It's back!!! It's back!!!

[Motu]

Ohmigod!!! you can get it new,again!!! I gotta tell Eric Bone,he'd love to race a new one after all these years.

Mach III (http://www.kawasaki-motors.com/model/memory/index.jsp)

[Skunk]

As I can't read Japanese I can't see what's new and what's old...
Looks good though :banana:

[speedpro]

Ohmigod!!! you can get it new,again!!! I gotta tell Eric Bone,he'd love to race a new one after all these years.

Mach III (http://www.kawasaki-motors.com/model/memory/index.jsp)

That is an exact copy of the first models. How much $$??. Are they really making them again or is it just old brochures?? Chuck one of our R1 riders on one and we'll see how good they can ride. They'll scare themselves silly.

Imagine it - piling into a corner going too fast, pull on the brakes (ha ha ha), and remember you forgot to wind on the friction steering damper just as you nudge a ripple and it goes into a lock-to-lock tank slapper. Excellent.

[SPman]

And of course, the corkscrewing dutch roll of the rear suspension as it ties itself in knots!

[Jantar]

...Imagine it - piling into a corner going too fast, pull on the brakes (ha ha ha),

Wow, Did they stand up bloody quickly when you tried that trick. The only way to get a Mach111 through a corner if you were already going to fast was to lean right off the bike into the corner and pour on as much power as the tyres would take. God that was fun riding.

[カワサキキド]

￥300,000 = $4,000

I was just looking at the ones in cycletreads(pitlane) today.
I will get one to ride while I'm saving up to get my ZX-6R when I go back to Japan.

[LB]

.
.
I got sick of waiting for my ancient PC to open up the page, but I get the general drift.

Yes Motu, Eric would be pleased! Mind you, his one/s are in pretty good nick for such old bikes (can you imagine any of today's bikes looking so good when they are 30+ years old?)

I guess one thing about the Mach III (and the rest of the bikes of a similar ilk) is that the pipes never rusted out cos so much oil used to go through them! I remember riding pillion in a white shirt one day (yeah yeah, I was young, silly, and immortal back in those days, and it was only a short ride) on one and discovering black oil spots all over my back from the exhaust!!
.
.

[roogazza]

Hey Linda ! You're showing your age !! :banana: I remember Bone on Mach111's and Mach1V's !!!! Fastest Maori in NZ !!! guess that makes me a little older too ? G.
I got sick of waiting for my ancient PC to open up the page, but I get the general drift.

Yes Motu, Eric would be pleased! Mind you, his one/s are in pretty good nick for such old bikes (can you imagine any of today's bikes looking so good when they are 30+ years old?)

I guess one thing about the Mach III (and the rest of the bikes of a similar ilk) is that the pipes never rusted out cos so much oil used to go through them! I remember riding pillion in a white shirt one day (yeah yeah, I was young, silly, and immortal back in those days, and it was only a short ride) on one and discovering black oil spots all over my back from the exhaust!!
.
.[/QUOTE]

[pete376403]

The Mach III is ok but did you look at the other oldie on that site, the 650 W1 (which was a pretty good knock off of the BSA Gold Flash) I'd just about kill for one of those.

[MacD]

Now all we need to do is convince Yamaha to remake the RD350! :banana:

[Motu]

The guy who posted this on the site where I found seemed to think they were genuinely available,maybe he can read Japanese? The technology is there today,the plans and patterns of yesterday are there...setting up for a limited production run is not out of the question - after all,that's how the W650 came about,just a limited production domestic market model.And yeah Pete,I'd sell my soul for that A10 rip off.

Yamaha has a lot of old info on their early models on their web site - but they produce some fine retro's - Yokai's is one...I have seen an SR500 complete with XS1 style drum front brake,it was for sale in Haldane's a few years ago.

[Sniper]

And their was much rejoicing of the people. (PT)

Looks pretty neat, I have never had the oppertunity to ride or even see one so my opinion proberbly isnt valid, they look ok though

[denill]

Wow, Did they stand up bloody quickly when you tried that trick. The only way to get a Mach111 through a corner if you were already going to fast was to lean right off the bike into the corner and pour on as much power as the tyres would take. God that was fun riding.

You wrote -God that was fun riding?? <B>That was the scariest thing I have ever ridden</B> - and I have riden a few (including MXrs with lightswitch throttles).
Blinding acceleration when the bitch hit the powerband that literally stretched the arms and then when the (drum) brakes were applied I swear it went faster................
If they weren't thrashed they would oil up and customers would bring them in to have the problem rectified. They didn't know it - but the problem was rectified by taking the thing for a thrash. Worked every time. Not so many cops around then.............. Fortunately..........

The guys who raced them were heroes......... Remember Molloy and another young guy (then) (name's on the tip of my tongue) at Baypark..........

Good stuff though (I think)

[Motu]

Eric was tossed by the 750 at Paeroa last year - he says the 750s will do that,but he's never been tossed by a 500...and he's had more experiance on them than anyone in the country.I thought the idea of the 750 was to get the same sort of power without that light switch power band,but Eric says the 750 is harder to control.His Mach III has a disc now - he would hit the brakes for the first corner at Fathers Tavern,and that was it...no more brakes for the rest of the race!

Didn't they try the surface gap plugs in those early Kawasaki's? My KT250 was listed as having them - I tried them but it was real hard to start and just used a normal plug.

[Madmax]

I still have a H1, have owned it since i was 18 (yeh i still here)
try going from a ZX10R to an H1 in the same day (its fun)
if you hang off an H1 you have to watch the chambers dont
hit the deck to hard or it will leaver the back wheel off the
road (painfull and parts are getting hard to find)
purple haze racing make some cool perfomance parts
as well as fast by gast
gast had the fastest H2 drag bike in USA
(sub 8 seconds)
:doctor:

[vifferman]

A guy at our school bought a 500 for his first bike! :eek:
He used to drop the thing nearly every week.
His second bike was a Kawasaki 900 - put him in hospital.


.I guess one thing about the Mach III (and the rest of the bikes of a similar ilk) is that the pipes never rusted out cos so much oil used to go through them! .
Yeah, what was up with that? Shitty chroming? Crap steel zorsts?
If it wasn't a 2-stroke, the pipes would last only a couple of years, so you either fitted a Walker or other aftermarket system, or used plenty of Redex or whatever to keep the rust at bay.
Thank goodness for today's stainless steel systems. Just wish Honda would use decent stainless instead of the low-grade variety that always has slight surface rusting. I guess it's less brittle or summat?

[Madmax]

Every one thinks your nuts to ride H1/H2s
but check this guy out
(have a look at his house tour photos)
http://www.mojokawasaki.com

[Paul in NZ]

Guys! I love old bikes and simple low tech approach to problems but lets get real here. On what planet would either of those bikes pass an emissions test OR be able to be sold in low volumes for those prices....

As for drum brakes...

Paul N

[denill]

Didn't they try the surface gap plugs in those early Kawasaki's? Yes.



My KT250 was listed as having them. Yes the early KTs had them.


- I tried them but it was real hard to start and just used a normal plug. Yeah, and they certainly compounded the oiling up prob on both models.

[Madmax]

pass an emissions test? bugger that
the surface gap plugs listed for H1s were NGH buhx or bhux?
bloody useless things.
the champion plugs were way better still run them
(dont think they make them any more though)