kawasaki factory r and d engineer and rider

[barnett468]

anyone want to do a scuba trip? I've always wanted an 87r.

count me in!

[barnett468]

Awesome that you came to this site. Do you plan on throwing a leg over a machina again? I bet if you stay here long enough you will find it doesnt take much to get bitten or rebitten by the bug, ha ha! Welcome aboard and hope ya stick around.

"you never know. it would be fun to kick the old man's [jimmy white] a__ again. did it once before, only once though. however marty hart could probably stomp us all at this age. i thought of marty as mr clutch cause he'd always be fanning it".

thanks

not for publication

[barnett468]

Hi Mike, welcome aboard.
Do you happen to recall how often the KIPS spur gear was changed during races ? Like was it after every run or after the whole meet was over,,, any input about those plastic gears used on the 87/88 Tecate quads ?

Thanks, john

"hello i have never heard of them needing to be changed. here's what goes on. i recieved the prototype, i personally logged around 200 plus hours on it. i never took the motor apart untill the end. nbo problems. i then recieved the pre producyion model and had to make sure it was made exactly to my specs and check for any mfg issues. then i had to do another long endurance test on it. no problems. so i said ok make it. if there was eventually some sort of problem like you are referring to either i or japan would be asked to fix it. i would test the new part and once it was ok they would substitute it for the original as needed for warranties etc. they never said told me there was a problem.

same thing with the piece of junk 87 quad you ask about. DISCLAIMER i had NOTHING to do with the product they put out. i developed a masterpiece, honda and suzuki killer but a couple japanese engineers were stupid and jealous and screwed me you and everyone else.

[t65h]

hi i am new to the site just thought i'd check it out. i'm an ex factory project engineer and pro motocross, 3 wheel and 4 wheel rider for kawasaki.
did deveopment on all kawi products from 1983-1988. i don't really have a question just yet but will be happy to answer any you might have for me for now.

thanks

Welcome. I just joined the site a few days ago. I am glad to get the opportunity to say hello. You helped create an amazing machine. I always thought that the Tecates were the fastest 3 wheelers ever made. Those engines are amazing. Thank you for all of your efforts. You are a part of history. I miss the days of the manufacturers battling for the best two stroke 3 wheeler. I used to buy magazines to read the tests and shootouts.

[jeswinehart]

"hello i have never heard of them needing to be changed. here's what goes on. i recieved the prototype, i personally logged around 200 plus hours on it. i never took the motor apart untill the end. nbo problems. i then recieved the pre producyion model and had to make sure it was made exactly to my specs and check for any mfg issues. then i had to do another long endurance test on it. no problems. so i said ok make it. if there was eventually some sort of problem like you are referring to either i or japan would be asked to fix it. i would test the new part and once it was ok they would substitute it for the original as needed for warranties etc. they never said told me there was a problem.

same thing with the piece of junk 87 quad you ask about. DISCLAIMER i had NOTHING to do with the product they put out. i developed a masterpiece, honda and suzuki killer but a couple japanese engineers were stupid and jealous and screwed me you and everyone else.

Uhh ,,, well yeah,,, I just had heard at one time or another about that particular gear got changed out alot by Team riders as a prevenitive measure.
Ya might want to "bite tongue" before typing and pushing the enter button when calling any particular machine a piece of junk on here.
I don't own one, never rode one either. It was just a question I had for a "engineer".

Okay, got one more question for ya,,, what the heck is with the > "not for publication" thingy you sign off with ?

[barnett468]

Welcome. I just joined the site a few days ago. I am glad to get the opportunity to say hello. You helped create an amazing machine. I always thought that the Tecates were the fastest 3 wheelers ever made. Those engines are amazing. Thank you for all of your efforts. You are a part of history. I miss the days of the manufacturers battling for the best two stroke 3 wheeler. I used to buy magazines to read the tests and shootouts.

"hello thanks for your kind words. yes kawi's were definitely the king of hp, we made sure of that. i would do like 100 yard drag tests to be sure. beat the honda every single time every year i was there. not by much though. sorry honda guys, the 86 tecate shoot out test you read is slightly flawed, we probably should have won. i'll tell you how if you want"

thanks

not for publication

[t65h]

"hello thanks for your kind words. yes kawi's were definitely the king of hp, we made sure of that. i would do like 100 yard drag tests to be sure. beat the honda every single time every year i was there. not by much though. sorry honda guys, the 86 tecate shoot out test you read is slightly flawed, we probably should have won. i'll tell you how if you want"

thanks

not for publication

I would love to hear about it. I always wondered how the engineers decided how much horsepower, suspension travel, weight, etc. for a machine like that. The Tecate put out so much power stock. I would guess that they were designed to give people room to easily get more power out of them. Racers will sacrifice reliability for horsepower, and expect to rebuild engines. I always thought that the Honda and Kawasaki targeted each other. (Just a kids guess at the time, but they stood out for me.) Thanks.

[barnett468]

Uhh ,,, well yeah,,, I just had heard at one time or another about that particular gear got changed out alot by Team riders as a prevenitive measure.
Ya might want to "bite tongue" before typing and pushing the enter button when calling any particular machine a piece of junk on here.
I don't own one, never rode one either. It was just a question I had for a "engineer".

Okay, got one more question for ya,,, what the heck is with the > "not for publication" thingy you sign off with ?

"hello obviously you are hostile for some reason. don't know why and i don't want to make enemies however i am the person who developed these vehicles not you. you were not there so you have absolutely no comparrison bases between the one i developed and the ill handling pile they put out instead of mine. my opinion is based upon the fact that i was asked to develop the new tecate 4 for a specific narrow target market. i followed my instructions and was 100% successful. my vehivle and japans vehicle were tested by 6 different people including the fastest 4 wheel rider in the world that i hired for an unbiased opinion. i was probably the 10th fastest at that time. we kept beating each others lap times at CARLSBAD mx track in the summer with no water or grading of the track. if you have never ridden carlsbad you don't have a clue as to what i'm talking about. he eventually beat be me by about 1/2 a second. i surrendered. the japanese however not kawi US had a 4' 7" tall beginner rider they used to develop it in japan. long story short. i produced what the US told me to, an out of the box suzuki killer and i did it. japan produced a smaller more nimble trail rider [very good for trails very bad for racing] which they promoted as a racer. it simply wasn't. i would have built a trail bike too if they asked me too. so my point is that when compared to the US goal of making an all out racing machine with total disregard to any lower level of riding they totally missed the mark therefore use as a race bike it is unaceptable. the reliability and quality of the bike is very high".

thanks

not for publication

[barnett468]

jeswinehart

ps i earned the right call any kawi product junk if i choose to do so.

[jeswinehart]

Yeah good luck with it. I also have the right too assign you my next number in my banned from being bothered list. Say HELLO to number 29.

FOR publication

[ezmoney1979]

"hello obviously you are hostile for some reason. don't know why and i don't want to make enemies however i am the person who developed these vehicles not you. you were not there so you have absolutely no comparrison bases between the one i developed and the ill handling pile they put out instead of mine. my opinion is based upon the fact that i was asked to develop the new tecate 4 for a specific narrow target market. i followed my instructions and was 100% successful. my vehivle and japans vehicle were tested by 6 different people including the fastest 4 wheel rider in the world that i hired for an unbiased opinion. i was probably the 10th fastest at that time. we kept beating each others lap times at CARLSBAD mx track in the summer with no water or grading of the track. if you have never ridden carlsbad you don't have a clue as to what i'm talking about. he eventually beat be me by about 1/2 a second. i surrendered. the japanese however not kawi US had a 4' 7" tall beginner rider they used to develop it in japan. long story short. i produced what the US told me to, an out of the box suzuki killer and i did it. japan produced a smaller more nimble trail rider [very good for trails very bad for racing] which they promoted as a racer. it simply wasn't. i would have built a trail bike too if they asked me too. so my point is that when compared to the US goal of making an all out racing machine with total disregard to any lower level of riding they totally missed the mark therefore use as a race bike it is unaceptable. the reliability and quality of the bike is very high".

thanks

not for publication

I would suggest toning it down a bit. John Swinehart is one of the most respected and most valuable people on this site. He was simply asking you a question. No one will care where you worked or what you had to do with three wheelers if you don't show a little respect on this site.

[thestud25]

Interesting reads. What did you say your name was?

[barnett468]

it's a free world do what ever makes you happy! i explained my junk statement for you. i certainly could have taken more time to explain it or in my original post. i also could have used a different term but i think i've sufficiently explained myself. however in the interest of keeping peace with some potentially overly sensitive people i will refrain from using it again and find a suitable substitute. they just really ______ me and everyone else off at kawi us with that one,. ok?

PS i see you are from michigan same place i am.

thanks

[barnett468]

[QUOTE=barnett468;1190895]it's a free world do what ever makes you happy! i explained my junk statement for you. i certainly could have taken more time to explain it or in my original post. i also could have used a different term but i think i've sufficiently explained myself. however in the interest of keeping peace with some potentially overly sensitive people i will refrain from using it again and find a suitable substitute. they just really ______ me and everyone else off at kawi us with that one,. ok?

PS i see you are from michigan same place i am.



PS the japanese also had the unbelievable audacity to suggest all the test riders including the director of us r and d and the top rider in the us were intentionally riding their bike more slowly to make mine look better. then they said to our entire r and d department, and i quote "IT IS NOT OUR PLACE TO BE NUMBER ONE THAT IS HONDA'S PLACE". well i can tell you that certainly made us want to work 6 days a week 10 hours a day!

[Mosh]

Any pics from your PRO 3 wheeler racing days?