The Original Kawasaki H2 was called the 'Widowmaker' for a reason

I am a 67-year-old survivor of the 1972 H-2 750 "widow maker"! My first road bike was the 1972 S2 A which was the best wheelie bike I ever rode and it only cost me $869! I rode it for 2358 miles, just under one year, then I just had to have the H2! Back then the mindset was, break it in hard and it will always run hard! This bike I had the most fun with as I would always leave supercars, even the Datsun 240Z in the smoke that my beast always left behind me! I once got caught by a Rhode Island State Trooper, running back and forth on a brand new four-lane road that was not open yet, testing my skills and he made it plain and simple that he was out to stop me as he jumped the median divider that was a grassy gully that he took out his exhaust system when he did get to the northbound side of this new but still not open highway. He told me to slow down this rocketship and if he ever catches me going over the speed limit, he was going to take my 750 away and throw me in jail and toss the key into a pond! I only stopped this one time for a cop after that! The wobble was there from about 100 to 105 mph and would stay until you had the balls to ride it out to 115 mph, then it would smooth out and top out speed-wise at about 123 mph! I rode that bike until 1974, sold it to my big brother, and then bought the 1974 900 Z1, by then Kawasaki was building a stronger frame with 4 cylinders compared to the three cylinders, was a much smoother and better handling machine in the corners and had a faster top speed! I would pay anything to have another sky blue H2 750 again!

I'm 71 years old and I remember riding the Kawasaki 750 H2 back in 1972 like it was yesterday. At the time I owned a 750 Honda which I thought was fast until I borrowed my friend's 750 H2 for a night. I was blown away by the raw performance. It made my Honda seem like riding a scooter when it came to speed and torque. The first time I cranked the H2 wide open I ended up doing a wheelie for an entire city block. What a thrill it was growing up back then.

I sold these bikes at a dealer in my area and rode them extensively. The torque was amazing. Lay on the tank, roll on the throttle, and shift each time the front wheel was pointing at the sky. With the H2 the adrenaline rush would cause one to shake for several minutes after climbing off.

Agreed! I had a 750 H2 for about 2 months. After the throttle stuck wide open one day to which I had the wits about me to keep the clutch disengaged until I was able to hit the kill switch. That, and the fact that I completely left the ground going too fast over a large bridge in my home town at the time - I ended up selling it to spare my own life. Though I kind of wish I had kept it for the sake of nostalgia, at the time it was the right decision for a young, "no fear", "no brains", 20-something to do.

My first and only cycle was a 750 Kawasaki H2. Probably a 1972 model. It taught me how fast, fun, and free motorcycles feel. Fortunately, it also taught me that I was not mature enough for drive one. Fifty years later, at 73, I'm still too immature.

I remember when Kawasaki first introduced this bike in the UK. One astounded reviewer wrote "It's like the speedometer's directly connected to the throttle!" That review has always stuck in my mind, even to this day.

I had one in the mid 80s. My brother-in-law had a Honda CB750. We swapped bikes one day and ran a quarter. He got off my bike and said he would never ride it again as it was too dangerous. He had bikes all the way up to a KZ1000 but the conversations would always come back to the H2 and how radical it was.

Absolutely the fastest vehicle I ever straddled....back in 1974. I had a rootbeer brown with the orange on the tank. Beautiful machine.

I was just a kid in the late 70's. I managed to wheel and deal for this 3- cylinder Kawi that didn't run. I tinkered with it and soon this beast was awakened. I don't know if I weighed a dollar back then, but I jumped on it and goosed my way to the highway a half block away. When she got straight, I twisted that throttle and grabbed gears. THAT was the fastest thing I'd ever been on. I could barely hold on!! What a ride!!

Three years out of high school and a British bike faithful. It was hard to believe how game changing fast those two strokes were.

I'm also a survivor of a H2, this year I celebrate 50 years on two wheels with my Virago1100. I owned many bikes, but no one compared to the 750 H2 in acceleration (at least the feeling of it), although you had to have balls to hold this beast on the street at higher speeds. Unforgettable...

I started with my 500 H1 Triple Kaw, and graduated to my H2, 1973 750 triple. The most fun I ever had, drove it for two full years, from last snow to first snow. After my first speed wobble I went to the shop, purchased upside down Z bars and a Rickman full cafe fairing. Both were intended for the Kaw 900 that had just come on the market. I built my own frame for the fairing to fit my H2 and it was a deadly machine - nothing could touch me. I also added a better steering damper, but that was it. I rode her hard, put down every challenger and put her away wet, every time. She never broke - the fairing and dropped bars completely tamed the wheelies, I could stand her up like a modern stunt driver and could keep her down for blazing drag races. Loved that machine !!! Oh, and by the way, the fairing, damper and bars, made a champion road racing. I never lost a race - no matter how short or long.

Rode my first H-2 in 1974. Sincerely scared the everloving crap out of me. Pulled down on the throttle and when the tach went by 3500 it stood straight up. That thing had me talking to Jesus more than once. Thanks for reviving the memory

I'm a survivor. I had one pitch me off @ 110mph. Nothing broken, but left a lot of clothes and skin on the road that evening. Quite the ride! It was like being shot out of a canon when you dialed it up!

I started riding in '69 and remember these fondly. They earned the reputation you mention. The same thing happened in the early '80s with the turbo bikes. Development of other machines ended the big 2 strokes of the '70s where insurance companies ended the turbo bikes. They were both real handfuls that required experienced riders with sense to ride and survive. Thank you for the memories!

I loved the H2, I went thru 3 of them, two blue 72's and a purple '73. It wasn't a bike for first time riders. With a '74 swingarm, bronze bushings and heavy duty clutch springs you had a budget rocket that destroyed anything else on the street. I will always think of that time with fondness. At least spare parts were easy to find with all the scrapped wrecks around.

That wobble at high speed brought back some memories. I am a 58 year old survivor of a modified (90+hp) 1972 H2 750, a 1974 H1 500. I was young and fearless when I bought the H2 @ 18 years old. Acquired the 500 a few years later from a frightened owner. In 1985 I couldn't resist when the Eliminators came out I bought the 900. My garage also housed my old 1975 KE100 and a 1985 Suzuki ALT 175 trike. I held on to and rode all of them for so many years. The triples were the first to go after my 3rd kid in the 90's. Then once the divorce began I had to liquidate. Everything went except the Eliminator. That finally had to go when I bought my 2nd house and got tired of cleaning the carbs because I didn't ride it like I promised to. I wish I still had them all !

I had a Kawasaki Mach II 500cc in 1972. Absolute screamer. I removed all air filter encumbrance. Then added velocity stacks, and "Bill Wirges" racing pipes. Maximized the fuel ports and only got 22 miles per gallon. Positively the most fun I ever had on 2 wheels. Thanks for the memories.

I had a friend in high school that had one of these in the mid seventies. I had a little Honda CB 350 4 stroke. He used to let me ride it all the time. That bike was absolutely insane! It would do wheelies at 70mph on the interstate. Amazing I lived to tell about it.

For a old guy who used to ride these bikes, just listening to the sound of one here on my laptop, makes my heart race and relive what it was like. With good tires and proper oil in the forks etc. I never had trouble even one the twisty roads I had no trouble. You could find the limits easy and hold short of that and still other bikes really could not do any better. They felt lighter and torquier than the four strokes. Like I said that triple 2-stroke going through the gears is pure excitement!!