quote:
Geeto67,
Sounds killer! Could you send me a link to some pics of the H1 bike? I have a couple of questions if you don't mind.
What is the H1 bike like on the highway?
Is the power delivery real pipey or can you do flywheel weight and such
Reliability - Are there upgrades that make the kawi doubles and triples run better (plug fouling,surging,jetting,etc)
What kinda of money does it take to get into a fresh motor,carbs,ignition,expansion chambers ?
I have been toying around with a h2 upgrade for this bike for a few years. The main obstacle being lack of information. The current 1075 motor is maybe making 80 hp at the rear wheel. Although by today's standards that is a trivial number it does also make about 65-75 ftlbs under 5k which makes it lots of fun to ride. Lets just say this bike has vulcanized a back tire or two :O
It would sweet to hear (and smell) three cyclinders of two stoke fury on the road though.
--Tim
Hey Tim,
I'll send you some pics when I get home from work. I haven't ridden the bike since I put the fzr400 rear swingarm and wheel, because I need to weld some rearsets on and decided to swap in an h2 motor. I also needed to fab custom chambers to work with the swingarm (in the process of doing right now).
The h1 was a running bike when I started and it was very docile on the highway because it is a 1974 (one of the detuned h1s). I don't think kawasaki got the sprockets right on the later h1s so I might go to a smaller rear, bigger front as in town crusing I found myself bouncing back and forth between 2nd and 3rd.
The later h1's are only midly pipey, they are not the smooth pull like the t500, but right around 3K-3500 they come on and blast off. When I switch to chambers the powerband will get more pronounced. The early H1's are really "pipey" and less refined. Same goes for the h2, the 72-73 is a monster, the 74-75 is a little more livable.
I did however ride the bike with the fzr600 front end on it for a while and it makes a world of difference from the stock setup. The bike handled better turn in was quicker, and the whole front was lighter but more stable (and yes I did hook up the stock steering dampner). The ideal setup for a triple frame is 18" wheels anyway, not the 19 inchers it came with. I had the rear set up similar to what I am doing now but with a one inch lift in the rear.
As far as reliability, h-series triples are farily reliable. The early ones had real problems with their electronics to the point where kawasaki switched back to points for one year. The 1973 h1 is the best h1 electrics because it uses the h2 system. Teh h2 electrics are rock solid. The only reason these bikes foul plugs is if they are not kept in tune and are allowed to run rich (or someone tries to run them premix). The oil pump does a great job of injecting the oil where you need, just keep the carbs tuned and you are good to go. Lectrons seem to be the big upgrade for carb reliabilty. The surging issues are usually caused by the bike's vibration rattling something loose like the carbs or the manifolds. The h2's shake a lot so something is always coming lose. There is a rubbermount mod out there but it requires later cases and some machining. A triple will never be honda reliable but it will be fast and fun. Considering that h2s are the fastest 750cc drag bikes there is a host of speed parts that make the bike super bullet proof and super quick, it just depends on what you want to spend...which brings us to the next answer.
As far as cost to get into an h2 motor, it all depends. The cheapest way to to find a local who doesn't have a computer and offer him $1 per cc for it. Ebay has made h2 stuff rediculous but there are some reasonable people out there. I just paid $500 for a 1974 h2 motor that is ready to go in the bike carbs to wiring. It is not a fresh motor, but so long as the crank seals are good I am good to go. Expect to pay in the neighborhood of $300-500 for a core engine. If you need a crank rebuild Damon Kirkland in Alabama is the crank god but it will cost you about $350 for a full rebuild, but if you go that route you wll pay extra for labrynth seals (last 10 times longer). You can get reed conversions for the cylinders from Darren Abrams in upstate NY that make stupid power, but pe prepared to spend. Darren also does porting as does Maddog down in texas. You can find all these guys on the kawasaki triples board -
www.kawasakitriplesworldwide.com . Tomcat the site admin makes a killer set of chambers but at $700 a set it's a major investment (they are the best chambers available). Ebay dencos run about $200 and pro-flo was recently wholesaling their pipes for $250 or something like that. H1's are decidedly cheaper than the 750s but you won't make the power the 750 does. The main advantage of the 500 and 750 over you existing mill is you will match you existing hp with a lot less weight. Torque may be a little lacking though.
the kawasaki triple message board at
www.kawasakitriplesworldwide.com will hook you up with all the info you need. Some of the old factory kawi drag racers are actually on the board and chime in from time to time (like Tony Nicosia).
Considering your kz is using the stock frame I would advise against swapping into the existing chassis you have because it is a lot of work (h2s are not a bolt in to the kz frame desptie the fact that the bikes share suspension pieces), your stock kz frame is heavy, and there are better frames, like the 1989-1996 fzr600s or the 1988-1990 fzr400s. If you are close to NY you are welcome to stop by and check out what I have. I should have my stretfighter and my drag h1 back and roadworthy by christmas.
my e-mail is
[email protected] drop me an e-mail and i'll send you some pics.
Inspiration comes from the strangest places.....
