Lime Green Meanie: 1973 Kawasaki H2 Road Racer
It has been a good couple of weeks for fans of retro stroker Kawasaki’s. This is the second nice build that has found its’ way on to Ebay. This one is a little more menacing than the first. It’s a nice mix of new and old and is someones take on a H2 road race bike. It looks like an extremely clean build.
The damn thing looks dangerous sitting still. Maybe it is just that odd number but a triple just makes me clinch a little more. I’m sure the road race purists know there was a H2R (KR750). They were purpose built race bikes and command quite a bit of coin today.
Simply nasty sounding. Can anyone comment on the different spec levels on these KR750’s? Were there customer bikes and full works bikes?
Here is the story on the machine:
1973 KAWASAKI H2 MPR ROADRACER….NEW 2011 BUILD..ONLY ONE LAP ON BIKE…BRUTALY FAST!!!! THIS IS THE BIKE THAT WAS ON DISPLAY AT THE BARBER VINTAGE FESTIVAL THIS OCTOBER…………..SPECS INCLUDE; 750CC WISECO PISTONS..38MM LECTRON CARBS..SPECIAL FBG PORTING , HEAD WORK , UNDERCUT TRANS . RACE CDI..CUSTOM EXPANSTION CHAMBERS. 145+ HP* 160+ mph (* FBG estamite based on similer build dyno runs). MORRIS FRONT AND ENKI REAR ALLUM MAGS..CUSTOM EBC FRONT DISC BRAKE ROTORS..STAINLESS STEEL BRAKE LINES…….CHASSISE SPECS INCLUDE ; TAPERED STEERING HEAD BEARINGS…NEW SWING ARM BUSHINGS..UPDATED WELDING…PROGRESSIVE SHOCKS… J&B POWDERCOATED FRAME…CUSTOM PAINT BY MANNING..AIR TECH BODY WORK …………. READY TO RACE OR SHOW……..BILL OF SALE ONLY…FOR RACING PURPOSES ONLY..NOT STREET LEGAL….SOLD IN AS IS CONDITION
145+ horsepower. Hang on tight! Does it go from 35HP to 145HP in 1500 rpm? Twist that throttle gently my friend.
The seller has placed a BIN of $15,500 on the bike. I will be the first to admit I don’t have that kind of money to drop but that really seems like a decent price considering what you are getting. If you’ve ever had anything custom built you know it starts to add up quickly. If you are tempted, click here.
Ian
At a glance this bike looks like one of the old AMA Team Hansen bikes that #17 Yvon Duhammel was a part of with Art Bauman, Gary Nixon, Hurley Wivert, and Paul Smart. Team Hansen was indeed the wrecking crew of the day. You always knew it was giong to be a long day when these guys showed up. Yvon # 17 either broke, crashed or won. he was one of the most fearless and frightening people to race against in the world and you never wanted get in his way . He made Simonchelli look like Pee Wee Herman.
The H2r’s were almost unreliable at speeds needed to win races. They were ill handling and had such brutish and instant power that a slight wobble would cause a worsening movement in your throtle hand which could throw you over the “high side”. You gota love em. I sure do!
This bike has your name on it Steve!
I like it; peer pressure.
You people are disturbed and in need of medication who have no common decency. Can’t you see I have an addiction (it’s a desease)…
Gawd, is this thing cool! It’s got me scheming about doing a project H2 close to this one…only barely street legal. I couldn’t deal having with a track only H2 race replica. I know it’s already been done, but I want to do it, and do it right. Start with a rough H2 that wouldn’t justify a 100% original retsoration (maybe they all do at this point, though).
Who has ridden one? Do they have a light switch power band? I don’t picture a 70’s era stroker being very refined.
I drooled on this one at Barber last week. It is a fine looking piece of speed.
My take on it was it’s meant to be ridden ONCE on a track and then put in the garage where people can ogle it as you tell them how fucking crazy that ride was.
Ian, I was fortunate to have ridden both the H1R 500’s and the H2R 750’s back in the 70’s. Although the engines were smooth and made big horsepower, the power delivery came on very abruptly and the tires (rim protectors) we ran back then were instantly overwhelmed as were the frames and forks. causing massive poegoing and tank slappers which led to the bike trying to swap ends with itself. There were very few riders who could ride these at the limit for any length of time and I was not one of them. Nixon, Duhamel Smart and, Bauman were Kawasaki’s “go to guys” for that task.
They siezed all the time. The cranks would fail. They were expensive to maintain would keep you guessing and were hard to please. They would make you deaf. They would throw you on the ground and hurt you for making any kind of mistake and required constant attention to every little detail…. Like being married to Perris Hilton I would imagine. Glad I got to do it but not something I’d want to do all the time. That being said…When they were good, nothing could touch em. The fast ones were #9, #17, #8, and #30, they were ALWAYS green and you wanted to give them lots of room as they went by.
Steve,
Great stuff, I appreciated the well informed comment. It took some rather large huevos to ride those things.
Yes, Rather large huevos and tiny brains were a big help.
Hi Steve – as you know my father now owns this machine and loves it. I am storing and caring for it in my garage and am having some difficulties with the bike and wanted to pick your brain. Can you shoot me an email when you get a sec. Need to get a beeter understanding of the “Race CDI”
Thanks
The ignition boxes are stock, so unless there is something special under the stator cover, it’s just a stock setup.
You should join our triples board, probably the biggest collection of triple experts in the world.
http://kawi2strokes.com/forum
And Steve, Hurley Wilvert might disagree with you a bit about how bad the Hr’s……….