Whimper.....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1973-KAWASAKI-BLUE_W0QQitemZ4597976910QQcategoryZ9
807QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Best-looking Kawasaki S2 (the ultra-rare 350) I've ever seen.

*Want*

 

No. I reckon 2.2-2.5 is likely.

 

Never heard anything more about the Morini, no.

I'm tempted to bid on the 350. It's one of the rarest triples, if not
*the* rarest, which isn't necessarily a good thing.

It's basically a bored-out 250. The story goes that Kawasaki moved to a
400 because people weren't trading up. So some engine parts, like
pistons and rings, may be hard to find. And 400 ones won't fit.

I really wanted an S3/KH400, but a good S2 is still a bloody fast little
triple, and nearly practical (for Kawasaki values of 'practical').

 

The Older Gentleman said...

Nice, but an over-restored US import. I don't like the polished fork
sliders etc. Is the chrome rear mudguard missing, or were all S2s like
that?

 

Yes, I clocked the red reflectors too, but it really doesn't matter -
differences between triples of that era were minimal.

I don't think it's over-restored, either. Just looks really nice, to me.

Believe it or not, it depended on the market. US models and (I think) UK
models came like that. Some Continental markets had chrome rear guards.
Have a look at Google images - you'll see.

The trouble with the S2 is that (according to Rick Brett) there seemed
to be nothing like a standard spec. It was a very short-lived model, and
some that should have had drum brakes got disc brakes, or not the
colourways they should have, etc.

Think Ducati 900s in the early 1980s: same sort of thing.

 

The Older Gentleman said...

I hear all you're saying, I was very gently trying to put you off buying
another stroker.

 

Ah!

This is your Christmas pressie. "Oi! TOG! Nooooooo!"

Much appreciated, actually.

<Slaps own face>

It's OK, I'm better now. It's just that I feel about Kawasaki triples
the way you feel about RD400s....

 

On Sat, 24 Dec 2005 17:52:23 +0000,

You just haven't had one for a long time - buy one, the feeling will
soon go away.
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SE-V/CBR1100XX-X/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..78895.../...20405.../..31257.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 YTC#4
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 two#11
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 PM#5 WG*
'^' RBR 2005: Abandoned - Bronze Award.

 

<whistles>

 

The Older Gentleman said...

I have resisted the urge to buy an RD400 for over 10 years now. I still
have one registered to me, even if all I have is the V5 for it.

 

Hmm.

I had an H1A for about 10 years. Used it for about 6 years (on and off)
including a couple of triple club rallies, used it for another 1 or 2
years rarely and then parked it for 2 years in a damp garage.

The paint came off the tank, the tyres flattened and the chrome dulled.

I advertised it on ebay in February and sold it to a local chap who was
the 2nd owner of the bike, he used to see it parked opposite his school
when he was 15 and eventually bought it. He sold it to someone who I
later bought it from. He was pleased to find the bike again when he saw
my ebay add.

One sunday this August I heard a familliar sound and sure enough, good
as his word the bloke who had bought the bike turned up again, having
spent about 6 months getting it straight, lots of elbow grease a
resprayed tank and original exhausts (courtesy of Mr Brett). It looked
bloody fantastic I think it was a '72, so 32 years old and looking
wonderful.

*if* and when my career commitments slacken off I'd buy another triple.
Probably a KH400 or an H2.

 

said...

My boss has an immaculate 1971 blue H1 parked up in our offices at
Penrith. I'm not sure of the model, but it is a very early one on a K
plate IIRC. To the best of my knowledge it hasn't been started in many
years and is just a part of a large collection that includes an ex-Joey
Dunlop TT winning Honda SP-1, an ex-David Jefferies TT winning R6, an
ex-DJ TT winning R1, one of Sheene's old Texaco Heron Suzuki TR750
triples, a Bimota Tesi, a mint CB400 Four, a brand new Yamaha OW01, a
brand new MV F4 Serie Oro and a whole host of other run of the mill
bikes.

 

cooo, shiney.

it'll cost you. 1950 and counting...

 

1950 with 2 days to go, or most of... 2.2 looks quite close.

 

I thought it was you we had to do that to?

 

Nice collection.

If it was blue it was an H1A. Hmm... I can't remember what colour the
Mach III came in though. Did it have a distributor with four HT leads
coming out of the RHS of the crank case?

 

said...

I'll take a look next time I'm up there, it sits right outside the
boardroom where we hold sales meetings. I'll try and get photos too.

 

Midnight White or Peacock Grey, iirc.
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SE-V/CBR1100XX-X/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..78895.../...20405.../..31257.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 YTC#4
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 two#11
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 PM#5 WG*
'^' RBR 2005: Abandoned - Bronze Award.

 

The Older Gentleman came up with the following;:

Luvverly ... but those fork legs just look wrong, and those bars, did the S2
have the head mounted steering damper like the 250 SamuraI? If it didn't,
it prolly needs one .. .

My KH's never had such a shiny centre header pipe and non-scratched
silencers ...

 

amazing things. Someone at the caff last year or so had an immaculate blue
500 triple. Drum brake, so presumably earlyish H1 (not up on the detail
differences).

At idle it sounded like 3 MZs in concert, but when it took off down the
road...