MOTORCYCLES PAST AND PRESENT

[Pongo]

7 minutes ago, stuhan said:

Thanks for these photo's they are great and in my collection now

No worries mate :)

Actually, you know your bikes maybe you or someone here can answer me a question (or help solve a bit of a chat between me and a mate at work)

Do you know which bike had the nickname and reputation of being the "widowmaker"?, I always thought it was the H2 Kawasaki 750, my mate says it was the GS850 suzuki but we both also think it might have been the 350LC !

I did have a 350LC in the day, then replaced it with a YPVS. The 350 was a bit of a cow in the wet even with Pirelli Phantoms on it but it did handle ok and treated with some respect would behave itself.

Cheers :)

[stuhan]

39 minutes ago, Pongo said:

No worries mate :)

Actually, you know your bikes maybe you or someone here can answer me a question (or help solve a bit of a chat between me and a mate at work)

Do you know which bike had the nickname and reputation of being the "widowmaker"?, I always thought it was the H2 Kawasaki 750, my mate says it was the GS850 suzuki but we both also think it might have been the 350LC !

I did have a 350LC in the day, then replaced it with a YPVS. The 350 was a bit of a cow in the wet even with Pirelli Phantoms on it but it did handle ok and treated with some respect would behave itself.

Cheers :)

I'm sure that was the Kawasaki KH 750 H2 triple 2 stroke 1971-72  125-130mph

[stuhan]

My mechanic mate in Plymouth u.k was a nutter, he had one of these, Kawasaki 900 Z1B. He had modified the top end & we hurtled down the A38 from Ivybridge to Plymouth most days to work, this bike topped 164mph 2 up, scared me to death,he was nuts,but an excellent rider and a successful motocross rider on his works Yamaha YZ 250 & Maico 400. Later he put the ZZ1B motor into a rickman frame, nice cafe racer.

 

 

Edited August 2, 2021 by stuhan
mistake

[stuhan]

That same mate of mine talked me into having a go at motocross, i was very unsure about this, but he convinced me.He gave me an old Husqvarna 250cc scrambler, no doubt from the distant rear of his shed looking at it. Well short story, i could not stay on it for more than 5 mins, the suspension on it was so bad it was like riding a wild horse, had me on my ass at every opportunity it had, most embarrassing in front of a crowd, i gave up motocross that day.That same day, another mate came flying past us in the pit area on his Ossa with the throttle cable jammed on full, i'm still in tears now recalling that days events.

My similar horse that day

[highonthai]

Any old trials riders out there?

Remember this bike? And the rider?

Edited August 2, 2021 by highonthai

[stuhan]

4 hours ago, highonthai said:

Any old trials riders out there?

Remember this bike? And the rider?

Got me on that one,

[Dedinbed]

In ascending .. 

French , Magnat Debron 

Germany , Schüttoff 

Italian , Galbusera 

Swiss , Motosacoche 

France again , Koehler Escoffier

Edited August 2, 2021 by Dedinbed
Splleign

[Pongo]

3 hours ago, stuhan said:

Got me on that one,

Same here, My Saturday mornings as a kid were spent watching "Kick Start" and "Junior Kick Start" but never paid too much attention to the riders of the time, despite Trials being popular along with Speedway, my Uncle took us to see the The Birmingham Brummies at Perry Barr, the noise and smell was awesome ! (at Speedway, not Perry Barr itself lol).

Glad to hear it was the KH750 being the "Widowmaker". Was that Kawasaki's response to "the Kettle"?. I've had a go on a restored GT380 years ago, they were a lovely bike and it was running on Castrol R brought back some memories. I couldn't get over how heavy it was though.

I still hanker after a classic bike to restore. Luckily I've got the time, the space and some cash, but RD's are fetching ridiculous money, so they're out of the question, I'm leaning towards a Gpz900R A1 which might need a bit of fettling, or maybe a Gpz750 (non Turbo).

 

[Dedinbed]

45 minutes ago, Pongo said:

Perry Barr itself lol).

Glad to hear it was the KH750 being the "Widowmaker". Was that Kawasaki's response to "the Kettle"?.

Suzy's GT750 was released in Japan late 1971 with the American and Euro markets getting theirs early 1972 at about the same time as Kawasaki's seminal KH750 H2 hit the streets .. both were products of the time when petrol and oil were cheap and plentiful but the oil crisis ironically not long after both of them went on sale signed their death warrants with the Kawa' being dropped by 1975 and the GT by '77

The Suzy was always softer and more rounded than the psychotic KH and ridden fairly gently could almost tour where'as the Kawasaki only had one purpose which was to leave everything in its wake in a cloud of blue oil smoke ( though Suzy could also smoke with the best of them if you caned her ) whilst frightening the sheet out of the rider at the same time .. both were reliable if maintained though the Kawasaki could go through pistons particularly the centre pot which always ran hotter than either of the other two .. and both drank petrol like there was a hole in the bottom of the tank .. the Suzy with its symmetrical exhaust system always had a lovely burble at low revs turning to a hard edged howl when tapped .. K H sounded like a bag of nails with a demonic cackle ticking over ( Suzuki's water cooling helped damp a lot of mechanical engine noise where'as the K H was air-cooled ) that rose to a wail before letting rip with a hair standing up on the back of the neck scream once it hit the power band .. 

Both are impractical as everyday runners now with the cost of fuel and oil alone seeing to that but both are icons of 70's motorcycles that I'll remember with fondness for the rest of my days .. 

[Dedinbed]

Yamaha also considered a big 2 stroke that would signal their move from a maker of smaller 2 stroke bikes .. a bike that would rival the Kawa' and Suzy .. enter the GL750 a 4 cyl fuel injected stroker with looks to match the other two .. Yamaha though sensed the wind of change against big 2 strokes regarding their fuel consumption and pollution issues and ultimately chose not to put it into production .. 

[highonthai]

For any of you that grew up in the states, had dinner tonight with "Preston Petty" the famous racer and inventor of the plastic motocross fender. He's quite old but sharp as a tack. We had a good talk about the good old days of desert racing, flat track and motocross.

Unfortunately, allot of the Legends are dying off and I feel honored and grateful to have met and known a few of them.

 

[Daley]

Did someone mention a Yamaha LC350. 
Bought this brand new, slowly added a few mods & blew it up

Edited August 3, 2021 by Daley

[Pongo]

2 hours ago, Daley said:

Did someone mention a Yamaha LC350. 
Bought this brand new, slowly added a few mods & blew it up

I'm seeing a pair of Microns! always a good start to tuning an LC, followed by reed valves, small Air filters then maybe some Stan Stephens magic. The problem with LC's is that when tuned they are like hand grenades with very loose pins.

Mine had a bellypan and bikini fairing, standard pipes and set up but boy were they good fun!.

[Daley]

33 minutes ago, Pongo said:

I'm seeing a pair of Microns! always a good start to tuning an LC, followed by reed valves, small Air filters then maybe some Stan Stephens magic. The problem with LC's is that when tuned they are like hand grenades with very loose pins.

Mine had a bellypan and bikini fairing, standard pipes and set up but boy were they good fun!.

Yes, you obviously can’t see the reeds. You can just make out the small cone filters, K&Ns if I remember. The microns sounded sweet AF, they were a fairly new design so didn’t sound like a can of nails of old 
The sawn off rear mudguard had an illegal mini number plate fitted shortly after this picture was taken. I didn’t particularly like the bikini fairing but was after a belly pan just before I blew the engine on the way the Scarborough of all places.

You had to be really careful on the the throttle as the front wheel would lift in every gear especially if carrying a pillion

[Kenneth]

 

[Kenneth]

2001 BMW k1200 LT. Been so many places. Chicago, New York, Dallas x4, Toronto, Vancouver x4 El Paso. 110000 kms. Still runs so very good. Prefer this bike over the Harley in the mountains. Corners so much better and quicker. Also has lots to accelerate out the corners.

 

ken

[stuhan]

On 8/2/2021 at 1:57 PM, Dedinbed said:

In ascending .. 

French , Magnat Debron 

Germany , Schüttoff 

Italian , Galbusera 

Swiss , Motosacoche 

France again , Koehler Escoffier

All amazing photo's but i love that Italian , Galbusera ,saved them all

[Dedinbed]

9 minutes ago, stuhan said:

All amazing photo's but i love that Italian , Galbusera ,saved them all

Long lost Italian marque who died before WW2 .. it is 500cc V8 supercharged 2 stroke and such a rare bike even good pics are hard to find but here's 2 more .. 

[stuhan]

On 8/2/2021 at 4:57 PM, Pongo said:

Same here, My Saturday mornings as a kid were spent watching "Kick Start" and "Junior Kick Start" but never paid too much attention to the riders of the time, despite Trials being popular along with Speedway, my Uncle took us to see the The Birmingham Brummies at Perry Barr, the noise and smell was awesome ! (at Speedway, not Perry Barr itself lol).

Glad to hear it was the KH750 being the "Widowmaker". Was that Kawasaki's response to "the Kettle"?. I've had a go on a restored GT380 years ago, they were a lovely bike and it was running on Castrol R brought back some memories. I couldn't get over how heavy it was though.

I still hanker after a classic bike to restore. Luckily I've got the time, the space and some cash, but RD's are fetching ridiculous money, so they're out of the question, I'm leaning towards a Gpz900R A1 which might need a bit of fettling, or maybe a Gpz750 (non Turbo).

We used to go and watch the speedway at hampden park glasgow, the glasgow tigers i recall.The KH750 may have been K's challenger to the kettle but it was not a water cooled engine,so not sure, think it was more 750's were the in thing at that time. Gt 380 loved the crisp noise note of the engine revving,reliable bike ,quick but as you say way to heavy.I loved the smell of "R" to, used it in my Aermacchi 350. Keep looking on f.b marketplace,every now and then you come across some classic's for a reasonable price in Thailland. RD 350 L/C'S were  flyers but yes did go bang a lot.

stu

Edited August 3, 2021 by stuhan
ADD MORE INFO

[stuhan]

On 8/2/2021 at 7:32 PM, Dedinbed said:

Yamaha also considered a big 2 stroke that would signal their move from a maker of smaller 2 stroke bikes .. a bike that would rival the Kawa' and Suzy .. enter the GL750 a 4 cyl fuel injected stroker with looks to match the other two .. Yamaha though sensed the wind of change against big 2 strokes regarding their fuel consumption and pollution issues and ultimately chose not to put it into production .. 

Pity

[stuhan]

10 minutes ago, Dedinbed said:

Long lost Italian marque who died before WW2 .. it is 500cc V8 supercharged 2 stroke and such a rare bike even good pics are hard to find but here's 2 more .. 

What a beauty

[Kenneth]

Motorcycles is where I began my love for Thailand.  I tried booking a motorcycle Tour in Chiang Mia for September 2021. Hahahah didn't see the corvid freight train did we.  The train pulled out of the station in January 2021 when my spouse and I decided to ride with a group in Chiang Mai. We wanted to camp, but plans moved along we were set to stay in accommodations etc. We tried renting a Harley and then a BMW but I'm afraid Covid moved to town. She took over the towns and villages we wanted to see, and shut down the tour operators. That lady Covid really derailed our train. But since then I have studied Thai culture, language, gotten involved with Thaiger. What a gorgeous country and what a privilege it is. My motorcycle has been the greatest camera I ever owned. So many memories, some just make me ponder. The video will follow after we get to Chiang Mia maybe 2022. Perhaps we can meet some of you.

 

cheers,

ken

[Dedinbed]

Neither of these had anything new or revolutionary .. F N were making 4 cyl bikes at the turn of the 20th century , Lambretta were using disc brakes in the 60's and numerous manufacturers had messed with electric starters but what Honda did was wrap it all up in one polished , metal flake painted finished article that changed the face of modern motorcycles for good with the CB750 .. 

Kawasaki also had a 750 4 cyl waiting to be unveiled at the start of the 70's but were caught out with the Honda's release in late 1969 so rather than share any limelight they went back to the drawing board before returning 1972 with the Z1 ..

Anything the H could do so could the Kawasaki only faster .. both of them have been afforded legendary status now with the Kawa's in particular  being valued more as pieces of motorcycling art with prices in the outer atmosphere a few yrs ago .. 

Edited August 3, 2021 by Dedinbed
Sp

[Kenneth]

Oh for the days when me and y Motorcycle sat on the edge ofa crystal blue lake, and sang to the loons and the geese. 

 

[stuhan]

2 hours ago, Kenneth said:

Motorcycles is where I began my love for Thailand.  I tried booking a motorcycle Tour in Chiang Mia for September 2021. Hahahah didn't see the corvid freight train did we.  The train pulled out of the station in January 2021 when my spouse and I decided to ride with a group in Chiang Mai. We wanted to camp, but plans moved along we were set to stay in accommodations etc. We tried renting a Harley and then a BMW but I'm afraid Covid moved to town. She took over the towns and villages we wanted to see, and shut down the tour operators. That lady Covid really derailed our train. But since then I have studied Thai culture, language, gotten involved with Thaiger. What a gorgeous country and what a privilege it is. My motorcycle has been the greatest camera I ever owned. So many memories, some just make me ponder. The video will follow after we get to Chiang Mia maybe 2022. Perhaps we can meet some of you.

cheers,

ken

Sure this virus will be beaten in the near future,and we will have learned our lessons from it.I would like to see a time and a  place post covid where we could all try to meet up and chew the cud about our lives with motorcycles enjoying a beer,meal and some fun for our partner's at an evening do.

stu