Most Amazing Kawasaki H1 500 Two Stroke Challenges Hayabusa! 

I went from a Honda CL350 to an H1 500, figuring "it's only 175cc's, how different can it be"? I found out at about 5000 rpm .....

You have remember that the LAST H1 rolled off the assembly line in 1975 and is only 500cc. While the Hayabusa is 1300cc and uses some of the most complex tech available. The H1 is practically 50 years old at the least and employes some rather old school techniques to get the job done. I am impressed that the H1 did as well as it did.

Had an H2 back in the days, earned the "Widowmaker" name for sure.

H1, you don't ride it, you aim it.

Had a 72’ Yamaha R5-c with a 74’ 350 engine. Port work,head and pipes and that thing ripped. Love the old 2 smokes ✊🏻

50 years ago. My H2 and I were gonna live forever... Didn't quite work out that way 😮 Beautiful cycle though. Right color and everything. Hope it lasts forever...

My older brother had a Blue H2 in the late 70’s. I also rode it quite a lot and MAN was it FAST.

I’m a busa guy through and through but that Kawi is the jam son!! So sick and an absolute classic.

H1 my first bike, dad was an experienced biker and was quite skeptical but was quite eager to test it out, I survived engine seizures, wheelie accidents and other Malarkey, what fun and here we are 40 years later

I am proud to say I had one years ago , loved it but it was not for the faint hearted 👍🏻😎👍🏻

Had a 73 H1.. was all I could do to hold on to the bars as I went thru the gears.. DirtyFastbike!!

I owned an H1 for a while. Crazy fun bike, the exhaust not of the two stroke twins and triples still makes my hair stand on end in the best way possible.

My cousin had an H1 500 Kawasaki widowmaker. It would scream even with both of us on it, I was to young to drive yet, that thing was scary fast. Great memories

Ran 2- strokes in the 70's those things with expansion chambers were Widow Makers.

So this pops up in my recommendations today... oh my the memories!! Me, I had a 'water buffalo'. 1973, 750J Suzi'. Put a ton of work into that beast. Only thing that could keep up with it, at the time when I retired from that sort of lunacy, was the Z1R's, which had just come out. Never did know just how fast it was, kept twisting off the speedo cable. Best run: Seattle to Spokane, 2hr 17min, including 2 fuel stops. Finally sold the remains 2 years ago to a guy that runs a little bitty inboard hydroplane. It still screams!!

Those trip Kawas were lethal back in the good old days.

Most fun bike I ever owned was a '71 350 2-stroke. Not a Kawasaki, a Suzuki, but it was still a blast. The K triples were crazy.

Kaws (H1 and Z1) were some some baaaad bikes back in their day

I was been 8 years old in summer of 1972. I always asked any bikers for taking me for some ride. And one day I met a H2-Owner, adjusting the ignition I think. And he said "okay". I wear only a t-shirt and my swimming trousers (excuse my english, please, but I'm a German), was bare foot. Our top speed was 160km/h (100mph) in town. I'll never forget that burning and tickling under the soles of my feet and the screaming engine!

My best friend had one of these growing up crazy how fast those bikes are !! May he RIP miss ya man

I love it when they lean both ways during the burnout to get the WHOLE tire warm! ...someone wasn’t paying attention in science class... :-0 Huge props for keeping the Mach III as original looking as possible! I love to see these guys keeping old two-stroke, giant killers running.. ‘Not a big fan of the spaceship bodywork most guys are putting on them though. ‘Still think Dave Schultz’ bike was/is the GOAT.

Man, that was close! Two strokes sound fantastic, but so do the Hayabusas. Losing by that little hurts, I have lost a few that way.

I can smell it though the screen...Love race fuel and rubber..1 of the best motorcycles ever made!!!! Widow Maker getting it in

Bracket racing rewards consistency and it is hard to be consistent, especially on an ancient highly modded 500cc piston port two stroke triple - mad props. It is a little hard to make out the results in the video but it looks like the Busa is an 8 second bike while the 500 ran a 10.2 at 126. That is moving along for both machines for their type. That is a very fast 'Busa and a very fast 500. So much badass riding displayed in both lanes of this video - well done! Oh, and if Satan rides, he is on a fully "restomoded" H2 750. A friend has one and his bike is pure evil. It's not just the amount of the power, modern bikes have far more, it is the nature of the power - it comes on sudden and hard. I fully understand why so many people wadded those bikes up back then 😆

I had a 72 H1 at 16 then later a 75 that had a built engine by a dirt bike shop extreme porting triple chrome chambers geared to red line in 5th in the quarter tore up the H2's and 900 Z1 I weighed 120lb and the front end wouldn't come down till 3rd with my face over the gauges surprised to be here today then onto 1170 Z1's another story great times at a young age

Many ears ago We mounted the engine from a Kawasaki 500 triple on a go cart frame for a friend. We knew wheelie bars would be a must before it ever was ridden. Absolutely crazy fast in that cart. Last I knew no one had been killed driving it. Would not have surprise me if it had.

I had an orange ‘71 H1 that I traded a VW bug for. One day I was flying down a long straight road (Airport Way, Manteca, CA) with no helmet, no goggle or glasses, head turned a bit to the side to let the tears roll off. I started to feel a wobble, I looked down and saw my speedometer was pegged at 140 mph. I don’t know if it was accurate, but the yellow line on the road was moving like a snake. The whole bike was wobbling. Fortunately 17 year old me knew better than to apply brakes so I slowly let off the throttle and coasted to a stop. I don’t know how I survived my youth.

love the sound 2stroke Kwak!!!

HOLY SHIT! NO WHEELIE BAR, HOW'D I MISS THAT? YOU SIR ARE AN AWSOME RACER AND HAVE A NEW FAN FROM LANCASTER, PA.

I went from a 250 triple Kawasaki to a 1972 H1B 500cc. Initially I thought "damn, it's no faster" until I realised the middle cylinder was not firing because the spark plug had oiled up - then after cleaning it, the test ride was like VROOM! Facts about H1's - the original 1969 was the original widow-maker with riders all over the world flipping the bike & killing themselves, it would wheel-stand in all the low gears. Kawasaki gradually detuned the H1 over the next few years but the pick of the crop was the '72 Orange H1 because it still had most of the power of the original but had a single disk brake on the front. Most of them had a clutch slip problem but made it more manageable when it hit the power band, paradoxically we would put auto transmission oil in the crankcase to combat that. The frame had a major amount of flex! Once a group of us hired out the local race track. My brother who had a RD250 wanted to try the H1. He threw it into a corner the frame flexed and flexed back, throwing him off - I was not happy - he had broken part of the crank-case! Most H1B's had a steering damper installed - I never had any tank slapping while owning it. My rear tail light would blow it's lamp a lot; usually while in transit, which would often mean being pulled up by police and ticketed, that along with speeding fines that became expensive at 17-18 years old. The fuel economy was pathetic, when we used to go for rides with our group I would regularly run short of fuel and have to hit up my mate with the Honda to remove his tank and pour enough into my tank to get me to the nearest fuel stop. In it's day it would blow off anything except the H2 750 but eventually met it's match when the larger 4 strokes came out - I realised this when at a later hire of the local track a Suzuki GS1000S left me on the back straight in it's wake. It was one of the most fun bikes I ever owned but not long after the above event I bought a GS1000s!

Thanks for the video but next time could you zoom into the board please lol

Remember the first time on a green monster like that, 1974 or so, breathtaking, you know.

Had a h1 in the 80s man loved that bike but after spinning a bearing in the crank for the second time went 4 stroke Honda 750 .

I had a 69 H1 bridgeport that was incredibly fast. Clocked at129 on the LIE. Sold to a California racer that set a record at 11.9 for a 500 cc bike. It was a freak. You couldn't keep the front wheel down. Sick bike. Rode it all year round in NY.

Hear the scream, see the smoke, you've just been passed by a two stroke!

I owned 2 of the 500 had put the expansion chambers on both of them bad bikes to see one out there still race in brought back memories thank you

I ran an H1 back in the early 80's. My best race was when I nailed a KZ900 in the 1/4 mile.

I was the resident h2 expert back in the day loved to see you ride the h2 I had a couple of 500s than bought a h2 that needed a new trans so I rebuilt it, the crankshafts seal on the bottom in the cases and lose compression when shot so I put in a new crank and trans than polished the rods and put in wiesco pistons and expansion chambers jetted carbs, anyway I remember the way it sounded at a steady 40 in 3rd it would sound like it had a huge cam in it and buck as it cruised, 1st gear unusable, 2nd would acceleration wheelie and so would 3rd and 4th would just hang the front end a bit on and up over a 100, don't know how I lived through those days but had a lot of fun whooping my buddy on his z 1 and then later on his 1000 wow, memories!

My first street bike in the 80s was a tuned RD400...it would easily smoke my buddy's 600 Hurricane in a drag race! Good old days!

I had a 75 RD350 with expansion pipes. damn loud and fast. loved that bike. surprisingly dependable.

I had a Honda 750 years ago and my friend had an H2. That H2 was sick, but it handled like a tricycle. Lol

Had four two stroke Kawasaki's H1 -71 H1- 73, H2 - 74 H1- 75.. Ended my Two stroke fantasy and bought a 1973 Z1 in 76 used from Dentist who never rode it because of work and family. Was a great ride . But the Two Stroke where the best thing going. Chain Saw on two wheels. Love them.

My brother had a Blue H-2 750 in the late 70’s that myself at 17 Years old would ride on occasion and I tell you.....It Was FAST.

I had a high school friend whi had one of these back in the seventies. Scary fast.

Luv those old Kaw's

My Kawa 500 memories: I bought one from the first shipment of H1 Kwaks to hit the USA in 1969. "Fastest production motorcycle in the world" was its advertising slogan. Indeed, the powerband hit like a sledgehammer at ~6000 rpm. Engine/transmission were great; frame and suspension became a flying, wobbling coffin at about 100 mph; always a hare's breath from a tank slapper. Aftermarket steering damper required for survival... I started the bike in a very dark garage once and the entire center section was covered by wandering, arcing sparks caused by severe voltage leakage from its CDI system. It truly looked like something from a Frankenstein movie. That sparky image flashed instantly to mind the time I filled the gas tank, failed to latch the gas cap, pulled a long wheelie out of the gas station and completely dosed myself with gasoline. Why I didn't become a human torch...my guardian angel worked overtime that day. I once parked my H1 alongside a group of Harleys on the town square. The local "bad boys" were starting up their bikes just as I returned. They each made a great show of manly strength, jumping high in the air and thrusting their kick start levers with great waves of testosterone. Not able to resist, I turned on my ignition switch, reached over the seat and with a quick jab of one hand started the H1. It sat there making triple chain saw noises with blue, 2 cycle smoke wafting amongst the crowd. The Harley boys were mortified by this display of two wheeled blasphemy. Uninvited, I rode with them to the stop sign at the edge of town. When they all attempted to roar away from this Japanese oil burner, I pinned the throttle and quickly left them far, far behind like a swarm of slow mosquitoes being exterminated by a fogger. I nearly fell off the bike laughing at this ultimate ego destruction. Shame on me! Years later I spotted a used, repossessed, '73 H1 sitting in the picture window of a local finance company. It was very clean with low miles but it had been dropped once because the kick starter shaft was sheared off (no electric starter). They said it wouldn't run. I told them I'd give them $250 for it if I could first take it out in the parking lot and try to bump start it. It ran but I could hear some piston slap. Bought it anyway because 2 stroke top ends are easy/cheap to fix and I could split the cases myself to replace the starter shaft. Didn't get around to fixing that top end before taking it to Kansas City International Raceway for a sanctioned drag race event. Won first place in open/stock bike class, rattling pistons and all! The H1 was crude and rude; a barrel of fun for a young man (with a watchful guardian angel). Funny, now as an old man I ride a Gen 3 Suzuki SV650 with upgraded chassis/suspension that's very tame by contemporary motorcycle performance standards. While smooth, stable, and almost "gentlemanly" compared to my old H1's of half a century ago, the SV actually makes more power. The H1 had such an extreme, peaky powerband and suspect chassis that a rider's seat-o-the-pants-meter would never guess the SV to be quicker. I have been so fortunate to have lived through and ridden a large portion of the radical, wonderful evolution of the motorcycle!

I owned an RD’ 400 bought from original owner who raced it had a brand new tank in the box with it rebuilt the motor with TZ bearings one of the best bikes next to my RZ350

That was a super fast death machine in the handling department.

The last two strokes street bikes were bikes I got a chance to Ride while stationed in Germany in the mid-80s. The power to weight was all of a sudden and crazy. Keeping the front wheel down could raise your heart rate.

when I was 17 I had a 69' H1. I remember getting pulled over by a cop after leaving a green light. He said I wasnt speeding but he said he never saw anyone go from 0-45mph (speedlimit) so fast lol Scary bike though. had my GF on the back and got into a high speed vibration on the front end and thought we were going to eat it.

If that wasn’t enough they made a 750 called the Widowmaker. The power band was crazy.

Holy crap, the power to weight on the H1

One of the cycle magazines back in 1970 issued a challenge to any bike manufacture that would be willing to send a bike to compete in several tests. Only test I was interested in was the standing start 1/4 mile times. Bikes were supposed to be factory stock some were not even so the H 1 took them all. Went straight to the Kawasaki shop & traded in my Honda 350.

Great Video! Wow I miss my H2!! Hmm I have an H2 frame in my garage ####

Two stroke 500 triples are no joke. In 1986-87 I raced stretched triple w/bar with my stock wheel base, no bar gsxr1100 (1135 kit) with 1/4 mile gearing in an 1/8. I beat him but barely. He launched so hard that he cut a groove in the pavement.

The OG Widow Maker! So nice.

Seen the barrels turned around on these,carbs out front ,straight shooting exhausts out the back at the drags as a kid don't know if it made them quicker but it looked cool

My brother bought one new in 1973. They don't call them the window maker for nothing. Not for the faint of heart....

In the seventies my first bike was a s2 350 triple ...great ride I'd go anywhere on that even off road ..next h1 500 nice step up right after had opportunity for h2 triple for almost free .could not resist figured how fast could it be ...drove it home first real easy ..red light on two laNE hwy.cranked it through 1 an second third soon as it hit power band front wheels up same with fourth an fifth ...they were not nick named the widow maker for nothing ...awesome bike for weight to power

My brothers 1975 H1 ran 11 seconds in the 1/4 -STOCK. Scary bike, but fun.

There were 3 smoke shops in the Charleston SC area, they being K, S & Y in 1972. The Kawi shop had lots of dead soldiers in the yard, those being H1s, blown up dropped, hit something ot got whacked.. I was and am a Honda die hard dude. But have to say Kawi smokers were always out front. Even a Norton couldn't match a Kawi H1. The Nortons wouldn't stay in tune like the rest of the Brit bikes even though they were as fast or faster. But I don't miss the Brit stuff nor the smokers. A Suzy smoker though had to be the most relisble 2 stroke made. For what that's worth. And that's from an old wrenches point of view!

Impressive. What was the time and speed of both bikes? Was it a 1/4 mile?

I helped a guy build a go kart with a 750 triple back when I was in BOCES in the late 70s. I almost wheelied it into the garage door of the machine shop. Lol

That Kaw sounds so sick

Back in the '60's, my buddy came by with one he borrowed and said hop on, go for a ride. No helmut of course. We ran up the street at a 100mp. I thought I was going to die. Never been scared like that before. Never again will I do that!

I rode my friends H2 once when I was visiting him in Alabama. He rode his Triumph Bonneville. We decided to go out and hit a few bars. That bike scared me to death. I prayed to God to just get me home that night. That bike was a BEAST.

Ha Ha Good times. Had a 350 triple way back 70-somethin'.. Kaw. did the 350,500, and god help us the animal 750. A buddy talked me into riding bitch one day and we got on the freeway..3rd. gear, still in a wheelie, I'm getting tired of hanging on..brutal quick. I was riding a KZ 900 at the time which was no slouch either. Last few years I'm on a concours 1400 (GXs' fat sister) and it's a missile with handlebars. Been up to 140 4-5 times..'Saki rules.

Goes as good as it looks. Awesome looking kwaka

Man oh man that H1 sounds great.

Nice looking bike tough!

That busas Launch GONE 💨

I won't forget back in the 70s when my friend came barreling into my alley and dropped his 500 on the gravel. He pulled off his helmet and was white as a sheet. He told me to get rid of the bike however I could. He never rode it again.

The H1 was my last bike .. it was a used who knows what year. This was in 1982 and it had been a few years since I had ridden anything ... I rolled off in first gear keeping it straight up and down and at about 3000 rpm I rolled the throttle WFO ... nice pull I thought as it accelerated .... AND THEN ... it came on the pipe ... OMG. Glad I was having on, The front got very light and when I snicked it into second the madness happened. WOW ... for 500 cc it was amazing!, The stories are (mostly) true and I only wonder what an H2 would be like.

I bought that in 1969 for $999.00 out the door. When it wasn't broke it was a rocket.

Loved my H1. Almost killed me so I bought a H2. Miss those days.

That’s thing is bad ass!!

A friend and i had a h-1 for 2wks. We sold it because we knew one of us was going to die. We were in our mid twenties. It was a very good decision. It was insanely fast!

The Kawi H1 1971 model was my first street bike. The guy I bought it from was at work so there was little exchange of Q&A Needless to say I thought there was something wrong with it! Maybe spiked the gas to make it run strong? Why, you ask? It wouldn't keep the front wheel on the ground. I had no knowledge of the Triples at that time. Unfortunately, I sold it to my brother to buy a Z1 900 Kawi and an old lady who didn't like those noisy bikes pulled out in front of him at 50-something. There goes the Triple and there goes his left leg, broken femur. It takes a lot to break that one!

Bought a new 1975 H1 500 & kept it for quite a while. Remember being on expressway in the late 90's & nailing the throttle just a little before my exit ramp. When I got off, I caught a traffic light right after the exit. Another motorcyclist caught up to tell me my bike was smoking. Had to explain 2 strokes are supposed to do that 😅

I saw the H1 on the thumbnail and decided to watch. I doubt Eric Thomas was even born the last time I made a pass at Keystone, my home track long ago. And even crazier, now I live about 70 miles from SGMP.

Kawasaki 500 triples were my favourite bikes ever, i had 7 of them over the years.

one of my friends out of high school got a kaw. 400 triple and it scared the shit out of him so he let me ride it a lot! even being a smaller version of the 500 it still ripped! i remember once passing 5 cars all at once w/ him on the back at about 90 and he later told me he thought we were gonna die! oh to be 19 again!

“Let the good times roll”

That kwaka paint job is sooooo good

Two stroke baby 👍🏻😎🇬🇧

Sounds awesome that 500 👍👍

I had a "danger ride," from he__. That 500cc 3cyl Kaw had point on the tachometer (2000rpm) and if you were there at that mark and blipped the throttle just a bit (I mean just little bitty bit) that sucker went to sideways like a drift turn, left hand turn , rear tire spinning, slinging gravel like "Charlie Daniels " a ton of dust in the air!!! And me holding on for dear life with the front wheel slowly lifting up (like 5 or 6 inches off the dirt road) in a lefty turn whizzing along at least 60mph, well you know I had never done or seen that done. Long story,but TRUE. I had the stain to prove it!!!

Had a mach 3 500 in the early 70s was the maddest crazy bike ive ever owned had 130 mph indicated with a pillion on the back in about half a mile would weelie in most gears 20mpg if your lucky plugs oiling up and miss firing put it into a field after a few drinks but fixed it up with new forks, just nothing like it now and couldn't afford the prices they go for now.

My first bike was a Kaw Street 90. It rode just a bit differently than the H1, I believe. ;)

I could smell the NITRO METHANE!!! YEA BABY!

I had a H1 built by a Kawasaki snowmobile drag track mechanic it had the block shaved from the bottom to lower the ports and had a power band from 7000 to about 10000 it was super fast

That's a beautiful thing.

I had that 74 in high school one badass Mamajama! I was probably a hundred and fifty pounds with absolutely no fear, had a few motocross bikes at the same time. Unfortunately the H1 didn't survive.

👏 Two Strokes forever!🎶❤️🤌✌️💨💨🤙

No wonder the H1 won, that Busa was WAY too slow to react!

Hmmm. (?) Well that was cool. Nice shootout.

I've always thought those 2 strokes sounded like a really angry beehive.

I love those popcorn makers! Besides dump some castor bean oil in it and it smells even better than buttered popcorn!

Impressive for a 500,sounds nice and crisp too.

I have been riding motorcycles for over 50 years and I rode two bikes that were nothing but brutal and a bit scary. One was this Kawasaki 500 triple, and the Maico dirt bike. I would venture to say that those motorcycles were for experienced riders only!