Kawasaki H1 1971

[JackyJoll]

Lower bars and longer shocks will help avoid the wobbles

Poor man's fix: 5:15 on

It’s a bit shocking that they appear to regard that shitty steering as somehow normal and satisfactory.

I hope none of you lot are in that “tiny minority” who deliberately exceed the legal speed limit!

[mangocrazy]

Did it not occur to them that high handlebars means an upright rider acts like a sail, pulling back on the bars and unloading the front wheel? This would be especially noticeable with the flimsy forks and predominantly rear biased weight distribution of bikes of the day.

[Horse]

Lower bars and longer shocks will help avoid the wobbles

Poor man's fix: 5:15 on

On my Z1 I had high bars,a worn rear tyre and a topbox,I'd only have been about 10 stone too. It bucked me off at around 120mph.

I think I'd have been pretty bucked off, err upset, too.

One of the mags did 'scientific' testing, loading a top box and panniers with bricks

On my Z1 I had high bars,a worn rear tyre and a topbox,I'd only have been about 10 stone too. It bucked me off at around 120mph.

The perfect storm.

Yup, the full bingo card!

[Taipan]

Who is Tom Pemberton?

Look a bit lower down

I did! I was messing about!

[Yorick]

Who is Tom Pemberton?

Look a bit lower down

I did! I was messing about!

Wooooooosh

[Ian]

I never had a proper wobble out of mine, thank the Lord. I think that was probably because I always had clipons or dropped Jota bars on all my bike and if it ever felt out of sorts my instinct has always been to get my head down and wind it on (probably from all the horror stories, I thought if I sat up or braked I'd be off)
Interesting comments about the forks telescoping independently, I made a hefty fork brace for mine that probably helped.

[Ian]

Look a bit lower down

I did! I was messing about!

Wooooooosh

That was a Z500, not surprised he turned to cars.

[mangocrazy]

I never had a proper wobble out of mine, thank the Lord. I think that was probably because I always had clipons or dropped Jota bars on all my bike

I was a big fan of ace bars. Replace the standard 'high, wide and handsome' OE bars with them or clip-ons and you're good to go...

[roadster]

There were two bikes in my era of fast riding which were notorious. Firstly the isolastic Norton Command which would behave exactly as the police bike in the old film. I had the Commando with the supposedly more powerful 750 "Combat" engine it would weave on a flat road when upright at an indicated 90 mph. Proper racers used the uprated front forks and probably took all the play out of the isolastic bushes and put up with the engine vibration. That was stuff outside of my price range and I did get black flagged at a Brands practice day because of the weave on the main straight which looked alarming to the marshals!

Second was the Kawasaki Z1 which was more of a cornering problem and felt like it had a hinge in the middle when leaned over. I tried better rear shocks and extra stiffening of the rear engine mounts but it was still a handful on faster circuits. Perfectly OK on the road or on slow tracks like Lydden though.

That video carefully avoided any reference to tyre construction or tread pattern but in that era there was one Dunlop tyre which was banned by the ACU on safety grounds so they probably had a defensive attitude.

[MyLittleStudPony]

I hope you've ganned it up on t'back wheel whilst wearing a blouson jacket.

[Bigjawa]

if there were any superdooper brake shoes to be had,I'll be doing that for sure.

Get the old ones out.

Ring 028 9266 6555, ask to speak to Gerry. Only Gerry, he's the only one who knows what he's at, tell him Big Paul said to see him about relining your shoes and he'll put the best linings on them for you.

But only deal with Gerry, you'll know him because he's the spit of Josef Mengele.

[Taipan]

Have I missed the ride report or is he too busy laying eggs like a good little chicken?

[Skub]

Have I missed the ride report or is he too busy laying eggs like a good little chicken?

It's been under water here for days. Yesterday it rained all day and all night and is still raining steadily now.

Brands Hatch BSB weather too,by the looks of it.

I did manage an hour out the other day and enjoyed it immensely.

The bike rides surprisingly well if you keep in mind it belongs to another era. Turns in quite sharply and will hold a line fairly well,bumps unsettle it a little,but not dangerously so. If I ride as smooth as possible within the limitations of the ancient suspension,then it all works quite nicely. Try to make it hustle in any way approaching a modern bike and it doesn't like it. This bike has two steering dampers for good reason. It's surprisingly comfortable,if you aren't being daft.

There's a lot of travel on the long,skinny front forks and when asking the front brake to perform it's duties,there is a lag while the forks get down to where they need to be. The brakes give a little more feel at that point. I'm still in the habit of using two fingers on the front lever,but the old cable activated drum really needs 4,or even two hands if possible. The rear brake helps a lot,it's the anchor with the most feel.It's also the only brake which activates the stop light,worth remembering in traffic.

The gearchange is agricultural by todays markers and I need to drop the gear lever a tad to make it right for me. I lost the footrest rubber on that side and was having to lift my foot off the footrest to hoik it up the box! Gear pattern is also different. Neutral is at the bottom of the box and all the gears are up. I need reminding of that at times.

The triple howl is an aural delight,blipping it on the down shift is absolutely mandatory. When I came home,I had a couple of calls from folk who heard the bike and went all misty eyed. The noise is a thing for those of a certain era.

I've a weep from the float bowl gasket on the left side,so at some stage I'll tidy that up. These are bikes you need to keep an eye on things,get into a regular habit of checking for loose schitt etc.

[demographic]

For me the absolute best thing about em (even the 250) is the noise.
Makes Ducatis sound pretty damn boring in comparison.

They just sound bloody great and I'm glad you got one cos you've been lurking round any Kawasaki two stroke thread and non too casually mentioning em for yonks

[mangocrazy]

And I'm glad you went for the H1 500cc and not the 750 - the 500s are the original, purest (and purist) version. And they sound by far the best...

[Skub]

Greta is hunting me down as we speak.

[Yorick]

I hope you're running it on BelRay?

It was compulsory in the 70s.

Nowt better than following a Quack triple, listening to the lovely exhaust note, sniffing the fumes, then slipping past them on the straights

[JackyJoll]

if there were any superdooper brake shoes to be had,I'll be doing that for sure.

Get the old ones out.

Ring 028 9266 6555, ask to speak to Gerry. Only Gerry, he's the only one who knows what he's at, tell him Big Paul said to see him about relining your shoes and he'll put the best linings on them for you.

But only deal with Gerry, you'll know him because he's the spit of Josef Mengele.

These people at least sound like they know what they’re at.

https://villiersservices.co.uk/product/ ... g-service/

[Skub]

I hope you're running it on BelRay?

The chap I bought the bike from filled up the oil tank,so I don't know exactly what,apart from it being a semi synthetic 2T oil. I'll have to get myself some,but no rush just yet.

[ZRX61]

And I'm glad you went for the H1 500cc and not the 750 - the 500s are the original, purest (and purist) version. And they sound by far the best...

750 will rattle the fillings out yer teeth.
I always ran flat Vincent bars on all my triples.
One got in such a violent slapper that it dislocated my elbow, that stung a bit.
I knocked a cow out with one that unexpectedly stuck it's head through a hedge as I came round the corner.
I had one 400 that was impossible to keep the front sprocket on, no matter what I did until I finally tack welded the bugger. After that it developed a habit of the shift lever coming off the splines after X miles on a motorway. It happened so often I got used to coming to a stop in 5th. I could pop the cover off, put the washer & nut back on, replace the cover & have it back together in less time than it took to smoke a cig.
I wheelied one leaving the Salisbury Arms in Cambridge, Had a mate on the back who had his arm in a cast*. His feet came up under my armpits & the cast left a white mark on the road.
Had a 750 snap both front down tubes, surprisingly didn't seem to affect the handling much.

*He'd had a Carl Moment & rode his bike through a fence after he forgot to hook up the front brake on some POS Honda. (CD175 IIRC)