Thursday, February 28, 2013

Kawasaki 500 H1R '69 - '71






In the Spring of 1969 Kawasaki announced the launch of an all new 500cc road bike. This was to be a two-stroke triple endowed with 60bhp and a 3 second 0 – 60 time, figures which instantly attracted the attention of the tuning and racing fraternity, whose orders prompted the factory to develop a Grand Prix version. In the 1970 World Championship Kiwi Ginger Molloy scored a fine second overall behind Agostini “straight out of the box”. The bike’s power was never in doubt, but it was seen as being a hand full to get the best out of and somewhat “fragile” at times. For the 1971 season, improvements were made and Dave Simmonds rode one to a win, a second and a third, but it had already been eclipsed by Suzuki’s Titan Daytona.

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