jeff kushner
Well-Known Member
I really like this group, its no secret to anyone who's read more than 3 of my posts. It's a smart, restrained yet varied group with a huge smattering of hobbies..........yup, just like "regular folks".........
I also apologize Tom, for stepping on your EV thread and though I know you are ok with it, but it's the right thing to do for me to apologize...........
ON TO THE GOOD STUFF!!
Z, to answer your last question RE my '75 H1 wrist-rocket................no reeds, just adapters, reamed our for laminar flow. The porting and pipes were synced perfectly before either was built and are where the power is made......the engine was orignally a "test bed" engine employing nearly every "Kaw triple trick" the best turners in the world could generate. Nev Lush in AU, Jorgan in Norway, LC in Canada, Joe Byrd in Iowa. We all worked together for months developing the "build plan", then I fired up the tools in the basement. Over 205 degrees!
......it is the most radical engine that I've ever built, that hasn't fragged................period! It looks like crap b/c it was ne4ver supposed to be "pretty", it was never supposed to handle, it was supposed to be fast....and it is.
Switching gears...pun intended(yes, I'm proud of that)
S1 story; Readers digest version.
I love little bikes, while I played at 185lbs and am now 180 or so, my youth-weight was 165 and on a small bike, I flew!
A friend in Ohio knew I was keeping an eye out for a baby triple as I called the 250-3 cylinder. He called one day having found one in Vienna VA and asked if I wanted to go see it....it was junk, as you can see...completely rusted, locked engine BUT it had a NOW tank and the tins were in decent condition. As you will soon learn about me, it's VERY difficult for an engine builder not to "Mess" with a stock engine.....so I got myself a set of the larger 350cc cylinders(slides right on the same studs-identical lower-end) & heads b/c the porting on the 350cyl's was so much more aggressive and I used to road race two strokes, I like aggressive timing....but of course it wasn't enough for an ex-racer so to keep the blowdown ratios in check, I raised the cyl's after getting Lanny to make me some custom thickness copper gaskets, and dropped the combustions chambers INTO the cyl's! SLICK solution and FAST!! Before you think it....no, none of us are going to live long enough to need a rebore<LOL>!
Shout-out; The NOS tank had a 1" smudge on it so while Kerry and I attended a Connecticut wedding, I met John and Kathy at LRC triples in Bridgeport a couple -few years ago and he fixed my tank so well, I couldn't detect the spot! Wow! Pipes are a compromise, they look good but without tapered header sections, they cannot make good power but came from David Higgs in the UK but he sent me the wrong pipes, he sent the straight ones! When I got them and sent him a note telling him they were the wrong style, he of course offered to accept the return and send the right pipes. I told him that he should check around, ask about me and I gave him some UK names... I would store the pipes and then send them on to his next US customer. That way he didn't get hammered with UK shipping rates....worked out perfectly, he sent the right pipes and I ended sending the "wrong" pipes to a friend of mine when he bought a set of Higgs pipes a few months later....Jim was shocked by the shipping speed!<LOL> 3 days! Small world!
Most parts on the original machine were restores including nearly all the chrome pieces, not rechromed, but I have developed a system for restoring chrome, doesn't remove pits but it does pretty well. Just ask, I'm not keeping secrets anymore. The original forks were too far gone, and are one of the last customs units by Forking by Frank before he passed. Apparently, they never had a set of the original S1 forks to copy.....they do now! Spoke are new(but I still suck @ truing a wheel) as are the turnsignals(repro parts...I spell this out as I typ use NOS parts) and I think I replaced cables but they would by NOS parts.
Okay, lets practice what's we've learned together; "Pocket rocket"
I'll do a write up on the H1 and other bikes when I get bored....................
A lot of here have different hobbies....boating, flying(God bless you), racing(Bless you), quilting, birding, what ever..................I like reading about them.....please, go ahead and share them.................
jeff
I also apologize Tom, for stepping on your EV thread and though I know you are ok with it, but it's the right thing to do for me to apologize...........
ON TO THE GOOD STUFF!!
Z, to answer your last question RE my '75 H1 wrist-rocket................no reeds, just adapters, reamed our for laminar flow. The porting and pipes were synced perfectly before either was built and are where the power is made......the engine was orignally a "test bed" engine employing nearly every "Kaw triple trick" the best turners in the world could generate. Nev Lush in AU, Jorgan in Norway, LC in Canada, Joe Byrd in Iowa. We all worked together for months developing the "build plan", then I fired up the tools in the basement. Over 205 degrees!
......it is the most radical engine that I've ever built, that hasn't fragged................period! It looks like crap b/c it was ne4ver supposed to be "pretty", it was never supposed to handle, it was supposed to be fast....and it is.
Switching gears...pun intended(yes, I'm proud of that)
S1 story; Readers digest version.
I love little bikes, while I played at 185lbs and am now 180 or so, my youth-weight was 165 and on a small bike, I flew!
A friend in Ohio knew I was keeping an eye out for a baby triple as I called the 250-3 cylinder. He called one day having found one in Vienna VA and asked if I wanted to go see it....it was junk, as you can see...completely rusted, locked engine BUT it had a NOW tank and the tins were in decent condition. As you will soon learn about me, it's VERY difficult for an engine builder not to "Mess" with a stock engine.....so I got myself a set of the larger 350cc cylinders(slides right on the same studs-identical lower-end) & heads b/c the porting on the 350cyl's was so much more aggressive and I used to road race two strokes, I like aggressive timing....but of course it wasn't enough for an ex-racer so to keep the blowdown ratios in check, I raised the cyl's after getting Lanny to make me some custom thickness copper gaskets, and dropped the combustions chambers INTO the cyl's! SLICK solution and FAST!! Before you think it....no, none of us are going to live long enough to need a rebore<LOL>!
Shout-out; The NOS tank had a 1" smudge on it so while Kerry and I attended a Connecticut wedding, I met John and Kathy at LRC triples in Bridgeport a couple -few years ago and he fixed my tank so well, I couldn't detect the spot! Wow! Pipes are a compromise, they look good but without tapered header sections, they cannot make good power but came from David Higgs in the UK but he sent me the wrong pipes, he sent the straight ones! When I got them and sent him a note telling him they were the wrong style, he of course offered to accept the return and send the right pipes. I told him that he should check around, ask about me and I gave him some UK names... I would store the pipes and then send them on to his next US customer. That way he didn't get hammered with UK shipping rates....worked out perfectly, he sent the right pipes and I ended sending the "wrong" pipes to a friend of mine when he bought a set of Higgs pipes a few months later....Jim was shocked by the shipping speed!<LOL> 3 days! Small world!Most parts on the original machine were restores including nearly all the chrome pieces, not rechromed, but I have developed a system for restoring chrome, doesn't remove pits but it does pretty well. Just ask, I'm not keeping secrets anymore. The original forks were too far gone, and are one of the last customs units by Forking by Frank before he passed. Apparently, they never had a set of the original S1 forks to copy.....they do now! Spoke are new(but I still suck @ truing a wheel) as are the turnsignals(repro parts...I spell this out as I typ use NOS parts) and I think I replaced cables but they would by NOS parts.
Okay, lets practice what's we've learned together; "Pocket rocket"
I'll do a write up on the H1 and other bikes when I get bored....................
A lot of here have different hobbies....boating, flying(God bless you), racing(Bless you), quilting, birding, what ever..................I like reading about them.....please, go ahead and share them.................
jeff
