriner livery sitting in his basement. I have know him for 20 years and have never seen him on the bike. Don't ask. He won't sell, but thats another story...

[fusionking]

So when they said the xs1100 was the fastest production bike they ment everything but those right?

[jkgrubbs]

The H Bombs were out of production by 1978, the z1/kz900 was from 73 to 76. In 77 it was replaced with the kz1000, which had poorer performance due mainly to carb changes. the xs1100 became king in 78. Then came things like the Honda cbx and suzyq gs1100e. Honda also came up with a one year only cb1100f, 83. The better thing about the xs, imho, is shaft drive, and better ride and handling on the road.

[Wayne]

Well there is a junk bike seller here in Houston that has one of the 750 H2s for sale right now.

http://www.collectorcarsandbikes.com/kawasaki_frm.htm

Seems a bit steep on the price thou.

Ride Safe.

[Paul G]

Back in 77 I had a 72 H1 500 3 cyl 2 stroke. Bright orange color. My first bike. What a monster. I bought it from a dealer. He would not let me test ride it before the purchase. One of the shop guys did some tricks with it while I watched. (to be that young and nieve again) Testosterone took over and I came back with the cash. As someone has stated above that bike would not have any trouble lifting the front wheel in first or second. I put a larger rear sprocket and could get the wheel to bounce in third.

Problem with that bike was the odd power band. It was basically a dog under 6K RPM. Double clutch it at 6K you better hold on all the way to 12K. Again what a monster.