Quite a bike but also quite a restoration project, this 1972 Kawasaki H1 500 Mach III is a barn find in need of a full restoration. Are you up for it financially, mentally, or time-wise? Or maybe more important of all: spouse-wise? The seller has this project bike listed here on eBay in West Palm Beach, Florida and there is a $4,500 buy-it-now price or you can make an offer.
Two-stroke bikes are great. I have owned quite a few and still have a few – the sound and blue smoke are both great to me. Normally I don’t want blue smoke coming out of my exhaust pipes but in the case of a two-stroke bike, it comes with the territory. I have never owned any bike as crazy or daunting to ride as a Kawasaki H1 500 or H2 750. You have to have your mind right to ride one of these things. Or maybe it’s better if your mind isn’t quite right, now that I think about it.
Kawasaki made the H1 500 cc two-stroke triple for seven years, from 1969 to 1975. In 1966, the company came up with the idea for a new bike and they created a secret plan called the N100 Plan (no, really) that was given the task of coming up with a mind-blowing air-cooled 500 cc engine to hit the huge American motorcycle market hard. The engineers came up with both two-cylinder and three-cylinder variations but in the end, decided on the three-cylinder version and a legend was born. These are gorgeous bikes when they’re restored.
This example is rough and is in need of a total restoration. It’s showing 4,968 miles on the dusty odometer and figure two bucks per mile if you’re going to drop it off at a motorcycle shop to have it restored. Scratch that, three bucks a mile. As most of you know, it’s not cheap to have any work done on anything in 2022 so if you can do the work yourself, this would be a great project, otherwise, it makes no financial sense at all. Not that restoring a vehicle has to make financial sense as long as a person loves the end result and enjoys it for years.
There’s the famous 498 cc triple-cylinder two-stroke engine which would have had 60 horsepower when new. Sadly, this one isn’t running and it doesn’t even turn over but it’ll need a full restoration so you’ll want to crack the engine open anyway. Oh yeah, there is no key and no title so this will be a labor of love and patience for sure. Can this one be saved?
Made a man out of me in about 5 seconds. Amazing machines.
These always get a bad rap – mainly from Howard – owed mine for decades and I’m still here. This will go back to Japan where there is a loyal following of riders that still wrap this out.
Terrifying machine. I didn’t become a man that day due to the streak down the road behind me. Up until then the biggest machine I had ridden was a 305 Dream. It’s hard to convey how much of a jump in performance these were at the time. The one I rode was green. Does the color change indicate the year or a model change?
500cc is the perfect size engine for a bike, but go 4 cycle. Less smokie and far less dangerous. A 500 cc bike is perfect for the road, esp in the mountains. This bike is more like a hot rod then a good working car. Not really useable on a public road. Again, goes back to the age old problem of men saying they need more and more horse power. It is just like tribbles. Captain Kirk said, “Too much of anything lieutenant, even love, isn’t necessarily a good thing.”
Not usable on a public road? Sorry, untrue. Many of us have used them for many thousands of miles just fine. Properly ridden, it doesn’t take inhuman skill to ride one, let alone survive the experience….
Says a former owner, who (while not owning one now), currently rides a 1974 RD 350 and a 1976 550 Supersport.
bt
I bought a H2 new in 1973. Was my daily driver for quite some time.
I am hurt, deeply hurt. No one has commented on my wonderful Star Trek reference.
A 500cc 2-stroke is equivalent to a 1000cc 4-stroke, in case you didn’t know…so, no, a 500cc 4-stroke bike nowhere close to close in terms of power or speed.
Speaking of triples – my dad had a 380 Suzuki that he and his cycle buddies rode down into Mexico from Dallas arae way back I think about 1972 or so.
I owned two of these, one brand new. They were an animal. I am now approaching my late 60s and done with rocket ships. Just sold my stash of NOS triple parts to a collector in Maryland. Nothing but nothing sounds like these at 7,000 rpm. This will cost plenty to restore. 500s don’t bring the big money 750s do. A 73 750 in perfect shape recently sold for $40,000.
The song from Supertramp comes to mind,,”Dreamer, nothing but a dreamer”,,while it’s always great to see ANY of Scottys submissions, I still say BFs needs a “you must be kidding” category.
1st, the gall to think this thing is worth ANYTHING, it’s not even a good parts bike. The double disc up front is unusual, I never saw a 500 with that, and the mileage bolsters my claim that they were very poor bikes. 5K miles is about all these mustered, either the motor stuck or it scared the rider. The only way these bikes are worth anything, is if they are like new, for shock value, not for what nice bikes they were.
These are fab. The missing oil pump cover suggests that it might’ve nipped up.
also the air cleaner pods. This may have had only 4900 miles, but like most of these bikes, those miles were hard miles.
Ouch,I wouldn’t go more than $500.Missing calipers,master cylinder,stock air filter set-up.Exhaust is shot,if the tank looks that bad outside it can’t be good inside.This one will take thousands to make it rideable:-)
Looks like someone wanted more stopping power but didn’t finish the job. H1s from 72 on had 1 front disc brake. Many missing parts here. I owned a black 70 H1 bought used in July of 72 from an older man. It already 13,000 mi on it but was well taken care of. I took excellent care of it. 1st top end and clutch job at 22,000. Bottom end crank at 29,000.Rode it til 1975 with 42,000 mi on it. Still ran great and never left me stranded
A’69 Mach III was my first street bike, handed down by my dad, so I thought that I knew what to expect. As tractable as a 2-stroke can be at low rpm. A white knuckle experience at around 6,500, if memory serves me. High-speed wheelie-landing-wobble. Exhilaration. Fear. Relief. Very high pucker factor. Terrific fun once you’ve learned to control it. I immediately turned it into a “cafe-racer”. Clip-ons, intake and exhaust mods, good tires, removed useless weight. Loved riding that bike! When he bought a Z1, dad gave me his blue 750. Also an exciting fun-machine! Unfortunately, I sold my 500 to a guy with more confidence than brains. Very first ride, very bad crash. I felt sad about the bike.
Had one back in the day, as well as the H2 750 … but he’s really dreaming on his asking price.
Am wondering if that is the stock front end – I don’t think these ever came with dual disks, esp with a rear drum. Am betting this bike is wearing another’s forks…..
cheers,
BT
These 500cc H1’s were the equivalent, powerwise, to a 1000cc 4-stroke. The 750cc H2’s equated to riding an approximately 1500cc bike in terms of speed. These bikes were for people that knew what a powerband was and how to really ride a motorcycle. They were absolutely brutally fast machines, without the benefit of modern-day suspension and tires. Many people lost their lives on these “widowmakers”, Suzuki’s versions of these 2-stroke monsters included (to my knowledge, the largest displacement 2-stroke Yamaha at that time was the RD400 and Hondas were all 4-stroke).
Not so. The original Kawasaki Z1 could eat an H1, or H2 for that matter, for lunch. It was the terrifying power band and refusal to handle decently that made the H1 and H2 legendary.
A friend had a Z1. I had/have an H2. We rode each other’s bikes. We agreed his was fastest, mine was quickest.
My cousin had a Z1 and I rode a H2. He would take me on the corners but I could catch and pass him on the straights.
I bought this bikes brother new in 1972….mine had the twin front discs too. The problem many had with longevity for the engine was failing to keep them boiling…the center cylinder did not want to be lugged and would overheat if the revs were not kept up as one rode. Mine went well over 10k miles without issue and that included many runs down the 1/4 mile in under 13 seconds bone stock. I came up from a Suzuki X6 hustler so ‘riding the band’ was second nature and I loved this ride.
I don’t know what good it is without a title. Parts bike.
david R, I have gotten motorcycle titles in the past, I just needed to take a photo of both sides, the front and the back, and the VIN on the frame and the engine number. Bickety-bam, they mailed a title to me in a couple of months.
Who do you go through to get a title??
Had a green one W/extended forks, king/queen seat and the back rest.
Theey made it w/reversable shifter as the bike was used for racing was told. SCARY fast buut we rode it for a while all over Michigan but was hard riding. Traded it for a 900 Kaw
Never seen this color before.
1972 only. I always liked it best.
My 1972 H2, which I bought in 1975 and still have, is pretty much in the same condition. Was offered $1,000 20 years ago and since then, I’ve turned down all offers without hearing a price. If this H1 goes for anything near asking price, I may start entertaining offers on my H2!
I’ll quadruple that $1,000 offer right now, Tom! (hey, a guy can try)
this was my model in robins egg blue (I guess). No need for the H2.
Never got the oil injection right as the cars behind me would drop back pretty quickly 8^0
Too buzzy, the nxt purchase, a ’78 KZ750B is still w/me, known then as ‘the least maintainence requited bike’. 4 Strokes seem much better for my purposes~
But those damned Klingons killed my son!
Had a new H2 in 1973. Changed the sprockets so it would have more ET and less top speed. Still pegged 137 mph.
Could bring the front up in 2nd and ride all day!
Rode with a guy with a 72 H1. He Unfortunately bought the farm one night on a high speed corner.