1971 Kawasaki Mach III: Debunking the “Widowmaker” Myth
When folks laughingly refer to Kawasaki’s audacious two-stroke triple as the “Widowmaker,” they may not understand the subject fully. It’s true that upon its launch in 1969, the 500-cc Mach III (a.k.a. H1) was a mindbender: For just $999, it covered the quarter-mile in 12.96 seconds at 100.7 mph en route to a 125-mph top end. Its three cylinders inhaled through separate carbs, the air/gas/oil mixture was ignited by a lightning-hot CDI system, and exhaust flowed through three sultry chrome pipes, with two on the right for dramatic curb appeal.
Empirically, the wheelie-happy H1 was the godfather of stoplight drags, but its performance wasn’t too different from the Honda CB750 Four, the three-cylinder Triumph Trident, or those snortin’ Norton Commandos. And these bikes weren’t called Widowmaker, were they? No, they were not. Instead, the term likely came from the Kawasaki’s performance plus its howling induction noise, whooping exhaust note, mosquito-fogging two-stroke smoke cloud under full throttle, and the euphoria the entire combination induced. Considered wholistically, the Mach III was like a hit of amphetamine with handlebars, and some riders didn’t know when and where to turn it on or, more importantly, off.
Let’s demystify things further, which I humbly feel qualified to do having owned both Mach III and later 750-cc Mach IV (H2) models, raced and serviced others as a factory-trained tech, and owned and tested their competitors for magazines in period. Both models used a typical double-cradle steel frame supported by a telescopic fork and coil-over shocks and swingarm. With average suspension, the triples handled fine under normal conditions, but when ridden hard, they ran out of ground clearance under the pipes while cornering. In the early, 1969–71 Mach III models, under duress the rear suspension pogoed, and the twin-leading-shoe drum front brake was only merely adequate. (A disc arrived for ’72.) But again, such dynamics weren’t atypical for big bikes in the day.
The 1971 example shown here surfaced in the Detroit want ads in the 1980s. Its young owner had ridden it to high school, babied it fervently, and never got in trouble, crashed it, or even tipped it over. For $750, it was garage-kept perfect, and remained so during my stewardship, proving that the “Widowmaker” moniker shouldn’t describe the Mach III after all, only its rider. As with any machine, the throttle works both ways.
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My first bike was a 75′ Kawi 400 triple in the late 70’s. Believe it may have had points rather than CDI. but I never changed them. A very fast ride! It’s replacement, a 1980 Suzuki GS850 that I still own is nowhere near as quick. Would have loved to ride the 750 version. My 400 easily kept up with buddies Honda 750. Another buddy had a 75 Kawi 400 two cylinder four stroke. A dog compared to the smoker motor.
The first street bike I ever rode was a 500. My buddy found one that had the fork removed years ago with 2000 miles. He reassembled it and had a new bike.
Yes it was Wheelie happy. It reared up on me rolling down the road when I did not get the shift and gas right.
Now my understanding as a widow maker was not the wheelie issue but at high speeds the the steering would get a wobble or shake flue to the geometry.
Back then bikes were not really designed for high speeds and the more powerful engines tested the limits of the older designed bikes. We were going into the 80’s before they really started to address ultra high speeds with comparable handling.
These came out when I was in High School. Their reputation for being difficult to ride was accurate but that actually appealed to brash young men such as myself. I acquired my first, a non-running 1969 H1 500 from my brother but never could get it working. Probably just as well, as the combination of a wet noodle frame and dual drum brakes were not confidence inspiring. I later got a 1972 H2 750 that I still own. With an after-market expansion chamber exhaust, it could startingly pull the front wheels and combined with the high-speed tank slapper death wobble, would unexpectedly scare the daylights out of anyone! The factory fix steering damper shock was essential. My collection has grown to over a half dozen bikes and a horde of parts. I’ve owned better, more modern bikes that are a dream to ride compared to the scary nature of the early triples. What they are good at is drag racing. Watching Vintage modified two stroke dinosaurs’ race is a treat.
I think it had more to do with the explosive and narrow powerband.
You wrote more about the little brother H1 than the titled Widowmaker 750. Why??????
From what I know about these bikes ( the 750s ) the problem wasn’t that they were so unruly in factory form but too easy to hop up. A set of expansion chambers and.. would make them crazy fast for the day. Their tendency to death wobble at speed could be helped by a steering damper but that only went so far. The guys who road raced them and the pros from Dover added gusseting to the frame especially at the neck. Add a pair of Works Performance shocks and all the other usual suspects. I convinced a friend who had a thing for vintage bikes to buy one. He then bought another and started scavenging for performance parts. ( the old school race tank was really cool by the way ) One night some friends brought over a Japanese man who spoke somewhat broken English – “I have two Kawasaki 750s. H-2s ” – “On no H-2! KILLA machine! My friend DIE on H-2! – What better recommendation do you need.
The first time I heard one at a motorcycle drag race put tingles down my spine, loud, raw,and truly screaming! It left everything else like they were still on the kickstand. Had to have one. Still have it fifty years later and it still makes the tingles, truly a Rocket sled like Wylie Coyote would love to have had, his never had brakes or steering. There is nothing Y E T that sounds like it, but never never Armourall the seat!!!
Yup that’s right. Not good when the seat was waxed and the handgrip pulled off.
I was always under the assumption that the first widowmakers were the H2 750s
When I was a kid the neighbor had a Kawasaki 750 triple and I remember that thing was FAST.I always had Suzukis bought a brand new GT 250 and later a 550 triple. Love those old 2 strokes
When I was in the 11th grade of high school I decided I wanted a Triumph motorcycle and went to buy one new for $1,800 but the store owner talked me into trying out a new 750 Kaw for $1,300 and wow what a rocket and 500 less also.Fast forward 30 days later loved my bike even my girl friend would let me pull a few wheelies if I didn’t scare her.Was going to work after owning the bike about a month I took off for work when the engine bogged down and I double throttled in second gear and my blue baby turned into a rocket from hell giving me road rash and broke my wrist.I sent the carburetors to Kawasaki and they said they were defective and replaced them.I had sold the bike by then so I was happy it wasn’t worse.My point is there might be something to the widow maker in certain ones.
I had a 72 500. The 500’s were alled the widowmaker. I had a 73 750. Problem with the 500 -as told above – was the frame. Scary woggle when leaned over in a sweeping turn at speed. The steering damper helped but when you got rid of the wobble the stearing was so tight it was impossible. The 750 frame was much stiffer. I ran out of Largo Kawasaki and they set many 1/4 mile records and worked with Kawasaki N.A. to develop the 750. Big problem starting in 1973 was non-existant gas mileage. Oil embargo did not help with that. Great bike to wheelie though.
A friend bought one off the show room in 69′. I remember my first ride. His instruction were, put your right hand here and your left hand here………and don’t move. And away we went on the back wheel.
A two wheeled version of a ’64 GTO. The tire manufacturers had some profitable years.
I had a Mach II 350cc triple in high school. Had lots of fun on it. Traded in a ‘69 BSA 250 towards it. $600 out the door after trade. Wish I still had both of them.
My first motorcycle was a 500 purchased off the original owner who made the purchase after returning from Vietnam. That machine gave me a lot of bet money for pulling wheelies with out popping clutch. I would lay on the tank going down the highway around 130 or so and the front tire was just bobbing up and down off the pavement.
I never heard the term widowmaker with these Kawasaki bikes. I like that late 60’s early 70’s style.