Momo's Digger

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Like a lot of people, I wasn't too impressed by the custom bike scene during the 80's and 90's, that's to say the high tech period, billet barges, tail draggers and the like...
Momo built his digger in 1991 fabricating the frame around a Kawasaki 1100 GPZ, and back then he fitted T4 Garrett Turbocharger which increased the performance to 160cv allowing him to compete in drag races in the 'constructors class'.

Today Momo's Kawasaki has been tamed and is fuelled by simple carburetors. We felt the urge to try Momo's 'blast from the past' for ourselves, and of course snap a few photos...

Momo's period custom leather jacket

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Phew! Home From Holiday Travels! Here's AN Excellent Reader Ride, Kawasaki H2 - 2 Stroke Restoration Till I Get Things Caught Up!

Philip Rochette writes in:

Hello
Here are some shots of my 1972 Kawasaki 750 H2 that I have recently restored.
It was a long term and very interresting project .
I enjoy my bike and I have a lot of fun riding it in the beautifull french Alps.
Here is the link to my site about that restoration and more;
http://kawasaki750h2.free.fr/
Best regards

Fantastic Restoration!  Thanks for the excellent pictures Philip!

Not a typo... A KLR 650 Cafe Racer...

There's a sentence I never thought I'd write... but you know it's not bad.

Here's one more.  It's all l've got

1973 900 Z1. An Astounding Restoration!

I'm lifting this post straight out of The ADV rider thread I saw it in.  Too good to let it pass.  Thanks 1upand4down.


In 1973 my dad bought this 900 Z1 new. I was 16 years old and he would let
me ride it. He had other Kaw's he would let me ride like a 69 and 71 500 H1's.
But there was nothing like the Super four 900. He sold the Z1 in 1975 to a friend of mine brother-in-law and he sold to his son's friend a few years later.
I bought the Z1 back in 2005 and did a complete restro. Took about 3 years to
complete but was worth every minute and dollar. My dad got to ride it some that year and he really enjoyed it. He's 79 now and I'm not sure if he
will get to ride it any more but maybe. It's suppose to be in the next issue of Moto Retro Illustrated magazine. 

First Generation Kawasaki H1

Still my favorite.

Reader Ride. 1983 KZ1000 R2.

Chuck Margiott Writes in:

Hello, Just sending you a photo of my bike. Just took it out of storage from 13 years ago. It looked like this when I put it away It is a 1983 KZ1000R2

www.kz1000r.com for bike of the months photos.

You've got a GREAT storage room there Chuck!  Thanks for the pics!

Stunning Kawasaki Z1R

Wow!  speaks for itself really...
And thanks again to Danny Clark and his amazing Flickr page.

Wanderlust... Bike on a Boat.

 Saw this over on ADV Rider thread of the same name... LINK  Great Stuff.

Kawasaki Superbike Green on Green!

Some Wednesday Wanderlust.

Some nice shots from over on ADV Rider.

Flawless Kawasaki Z900

Psychotic 2-stroke KX500 Street Fighter

I love the pipe routing. This thing must be dangerous!

Video. The Commute.

Gives me a new found respect for the KLR 650.  Beautifully filmed . Thanks much to Rick for the heads up!

Top Five All Time Favorite Production bikes. Third of Five. 1969/70 Kawasaki H1 2 stroke.

You just know I'd have to get a 2 stroke in here.  It's my first passion after all.  But this one was really tough for me.  Ordinarily it'd be a snap.  Just put up a picture of a TZ750 and call it a day.  But while the TZ was technically a "production" bike it was hardly common much less street legal.   I could go with an RZ500 but it's a non-US bike.  RZ350?  Maybe.. I do love them but they're hardly "iconic" so no.  I'm also a huge fan of the Yamaha RD350 and 400 series bikes but they're not very inspiring when completely stock so in fairness I have to scratch them.  Then there's the entire Suzuki T and GT lineup which is quite impressive and brilliantly engineered but no one bike grabs me.

That leaves the Kawasaki triples which could win as a category but in fairness I should pick just one.  I personally own and much prefer the late model H1 500's to the H2 750's.  And my ideal bike is an H2 engine in an H1 chassis (I'm actually building one). But again that's not "production".  So which way to turn?  It's very close. While I'm very tempted to go with the gorgeous purple 75 H2 (it is a stunner) I have to go with the first in the series that set the tone.  The 1969 / 1970 first generation Kawasaki H1.  Just a stunner of a motorcycle for it's day and indeed,ANY day.

Kawasaki W800

Will it come to America?

More at MCN

Reader Ride. One Hell Of a Nice KZ400 Cafe Racer.

Jeff from Billet Proof Customs sends in some pics of this trick Build. Lots of great touches.  Do yourself a favor and go check out the rest of his build over on his website.  The attention to detail is outstanding!


Jeff Writes in:

Hey man,
Cool blog, cool pics. I am an automotive artist as well as a custom bike
builder, please feel free to check out my Kawi kz400 Cafe Racer on my
website. www.billetproofcustoms.com


Thanks man,
Jeff

Thanks You Jeff! Really great ride!

H1 500 and RD400. Two of my all time favorites!

Reader Ride! Kawasaki Zephyr 550. One of my Favorites!

 I've always had a soft spot for the Kawasaki Zephyr line of bikes. A very refined version of the original Z and KZ line.

Zach Brandt writes in:

Hi, been a fan of your page for the last couple of months. Thought I'd send in a few pics of my Zephyr 550 project bike. Started out as a homely old craigslist find that I learned to ride on. Project originally intended to just be a fork rebuild and new chain then tuned out to what you see here. I had a lot fun picking everything out, but I could have never anticipated the amount of admiration this little thing gets. Keep up the good work on your page!

Thanks Zach!

The before Pic!

Reader Ride. Georgous Kawasaki Z1 Restoration.

Mike sends in these beautiful restoration shots of his well traveled Z1.
He Writes:


Hi,
Thought I’d send pics of my old baby for your blog …

Brought the bike over with me from the UK. Finally decided to do a complete restore thinking it’d cost about $3k … $10k+ later … couldn’t ride it because she was so very pretty.
Sold it after 500 miles but will forever cherish the personal challenge. Screws were self cleaned and re-plated or re-chromed like stock. All parts powder coated. Engine black coat was baked on in my kitchen oven (yes, I was single!). Basically went through what we all go through when it comes to our toys.
Cheers
Michael



Fantastic Work!  Don't know how you could let a beauty like that go.  Thanks Much!

Reader Submittal. Outstanding Kawasaki H2 Restomod / Rescue

Joe Byrd sends in this fantastic :save: of a classic Kawasaki!  Having been down this road a few times with Kawasaki Triples myself I can attest to what a fantastic job this is.

Joe Writes:

Steve
After you posted pix of my H1A and my CR500R, you said to let you know about the next one.


My H2 750 Triple
You can see the before and after;
I purchased the "bike-in-a-box" early last fall with the intent of rebuilding it over the winter.  The build got off to a late start but by June I had it running.

I call it a rebuild and not a restoration because I just wanted a nice looking, nice running H2 to ride, I did not want a bike too nice to ride. I think it has worked out as planned.

Every part needed something. I did all the work myself with the exception  of the powder coating, some machine work (requiring special machines) and applying the paint base coat and clear coat. The painter wanted nothing to do with the decals.

I only bought new parts when I did not have the part or when I could not rebuild the existing part in a satisfactory manner.

I made a lot  parts I did not have or could not get, having access to a machine shop is a great thing.

I seemed like everything that should have taken a minute, took an hour and everything that should have taken an hour, took a week.

I replaced every bearing and seal.  I installed a rebuilt crank  and new pistons in new bores.  It got a new clutch and I had enough transmission parts to build one with minimal wear. And as always, H2 transmissions require careful  shimming.
       
I have ridden it about 600 miles so far, I have fixed a few nits and niggles. It took a while but now I have the jetting spot on. And it is running  like a strong H2 with no issues.

The first week I had it running, I rode it to a large cruiser extravaganza and entered the 750  in the bike show. Though there were quite a number of metric customs, the H2 won first place in the Asian category!