After my review a few weeks ago of Cafe Racer: the Motorcycle, Kim Scholer, one of our regulars, sent along this photo of a featherbed framed Kawasaki triple. The featherbed frame has seen a lot of engine transplants, singles, twins of all types and Triumph triples, among others, but I can't recall ever seeing a Kawasaki 2 stroke triple. The Kawasaki triples were not known for their handling, well, actually they were, it just wasn't the kind of notoriety they were hoping for, putting one of these into a featherbed frame makes for an interesting mix.
It's not the first time we've seen a Japanese/British transplant, there was this Yamaton, a Yamaha engine in a Norton frame, at Mid Ohio this past summer.
UPDATE: I stand corrected. According to this comment below by Gary, the Yamaton is mostly Yamaha, except for the tank and a few other pieces. Interesting! Thanks for the info, Gary!
I also mentioned another Norton Kawasaki a couple of years ago, using the engine from a 1968 Kawasaki W2. Very nice!
The old featherbed frame will accept almost any engine a builder has lying around and with a bit of cafe styling, always seems to look good in the process.
dave says
SWEET!
Very nicely done!
Fraser says
Back in 1975 (the year the Norasaki was first registered – at least, the rolling chassis was), we would have considered a jap engine in a Brit frame as just plain wrong, and a 2 STROKE!!!!
Motorcycling anathema!
But now, looking at that Norasaki, it just cries out to be ridden, doesn’t it?
I’d love a go on that!
todd says
There is also that Virago engined Norton that I posted here last year. It was featured in Classic Bike or something.
http://archives.bengrosser.com/virago/downloads/Virago-Norton.jpg
-todd
stacius says
Good god, I bet that thing goes like the blazes…
Rick Calhoun says
I purchased the book Cafe Racer: The Motorcycle, I was intrigued so that I’ve descided to make my 02 883R Sportster into a cafe race. Thank you for the inspiration.
Jeff says
Wing ding ding ding .
Gary D says
The Yamaton referenced is actually a real Yamaha 650 Special, frame and engine. It was built by Bob Vail of the AMA. I attended his seminar at AMA’s Vintage Motorcycle Days this year where he described the build process used to create it. Yes, the tank is a Dunstall Norton artifact he purchased and imported for a sizable sum, and a number of the other bits were hand made by Bob, but the rest is pure Yamaha. I wish he’d make the PowerPoint presentation he used available to the public as it was extremely entertaining.
Benjamin Gradler says
In 1968 Reg Pridmore won the 500cc AFM championship with his Norton Manx. For 1969 he took the Manx engine out and put a h1 500cc Kawasaki triple in it’s place. The engine was wide and the expansion chambers were bulky and he had ground clearance problems with it. The bike was not a success in that configuration.
I have the bike now and am putting it back together with the Manx engine as close to how it was when it won in the AFM in 68′ as possible.
Anyway, Pridmore called his the Trisaki, mixing the words Triton and Kawasaki. if he was not the first one to do this he had to be almost the first……