1969 Kawasaki H1 Mach III

Cold start video for Bring A Trailer

[@mwcorley1]

I owned one when I was in my twenties. Didn’t handle worth a damn but there was nothing else on the road at the time that could beat me accelerating in a straight line. Hearing that two stroke triple sound is magic.

[@duskintheforest584]

Too fast for that rickety frame and suspension

[@user-xz4co3jq8y]

sounds, smell, vibration, everything so exciting. Never forget 70’s. Forever 2 stroke.

[@tklrrbccar3906]

You said it brother! They were the best! Well, maybe except for the 1969 Honda CB750.

[@jameshaywood878]

Old Japanese bikes, the best ever.

[@georgemattar1705]

I have owned five of these screamers. Greatest sound ever and reliable. Never broke down.

[@SpringVinMoto]

This one ran great and stopped great too.

[@tritop]

Owned 5 too (but 750cc), and i am serious, reliable and easy handling imo

[@ramalama9650]

These bikes are absolutely beautiful and the sound of a triple ... just superb!

[@duskintheforest584]

Being a beginner biker at the time these bikes were new imports I really appreciate these awesome two stroke street bikes! They were deceptively fast and could keep up with almost anything else out there. That's a stone beautiful example you have there!

[@mughug9616]

TY for video. The sound recording really helped to take me back to my RD, GT and X7 days. For me, it was mainly Yamaha starting with an RD350A and every model from that till my lovely RD500LC. Like many others, 2-stokes hold a special place in our hearts and many memories.

[@mazdamaniac4643]

Eyyy! Another RD jockey! Alright my brother? 😄

[@SpringVinMoto]

I have an RD400F. That would make a good video

[@SuccessShared]

Best days...

[@colinashby3775]

That's for sure.

[@robertmcwhinney4596]

Dude! Two words, Expansion chambers!😎👍

[@ericeverson5956]

I feel your pain, man. I bought one of these brand new in 1971 (It was a 1971 model) I have had a lot of motorcycles in my life, but that was a very special bike. When I think about it now, it was not a bike, it was an addiction. Thanks much for this video. I lived after my 3 cylinder, you will to my friend. Peace

[@449Raphael]

Yes for sure it’s an addiction. When I ride my rgv I feel like 30years younger. It’s a shame these bikes are so expensive nowadays. I definitely would buy one.

[@drftsnvk]

too

[@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710]

@Mark Holtdorf Had a 1971 as well. I considered mine to be a street motocross bike. It would do anything a Husqvarna 400 would deo but on the street.

[@duskintheforest584]

Oh the bikes we've had in our 50+ years riding! I've only ever had two brand new bikes, a 1975 Suzuki GT185 twin street bike and a 1999 Honda Shadow 750 ACE. All the others were pasture or backyard finds I restored

[@mickbrenton]

I haven’t seen one of them in over 50 years! 🥺

[@jeffreydowell8970]

I miss them and the sound

[@arnenelson4495]

Miss my '69 and '74, wheelie monsters that made music!

[@Rasputinovich]

This was my first bike back in the 70’s. Same color. I learned how to ride on this bike. It was the fastest bike on the road in its day!

[@billgardiner9305]

It was.......and you lived to tell about it !!! ......were you lucky ? Or good ? Maybe a bit of both ??

[@Rasputinovich]

@@billgardiner9305 I was living a dream I had that turned out to last 50 years and counting! I took a lot of risks and had several close calls. It had to be a luck.

[@duskintheforest584]

My '75 Suzuki GT185T would get up to 75 mph with my formerly skinny 130lbs on it. Sweet bikes from Japan in that Era. Motors designed to be seen, not covered in plastic.

[@sesquashtwo]

You had to love these two strokes...only 7 moving parts in the whole engine!

[@SPSteve]

I had a 72 H1 and a 74 S3. Love the Kawaski triples!

[@nicnak4475]

Nice ! Takes me back to when I was 13 and saw one of these at the Earls Court motorcycle show in London, That and the Honda 750 got me hooked on bikes for life !

[@Bobby-fj8mk]

Yes - that's a lovely example of the first H1 500s. It was a time of wonderful bikes: Honda CB750, H2 750 Kawasaki, Suzuki 750 water bottle, Yamaha RD350 and then the Kawasaki 900 Z1 changed everything forever. All modern super bikes today have their origin in the Z1 900.

[@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710]

@@Bobby-fj8mk Kawasaki 350s too. My 110lb. friend would eat Honda 450s & 350s.

[@Bobby-fj8mk]

@@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710 - yes - S2 350 - I rode many of them too - a lovely bike and sounded great.

[@merlin5476]

That is in beautiful condition & looks & sounds brilliant, the area looks really nice too 👍, i cant believe there's hardly any other traffic around. Great job.

[@caryskaar4444]

I've owned 2 of these, a 69 I bought new and a 70 I bought while in the navy. Fun bikes..

[@roadtoad7704]

I bought a brand new 1974 H2 (750 cc). A whopping 72 HP! (The 4 cycle 903 cc Z1 had 84 HP) . I replaced the primary drive sprocket with one that had 1 less gear tooth. That lowered the top end about 7 MPH. Still topped out at 140 at 7K RPM. Did that 1 time and survived.

[@RioSul50]

I owned an H2 750 in 73. Only had is for a few months but it topped out at 139 mph (according to the speedometer). It would wobble at times when over 100 mph but noy bad enough to cause a crash, It was a very fast bike and a Kawasaki 900 was the only thing on the raod at the time that could give it a run.

[@DogSpirit1]

It's a beast that 750 ccm..also the 500 ccm..900 and 1000.. I have try them all..with huge respect 😬😬 Kawasaki it's a very good brand..HONDA CB 750 to .. 😃😃 💐✨🌼🌹💝🌹🌼✨💐

[@Glenrsi]

Loved my Kawasaki triples. I had a charcoal 69, then another 7 different year models over the years. Last one was the KH 500, was down in horsepower.

[@jamesbottger5894]

All of them after '72 were down on power...EPA regulations were choking down the 2 strokes so badly they ended up not being much faster than the 4 strokes...

[@Glenrsi]

@@jamesbottger5894: Only the KH was less.

[@jamesbottger5894]

@@Glenrsi Not true. Look at the H2. The '72 model produced 74 hp, while the '73 model produced 71 hp. They went down in power every year...

[@Glenrsi]

Sorry, meant to say i was talking about the 500. Had 60 bhp then the KH only had 50

[@jamesbottger5894]

@@Glenrsi I'm talking about all of the Kawasaki triples. They all suffered from dwindling hp numbers each year because of EPA regulations...

[@countryboy4542]

I started out in '68 with a Yamaha YR2 350, strong runner. That '69 H1 is Beautiful, I love it. Early 90's I had 2 '71 H1's. One box stock, the other was a mess. I took it all apart & redid it, used the stock one to copy the graphics & paint the other. I'm no painter but it looked better than the stock stick-on graphics. I sold them to a dealer in Houston, wish I still had them.

[@mariastenljung9159]

Great Bike, once upon the time these Bikes were the most high performing standard motorcycle in the world

[@lrital59]

le bruit du 2 temps 3 cylindres est extraordinaire

[@stanleycronk4136]

Oh what a feelin'. All that power with the freedom of being skid-lid free! Gotta luv it!

[@SpringVinMoto]

Normally I'm AGAT but I look so damn good on this bike

[@miked1365]

I bought a 71 H1 for $300. No mirrors or turn signals. Front brake was a joke. Wheelie easy in first two gears. I learned how to ride on this bike. Loved it!!

[@SpringVinMoto]

Don't you wish you could find another one for $300!?!

[@dougpeterson3356]

Remember the drag start procedure: passenger peg down, brace right leg against passenger peg, 3500 rpm, lay flat on tank, feed clutch in very quickly (do not drop!), 1-2, 2-3 shifts as fast as you can move your toe. Tach just waggled all over, no help at all. Things settled a bit in 3rd but 4 still came quickly. Top of 4 was 90ish but that was about it. Flat in 5 was a bit over 100. But you sure got there in a hurry.

[@colinashby3775]

The power band..Oooh what memories

[@thcenturymanthcenturyManpart]

It's beautiful

[@user-wg5zz9ho7v]

That was a feared sound for other...bikes. THE WIDOW MAKER.

[@stephenwhite3576]

I bought one in 1970. They were called widow makers. The brakes were crap, the handling sucked, they smoked like crazy, but they could beat a Honda CB 750 in a drag race.

[@jamesappling1212]

They can eat a Z1 900 for breakfast too. Been there, done that back in the day. Four strokes didn't catch up until the 90s.

[@449Raphael]

In 1967 2 strokes already flirted with the 400hp/litre mark. Without turbo or other stuff. Just N A. Look at the 3 cilinder 50cc Suzi with 20000rpm and 16 gears to keep it in the narrow powerband. It delivered 390hp/litre. 40 years later the Honda GP500 delivered 200 hp/litre. Fair to say they didn’t develop the 2strokes, because they only found 10hp in 40 years. Imagine if they developed the 2stroke like the 4stroke with turbo and injection and some other stuff, they would be invincible and impossible to ride also. I ride many different bikes over the years, but the only bike that gives you a smile from ear to ear is a 2stroke. That’s why I still have my rgv 250 from the 90s. Every bike I owned I sell in 1 or 2 years , but not my 2 stroke. I want to buy a fantastic and tuned RG500 but 32000€ is a lot of money…. I keep dreaming….

[@jamesbottger5894]

@@jamesappling1212 No way. I had both. The 900 was faster...the 500 was quicker than the Honda 750 though...

[@jamesappling1212]

@@jamesbottger5894 My days of hot bikes ended years ago. Here is a little math most people forget. A four stroke fires ( powerpulse) every two crank to rotation. The two stroke produces a powerpulse Every rotation. A 500cc two stroke, all other variables being equal, matches a 1000 cc four stroke. And by the Racer's math that old 750 cc monster is equal to a 1500 cc four stroke. I've owned both bikes also. The two stroke, in proper tune, will definitely eat it's four stroke descendant for breakfast, without salt. Been there, done that, when I was 22 and had the reflexes to run these things.

[@jamesbottger5894]

@@jamesappling1212 Sorry, it doesn't work that way. The H1 produced 60 hp, while the Z1 produced 82 hp. Not only did I own both of these bikes myself, my neighbor owned a Z1 when I had my H1. The H1 would stay close, but the Z1 was still faster...the two strokes were quicker than bikes that had more displacement to a point, but quicker than a 900 or a 1000 wasn't a reality...

[@user-if4vq2vo1u]

美しい街並みに純白の清純なマッハが映えますね、素敵です。

[@TR6Telos]

H1D me and I am still here! What a look and sound ooooh!

[@kenunderwood8621]

Beautiful!

[@TR6Telos]

That model has the best look

[@12namleht]

My father had the H1, H2 & the Suzuki Water buffalo as well ...all at the same time. I learned to ride on the street with the H2...it was easier to ride than the 500..He is 83 and still has 10 bikes...including the Water Buffalo....

[@SuccessShared]

Wow. Love to see the water buffalo...

[@mchristr]

Rode one as a teenager. Scared the crap out of me...but the sound was unreal.

[@drphilgee6430]

My friend had one...wheel stand in every gear....frightening as hell

[@kted252]

Beautiful thing……❤️

[@kevinoglesby8001]

I had a 1972 350 triple Kawasaki when I was 15. I bought it off an old lady who lived across the street. She said it was sons and that he had won it in a raffle . She said he rode it one time and wrecked it, apparently he wheeled over by accident. I told her I would buy it if I got it running. I took it home and the motor was seized. My dad sprayed some WD-40 in the cylinders and let it set overnight. The next day we got it cranked and I rode that bike for years, it would scoot. I paid $300.00 for it. 😂

[@marlonjohnfreyburger6242]

Super 2 temps cette Kawa 👍🏼, mais il parait que les vibrations sont bien là.

[@BlackWhirlies]

Very nice!

[@mrsmith4662]

Great bike.

[@dbmail545]

Amazing to see one of that vintage without crash damage. Those were terribly under braked with that DLS front drum.

[@SpringVinMoto]

The front brake on this one was very effective. Set up is key

[@Chris-ml8hs]

Best sound ever , rinnngggtintintin ...mine started with S2 350 an ended with H2 750.. H2 power band pulled the front up even leaning over it in first second an third .

[@kawasakizx41988]

最高！！ kawasakiの中でも、最も好きなバイクです！！　Great!! Mach3 is my favorite bike in Kawasaki!!

[@michaelcarmean4906]

💥I Have One and Three 71’s They We’re Feared In Their Day💥

[@SpringVinMoto]

Still are 🏍

[@ThePontiacgto65]

My sister in 69had the same bike, same color, drums front brake, very rare in France at this time

[@richardmoorer2668]

Had a 71 H1 500 metallic blue

[@yamrz500]

Beautiful, Hold on to that the Prices keep SKYROCKETING!

[@glenminnick3724]

In addition to my 250 yammy twin , i later purchased a Bultaco 370 frontera , street legal at the time, what a beast! Iv'e wasted $ on bikes for years , Ducati, Bmw , japanese etc. Nothing like the 2 stroke rush!

[@thcenturymanthcenturyManpart]

69 has a breeze exhaust port exhaust Port is where the power difference from the 69 mi to all the rest of the triple and 500cc model

[@zeke2566]

You mean bridge port exh,correct??

[@thcenturymanthcenturyManpart]

@@zeke2566 yes I do exhaust port

[@geezler4083]

bridged intake port

[@onetakeadventureswithjoeld4679]

COOL ride Two strokes are cool !

[@stevenjones6364]

At the time these came out it made the triumph 500 speed twin look slow👍😊

[@need100k]

Anyone watching this, if you haven't yet, check out the KZbin channel for Allen Millyard. He added a cylinder to a Kawasaki H2 750 and made it into a 1000cc two-stroke. He said it has 120HP. His other bikes are even more amazing.

[@alansmollen]

A killer machine in more ways than one I had a 72 500 H1C. Of course i couldnt stop so ran off the road to avoid a car who pulled out in front,, scars are all that remain. Id like another bike any day!

[@jonathanbanks8749]

The mid-Seventies Suzuki 550 triple two stroke was a much more civilized bike. Drove a friends in 1976.

[@velobob4299]

I had a KH 500 back in the eighties. lots of fun, but the handling was awful. It seemed to have a mind of its own. Sold it and bought a Honda cb 400 four and put a yoshi kit on it. Still got it .

[@garyhoward4064]

Was my first bike and also rode without a helmet ..

[@markbrandon7359]

I bought my 69 in high school for $450, I traded it for a 72 750 Tripple now that bike was rad even with low bars and my weight as far forward as possible as soon as the tach hit 4,000 RPM the front end was straight up in the air. Straight across trade the 750 ran like crap sputtering dude asked to trade I said yes turned out one of the main jets had fallen off I was riding it 2 hours later

[@user-xu5qz9qq7o]

handsomeなオーナーと白いマッハ それにしても美しい住宅街 マッハも幸せでしょう

[@oldninjadude1]

The great granddaddy of my Ninja 🦾🦾🖤🤍🖤

[@george1la]

I used to own serial #00069. At the time nothing could touch it.

[@pinslayer4579]

With chambers they sound like chainsaws with rabies......add a little caster bean oil and some redline LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL !!!!

[@pbs7705]

That's how its done!! I have a 75, her name Mimi!

[@SpringVinMoto]

Thanks! Tell Mimi I said hi

[@will7its]

Bad ass......

[@michaelarchangel1163]

Is it true that the subsequent blue coloured, 1971 model H1A continued with the electronic ignition setup in America ? We were relegated to three sets of points in the UK, due to nannying government concerns over tv interference by the first two model years. We didn't get a CDI system again until the H1D emerged.

[@geoffhess2267]

Yes. My 71 had CDI which was always reliable.

[@michaelarchangel1163]

@@geoffhess2267 A fella here had a blue '71 which holed a piston after the timing had slipped a bit. Points and condensers, not nearly as good as your bike was. I had a KH500, ported to within an inch of its life, to get past the emissions restricting loss of performance. All the best to you from Burry Port, South Wales.

[@kenturmon3660]

Nothing gives me wood like a kawi triple

[@SpringVinMoto]

TMI

[@kokolovitch56]

I’m sure the neighbors were glad when you stopped riding it here.

[@user-ch6kf5ct2c]

А у нас в 80-е были чехословацкие ява350 и чз 350, которые толком и не ехали.

[@zeke2566]

Turn up the volume pal.....

[@Wilson632]

Has the two-stroke band been lifted in the United States🤔

[@SpringVinMoto]

Regulations keep new 2-stroke street bikes off our roads. You can still ride the old ones though. There are new 2-stroke scooters and dirt bikes available

[@rickg.5171]

Keeper.

[@davidelliott5843]

Best to not have it on the main stand for starting. They are made of unobtainium and were not strong when new. There should be no need the kick the heck out of it. My Suzuki Kettle 750 (same power pretty much) starts with a prod on the starter. Choke on ignition off one kick. Choke off, ignition on and one kick has it running.

[@NCWharfRat]

I used to start mine with my hand. Just to show off. Easy with low compression…

[@tommitchell8425]

My DREAM BIKE

[@SpringVinMoto]

An achievable dream. Go for it!

[@tommitchell8425]

@@SpringVinMoto I actually have 3 vintage bikes as we speak.2 Nice Hondas- 350 Scrambler 550 K 4 and a BSA lighting.Just don't have the scratch for Mach III.At least I can ride

[@SpringVinMoto]

@@tommitchell8425 Sounds like you are living the dream to me

[@peterueberdiek7774]

Good to ride in 55 mp/h country, but not in Germoney😅

[@llewvirtue861]

If it did not buzz don't waste your time trying to start it

[@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710]

Wow! It's a 53 year old motorcycle that is quicker than any vehicle within sight of that intersection.

[@SpringVinMoto]

Yes, and more badass

[@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710]

@@SpringVinMoto More smiles to the mile too.

[@richardmorris7063]

I think I heard the angels sing! Holy smokes that takes us back. Once these nuggets got to around 3 k Rome you best hold on. I believe its brother the H2 was called the Widow Maker.. For good reason. They got more civilized w/ time though..

[@kathywilke5180]

Roommate had an H2, he was always doing wheelies with a girl on the back.

[@janh12340]

Ther is a broken compression ring on 1 cylinder

[@Adnankhan-hm5yg]

2 stroke bikes 🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@VistaThaiGuy]

Seen a lot of wrecked bikes in Alabama that Vietnam vets had....😎

[@ribalderr6052]

I wouldnt go down the same street more than once. two-strokes really pist off the peoples man. lol

[@SpringVinMoto]

They don't mind, it smokes out the mosquitos

[@wingmasterjimmy6724]

Just on the cusp of the powerband ,not enough tar..

[@_Pretender]

Ух ты!') Та это же ИЖ'ак!')) Даже звук его!))) Upd.: ...только бльо - там три котла!

[@_Pretender]

@@SpringVinMoto Thanks for the answer, but I'm not a "Russian brother"! ((Brothers do not come to your house with War! Russians and Russia, this is the most monstrous fetid pus on planet Earth - all warriors, if they have honor, dignity, deserve respect! But "Russians have neither honor nor dignity. Russia are massively destroying civilians and peaceful cities of Ukraine! And even cities where there are no military installations and where most people spoke ... Russian! These are dishonorable barbarians ...

[@_Pretender]

@@SpringVinMoto Thanks for the answer, but I'm not a "Russian brother"! ((Brothers do not come to your house with War! Russians and Russia, this is the most monstrous fetid pus on planet Earth - all warriors, if they have honor, dignity, deserve respect!

[@_Pretender]

@@SpringVinMoto ! But "Russians have neither honor nor dignity. Russia and Putin are massively destroying civilians and peaceful cities of Ukraine! And even cities where there are no military installations and where most people spoke ... Russian!

[@_Pretender]

These are dishonorable barbarians ...

[@_Pretender]

@@SpringVinMoto I am Ukrainian and Russians have never been brothers to us! Watch the song: "We were never brothers." This Ukrainian poetess wrote in 2015, when Russia despicably took away our Ukrainian Crimea!

[@brianbiro9094]

FUCKING AWESOME BIKE MAN👊👍👍✌🇺🇸🤍

[@danielreiss1156]

Just start that f'n. thing already!

[@raymondsanderson3768]

That’s Mach 3, not Mack!

[@mickroom7603]

What means a Stop signs to American Riders?

[@SpringVinMoto]

Merely a suggestion. 😁

[@mickroom7603]

@@SpringVinMoto thought so

[@SpringVinMoto]

I went back and checked today. There are no stop signs at either of those intersections.

[@mebeasensei]

I was too young to witness the whole impact these bikes must have had on the motorcycle scene in general. So I wonder, did the Harley riders consider them a novelty or a serious bike? Did they maybe buy them? Did they even know they existed? What about the British bike aficionados? I wonder if it was a new generation of bikers that were not interested in the old iron and were enthralled to see these high revving screaming little machines. I suppose they started to quickly realise how fast and dangerous they were? Can you imagine the movie 'Easy Riders' working with these Kwackers (as we call them in Australia) ? And yet Mad Max in 1979 was full of these Japanese fours..so the change must have taken place by then. I don't suppose Vietnam vets bought 'em? I'm guessing 17 year olds wanted them badly, not bearded bikies nearing 30. But maybe I am completely off the mark.

[@SpringVinMoto]

I little before my time but the Harley riders for sure knew about these bikes. British bike were considered "beginners bikes" and the Japanese bikes, "J@p Crap". But secretly they all wanted H1's LOL

[@glen6945]

ouch

[@jaymorgan4475]

I love the bike. Would you be interested in selling it?

[@SpringVinMoto]

Thanks. I sold on Bring a Trailer a while ago

[@alexandrossotiropoulos5621]

A helmet will be nice also.

[@Sal9499]

World's fastest unicycle......

[@needparalegal]

I gave away my fully chromed H2:(

[@user-jr9wv8yi1m]

ハカイダーのバイクってコレでした？

[@melinaspanos6218]

I remember that this motorcycle had the nickname of a flying coffin. I didn't exist yet, but whoever owned it gave it this not very noble title. Sorry my not perfect English. Ellenida 🇬🇷 Γεια σε όλους. Bye bye. 👍

[@SpringVinMoto]

Flying coffin! Love it

[@radioace318la]

aw, man. my pal owned one of those. He got it maybe a month after I bought my 1976 CB 750. He told me he was thinking about the Mach III. He ended up buying it. Of course, the race was on. We didn't have internet then. We knew nothing. well, we did know a Harley was out of the question. We were geeks on our stone stock bikes anyway. Besides, The first Harley I tangled with, I ate his lunch and dinner. The day he got his bike we met up on the south side of town near the AT&T plant. (was Western Electric back then, we built home phones) We line up on this two-lane flat ass concrete road. it was relatively new so it was in great shape. (I much prefer asphalt roads) He gives the nod, We dump the clutch. He dry stalls his bike. LOL. I was feeling I had psyched him out. We get back on the line. He told me to give the nod this time. I did. WTH!?? He left me like he had a rocket tied to his ass. The Hell You Say!?!? I wished I had dry stalled this time. I was smelling and seeing his blue smoke and the Ringah dingg gg ggg. I backed off in the first 300 feet. We got back on the line, again he holeshot me so bad the old man sitting on his porch was laughing at me. This time, he got me again but I found his achilles' heel. He shoots his wad at about 700-800 feet down the road. I would catch and pass his ass each time but he continues to holeshot me. Thanks for the great memories. Cheers from Louisiana.

[@SpringVinMoto]

Great story. I'll have some video of my 1969 CB750 up soon.

[@humandroid53]

Mack! 🙄