tl1000s & an odd question

[Steven Bixby]

>
>
> I owned a 73 Kawasaki H2 750 2-stroke triple.  These were the original
> widowmakers.
>
> Charles S.
>

I was gonna reply about the "original Widowmaker" too.

Way back when I was a teen, my mom expressed an interest in motorcycling,
and my father reluctantly went along with the possibility.   She tried out
this sweet little Honda twin, maybe a CB350?  It actually had a fairing or a
windshield if I recall correctly.   She rode it home and my dad and I
figured out it was only running on one jug, so she took it back and told the
dealer a few choice slang words. I'm sure we could have gotten it running
quite well, but I think she was mad at the guy for more reasons than just
the running status of the bike.

Next thing along was a bike for sale on the other side of town (rural
Colorado), so my dad went with her to try it out. He went out along on a
backroad 2-lane, no helmet or other protection as was rather common back
then, and the bike went down pretty hard; rashed him up pretty good,
including his chin and cheek, hip, thigh and shoulder.  He said a few days
later that the bike shook really bad when we was slowing down, which I would
now interpret to be a tankslapper.  That incident, of course, freaked
everyone out pretty badly, especially my mom who instantly gave up the
motorcycle bug.  And for many years afterwards, she threatened me and my
sisters with dire consequences, both from riding and from her person, if we
ever rode on the street.  We did continue to ride dirtbikes, though - but
now, wearing helmets.

Well, because my dad crashed the bike, he was obligated (and honorable) to
buy it for what the owner wanted, of course.  So a friend went and got the
bike on a truck, and brought it back.  The damage was actually quite small,
a little rash, bent up bars, levers.  The bike was...  a dark green Kawasaki
two-stroke triple.   Yep, the infamous H2 - I can't remember if it was the
750 or the 500, though.

Eventually, a family friend offered to buy it for what he paid for it, so we
got off relatively lightly, financially speaking.   Hearing that thing run
was a blood-chilling thrill to my 14-year-old ears, and my dad's banged-up
state notwithstanding, I *really* wanted to try it out.  Of course, they
wouldn't let me go within 10 feet the thing - no-way, no-how, ain't
happening, fugeddaboudit.

It wasn't until just a few years ago that I got into modern road
motorcycling and read about the H2's reputation as a widowmaker, and
realized that's what we had, for a few brief weeks, in our driveway.
Nowadays, I'd love to get my hands on that bike!!!

I'm sure my Mom would still probably kick my butt if I tried. :)