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LOT 605A

1972 Kawasaki 498cc H1B Registration no. HHR 792K Frame no. KAF 52807 Engine no. KAE 57138

Sold for £6,900 inc. premium
Lot 605A

1972 Kawasaki 498cc H1B
Registration no. HHR 792K Frame no. KAF 52807 Engine no. KAE 57138

1972 Kawasaki 498cc H1B
Registration no. HHR 792K
Frame no. KAF 52807
Engine no. KAE 57138

From the Z1 to the ZX10R, Kawasaki has long enjoyed a reputation for building uncompromising - often outrageous - high performance motorcycles. However, the machine that started it all was not a four-stroke like the forgoing, but a two-stroke – the awesome, legendary Mach III. Light weight combined with a peaky 60bhp and indifferent handling made the two-stroke triple an exciting machine to ride, but one which nevertheless had the legs of just about everything under 750cc when launched in 1968. The Mach III (H1) triple was regularly revised and updated, gaining a front disc brake, revised steering geometry and rubber engine mounts among other changes before production ceased in 1976, by which time the model had become the KH500.

Believed to have originated from California, USA, the beautiful H1B offered here incorporates the CDI ignition, disc front brake, and steering damper that were new introductions on this model for 1972. A matching-numbers example, the machine was professionally restored in 2012, just before the current vendor acquired it. The Kawasaki was imported from the Republic of Ireland in 2012 but not registered in the UK until December 2017, at which time a major service was carried out, the works undertaken including changing the gearbox oil and rebuilding the carburettors. We are advised by the private vendor that the machine has not seen much use since restoration but last ran in December 2018 and is in full working order. The last MoT expired in December 2018 and 'HHR 792K' is now exempt from testing. Offered with sundry bills and a V5C document.

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