Kawasaki 250cc Triple Genealogy...

From technical and performance perspectives there is genuinely no reason whatsoever for the S1 and KH250 to exist. Truth be told, these gorgeous triples aren’t realistically an improvement over their forebearers. Those who know the marque well reckon that the previous A series Samurai twin was a better machine. Its disc-valve motor was genuinely faster and its chassis had better manners. However, the baby triple was a substantial facet of marketing and brand imagery. Someone high up decided back in 1971 that all the road-going strokers over 125 would sport three pots and so that’s what happened. There’s also a school of thought that suggests, development costs aside, the piston-ported triple was cheaper to make and assemble than the disc-valved twins. Come 1972 the iconic S1 was unveiled, which immediately saw it plastered across all the bike publications. The press bikes were white with green stripes and tweaked to crack the magic ton – the seeds of success were sown and they instantly germinated. The S1 then gained a letter suffix A, B and C each model year until 1976 when there was a major marketing rebranding across all two wheelers in the range. All two-stroke road bikes became KH (Kawasaki Highway), hence the change from S1C to KH250. Styling followed the H1 and H2 lines, only the colours and graphics/ decals/badges being 250 specific.

When Kawasaki began their transition to four-strokes it was first the 750 and then the 500 that were axed. The 400 followed a little later but, perhaps surprisingly, the KH250 hung on a lot longer. Why? Two reasons: firstly there were rumours of the forthcoming 125cc learner law, and secondly (and quite simply) the KH250 was still selling by the crateload. Whereas Suzuki and Yamaha felt compelled to update, reconfigure and eventually redesign their 250s, Kawasaki felt no such obligation. There was nothing else available to learners that looked, sounded, or felt like those final KH250 B5s and Kawasaki knew it. They even went out in style by lettering the seat covers ‘KH’ for some bikes, thereby almost waving two fingers at anyone who couldn’t grasp the appeal of a two-stroke triple. Not a bad way to end a hugely successful lineage!