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Seeker · 19-08-19, 01:50 PM

Well, my new (1975) Kawasaki H1F broke down whilst it was stood in the garage overnight. A wire to one coil under the tank decided to disconnect itself and give me a 333cc twin instead of a 500cc triple and it dribbled liquids too from various places. Neil sent another Neil from triplesworkshop to take a look and he found the wire and a pinhole in the oilpump feed.

He also lost a portion of the petrol on the garage floor so my first stop was the petrol station. The H1 has a skinny tank and a wide engine whereas the SV has a wider tank and a skinny engine - I'm 5'6 so when I try to put my usual foot down (my left) in the usual place I found the space was occupied by the gear lever, the prop stand and the centre stand and I couldn't splay my leg out further to find the floor so there was a panicky jiggle to put my right foot down. (I will need to practice that).

The H1 has neutral at the bottom so you really need to keep track of which gear you're in else you're not in any. I lost count plus the rev counter isn't working (a replacement is coming) and there's no engine braking - roundabouts are fun.

I reach the petrol station and fill up, no bother. The H1 leans a lot on the sidestand so when I go to kick the bike I can't get my leg up high enough to reach the kick start (the CCTV video should be hilarious). I tried hand starting - it fired but didn't catch so I had to get on the bike and kick, it worked but I wouldn't call it elegant.

God it vibrates. Bars, footrests - everything is jingling, the mirror is useless and this is with the rubber mounted engine - I suspect the carbs are not sync'd although it does smooth out at 50 a bit (4500 rpm I think).
People stared, dogs barked, mothers grabbed their children - but it didn't sound loud to me when moving - I thought the SV seemed louder (I always wear ear plugs).
I only did 20 miles and it felt like a 100 - it's quite dramatic how much bikes have improved over the last 40 odd years.
I got home, parked it, turned the petrol off (I remembered!), the sun came out and she looked beautiful.
It's like dating a beautiful woman only to find out she's a dominatrix and likes to practice on you. I'm beat (so to speak).

19-08-19, 01:50 PM	#1
Seeker Member Mega Poster Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: NE Lincs Posts: 1,069	How was your day? Well, my new (1975) Kawasaki H1F broke down whilst it was stood in the garage overnight. A wire to one coil under the tank decided to disconnect itself and give me a 333cc twin instead of a 500cc triple and it dribbled liquids too from various places. Neil sent another Neil from triplesworkshop to take a look and he found the wire and a pinhole in the oilpump feed. He also lost a portion of the petrol on the garage floor so my first stop was the petrol station. The H1 has a skinny tank and a wide engine whereas the SV has a wider tank and a skinny engine - I'm 5'6 so when I try to put my usual foot down (my left) in the usual place I found the space was occupied by the gear lever, the prop stand and the centre stand and I couldn't splay my leg out further to find the floor so there was a panicky jiggle to put my right foot down. (I will need to practice that). The H1 has neutral at the bottom so you really need to keep track of which gear you're in else you're not in any. I lost count plus the rev counter isn't working (a replacement is coming) and there's no engine braking - roundabouts are fun. I reach the petrol station and fill up, no bother. The H1 leans a lot on the sidestand so when I go to kick the bike I can't get my leg up high enough to reach the kick start (the CCTV video should be hilarious). I tried hand starting - it fired but didn't catch so I had to get on the bike and kick, it worked but I wouldn't call it elegant. God it vibrates. Bars, footrests - everything is jingling, the mirror is useless and this is with the rubber mounted engine - I suspect the carbs are not sync'd although it does smooth out at 50 a bit (4500 rpm I think). People stared, dogs barked, mothers grabbed their children - but it didn't sound loud to me when moving - I thought the SV seemed louder (I always wear ear plugs). I only did 20 miles and it felt like a 100 - it's quite dramatic how much bikes have improved over the last 40 odd years. I got home, parked it, turned the petrol off (I remembered!), the sun came out and she looked beautiful. It's like dating a beautiful woman only to find out she's a dominatrix and likes to practice on you. I'm beat (so to speak). Last edited by Seeker; 19-08-19 at 03:57 PM.