animal@ihlpa.UUCP (D. Starr) (07/31/85)
{the eater can have any line but my fuel line}
After all the bragging about speeds hit on the Tollway, Dave Kehoe gets to
the Question of the Day:
> Also, someone recently noted in passing that he used to ride
> a Kawasaki A-1 Samurai. I've never heard of that -- was there
> really such a bike, or did you confuse that with the K-1 500-triple
> two-stroke, also known as the "suicide bike"?
The A-1 Samurai is a copy of the beloved BSA 650 Twin produced by
Kawasaki in the late 60's (around '68, I think). I actually saw one
once, sitting on a front lawn in a little town in Indiana. I've
heard that they ran better than the Beezers because of better quality
control (fewer leaks, etc.). But they were kind of obsoleted by the
OHC Yamaha 650 twin, which you can still find today. As for the
"suicide bike," that's actually called the H-1 (not K-1) Mach III,
and they were every bit as mean as their reputation indicates.
Next question:
> And can anyone tell
> me about the Suzuki GT750? I'm thinking about maybe rebuilding
> one. It's a triple, appears to be a two-stroke, and is the meanest
> looking thing I've ever seen on two wheels. I don't want to ride
> it, I just want to put it in the driveway.
Oh, can I tell you about the Suzuki GT750! It was produced between
1972 and 1976 (there was a 77 model, but I think it was made of
leftover parts). Suzuki named it the Lemans (after either the racetrack
or the Pontiac, I'm not sure which), but its water cooling system quickly
earned it names like "Teapot" and my favorit, "Water Buffalo." It was probably
the best-engineered (for its day) machine ever to come out of Japan. It IS
a two-stroke, but thanks to its water-cooling system (that big thing on
the downtubes is a RADIATOR, not an oil cooler) it suffered from none
of the traditional two-stroke problems--they NEVER siezed (I once
accidentally ran mine for about 500 miles with an empty injector tank,
and it registered not the slightest complaint; I filled the tank up
and never gave the affair another thought), NEVER fouled plugs (my
Kawasaki triple ate a set every 1000 miles; the Buffalo went about
ten times that), and would run on anything --the cheapest gas and most
rancid injection oil were just fine. In short, the machine was
just about unbreakable. I stacked about 35000 on mine, and sold it
to a guy who promptly (on his way home) tried to fill the radiator
with gasoline. This didn't seem to bother it either, and I still
see it on the road from time to time...
The machine was brought out as a big, luxurious (for its day)
cross-country high-speed tourer (emphasis on HIGH SPEED--in factory
trim, 5th gear is useless below 70 mph!). If the Kawasaki H-2 750 triple
was a stoplight-to-stoplight racer, the GT was once reviewed as a
"massage parlor to massage parlor" racer. It wasn't as fast in a
straight line, but it had a solid frame (none of the Kwaker's infamous
flexible flyer stuff), better handling and infinitely better brakes than
almost anything else on the road. The later models were equipped with
a twin-disc setup up front that could stop a Cadillac--after 35000 miles,
I could find no noticeable wear, and I am known for manhandling front
brakes (by contrast, I'm currently burning up a set of pads every 7500
miles on my present machine). On a less spectacular note, the bike also
had the most comfortable seat I've ever ridden on. It was just a flat,
wide saddle, but after a 700-mile day it began to look very pretty.
By the way, do you have the real flashy one? Up through about '74, the
machines sported some real Buck Rogers styling--swoopy sidecovers, electric
purple paint and nifty black cones on the mufflers. The 75-77 models
(mine was a 76) were substantially toned down in appearance, as Suzuki's
stylists prepared for the Katana (?).
If you're interested in restoring this fine old machine, you
should get in touch with Lemans America, the national Suzuki club. They
have a special interest group for this bike, which can help you with
parts and advice. I don't have their address, but they always advertise
in the classifieds in the back of Road Rider and the AMA magazine.
By the way, the GT figured into my tollway speed record story, but seeing
has how it was under 100 when the red Penalty Lights went on in the
mirror (I had seen the cop and was USING that excellent brake system),
I won't recount it any further.
Best of luck, Dan Starr
"Don't look for fancy symbols or quotations, as the high price of the
tobaccos used in Camels precludes their use."markmo@tekig4.UUCP (Mark Morland) (08/10/85)
-------- Newsgroups: net.cycle Subject: Kawasaki's BSA copy - not an "A1" -------- In article <743@ihlpa.UUCP> animal@ihlpa.UUCP (D. Starr) writes: >The A-1 Samurai is a copy of the beloved BSA 650 Twin produced by >Kawasaki in the late 60's (around '68, I think)... I've heard >that they ran better than the Beezers because of better quality >control (fewer leaks, etc.). But they were kind of obsoleted by >the OHC Yamaha 650 twin, which you can still find today. I briefly owned (the major pieces of) one of these machines last year, I think it was a '68. The correct model numbers for these Kawasaki 650's are W1 and W2. The W1 had a single carburetor, and the W2 was the hi-performance dual carburetor model. The vertical twin engine was connected to the remote gearbox by a chain. The large polished aluminum chain case had "KAWASAKI" cast in. The serial number of mine began "W2-". The carburetors were Japanese copies of AMALs. Unconfirmed rumors have it that some parts were interchangeable with the BSA. I know little else about this machine, but can refer anyone interested to a couple of local experts. Yours, Mark Morland tektronix!tekig4!markmo P.S. I sold it (the engine, frame, and swingarm) for $100. P.P.S. I have a Water Buffalo for sale for $400. -- Mark Morland tektronix!tekig4!markmo