18 year old in a 55 year old body......

[JA-Moo]

Saying "hey"!

Been riding since 1971 (99.99% Kawasakis of all sizes )

I am a Kawi 2 stroke triple tuner (from 69 to 76, for you younger guys and gals )

And I still vintage road race a 500.

They started a 250 Ninja class here last year, and I saw what a blast the guys were having. So I was looking for one to race, but it was hard to find a 2008 + model in bad enough shape to make a racer out of. Lots of earlier models, but they didn't "do it" for me, looks wise.

I finally decided to heck with it, I just wanted one! Fund a green 2011 with 775 mile, perfect shape, two brothers slip on, fender eliminator kit and aftermarket tail light, for a great price. So I bought it Saturday. Took it up the mountain here in Albuquerque Sunday, and had a blast! She needs jetting and regearing, that's no big deal.

And that's why I'm here, didn't want to re invent the wheel as I know the mods have been done for years.

Looking forward to reading all about these cool little bikes......

[gfloyd2002]

JA-Moo! Glad to have you aboard...

[Lou]

Welcome.

[Mountain Dew]

Welcome JA! I'm one of the local vintage guys, so post up some pictures of those wonderful bikes!

Wish I could do some vintage racing, but there's no racing period where I live There's also very few vintage bikes around too

[JA-Moo]

Originally Posted by Mountain Dew

Welcome JA! I'm one of the local vintage guys, so post up some pictures of those wonderful bikes!

Wish I could do some vintage racing, but there's no racing period where I live There's also very few vintage bikes around too

Thanks for the welcome guys!

And "DEW", that really sucks not to have a track close, but you are out a bit in the middle of an ocean......

I guess i should put up a pic of the bike. The guy in the pic might be "kinda" familiar to the older guys here, He is Hurley Wilvert, a factory Kawasaki road racer from the 70's. Raced H1R and H2Rs. Took third in the 1974 Daytona 200.



Here is my 500 triple, I built everything on her. I have bunches of parts bikes, but just keep one running, they are money pits......lol And a vid of a trackday giving some new bikes a hard time....lol.

Link to original page on YouTube.

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by JA-Moo

Here is my 500 triple, I built everything on her. I have bunches of parts bikes, but just keep one running, they are money pits......lol And a vid of a trackday giving some new bikes a hard time....lol.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCdRRJ7gM6Y

OMG SO MUCH WANT!!!

[Mountain Dew]

Damn that is one sexy bike. Every time I see finished bikes like these, I think of mine and how ****** it looks Bike looks like this except it has a two-brothers exhaust from a CBR1000 and padding on the seat. One day it'll look nice (been saying that for 8 months).

Love the switches on the race bike that say Warp and Smoke Screen

[250rr]

Welcome, my friend. Let me say that that exhaust with the little cans pointing in different directions is the best looking exhaust. Ever.

[ninjagaiden09]

Welcome and nice bike...

[csmith12]

Welcome and awesome bike!

[bfpower]

John, welcome! Nice to have you around.

[JA-Moo]

Thanks again everyone! Looks like a great group of people here. And thanks for the complements on the bike.

I just started reading through the site, a lot to catch up on, and lots of pictures of bikes to look at. A lot of nice 250s out there.......

[alex.s]

500 2stroke triple kawi.... im sorry for the odd smell, i just crapped and splooged in my pants.

[Kevin2109]

Originally Posted by JA-Moo

[Joule]

Originally Posted by Kevin2109

[KJohnson21]

... a 500 triple 2-stroke!! That has to be an awesome ride, it looks gorgeous!!

[JA-Moo]

More thanks to you! She is great fun to ride and race....

[Stingray1000]

Welcome!

[Minikin_Jo]

Hi and Welcome...

[JA-Moo]

Originally Posted by Minikin_Jo

Hi and Welcome...

Thanks for the welcome Jo!

I should have bought one years ago. All my vintage boards are all grumpy ugly old guys, like me....LOL. No pretty ladies on them at all.........

[Minikin_Jo]

Aw, thank you

[Snake]

Hello and welcome.

[Mountain Dew]

Hey JA, you ever get one of your bikes on a dyno? I'm curious to what it's putting out :P

[JA-Moo]

Originally Posted by Mountain Dew

Hey JA, you ever get one of your bikes on a dyno? I'm curious to what it's putting out :P

yes I have, with the higher rpm pipes, peak about 9,500 rpm it was right at 84rwhp

this is from yeas ago, another race bike, mild tune crap pipes:

Link to original page on YouTube.

[Jiggles]

That thing sounds so ****ing awesome

[cuong-nutz]

I love your James Bond switches

[dirty nasty]

Is it really true those Kawi triples are as unstable and poor stopping as I hear when they're fresh outta the box? Not to insult your ride, it's a work of art and I'd throw a leg over it and love every second of it. I just hear that's why they call them widow makers, because of nasty head shake at high speeds.

I love the (pre-gen) Ninja 250 for the reason of always having to keep it on the pipe to go fast, just like my 125 MX bikes.

[skucera]

There's a 1974 250 2-stroke triple for sale near me, but it's really beat up. I started reading up on them and found that folks at the time thought they didn't handle very well. After seeing yours, though, I really want to buy it and fix it up. Ever since I was a kid the hair on the back of my neck stands up when I hear a 2-stroke triple winding out down the road.

Except I have to finish my "project bike" and get it on the road first before I take on another project....

Scott

[Cab305]

Originally Posted by dirty nasty

Is it really true those Kawi triples are as unstable and poor stopping as I hear when they're fresh outta the box?

That's an "H1 Widow Maker".... you fear the sound when spoken.

That's a Man's Bike.

[Aufitt]

Welcome,

Nice triple, Ive stil got my RZ500 that iv'e had since I was 18, one of only 2 bikes Ive ever kept.

[JA-Moo]

Originally Posted by dirty nasty

Is it really true those Kawi triples are as unstable and poor stopping as I hear when they're fresh outta the box? Not to insult your ride, it's a work of art and I'd throw a leg over it and love every second of it. I just hear that's why they call them widow makers, because of nasty head shake at high speeds.

I love the (pre-gen) Ninja 250 for the reason of always having to keep it on the pipe to go fast, just like my 125 MX bikes.

It's cool you guys are interested in knowing a bit about these old bikes.

The triples probably have more "wives tales" than any other bikes. Most of them so outrageous, us triple owners just have to laugh when we hear them.

As most wives tales, they have some basis of truth. The 500 was on the drawing board in the early 60's, back when Japan didn't know a lot about handling, and the triples were really throw away bikes Kawasaki built to break into the American motorcycle market. They had to be cheap, and were only made to last a couple of years, and then get the owners on the Z1.

The 60's and 70's were all about the 1/4 mile, so that's where Kawasaki focused the early triples, the rest of the "riding parameters" were, lets say "lacking"......lol. The first three years of the first triple, the 500, (69-71) were pretty scary bikes. Plastic swingarm bushings that wore out in a few 100 miles. Rear shock that were over sprung and no damping, front forks that were the same. The weight bias was way off, The drum brakes were terrible. Add in the motor that hardly made any power until 6,000rpm and then tripled the hp in 2,500 RPM.

Many, many riders were caught off guard, when they hit 6,000rpm the bike would stand right up on the rear wheel, and crashes ensued. Add in around a 125mph top speed and crap brakes, and you get more crashes. The "scary" handling came from the suspension, swingarm bushing wearing out. Lots of wheelies beating in the steering head bearings and they did get very scary in corners.

So yes, the early triples were pretty scary out of the box, and got worse pretty quickly. Later years, a lot of the problems were "kinda" addressed and the bikes became better all-arounders. But with the EPA coming down on everything in the 70's, every year the bikes lost HP, got longer and heavier, we call them "neutered".

They were truly the first superbikes, and have massive potential to be great bikes, that handle, brake and big increases in HP.

The little S series triples (250, 350, 400cc) were actually very good bikes than handled great. The 500, and 750's need work, but can be a riot to ride when modded correctly.

So there probably a lot more than you ever wanted to know...LOL. But, these bikes are my business, so I am partial..........

And Skucera, if you really want to learn how to work on bikes, a triple si the way to go, as you will be working on it a lot.....lol. But again, great fun and the triples are crowd stoppers.......

[skucera]

Originally Posted by Cab305

That's an "H1 Widow Maker".... you fear the sound when spoken.

That's a Man's Bike.

Yeah, that's kinda what I remember being muttered when I was a 9-year-old listening to the guys talking about motorcycles. My great uncle was a professional motorcycle racer during the Depression throughout the Great Plains, during the Dust Bowl and after. He gave up riding motorcycles when I was about 13 or so, but he rode and commented on many different motorcycles. He said Kawasakis scared him back then, but I don't remember the particulars. He said BMW's were boring but smooth, and so were Harleys. I wish he were still around, now that I know enough to participate in the conversation.

Scott

[userjh160]

Hi John and welcome