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ome of us ‘older’ members can cast our minds back and this only made them all the more desirable to riders who
to the year 1969 with nostalgia and wonderment. thrilled in their evil reputation. They were cheap too!! Thin
We can all remember where we were as Neil forks and frames ensured a memorable ride. Hit 5,500 revs on
$UPVWURQJ ¿UVW SODQWHG KLV IHHW RQ WKH PRRQ the tacho and all hell broke loose in an instant.
SMeanwhile, back on Earth, more amazing things
were happening in the motorcycle world as iconic models were Did they deserve this reputation? Not really, as they could
released to an eager buying public. In no particular order, the be ridden sedately to work if the rider wanted. You could get
ODVW JDVS H໤RUW E\ WKH %ULWLVK )DFWRULHV ZHUH WKH %6$ 5RFNHW away with speeding in those days – just as well. Two steering
DQG LWV FORQH WKH 7ULXPSK 7ULGHQW <DPDKD¶V ¿UVW IRXU VWURNH dampers added to the head stem, gave reasonable control back
with its venerable XS650 twin. Everyone wondered what were to the rider. I restored a 1972 HIB version in 1990 and I can
they thinking with this supposedly retrograde step but some attest that it was actually controllable. Amazingly, the motors
600,000 were consequently sold over the next 16 years. held together even when thrashed but the big negative was the
Kawasaki released its amazing Mach 3 500cc triple two stroke, awful petrol consumption and the need to constantly wash your
that broke all the rules with its 60 bhp, 124 mph (claimed) top underwear on return from a spirited ride. The other ‘character’
speed. Finally, the big one, the Honda 750cc four cylinder that point of note was the use of Capacitor Discharge Ignition (CDI)
changed motorcycling forever and dictated the style of bike we IRU WKH ¿UVW WLPH RQ D PRWRUF\FOH 7KLV QHJDWHG WKH XVH RI
were to ride for many years to come. points and the timing was electronically set for the life of the
machine. BUT, the CDI sent out bad vibes in the way of TV
I want to focus on the Kawasaki Triple, the most controversial reception destroying radiation. Subsequent models reverted to
of this lot. They were raucous, loud and very anti-social as they a normal points system until the Factory got the CDI right some
mono’d and smoked down the road seemingly out of control years later.
E\ LWV SHWUL¿HG ULGHUV WKH IURQW ZKHHO PRVWO\ LQ WKH DLU 7KH\
TXLFNO\ JDLQHG D UHSXWDWLRQ DV µÀH[L¶ À\HUV¶ RU µZLGRZ PDNHUV¶ Kawasaki were on a roll with thousands of 500 Triples going

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