Gave my new (to me) AL7 its first proper spin out to the Ponderosa this morning, it was bright but surprisingly cold in that strong wind.
While up there I noticed an older gent wheeling a very tasty-looking Kawa A1-based race bike out of a van. I got chatting to him, and what a fascinating story he told.
His name is Dave Thomas, and the bike was originally a 250 A1R (as rare as hen's dentists) on which he secured Kawasaki's first-ever race win in the UK, at Cadwell in 1967 against the Yamahas, Bultacos and Aermacchis of the day.
However, he found the 250 Yamahas to be tough competition, so he and his dad decided to convert the bike to a 350. They made their own crank, cast their own cylinders etc. Absolutely amazing ingentuity. As a 350, he set the fastest lap at the Manx GP in 1968 at over 92mph before retiring.
Here's Dave talking about the bike and lighting it up at a 2018 event.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtC4e1NQfZM