1971 Kawasaki H1-RA
Extraordinary rare and unrestored Kawa with Finnish racing provenance

Registration No: Un-Registered
Frame No: KAF 90108
MOT: Exempt

• One of around 41 H1-RAs made
• Supplied new to Finnish 500cc Champion Ante Koivuniemi and raced into 1973
• Hidden from sight for over 40 years until rediscovered in 2021
• One of the most original and best-preserved of all surviving H1-Rs and H1-RAs

• The Road and Race Collection

Kawasaki became well-known for its lively two-strokes during the 1960s, but it never set the world on fire until it introduced the H1 Mach III in 1969. There was a 500cc two-stroke triple with five speeds which was supposed to produce 60bhp and hit 120mph, and it was a road bike. Tuning the engine and slinging it into a lower duplex loop frame resulted in the H1-R, the first multi-cylinder two-stroke to be offered to privateer race teams. Works rider Ginger Molloy had his finest hour when he rode one to second in the 1970 500cc Grand Prix World Championship. Further improvements led to the 82bhp, six-speed H1-RA in 1971. Said to hit 62mph in 2.1 seconds and 104mph in under six, and reach 170-175mph, it won countless races all over the globe.

Only around 42 H1-RAs are thought to have been produced, and this 1972 example was one of the last. It was supplied new to 25-year-old Kaarlo “Ante” Koivuniemi of Tampere, Finland, who had won the Finnish 500cc Championship in 1971 with a Seeley. After that performance, he was contacted by European Kawasaki representatives and invited to ride the H1-RA, supplied through Kawasaki’s Dutch sales centre; reportedly, the only other H1-RA in Europe in 1972 was given to Holland’s Theo Bult. A minor fall in practice forced Ante’s withdrawal from his first international race at Oulton Park, so he started the season with the 250cc A1-RA, reputedly the only one in Europe and also supplied through Holland. He did race the H1-RA on several occasions into 1973, including at Ahvenisto, before the bike was laid-up. He eventually sold both Kawasakis to a friend, who later sold the H1-RA to its third owner. Neither of them ever rode it, and the third owner sold it in 2021 to our vendor, a collector of rare and well-provenanced historic racing bikes.

When Malcolm Anderson of the Kawasaki Triples Club inspected it in 2020, he waxed lyrical about its condition, describing the matching-numbers bike as “Mainly original and untouched… it still retains the correct bridged inlet port cylinders, exhaust pipes, carburettors and factory ignition system. These items were used on the H1-RA only. Non-original parts are the clutch and brake levers (upgraded to more robust items), the rear shocks (a common upgrade), and the oil pump has been converted to a manual switch on the left handlebar and the choke lever relocated to the right handlebar. The rear brake cable is an original but longer than normal, because it was an optional extra to convert the machine to a left-hand brake to suit a right-hand gear-change.”

After decades out of sight, it emerged as “a real time capsule,” with the consensus that this machine is to be preserved rather than restored. Bidders should note that some import duties may need to be paid. It has been regularly started in the present ownership, and is sold with much history including photos of Ante racing the H1-RA, a copy of a 1972 MP-Sport article on Ante, and a copy of the H1-R service manual.

For more information, please contact:
Mike Davis
mike.davis@handh.co.uk
07718 584217