My Old H2

[H2 Dude]

Ok here we go down memory lane .

This is my 1975 H2 I bought in Toronto in 79.

The original owner crashed it doing an unexpected wheelie and there it sat with less than a 1000 miles on it .

The first photo is about when I brought it home
Note >> Those rear shocks now belong to Rick .
I averaged close to 50 miles to the gallon if ridden normal and maybe 40-45 if ridden hard .
Not as bad as I read in the Mags during that period.
It did dip into the 30's when piston slap became real noisy!!




This Photo is when I put flat bars on and had the disc drilled .


As you can see from the above photo there is SNOW on the ground and yes I rode all year .
I put a lot of miles on it and hard ones at that .
This OL triple never ever let me down .
In April of 79 while sitting at a 4 way stop a new owner of the Honda double O.H.C 750 wanted to race .
He got the jump on me BUT I smoked him .
I was going soo fast I couldn't stop for the red light and had to go thru it with him not far behind .

I remeber looking at the tach and the needle was pegged at 8,000 .
Young and foolish I guess .
Ian

[zambia]

50 MPG??? that's incredible!! My H2C gets 16. ..18 if I granny shift and keep the tach out of the red zone! I ran out of gas running the tail of the dragon. I had filled the tank to the brim and the odometer was reset...she died at 64 miles.

[H2 Dude]

I guess I have always been a nut for keeping track of mileage figures even do it today .

Gas mileage on my H2 was great and that was cruising at 50 > 60 mph .

Somehow I have that gut feeling my H1(s) won't get that mileage ..lol

Ian

[myroc]

On the highway I would get 47mpg with my 75 H2C. My 75 H1 would get 33mpg on the hwy. In 1972 I bought a new 350 S2 and it would only do 24mpg on the hwy. When it comes to Kawi triples, bigger cc = better gas mileage on the hwy..

[zambia]

My H2 with 38's gets better mileage than my 400.. I think it's also because the 750 makes power at lower RPM.. with the 400, I'm ringing its neck constantly.

[shiloh]

During the first tobermory gathering I learned my s2 got crappy milage keeping up to all the bigger bikes, had to get rescued half way back to the tub from owen sound.
I think maybe 20-22mpg wot.
My frankin kawi 500 wasnt much better.

[H2 Dude]

Today my 74H2B gets 38-40 mpg, My h1B about 50 and when i had my S2A it got maybe 33 mpg, my sons 73 S2A would constantly get 40 mpg. go figure..lol

[dickjny]

H2 Dude (Ian), zambia, myroc, shiloh,

- It's Dick Jamieson from NY. We met in Paris in 2009. I am the original owner / drag racer (1973-1985) of a 1972 Kaw H2 (repainted with smaller headlight & drag bars) still ran strong, but thanks to "joker" (who noticed right exhaust was a different color) I've replaced a leaking crank seal. I may have had the best running and worst looking bike there in 2009. Do you recall the burnout I did at the gas stop Saturday? I have very fond memories of that weekend!!! - You sold and Ariel that year and later changed you handle from "Arielman" to "H2Dude". We talked about trials too. They had planned a trial (demo / fun event) at the fair grounds but it didn't happen. Rained late Friday (after our ride to Ayr, ON. I road back to my Hotel in the rain.). Rain stopped about noon on Saturday and we had a great time & ride Saturday night!

- You were 22 when you got your H2 (above story). I was 25 when I got mine (1973 after returning from active duty in the Navy in Italy. I had a 1968 Triumph Dayton there.). Prior to going in the Navy I had a 1968 Kaw A7SS. Lot of water over the dam since then.

- I'm sure I can relate to some of your crazy rides ("Young and foolish"). Had a few of my own. Always wanted to meet with the group again at Tweed; but it wasn't in the cards. Retired in 2010 and quit riding trials (1976-2010). Sold my Yamaha TY350 trials bike this spring (2020).

- Your story about your run against a Honda double O.H.C 750 made me recall a run I had with a Norton 750. With drag racing experience and lots of high speed twisty road experience I dusted him bad from off the line. I was expecting to have more trouble in the twisty turns but after watching him in the first couple of turns in my rear view mirror I let up and pulled over and we talked. He was young and not as experienced but the Norton was a great looking bike. As far as redline, it was 7500 RPM (Max HP) but road racers of that era said you could run to 9000 with original crank without problems; but recommended welded crank if you wanted to go higher. I remember watching the tach go to 12,000 on some missed shifts; but will have the original crank today.

- My MPG experience with my H2 (which had 1973 updated carbs) has been 28-50 MPG. During high speed hard acceleration (105 MPH in 2nd. gear) runs thru twisty road here in upstate NY I'd get 28 MPG. Normal riding I'd get about 33 MPG. I only got 50 MPG once riding back from a trip to western NY in the rain (water cooled). I think I may get better now that I've moved to synthetic lube. Next move is to unleaded gasoline.

- zambia, Believe you were there in 2009. Didn't you ride a 1972 Kaw H2 as well (original paint) and bring the H2 engine cut-away??

- myroc, Ah the youngster of this group. Oh to be 40 again; I'm 72.

- shiloh, Don't believe I've met you.

- I really like following what's going on with KTC and would love to have another ride with the group in the future. Please stay safe and healthy during this pancemic. Perhaps we will meet in the future. Best for the Holidays and I'm sure we are all looking for a better year in 2021.

Cheers!

Drag racer - If you can't win, make your competition set a new record!
1972 Kaw H2
1970 Yam R5 (with RD250 front end & body work).
1972 Yam R5 (project bike)
1975 Yam RD350 (Project bike)