1979 KAWASAKI KH250

Quick Spin on a 70s legend!

So here I am on my way to pick up a KH250 from CMM reader and Kawasaki nut Doug Perkins for a quick spin and I’m a bit apprehensive to say the least.

On arrival, Doug gives me a few tips on starting the little KH and we’re soon loaded up and on our way back to sunny Staffordshire. So why the concern? Well, I’ve ridden lots of different machines, but I haven’t ridden a bike from the 1970s for a good few years, the last being a H2 750 which had a rather impressive motor but the chassis and brakes left a lot to be desired to the point where I’m sure it tried to kill me a couple of times around the 200 circuit at Snetterton! A bit of history: the KH replaced the S1 250 in 1976 and dates back to the heady days of the learner legal 250 era when at 17 you could ride a 250 on L-plates although these bikes would be no quicker in reality to the 125s I started out on (in full power form anyway). Usually KHI traded on the fact that the machines they were selling us were real power houses but they couldn’t do that for the little stink-wheel as unlike its bigger relations it wasn’t really that hot. Looking back at some old road tests from back in the day, the Kawasaki didn’t seem to fare too well against its competitors and the Yamaha and Suzuki offerings seemed to be a little better at everything than the little Kawasaki. Being a triple the KH was a little wider and heavier than the other strokers in its class but putting out slightly less horsepower too didn’t do it any favours! For comparison, the 1979 Yamaha RD managed 30bhp @ 7500rpm and tipped the scales at 152kg, the 146kg pre X7 GT250 from Suzuki managed 30bhp @ 7500rpm while the triple puffed its way to 28bhp @ 7500rpm and weighed 160kg.

Oh dear! Interestingly the KH claimed less bhp than the bike it replaced (the 1975 S1 claimed 32bhp @ 8500rpm). Looking through the specs for the KH and its competitors, I also noticed that the KH has the longest wheelbase too at 1374mm so I would imagine the KH to be the more relaxed and slower steering bike of the bunch, I may be wrong as I’m yet to ride an air-cooled RD250 or a GT250! Looking around the bike it has a few nice little touches like the handlebar mounted choke lever instead of having one directly on the side of the carb (like an RG250/250LC) which can be very fiddly at times and the instruments are neat and easy to read. This bike is a low mileage 1979 B4 model – an unrestored survivor: but this may partly be down to the fact that it was registered late on in 1982 so would have missed out on being abused by a learner! The build quality of the little Kawasaki seems far superior to the Suzuki X5 I used to own, especially the paint and plating. It’s also still wearing its original exhausts and even has the tool kit and owner’s handbook under the seat: I’m not sure how old the tyres are either as although Doug has owned it for a few years he has only put it on the road this year! Let’s find out! The motor dominates the visuals of the bike with its three heavily-finned cylinders and three exhausts, two on the right and one on the left. As I said earlier I was a little uncertain about riding Doug’s KH and looking round the bike didn’t really make me any more confident: spindly wheels, skinny forks, twin rear shocks, tyres from the year dot and brakes that look a little, erm, primitive shall we say! So, it’s time to get out on the road. Two prods of the

kick-start and the KH fires into life easily, smoking evenly from all three pipes. The KH has a nice roomy seating position and a nice smooth progressive clutch although the throttle action seems a little stiff. It does snap shut quickly and positively however, so I don’t think it’s in need of lubrication. Pulling away and the KH’S triple motor reminded me of another three-cylinder 250 two-stroke I had recently ridden, my own Honda MVX250F which although being a V3 rather than inline triple seemed to share the same engine characteristics as the motor seems to pull well from low down (for a 250) and then runs out of steam around 8000-8500rpm. Not the peaky little beast I was expecting, the distinctive ‘clack-clack-clack’ exhaust note sounds like nothing else I have ridden and they must sound awesome with a set of expansion pipes on. Out on the road and my concerns about the overall package soon fade away. Making my way through town the little triple was perfect, not causing any dramas being happy to sit at 30mph through the built up areas without throwing a wobbly. Leaving the 30 limit and going into a 60 zone, the bike gave a little stutter as it cleared its throat then pulled cleanly through its five-speed gearbox all the way to its redline: time to leave the main road and go down the lanes to see how the chassis and brakes cope when the motor is having a bit of a work out.

I must admit the little KH really impressed me, never once getting out of shape like the 750 I rode. The 250 seemed a very pleasant all round package and while its performance would never set the world on fire you could make good progress and I was really happy riding around on it. It was also nice to see where my KR-1S came from! The only downsides I could see was that – like the 500LC we tested a while back – you couldn’t pull up for fuel without someone stopping you and reminiscing about the little green meanie! I really enjoyed my time on the KH250 and it’s little wonder that people now spend up to £6000 to find a nice one!