Boring, boring, boring! That was how I ended up thinking about the Kawasaki GT550. It was sold without a sob. A Z1 was marked down as the next acquisition, having fallen for the outrageous toughness of Kawasaki's four cylinder motors. I'd arranged to view one, only to have someone beat me to it by a matter of minutes. Any reasonable Z1 sells very rapidly.
The owner had a KH400 for sale. Now, I don't like strokers so I told him to sod off, especially as he'd promised to keep the Z1 for me. He then mentioned that it was only six hundred notes because it needed new tyres for an MOT. That kind of money doesn't buy much and the stroker triple looked very nice.
Reluctantly, I agreed to a test ride. The motor sounded like all its roller bearings were disintegrating but whacked the bike up the road at a pace the GT never managed. The stroker wail was less offensive than normal because with three cylinders it seemed to sing rather than scream. Given that the tyres were bald, the twitchy handling wasn't that unexpected and I recalled reading that the 400 was the most settled of the Kawasaki triples.
I offered 500 notes and we compromised midway. Used Avons from a nearby breaker for fifty quid, fitted, and I pushed the bike around the corner for a quickie MOT. It failed on loose back wheel and swinging arm bearings. A bit more work, which included having some swinging arm bearings made up as the nearest Kawasaki dealer didn't know anything about the triples, the bike was finally MOT'd, taxed and insured.
The late seventies machine managed all of forty horses in stock trim, but mine ran to K and N filters, degutted silencers and electronic ignition. Judging by the 115mph top end, power was nearer 45 than 40 horses. Enough ponies to get the front end up in the air without much effort and have the back end shaking when accelerating out of corners. Whilst it went better when some effort was made on the throttle there was actually plenty of low end and midrange power. More than on the GT! Three cylinders and direct two stroke power pulses added up to a relatively easy ride.
Except that the spark plugs were short-lived and would oil up if I indulged in too much slow speed work. The dynamics of the bike, with ace-bars and rear-sets, were, anyway, set up for 90mph plus cruising. There were a couple of predictable downsides with throttle to the stop madness - fuel was around 30mpg and oil disappeared at an incredible rate of 50 miles per pint! I'd been spoilt by the GT's 60mpg and no oil needed between changes.
The handling was weird insofar that I was never able to predict just what it was going to do in corners, other than that it didn't like wild inputs. The back end hammered away if I slammed the throttle shut and the front went all light if I whacked it open, to the extent that I couldn't rely on the bike to make it through narrow gaps at speed. Later, I bought some bigger triples, and it has to be said that the 400 wasn't in their deathtrap league.
8000 miles later, no engine troubles, plenty of highway madness and too many near misses, I sold the bike for 1500 quid! I went looking for a Z1 again but ended up buying a fairly original H1 for 800 quid. Z1's were becoming silly in their pricing. The 500 triple had bent forks. As they were crap from new I had no compunction about fitting a pair of BSA legs (off an early Rocket 3) that were on offer cheaply.
The H1 was all about getting the maximum power out its sixties stroker engine and putting it in the lightest, most minimal chassis they could get away with. 60 horses isn't much by modern standards but all those horses appear together like a massive on/off switch, so even by today's standards it's quite a thrilling ride.
The H1's infamous for speed wobbles even on flat, smooth roads. The frame basically tries to fall apart if you back off when banked over. On the other hand, accelerating hard out of bends makes the front end go for the ditch on the other side of the road. With the mad power pulse, very much a white knuckle ride but one which I found strangely enjoyable.
Viewed from behind, through the haze of stroker fumes, mates thought the mad antics of the chassis and curious lines through the bends were amazing. Amazed, anyway, that both machine and I emerged in one piece. This was the curious thing about the old stroker, however close it came to running off the road, with a bit of muscle and a few prayers it actually held together pretty well.
Fuel was amazingly bad at 25mpg, oil consumption similar to the 400, though spark plugs had a maximum life of 500 miles! The final drive chain also only managed to survive for weeks rather than months, though it was of a relatively puny and primitive construction.
Top speed? Don't know. I chickened out at the ton-twenty, there was definitely more in hand but the roads weren't wide enough to contain the wobbles. The TLS front brake combined dangerous snappiness at low speeds with disturbing fade at high velocities, didn't inspire much confidence. In fact, I don't think I've ever come across a worse brake!
The H1 was a mix of raw power, dangerous handling, zany vibration and suicidal braking but it all sort of came together in a mad way, with me hanging on to the large bars for dear life and wrestling the thing into submission for most of the time. Life, at the very least, was never boring.
Took about 4000 miles before someone offered me two grand for the bike. I didn't have the heart to turn down the mad enthusiast. It's one of those things, bikes I set my heart on were inevitably elusive and expensive, things I hadn't really considered turned up easily and cheaply. Thus it came as no surprise to find a late 750 on offer for 1200 notes, in much better nick than the H1.
I thought this was going to be a real killer but the chassis had gained some development and the engine didn't quite have the massive power lunge of the 500. Those factors meant it was much easier to ride. The antiquated solid single disc was an order of magnitude better than the drum but barely up to modern road speeds and a real killer in the wet (due to lag)!
Vibration was pretty heavy above 5000 revs, the engine feeling like it was tearing itself apart. It made even more noise than the smaller triples, themselves full of ringing, piston slap and rattling, which is all pretty normal for Kawasaki triples. I expected the motor to seize at any moment when I ran it above 7500 revs, it really was an awful racket that even drowned out the exhaust wail.
Despite this, fuel was almost reasonable at 35-40mpg and a pint of oil would last for almost a 100 miles. Spark plugs were just as short-lived as its smaller brothers and the engine would sometimes clog up with no warning, causing cagers in town to go berserk. They were already offended by the pollution and excess noise!
For the first time on a Kawasaki triple, I actually experienced an engine seizure. Tightened up momentarily at around 60mph, then freed off. I checked the oil pronto but that was okay. Ended up taking the top end apart, an awful lot of coke deposited in the ports and embedded in the piston tops. One of the rings was worn right down, so a replacement was bunged in. The motor was much quieter but no faster.
Only did about 3000 miles, the extra capacity not working well with the engine configuration. Though better handling, it wasn't as much fun as the H1. Sold it for 1600 notes without a moment's sadness. I finally found a tired old Z1 for 1200 quid, will have to spend that again to sort it out. But I finally got where I wanted to go.
The owner had a KH400 for sale. Now, I don't like strokers so I told him to sod off, especially as he'd promised to keep the Z1 for me. He then mentioned that it was only six hundred notes because it needed new tyres for an MOT. That kind of money doesn't buy much and the stroker triple looked very nice.
Reluctantly, I agreed to a test ride. The motor sounded like all its roller bearings were disintegrating but whacked the bike up the road at a pace the GT never managed. The stroker wail was less offensive than normal because with three cylinders it seemed to sing rather than scream. Given that the tyres were bald, the twitchy handling wasn't that unexpected and I recalled reading that the 400 was the most settled of the Kawasaki triples.
I offered 500 notes and we compromised midway. Used Avons from a nearby breaker for fifty quid, fitted, and I pushed the bike around the corner for a quickie MOT. It failed on loose back wheel and swinging arm bearings. A bit more work, which included having some swinging arm bearings made up as the nearest Kawasaki dealer didn't know anything about the triples, the bike was finally MOT'd, taxed and insured.
The late seventies machine managed all of forty horses in stock trim, but mine ran to K and N filters, degutted silencers and electronic ignition. Judging by the 115mph top end, power was nearer 45 than 40 horses. Enough ponies to get the front end up in the air without much effort and have the back end shaking when accelerating out of corners. Whilst it went better when some effort was made on the throttle there was actually plenty of low end and midrange power. More than on the GT! Three cylinders and direct two stroke power pulses added up to a relatively easy ride.
Except that the spark plugs were short-lived and would oil up if I indulged in too much slow speed work. The dynamics of the bike, with ace-bars and rear-sets, were, anyway, set up for 90mph plus cruising. There were a couple of predictable downsides with throttle to the stop madness - fuel was around 30mpg and oil disappeared at an incredible rate of 50 miles per pint! I'd been spoilt by the GT's 60mpg and no oil needed between changes.
The handling was weird insofar that I was never able to predict just what it was going to do in corners, other than that it didn't like wild inputs. The back end hammered away if I slammed the throttle shut and the front went all light if I whacked it open, to the extent that I couldn't rely on the bike to make it through narrow gaps at speed. Later, I bought some bigger triples, and it has to be said that the 400 wasn't in their deathtrap league.
8000 miles later, no engine troubles, plenty of highway madness and too many near misses, I sold the bike for 1500 quid! I went looking for a Z1 again but ended up buying a fairly original H1 for 800 quid. Z1's were becoming silly in their pricing. The 500 triple had bent forks. As they were crap from new I had no compunction about fitting a pair of BSA legs (off an early Rocket 3) that were on offer cheaply.
The H1 was all about getting the maximum power out its sixties stroker engine and putting it in the lightest, most minimal chassis they could get away with. 60 horses isn't much by modern standards but all those horses appear together like a massive on/off switch, so even by today's standards it's quite a thrilling ride.
The H1's infamous for speed wobbles even on flat, smooth roads. The frame basically tries to fall apart if you back off when banked over. On the other hand, accelerating hard out of bends makes the front end go for the ditch on the other side of the road. With the mad power pulse, very much a white knuckle ride but one which I found strangely enjoyable.
Viewed from behind, through the haze of stroker fumes, mates thought the mad antics of the chassis and curious lines through the bends were amazing. Amazed, anyway, that both machine and I emerged in one piece. This was the curious thing about the old stroker, however close it came to running off the road, with a bit of muscle and a few prayers it actually held together pretty well.
Fuel was amazingly bad at 25mpg, oil consumption similar to the 400, though spark plugs had a maximum life of 500 miles! The final drive chain also only managed to survive for weeks rather than months, though it was of a relatively puny and primitive construction.
Top speed? Don't know. I chickened out at the ton-twenty, there was definitely more in hand but the roads weren't wide enough to contain the wobbles. The TLS front brake combined dangerous snappiness at low speeds with disturbing fade at high velocities, didn't inspire much confidence. In fact, I don't think I've ever come across a worse brake!
The H1 was a mix of raw power, dangerous handling, zany vibration and suicidal braking but it all sort of came together in a mad way, with me hanging on to the large bars for dear life and wrestling the thing into submission for most of the time. Life, at the very least, was never boring.
Took about 4000 miles before someone offered me two grand for the bike. I didn't have the heart to turn down the mad enthusiast. It's one of those things, bikes I set my heart on were inevitably elusive and expensive, things I hadn't really considered turned up easily and cheaply. Thus it came as no surprise to find a late 750 on offer for 1200 notes, in much better nick than the H1.
I thought this was going to be a real killer but the chassis had gained some development and the engine didn't quite have the massive power lunge of the 500. Those factors meant it was much easier to ride. The antiquated solid single disc was an order of magnitude better than the drum but barely up to modern road speeds and a real killer in the wet (due to lag)!
Vibration was pretty heavy above 5000 revs, the engine feeling like it was tearing itself apart. It made even more noise than the smaller triples, themselves full of ringing, piston slap and rattling, which is all pretty normal for Kawasaki triples. I expected the motor to seize at any moment when I ran it above 7500 revs, it really was an awful racket that even drowned out the exhaust wail.
Despite this, fuel was almost reasonable at 35-40mpg and a pint of oil would last for almost a 100 miles. Spark plugs were just as short-lived as its smaller brothers and the engine would sometimes clog up with no warning, causing cagers in town to go berserk. They were already offended by the pollution and excess noise!
For the first time on a Kawasaki triple, I actually experienced an engine seizure. Tightened up momentarily at around 60mph, then freed off. I checked the oil pronto but that was okay. Ended up taking the top end apart, an awful lot of coke deposited in the ports and embedded in the piston tops. One of the rings was worn right down, so a replacement was bunged in. The motor was much quieter but no faster.
Only did about 3000 miles, the extra capacity not working well with the engine configuration. Though better handling, it wasn't as much fun as the H1. Sold it for 1600 notes without a moment's sadness. I finally found a tired old Z1 for 1200 quid, will have to spend that again to sort it out. But I finally got where I wanted to go.
Ian Davis