The Yamaha RZ350 was by far the best bike I had (it is pictured below). All the bikes I've had were 2-stroke street bikes excluding the KZ650, which was a 4 stroke.
The RZ500 was a bike I always wanted. Do you have a pic of it you can post?
Len
"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water." ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
Stuart Senior Member Joined: 9 Feb 2012 Posts: 113 Location: TX Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler Grinder: Baratza Vario Roaster: Air Crazy popper
Posted Mon Mar 19, 2012, 8:32am Subject: Re: The Motorcycle Thread
Re: The Kawasaki H2 "Widowmaker"
I had an H2, but it was a '74 model. The first version had a shorter swingarm, which apparently made them extremely wheelie-prone. Add to the short wheelbase a somewhat sharp power delivery, and you had the opportunity for much mid-corner mayhem.
My '74 H2 also had a powerband-killing bonehead exhaust system, a 3-into-1 expansion chamber. I don't know who designed it or thought it would be a good idea, but it kept me from experiencing the worst of the H2's powerband -- and the best. I rode it for a couple of years and while that was not without an unplanned dismount, that resulted from pushing the front tire too hard, not from jumpy power delivery.
(the 1998 Suzuki TL-1000 was also nicknamed "Widowmaker" -- it also had a short wheelbase and abrupt power delivery, although in that case I believe overlean fuel mapping was partly responsible.)
Posted Mon Mar 19, 2012, 8:40am Subject: Re: The Motorcycle Thread
Stuart Said:
Re: The Kawasaki H2 "Widowmaker"
I had an H2, but it was a '74 model. The first version had a shorter swingarm, which apparently made them extremely wheelie-prone. Add to the short wheelbase a somewhat sharp power delivery, and you had the opportunity for much mid-corner mayhem.
My '74 H2 also had a powerband-killing bonehead exhaust system, a 3-into-1 expansion chamber. I don't know who designed it or thought it would be a good idea, but it kept me from experiencing the worst of the H2's powerband -- and the best. I rode it for a couple of years and while that was not without an unplanned dismount, that resulted from pushing the front tire too hard, not from jumpy power delivery.
(the 1998 Suzuki TL-1000 was also nicknamed "Widowmaker" -- it also had a short wheelbase and abrupt power delivery, although in that case I believe overlean fuel mapping was partly responsible.)
My first bike was a 500H1, in poor condition. My second bike was a 76 KH500, essentially the same bike but detuned a bit from the 500H1.
Len
"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water." ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
Posted Mon Mar 19, 2012, 10:17am Subject: Re: The Motorcycle Thread
RZ-500! Jolly-Motos, Mad Beaver, Fox shock... It had just over 5k miles and was very close to a museum piece. I had to sell it two years ago. very sad day. One of the best rides was during the MOTO GP comeback at leguna Seca. Rat-tat-tatting slowly through the traffic was a blast. Some guy at eBay owns it now.
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