I've put my Kawasaki H1F up for sale. It was a bike I always wanted but bit by bit the joy of ownership has been eroded. I don't know if you've ever ordered something and it arrived broken, even when it's been repaired the "magic" has gone.
I ordered the bike in February with the understanding it would be delivered in late May, it finally arrived in August. I paid £8500.
It arrived with a broken rev counter, missing seat trim and difficult-to-open petrol cap and seat latch all of which was declared by Triplesworkshop and promised to be fixed. Before I had a chance to ride it, a wire fell off a coil and reduced it to 2 cylinders and the oil pump started leaking.
This was repaired quickly but a couple of days later it started leaking 2 stroke oil profusely (a 12 inch x 4 inch puddle overnight), it misfired with the turn signals on when slowing down (covered in a service bulletin and I fixed that), it was overcharging the battery (typical for a triple and I fitted a special regulator). The fuel tap started to leak as did the fuel pipes to the carbs, the gear lever fouled the generator cover, I couldn't adjust the brake lever to get my foot on it (not such a big deal but it meant moving the hub lever on its spline and to do that the centre exhaust has to be removed). The sight glass on the oil tank leaked.
It was returned to Triplesworkshop for the niggles to be ironed out. On its return, on the very first kick, the kickstarter didn't return - the spring had either snapped or gone weak, the oil pump was still leaking.
Triplesworkshop collected the bike to install a new spring (requiring engine out and cases split) and that was the last time I saw the bike, this was in late September. They also fitted a new oil pump (finally) which stopped the oil leaks, a little worrying was that it had been starving the middle cylinder of oil which was surprising since it was smoking heavily. The day it was supposed to be returned the centre exhaust split and we had to wait for a replacement (already on its way from the US) to arrive and be rechromed.
I stopped thinking about it but then realised I'd stopped thinking about it! I also realised I didn't really care if it ever came back. Neil at Triplesworkshop has never quibbled about fixing the multitude of issues and admitted I've been unlucky. Still, I know if it had come back I would never be able to trust it. The magic, by this time, had totally gone. I have ridden a grand total of 60 miles, never went above 5000 rpm so didn't experience the massive powerband kick that starts at 6000 rpm and I feel totally miserable.
