In the 1970s, environmental issues were starting to come to the political forefront. Perhaps not the best time for the Kawasaki 750 H2.
Kawasaki had been pulling out all the stops ever since they were beaten to produce the first "superbike" by Honda in 1968, causing Kawasaki to abandon a rival model in the same year.
Creating a new class as they did, the 900cc class with the introduction in 1974 of the Z1, Kawasaki had comprehensively gained their revenge on Honda with a new machine that trounced the CB750 in every department.
However, the 750 class was far from dead, and continues to be competitive today.
In 1973, Kawasaki released the 750H2.
The styling was very similar to that of the Z1, but this time with three exhausts not four, given that this was a triple cylinder machine.
Unlike the Z1, the H2 was a two stroke machine that smoked heavily and guzzled fuel at a rate of 20 miles per gallon!
It was once described by the editor of Bike magazine, then Mark Williams as "the nastiest, meanest motorcycle ever to wrench the wrist muscles of the know-it-all biker."
What made it particularly interesting was the fact that both peak power and peak torque arrived within 300rpm of each other, peak torque arriving first.
What this means is that when riding at low speed the bike sounds a bit burbling, and feels gutless. However, a small turn of the wrist and the bike takes off like lightening and all but pulls your arms off.
Not only that, but the single disc brake on the front made s.lowing down from high speed difficult to the extent that a high level of concentration had to be maintained.
Even Kawasaki's own press release said of the moderately detuned H2B that it had "only one purpose in life; to give you the most exciting and exhilarating performance. It's so quick, it demands the razor sharp reactions of an experienced rider."
The H2 could probably still compete with many bikes today if it were still around, though not with the environmental lobby!
Kawasaki had been pulling out all the stops ever since they were beaten to produce the first "superbike" by Honda in 1968, causing Kawasaki to abandon a rival model in the same year.
Creating a new class as they did, the 900cc class with the introduction in 1974 of the Z1, Kawasaki had comprehensively gained their revenge on Honda with a new machine that trounced the CB750 in every department.
However, the 750 class was far from dead, and continues to be competitive today.
In 1973, Kawasaki released the 750H2.
The styling was very similar to that of the Z1, but this time with three exhausts not four, given that this was a triple cylinder machine.
Unlike the Z1, the H2 was a two stroke machine that smoked heavily and guzzled fuel at a rate of 20 miles per gallon!
It was once described by the editor of Bike magazine, then Mark Williams as "the nastiest, meanest motorcycle ever to wrench the wrist muscles of the know-it-all biker."
What made it particularly interesting was the fact that both peak power and peak torque arrived within 300rpm of each other, peak torque arriving first.
What this means is that when riding at low speed the bike sounds a bit burbling, and feels gutless. However, a small turn of the wrist and the bike takes off like lightening and all but pulls your arms off.
Not only that, but the single disc brake on the front made s.lowing down from high speed difficult to the extent that a high level of concentration had to be maintained.
Even Kawasaki's own press release said of the moderately detuned H2B that it had "only one purpose in life; to give you the most exciting and exhilarating performance. It's so quick, it demands the razor sharp reactions of an experienced rider."
The H2 could probably still compete with many bikes today if it were still around, though not with the environmental lobby!
About the Author:
Zac enjoys working on his bikes himself and understands the value of using the right gear. This extends to correct storage for which Zac uses Harley Davidson motorcycle covers for keeping dust clear of bikes inside, and rain off when outside. See his website offering sweet deals at harleydavidsonmotorcyclecovers.org
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