If you’re buying one…

h Small-capacity two-strokes tend to have a pretty hard life, so unless a KR1 has been restored, or at least has had a recent engine rebuild, anyone buying one would do well to give it some attention before adding too many miles.

“In Japan they don’t get used as hard as they would over here, but I’d still advise an engine strip-down, because it’s easy enough to do and not very expensive,” says Ciaran Perrin from Norwich-based specialist Extreme Trading.

Kawasaki’s parallel twin didn’t have a great reputation for reliability, but it’s worth remembering that most of them were ridden hard, if not actually raced, and that early problems such as the piston failure will almost ju e b certainly have been sorted long ago.

“One weakness is the oil pump gear, which snaps its teeth,” says Eric Sawford of St Neots Motorcycles in Cambridge, who has owned and sold numerous KR1s.

Spares haven’t been produced for years and are becoming hard to find, but after-market firms can supply many engine parts.

“You can get crankshafts rebuilt and cylinders recoated,” says Eric.

“The generator is a weakness but we’ve had them rebuilt by Electrex from Oxfordshire.

“The KR-1S was high-maintenance even when it was new, so you really have to look after them now, but that wouldn’t put me off. I’d buy one tomorrow if the price was right.”