On my way home every day, at a trailer park there is facing the road a motorcycle trailer with something that is from the deep past. A Kawasaki Bighorn 350cc “enduro” bike. A friend in high school rode one, and we gave him a ton of shit for it.
Starting in the early 1970’s Japanese off road motorcycles started redefining the dirt bike experience in the US. Prior to that, you had a lot of heavy, ill tempered, and unreliable European bikes. Jawa’s, Greeves, CZ’s, Maico’s, and Bultaco’s were the bee’s knees. But they were heavy, mostly poorly handling monstrosities.
Then came the Japanese. Starting with Suzuki, but soon Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki all had credible offerings. Motocross was never the same after.
Then the Japanese tried to increase the market by building a series of “dual purpose” or on/off road bikes. These were really bad, by and large. The Yamaha DT400, the Honda XL350, and the Kawasaki Bighorn 350 were all touted as “commute all week, race on the weekend”, but the reality was that they were lousy on road bikes, and truly abysmal off road. The street legal “trials tires” coupled with too soft suspension, and motors that buzzed like a banshee made them skittish at highway speeds. Off road? Well, I hope you had good health insurance.
I got a chance to ride the Kawasaki Bighorn. It was modified (it had better shocks and stiffer fork springs), and had real knobbies, but it was still an evil handling, handful of a motorcycle. Fortunately I lived through that experience.
I think about stopping and asking if they want to sell the bike, but then my brain starts working again, and I realize if I am going to restore a classic, it isn’t going to be a “Pighorn”
I agree with your sentiments and having recently restored an early first year model F5 Big Horn. You can see some lofty forward thinking ideas and features that Kawasaki attempted, however I think the market and price point (sub $1K) was just not there yet. http://www.thejunkmanadv.com/barn-fresh-restoration.html
I am deaf , my name is Robert Patterson .
From Elder Mountain , Chattanooga tennessee
I love ride 1970 Kawasaki f 5 -350
I am 13 ride been fun street and mountain .
I am 68 now . I look for buy one 1970 Kawasaki Big horn F5 – 350
Hi you, text me cell 423-802-4920
Thanks you , Robert Patterson
A guy I kinda knew got a new one in 1970. Brown and white with a bighorn sheep on the side panels. I thought it was beautiful. 21 inch front wheel and a low slung engine. I will buy one if I can find one. I recently watched “Little Big Man” . There are pics online of Dustin Hoffman riding a 1970 Kawasaki 250 Sidewinder on the set. The film centers on Custer’s Last Stand at the Battle of Little BIG HORN. Dustin almost road a Big Horn.
Love the kaw Enduros. The bighorn wasn’t an mx bike. It’s a great trail and fire road cruiser. Powerful engine, stable chassis. Great bike. . But not an mx bike