Was a great era wasn't it? Drugs, sex and rock and roll. I wouldn't change a thing.
That dude was a serious speed junkie. He blew the motor up running too much juice. 
Many interesting revelations in the article. What you say can be applied to the CB750 where they tried the gumball tire on and it would overpower the clutch and was quicker with the stock rear tire. The other thing was how good the Trident went...even with pretty average hp. They said gearing was spot on. Would be interesting to see how the Trident is geared relative to today's bonnie. No question the 865 bonnie would do the quarter quicker with 17t front sprocket. Technique, gearing and tire compound play heavily in quarter mile times as mentioned. Most of those bikes didn't have more RWHP than today's bonnie with pipes and NARK...a few had less. Also with all the hysteria about 6 speed bikes of late, bikes back in that time were just evolving from 4 to 5 gears and two tested still had 4 speeds....kind of like cars back then versus now.
sal thats true but the fact is that most everyone that puts that much time ,money and work into there bike wont stop looking for more power .Once you go to the dark side it never ends .You know I told Ventura the same things when he started his testing .He has pods now that might tell you something.What many of the guys dont relize is all or most of that testing was done years ago thats why we have ark lol.I would not go that the air box mods are 99% as good more like 90% as good all depending on what pipes and other mild bolt ons you have.I tell the new guys to get rid of the air box to try and save them money and work that could be spent to where they will end up at the end.When I first got my bike I did pred pipes and told the wife well thats prob all ill do to it lol.I try and tell new guys ether leave it stock and ride it or come up with a long term plan to what you want in the end that way you dont buy what you dont need Thats the only way you will save a dime on hot rodding these bikes.I hear alot of people say this part wont give you this or that ,but they dont know because they havent used that part.To me thats bull shit they should not talk the talk unless they have walked the walk.I have wasted as much time money and work on these bikes as most learning things the hard way lol.
Now I better understand your need for speed Mike.
No doubt you remember when the h1 came out. A friend of mine had one in high school and used to cut class and ride the back wheel down the road for everyone to watch. He was a pretty outrageous guy....good looking and a tough guy who used to win his share of fist fights. One of the most popular kids in the school and ended up in prison for selling drugs. He always had fast motorcycles and cars. No idea where he is now.
Lots of articles were written about how many that rode a h1 killed theirself on them as the power onset was outrageous when it came on the curve as you know. Lots of them went over backwards.
I found some well written words about the h1 and h2. They were iconic bikes to be sure.
Production: 1972-1975 (Maybe?)
Engine: 748cc Air-cooled two-stroke inline-3
BHP: 74
Price Today: Varies, but shouldn’t be more than about $7,000
Why is it important?: It was knick named “the Widow maker”. Come on, how could it NOT be important! In 1969, Kawasaki released the 500cc H1 two-stroke triple to both fear and praise from the motorcycling public. Nothing else on earth could accelerate as fast the H1, but the flimsy frame, crappy brakes and hairy nature of the big two-stroke engine scared the living daylights out of most riders. Apparently, the fine people at Kawasaki weren’t pleased with freaking out 80% of their customers. This was unacceptable for the world’s most fearsome motorcycle manufacturer. So, they decided to make a bike that would soil the pants of even the most hardened two-wheeled warrior. Enter the big, bad H2 750. The new H2 was 250cc’s bigger than the H1, and had about 14 more horsepower. Now, Kawasaki claimed the H2 was more tamed than the H1. They cited the fact that due to the H2’s larger capacity, the spread of power was much broader than the H1, enabling the rider to putz along casually all day without any real struggle for more power. However, everyone knew the wider power band was just a side effect of the increased engine size. The H2 was meant to be jaw-droppingly fast, and it accomplished that goal beautifully. Nothing, and I mean nothing, could out accelerate a well-ridden H2. If you were dumb enough to try and race an H2, the only thing you’d see after that light turned green would be a cloud of blue smoke and a very, very brave man or woman hanging on to their machine for dear life. And this is exactly why the H2 is an icon. It dared to be dangerous. In a time where motorcycles were drifting into the boring, stuffy world of four-strokes, Kawasaki comes out with one last two-stroke hurrah. It reminded the world that living dangerous is still fun.
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