Take a ride on Kawasaki's 750 H2 now, in these
times of safety-consciousness and environmental awareness, and the legendary
two-stroke triple would seem like a bike from another planet. Fast, loud,
smoky, vibratory, thirsty and evil-handling, the H2 and its predecessor the
Mach IV were outrageously anti-social even by the somewhat lax standards of
the early Seventies. Kawasaki pulled no punches in setting out to
establish the snarling stroker's performance credentials. The first
paragraph of their brochure read:
'The Kawasaki 750 Mach IV has only one
purpose in life: to give you the most exciting and exhilarating performance.
It's so quick it demands the razor-sharp reactions of an experienced rider.
It's a machine you must take seriously.' They weren't joking. The
original aircooled 748cc motor put out 74bhp, which was enough to send the
triple screaming to 120mph while spewing clouds of oily blue smoke from its
exhausts. Light weight and a short wheelbase meant fearsome acceleration and
plenty of wheelies. Awful fuel consumption - around 22mpg was common -
necessitated frequent fill-ups, but the upright riding position and tingling
engine vibration meant the rider was often relieved to stop. And sometimes
relieved to be alive, for the triple's handling was even more notorious than
its engine performance.
The Mach IV, in particular, was distinctly lively,
combining a none-too-strong frame with crude suspension with the result that
its chassis was all too prone to high-speed tankslappers. Add in the poor
wet-weather tire and braking performance typical of the bikes of the time,
and the results were frequently disastrous. The H2, introduced a year
later in 1974, was slightly more sane all round. Its motor was less smoky
(and 3bhp less powerful); its chassis more stable thanks to less-steep forks
and a longer wheelbase. But the H2 was still by far the nastiest, most
aggressive and most outrageous bike on the street. Racing was an
obvious progression, and the Kawasaki factory triples, nicknamed 'Green
Meanies,' notched plenty of wins in the mid-Seventies, notably in the hands
of Mick Grant, Barry Ditchburn and Yvon Duhamel. But tightening emission
controls, especially in California, spelled doom for big road-going
two-strokes. The H2's reign of motorcycling terror was relatively short.
Source of review: Roland Brown
Any corrections or more information on these motorcycles will be kindly appreciated.