Ok ok, enough with the build up (haha) ! I'm talking about three cylinder bikes... they never pop on the ramp as exotic, or dWrenched builds. Mainly probably because they are so rare to begin with.
This brings us to today's story... A not so ''fresh'' story, the bike was built in 2013, but for some (many perhaps) exotic nonetheless... And I always wanted to post it...
Widowmaker Drag Digger is a 1972 Kawasaki H2 750, triple two stroke magneto bike , built by Eric Allard. Eric is the owner of the FNA Custom Cycles , a custom machine shop in Lakeland, Florida.
''I got this Kawasaki 750 H2 engine a few years ago when I repaired a couple of springer front ends for a guy in trade. I had it sitting in the case after putting fresh rings in it. A friend of mine, Matt, wanted me to build something pretty wild and I told him I had some ideas using that power plant.
I started building the bike with a digger style in mind. I wanted a molded prism style tank and oil bag that matched the fenders that I make. I got the flanged wheels from a swap and wanted to go with a skinny ribbed front and a big 18×5.5 in the rear to set off the digger look. I have always liked the style of Triumph dual leading shoe drums, and they actually stop pretty well too.
With all the polish on this bike, the stock steel hubs that usually went with these brake plates wasn’t going to cut it. The Early 70’s Triumph conical hubs have the same 8” brake size and can be polished up nicely. I wanted the bike to steer well and not be a pain to ride, so the trail was brought back in to being stock by the 8° raked trees. The prism style tank was molded in the frame for that clean digger style. The leather seat flips up for easy access to the capacitor and the oil reservoir fill.
The bike took about 700 hours to complete over the course of a year and a half.''
With the small front tire, digger front end style and the big ''drag'' rear rubber, Widowmaker Drag Digger looks the part. Dangerous is a term that comes to mind, deadly even hahaha.
An yeah, it does sound like a 2 stroke... just like 100 gremlins got inside those pipes. Each muffler consists of 15 parts, drawn in CAD first.
And as mentioned by Eric, the handmade inside FNA parts list is quite long. Handlebars, the gooseneck frame, the whole peg system, the prism headlight and the taillight.
Mad little beast !
Photo credit : Heinrich Christmann (the 4 photo set @ the top) / FNA
Sounds amazing ! Great bike
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