I know from prior posts several of you owned Japanese motorcycles in your younger days. Although I never did, I found this a well written article you might enjoy.

https://www.hagerty.com/Articles-Vid...ews%207-1-2015

 

I still own, (and daily ride), a Japanese motorcycle!

Thanks for sharing the article.

 

Me too! Ditto!

 

It took me a while to for me to switch allegiances and purchase a Japanese motorcycle. BSA, Triumph, Norton, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Honda was the path I took, and in that order. Once I owned a Japanese motorcycle I can only imagine that Loctite’s stock took a serious dive.

I no longer ride a motorcycle; my early age aggressive riding, death, and injury wishes have vanished, plus my discomfort tolerance has lowered. I still display the scars and have x-rays to prove these earlier riding habits and wishes.

Good luck to all who still ride.

gary

 

Thanks for posting this Dave. I had 2 japenese bikes in my past one being a Honda CB 650 great bike. I swear sometimes I can hear similar sounds in my F20 as I did in that old cb 650 four distant cousins I guess.

 

Owned a few and still have one ! Let's see if I can remember them

1966 Yamaha 250 Big Bear Scrambler
1970 Honda 350
1972 Kawasaki 350 H ?? (Something)
1980 Yamaha 400
1972 Yamaha RD 350
1967 Honda 305 Scrambler
2008 Kawasaki 250 Ninja
2014 Honda 500 CBR

Think that confirms me as a Japanese Motorcycle owner !!

 

When I got out of the U.S. Army in 1972 my former Army room mate read in Cycle and Cycle World magazine about the Kawasaki S2. At the time is was faster than any five hundred CC motorcycle on the market other than the Kawasaki H1 (500 CC) which in turn was faster than any 750 CC Motorcycle on the market with the exception of the the Kawasaki H2. So he bought one. In retrospect he should have bought a Honda CB 350 to putt around on. The Kawasaki's were all three cylinder two stroke motors that if one rode below about 5,000 RPM's would foul spark plugs. He hated it, and I bought it from him for $650.

I guess that I had my first primer to high revving engines in the summer of 1970 shortly after I got drafted. I was driving a 40 HP 1963 VW bug at the time and my father was concerned about me driving back and forth from Fort Dix, NJ where I was stationed at the time. A neighbor that had recently returned after serving in Vietnam was selling his 1969 Pontiac Firebird with a 4.1 Litre (250 CI) in-line six cylinder engine because living in Queens, NYC he had only driven it 3,300 miles in the first year of ownership. That was my first experience with high revving engines as at the time it was the highest revving engine of any American made car, at 6.500 RPM.

Anyway, since the age of about ten, I was hooked on motor racing after watching the Indy 500. When I got out of the Army, I found myself working at a motor cycle dealer and could not afford to race cars so I got into road racing motorcycles. My first Cafe class bike was a Kawasaki S3 (a 400 CC triple two stroke). Then a customer of mine that had road Triumphs in college was having a mid life crises and bought a heavily modified Kawasaki H2 (750CC Two stroke, triple) from a local shop mechanic. It had a blue printed engine from Bill Wirges, a legendary engine builder. As the article the Dave posted stated: This bike now has the nick name as "the widowmaker".

He rode it and scared himself half to death. He came into the shop and offered it to me to race at Summit Point. As he stated: "This bike has no place on the street". The deal we struck was that he was responsible for the bike if I crashed it and I was responsible for my body. After the first time I took it out in practice I came back into the pits after for the first time in my life I had experienced speed induced tunnel vision which occurs at speeds at about 150 MPH +. My buddy that I often pitted next too asked me how it was? I responded: Cale: I am afraid to take my helmet off, because I was afraid that my hair may have turned white! This bike would do third gear 100 MPH plus power wheelies coming out of T10 at the Point. As the article stated: They were more go than handling. At the five hundred foot marker going into T1 it was wobbling so bad that the handle bars would be oscillating over once inch in each direction. The only way to get it to quit wobbling and get stable before getting on the binders was to spike the rear brake. That would snap it straight, then at about the two hundred foot marker one could get on the binders to slow it down.

FWIIW: The only scarier ride that I have ever had was on 4 Dec 03 when I got caught out in the snow on my OEM S-02's in about three inches of snow.

 

 

Great post Matt! I first heard of the Kawasaki triple 2 stroke while watching The American Pickers t.v. show they had found one and were very excited about it I was not familiar with it and did not realize it was that quick. Do you remember the old Z1 which was the 73 Kawasaki KZ1000. My buddy found one in a used car lot back in the late 80's paid something like 200 for it and restored it. It was a fast bike for it's time. I had a Yamaha FZ700 at that time though which did the quarter in 11.4 @ 120 and 0-60 was 3.3 seconds probably slow now compared to current bikes.

 

Glad you survived your youth Matt.