Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Denman
Kawasakis... really fun bikes, but they weren't built quite as well as the Hondas of the same era... 
When you took apart a Honda: the ground wire was always Green... 
With a Kawasaki: it could be almost any color!
The plastic bodywork was also not as thick...
But they DID build some super-enthusiast hardware! [emoji144]
The H1 & H2 bikes were positively scary; when they were up on their pipes!
The Z1 was a worthy replacement to them, and the Z1-TC was even scarier than the triples were! 
I miss those days... |
Yeah, mine was the KZ 750 Std. I also had a 550 Ltd, several Hondas & started w/a $50 basket full of most of the parts to a 1978 125cc Twinstar that my eldest big brother insisted I buy as my 1st street legal bike (5cc's at the time over the required for the California fwys). Scrap yards provided the missing parts.
He told me if I wanted to ride, I had to learn how to put it together so I could maintain the bike & prove my dedication & ability to take responsibility. In exchange, he put me on his insurance & intervened w/my mom. I followed thru by taking motorcycle mechanics that summer at Palomar Jr College - to pass the class, you had to build a bike from a basket, or box or whatever - my brother was right about making me take that class. I was proud of my little bike & my confidence & level of self discipline soared.
When I got my 1st auto, a Jeep CJ 5, I didn't take that route to learnin about car engines, tht some might think was an extreme measure. But that really hurt me bc I was always left feeling insecure just looking at those huge engines & I developed some kind of mind block to translating even the basics from motorcycles to cars, especially ones w/out carburetors - that jus seemed too alien...
Well, now I have this huge RV that I love as much as my 'lil basket case - & I'm now confronted w/the need to leave my tech & big engine parts phobia behind. I'm reading constantly, learnin from all you guys & keeping an eye out for a basic mechanic course thats hands on & I'm savin up for when I find the right one. I also want to take rv specific courses.
I'm still tech challenged, & havta fight being tech phobic, but my love of this life on the road has given me that desire to overcome & achieve again. I just wish my big brother was still living to see this - in fact, he woulda insisted on movin in w/me till he was sure I was good to go. He woulda loved this as much as I do, maybe more!
As always, I havta thank everyone here for all your help these past 14 weeks. I'm having more fun than I've had since basic combat training (yeah, weird, but I loved it!), my big brother would thank y'all, too
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