Which bike made you a Kawasaki fan?

[greenmeeny]

Gramp took me for a ride on his new Z1 in 72 when I was 6. Been Kwakazaki man since.

[Bunny]

For me it would this....



It was in the window of Vectis Motorcycles in Cross Street, Ryde when I was 12. I leered at it so much the owner invited me in to sit on it.

I saved every penny from them till I was 14 and still couldn't afford it, don't think I have ever wanted anything as much since then.

Got to agree with you, great bit of kit and for a schoolboy shit loads of power. In fact just loads of power and would probably still scare the shit out of me (providing it could carry my extra weight)

[WizzBang]

Never had a particular attraction to KHI, in fact I liked the look of the NC24/NC30 Hondas when I first started looking at getting into biking.  Once I was actually buying a bike I looked at gixers to start, but ended up finding a decent ZX6R F3 and buying the bike rather than an image.

It will always hold a certain something....1st bike, 1st trackbike.

But

Everything changed when I bought the Benson's B1.


The thing is, since having the Kwaks, I've had an R1 and CBR600RR.  The fit and finish of both bikes makes you realise that KHI didn't have any idea about build quality.  Sure the Kwaks have a bit more soul and an raucious edge, but it's the lack of these flaws in the other bikes is what gives them their longevity.

[Tuck]

KR1-S in Green and white was a stand out bike for me as it felt in such close reach even as a schoolboy in the late 80's. ZXR750 in green was the posterbike dream but seemed a distant fantasy. A local mono wheeling hero first with a GPZ900 and then one of the very first ZZR1100's got all the girls and seemed so very cool to me at 16.

By the time I had a full license in about 1994 the brand was not really at the top of my shopping list, a chance encounter with a 636 B1 got me back onto a Kawasaki and led me onto a ZX10R for a good few years. Money/time no object to be able to have another bike then the latest 10R would have me back with the brand once again after a long run of 4 different Yamaha's in recent years.

[Brian]

When I was 17, my mate had a Z500 with rearsets, flat bars, and a dreadful rattle can spray job. I used to go for a blast on it with no licence or insurance..

Four years later, after it'd sat unused for a while, I gave him £500 for it.

[mc101]

04 ZX10R

[Alzo]

04 ZX10R

One of the best looking 1000's to date.

[Jarse]

For me

[the invisible dog]

Never had a particular attraction to KHI, in fact I liked the look of the NC24/NC30 Hondas when I first started looking at getting into biking.  Once I was actually buying a bike I looked at gixers to start, but ended up finding a decent ZX6R F3 and buying the bike rather than an image.

Had never really thought of biking but went and did CBT as something to do
Got licence as CBT was about to run out and then toyed with the idea for a bike for a while, maybe a Hornet or CBR600...
Went to a warehouse full of NC30 and 35s and was smiten but too expensive and too small for a sensible runaround so continued bumbling around on a CG125
Popped back into the Kwak dealer I had done my test with to buy a new/cheap pair of gloves and came away with a pristeen ZX6R-F3, green of course!
Had little intention of changing it until I was unceremoniously parted from it one morning on the way to work and there wasn't much left of it afterwards, or the Ford Cougar with the faulty mirrors/indicators/driver! 
Only course to take after that was the 10R, dealer located a green one for me, sold by them, just run in (owner had scared himself) and all the bits that I would have bought anyway 
Can't think of much I'd change it for now
I ponder 748s, 996s and stuff occasionally but must say a nice ZX7R is probably the only thing I really have a hankering for - another Kwak, who'd have thought!
(There's always a B1 somewhere in the garage...     )

[T.C]

KH500 was my first big(ish) bike in the mid 70's except mine had the full Rickman set up.  Fantastic in a straight line, not so good through the bends.

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/kawasaki/kawasaki_kh%20500%2076.htm

Mine looked similar to

http://www.classic-motorcycle-fiberglass.com/kawasaki.htm

But in all black

[martin]

for me it would have to be my kr1 b2. bought it for £500 IN 1999 and have totally rebuilt it, would never sell it as there is something about a stroker.
totally different bike to my zx636 b1h

[greenmeeny]

What's the difference between KR1 & KR1S?

[Johnnyfireblade]

That was the reason I chose a ZXR400 as my first bike.

[Gilby104]

The S2 350 triple, a guy at college had a mate with one, and he ragged it up and down the street in a cloud of two-stroke smoke, brilliant.  I had an S1C 250 a few years later, but it didn't have the mean attitude of the 350.

We've still got an S2 in the garage at home with 6k miles on it; bit of a daunting experience according to the old man!

[martin]

loads of differences between a kr1 and kr1s.
kr1 was only made for one year ,and only 1000 uk bikes were ever made. kr1s followed on from the kr1 with the c2 then c3, a lot made of those, but you never see them.
some of the differences are
kr1s exhausts have removable cans and give 3-5 bhp more than one piece kr1 expansions.
have diff frame/swinger/forks/wheels/brakes. and the top end had some revisions, ie. diff porting in the barrels and bigger powervalves.

the last one I built had 60bhp at the rear wheel when I got it set up on the dyno at Aylesbury. [that was,nt my bike, it was one I built for someone] [I have built quite a few kr1s,s]
reckon mine will prob have around 56-58bhp at the rear wheel;