This Kawasaki H1 Mach III is One of the First Japanese Bikes Americans Took Seriously

For sale via eBay out of Vernon-Rockville, Connecticut, this is the bike that introduced so many Americans to the world of Japanese sports motorcycles in the 1960s and 70s. Before this time, American buyers were often pigeon-holed into buying new motorcycles from a handful of established American brands or a boutique English or German manufacturer, if they were lucky.

That was until the late 1960s, by which time the U.S. motorcycle market was the largest by size in the world. Americans were just as thirsty for horsepower on two wheels as they were on four. It's easy to think of the carbureted V-Twin engines in Harley Davidson and Indian bikes of this time to be little scaled-down replicas of the same tech inside muscle car engines.

Compared to a bike of this nature, the Kawasaki H1 was just about like a rocket ship. Along with its rival, the Suzuki T500, the H1 was an altogether different animal than most American street bikes of the day. It was slim, streamlines, and every bit of its form followed a very distinct function, the polar opposite of the pantomime and aesthetical spectacle of many American bikes of the day.

With a 500 cc twin stroke, air-cooled three-cylinder engine between your legs, it's said this little bike could run the quarter in around 13 seconds. For some context, that's what would have been considered a respectable quarter-mile run for a V8 muscle car of the same era. Although, its true max speed and quarter-mile time have been the topic of debate among enthusiasts.

Whether or not performance data of the period was a bit smudged or not, (most of it was in those days), there's still more than a lot to like about this little bike. The engine uses Mikuni VM 28 mm carburetors and thyristor-based capacitor discharge ignition (CDI), developing 25,000–30,000 volts. At a time when most bikes were using points and condenser systems in their engine, this must-have felt like witchcraft.

American journalists who were willing to break with patriotic norms of the day found H1 Mach III to be an absolutely fantastic little bike, one with lots of power at any point in the rev range, all with an agile and light body that doesn't have much of any excess weight to spoil any of the fun. This particular example has been stored in a climate-controlled garage for the last three decades, a genuine survivor.

Though the owner states it hasn't run in over four years. But this bike should be pretty darn forgiving to work on, assuming you can find parts. There's a reason Kawasaki's been making bikes for the U.S. market for the last 50 years, after all. They can't be a complete nightmare to work on if that's the case. With 26,654 miles (42,895.45 km) on the odometer, it's a sure sign that once this bike gets started, it's going to be one heck of a reliable weekend toy.

With a current high bid of $8,700, you could buy a really nice Harley-Davidson Sportser of the same era for around the same money. Choosing between one or the other choice between the two could tell a pretty darn detailed story of that person's taste in bikes.

But which would you rather put in your driveway? This Kawasaki or an equivalent American bike? Let us know in the comments down below.