Your Winner!

Thank you for your votes, the polls have closed. With twice as many votes (2), the winner is the legendary 1973 Kawasaki Mach III with its screaming 500cc, two-stroke triple. This was the street version of that year's factory works racing bike. As mentioned it had a 500cc, three cylinder, 2-stroke air cooled engine which red-lined at about 10,000RPM. Incredibly quick off the line with a top speed of 115mph (in my case). Even by today's standards that is fast, and for its time it was a fucking rocket.

On the fifth try, entering the down-hill right-hander at 80mph and winding it out of the corner into a mile long flat straight away. Laying flat on the tank, head down so I could just see the road over the gauges, elbows and knees in, holding her straight down the yellow-dotted. Watching the speedometer cross 100mph, 105,107,110,112....113....114...114....114.........

115 and on the brakes and into another sharp down-hill right, bike taking all the road to make the corner at over 90mph and then letting her wind down on another, shorter straight as we enter town limits at a ridiculously slow-seeming 70mph.

It was 1985, I was 17. It didn't get much better.

I will post the Bike Story tomorrow, Sunday. It occurred to me late in the race we could have had a problem if everybody picked a different car! So in appreciation for playing along I will try and do stories on all the cars that received a vote in the coming months.

I wonder if my Canadian bike license counts over here....