My Harem

[Horse]

I reckon true talent is just that, they would adapt but putting some of the fast guys back on the 500s would see some spectacular get offs whilst they were "adapting" Rossi on the other hand straddled both eras  but putting them all back on the Agostini era bikes would definitely be interesting. I think the GOAT question is an individual thing as it will never be able to be proved one way or the other as I believe statistics don't provide all the facts to determine who is GOAT,
Only my opinion
Horse

[grog]

Horse, wish i had Kawa 500 sitting to restore. Only prob is those old parts are so expensive. Yeah, what a ride those things were. Mine was about 30% more power than stock.

[Horse]

Mine too an engine rebuilder in the west was drag racing a mach 4 at the time ,ported and polished mine, with a set of chambers, a bit of re jetting it was manic ,nothing till about 6000 rpm and then just berserk, blue smoke everywhere and the scream of a banshee a bit of Castrol r 30 in the tank to get the smell to go with it . The frame and suspension was definitely not up to the powerplant like a lot of other vehicles in the 70s/80s .
Ahh to be 17 again ,
Yes don't expect the resto to be a cheap exercise but hobbys seldom are , you can't take it with you 
Horse

[Irish in Oz]

A mate of mine from Melbourne phoned me one night and said, "Jeff I know where there is a Mach 1 500 and a Super Six for sale only a couple of K's from you, he wants them out of the way as a pair but I only want the Kawasaki"  So the deal was I go get them hold the Kawa till he organised transport and I got the Suzuki 

[DP1400]

Handling didn't seam to matter as much back then when I was in my late teens 

Absolutely right! In my teens (mid `70`s), I was fortunate enough to be part of a large group of lads with bikes of all makes and sizes, and I don`t recall one mention of handling! We were obsessed with how fast we could go, and that was about it. The only limitation our bikes presented us with was ground clearance - especially two-up. Not just with the pegs either, have a look under the middle pipe of any 400 Triple (if you`re lucky enough to find one!), and you will find a flat spot where the metal should be round. Those (really) were the days

[grog]

DP, never worried us much. CB750, lh corners with centrestand just holding the bike up, lots of sparks. Z1 was different, high speed tank slappers were scary. Mongrel bike. Perfect in most ways but always the frame bending on your mind.

[grog]

Horse, forgot to mention. Your description of H1, so much same as mine. 550 Suzuki pistons, ports and chambers. Taking off uphill was delicate. 6k revs, incredible. Fuel stations always on my mind. My mate borrowed it, 1975, he still talks about the killer machine. I think around a 20 litre tank, fast trip one night, grandmother dying, 60ks and was running out of fuel. Maybe 8 or 9 mpg. Sure a bike to remember, always needed to be vertical at 6k revs.

[Horse]

Grog,
.       2 strokes are hard to get out of your system once your infected, have a RM 400 & 500 that get me a fix until the Mach 3 is back on the road, nothing like that feeling of the powerband ,a bit sad they are relegated to history I am sure it will put a smile on the dial when I get to ride it again ,
Have a good one,
.                          Horse