Kawasaki
H1 500 Mach III
Kawasaki's Mach
III H1 500cc triple hit the streets soon after
the CB750 but it wasn't the technology which
socked everyone between the eyes, it was its
unique combination of raw, bad-mannered power
and supposedly homicidal handling. Nearly 60bhp
was claimed for the Mach III, most of it crammed
into a powerband which bit like a starving Mako
shark at 6000rpm and ran out just 2000 revs
later.
If the performance was supposed to make your
hair stand on end, the handling was said to
be enough to make it fall out. Bike dubbed the
1972 H1B The Fastest Camel in the World and
refused to go near another Mach III for two
years. Those were heady days when it was taken
for granted that Japanese motor design was far
ahead of chassis, tyre and brake technology
— H1 freaks probably took the headline
as' a backhanded compliment to their taste in
machinery.
| Bike |
Image |
Description |
| 1969-71 Kawasaki H1 500 Mach III |
 |
Air cooled, two stroke, transverse three
cylinder. |
| 1969 Kawasaki Mach III |
 |
This was the first triple by Kawasaki
and along with Honda’s 750 Four released
in the same year…changed motorcycling
forever. Articles from Cycle Guide, Cycle
and Motorcyclist at the time quoted “Kawasaki
has one of the most devastating two-wheelers
ever to happen on the scene”, “We
all wanted one, Kawasaki built performance,
and the H1 was the nastiest yet”,
“Kawasaki has something to sell to
folks wanting a big, fast and nasty streetbike,
a big bike that could outrun anything out
there and it did just that”. It had
and still has the best power-to- weight
ratio (public available) of any motorcycle
made. |
| 1971 Kawasaki H1 500 Triple |
 |
Two-stroke, ex John Judge RGMs of Luton.
Originally built for the Barcelona 24hr
but rider fell off the 350cc and the 500
never got used. Multiple production class
winner of John Player GP. |
| 1972-73 Kawasaki H1 500 Mach III |
 |
Kawasaki 500 H1 is a direct competitor
of Honda CB 450 and Suzuki T500. It is marketed
for the first time in January 1969. This
machine is classed as sports and at its
exit is THE sport. This machine rivals in
terms of power with the 750 4 stroke, or
what is the best at the time. |
| 1972 Kawasaki H1B 500 |
 |
Only 160 sold in the UK. |
1973 Kawasaki H1 500 |
 |
|
| 1974-75 Kawasaki H1 500 Mach III |
 |
Developed from the earlier HI, the original
triple of 1969, the KH500 had a piston-ported
two-stroke engine in a steel-tube cradle
frame. Conventional if rather insubstantial
suspension and braking components were marginal
on the earlier HI, but improved in later
models. Later models also tended to gain
weight over the originals, and the engines
were re-tuned for less ferocious power.
By the late 1970s, the poor fuel consumption,
reliability and handling of the triples
made them less popular, and they were replaced
by newer four-stroke designs. |
| 1974 Kawaski 500 H1 |
 |
Two-stroke triple. This model has been
said to be a more civilized version of
the earlier "Widow Makers" since the addition
of a steering stabilizer and front
disc brake.
Picture kindly provided by www.nemusclebikes.com
|
| 1974 Kawasaki H1E |
 |
|
| 1973 Kawasaki H1 500 Triple |
 |
Imported from Itlay in 2001. Clip-ons,
rear sets, hump back seat, Swarvick race
pipes. |
1971 Kawasaki H1A, 500cc |
 |
|
| 1972 Kawasaki 500 H1B |
 |
|
| 1972 Kawasaki H1B |
 |
500cc 3 cyclinder 2 stroke air cooled.
60 bhp, 180 kg. This example owned from
new, restored to new & photographed
in 1995. Mag wheels fitted in 1979.
|
1975 Kawasaki H1E 500 |
 |
|
| 1975 Kawasaki H1F |
 |
|
1976 Kawasaki H1F, 498cc |
 |
|
Please e-mail the webmaster if you have a picture
worth adding to our database, e-mail: webmaster@motorbike-search-engine.co.uk
|
