“The excitement of the test over, all of the bikes went back to the Cycle shop so they could be stripped to their crankcases to be checked for legality. The fastest was first. No standard showroom motorcycle could be as quick as the Kawasaki was in our test. But it was exactly stock.” — Cycle magazine, December 1972.
“In the civilized world, there was no earthly purpose for this motorcycle. Its only reason for existence was to blow off every single muscle car that Detroit could produce.” Clement Salvatori — Rider magazine, December 2003.
There are some things out there that people either love or hate, including rap music, the color pink, habanero peppers and Kawasaki H2s. “There are two dangerous things in that parking lot,” says a friend at the local MC hangout. “There’s a wet spot in the middle of the lot, and there’s a parked 750 Kawasaki. I’ll take my chances with the wet spot.”
Post-war ventures
The Midwest’s Mitchell family felt otherwise. Father and two sons traded this 1972 Kawasaki back and forth between themselves for years. Eventually, the family decided to part with their long-term treasure, and its caretaker is now Robert Fontes. Believe it or not, this bike is original and unrestored.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries came out of World War II forbidden to build aircraft and in need of a new profit center. Observing a large new market for small motorcycles, Kawasaki joined forces with Meihatsu and Meguro,
