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Offline VMX247

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As we do
« on: June 25, 2009, 10:54:23 PM »
Got talking to a fellow in a MC shop about bikes as one does. ;D
He starts talking about a K11M---What is this please...??????
We got interrupted, and this brought the conversation to an end  :P
Glad, as I was lost what an K11M was.  :-\
cheers
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Offline floberts

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Re: As we do
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2009, 11:19:56 PM »
I will hazard a guess that it is actually a F11M.





Because most Kawasaki model designations begin with a K (KX, KDX, KLR, KE, KV etc...) he may have it mixed up.

A google of  Kawasaki K11M did not return anything bike related.

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Ben

Offline VMX247

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Re: As we do
« Reply #2 on: June 25, 2009, 11:25:38 PM »
Thanks... sorry  F11M......
Not too good with dreaded flu-(not swine) glad germs don't spread though the screen   ;D
Thank you for the pic.....Nice little bike  8) ....Amazing what people have got in bikes when you get talking.  :o
S&A WA
« Last Edit: June 25, 2009, 11:32:40 PM by VMX247 »
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DR

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Re: As we do
« Reply #3 on: June 26, 2009, 06:01:02 AM »
I am quite partial to the F11's be it an F11M F11A/B or C ;D probably 1 of the most underated and overlooked bikes of the pre'75 era. Compared to all other jap 250's of this era including the MX'ers I've ridden and owned the F11 stands head and shoulders above the others simply because of one minor detail..they actually handle! :o for me to have a genuine F11M gracing my garage would be just as good as owning any RH or RN Suzuki (excepting an RH67) ;)

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Offline JC

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Re: As we do
« Reply #4 on: June 26, 2009, 09:20:36 AM »
Alison,

Did that chap actually have an F11M?

Only 215 were ever built.

I used to race one back in 74. They were pretty good, & very light w a nice torquey powerband, but Kaw never gave them much airplay cos they were consumed w the bigbore in USA, so they're kinda one of the forgotten bikes of pre75.
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firko

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Re: As we do
« Reply #5 on: June 26, 2009, 09:36:52 AM »
A mate of mine swapped a pristine F11M for an equally nice Rickman Montesa in the early 90s. At the time he thought he got the better of the deal but the last time I spoke to him he was trying to get the Kawa back. Does anyone have an F11 engine they'd like to sell me?
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mx250

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Re: As we do
« Reply #6 on: June 26, 2009, 10:16:53 AM »
Quote from: Doc on June 26, 2009, 06:01:02 AM
I am quite partial to the F11's be it an F11M F11A/B or C ;D probably 1 of the most underated and overlooked bikes of the pre'75 era. Compared to all other jap 250's of this era including the MX'ers I've ridden and owned the F11 stands head and shoulders above the others simply because of one minor detail..they actually handle! :o for me to have a genuine F11M gracing my garage would be just as good as owning any RH or RN Suzuki (excepting an RH67) ;)


I remember in the day the Kawa got rave reviews for handling etc, but it was too little too late and cost too much (IIRC). The horse had bolted. Yammy, in particular, 'owned' the off-road 'brand loyality and the world was quickly moving on to LTR.

Nice try but no cigar :-[ (but I would still love to own one for looks alone 8)). 
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DR

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Re: As we do
« Reply #7 on: June 26, 2009, 11:50:28 AM »
Graeme, kind of but not really. The F11 was built from '73-'75. Comparable models in '73 were the TS250K, silver tanked XL250K and the DT250A all of which offer no better engine performance and none of which offer the same level of handling. Long travel was still a long way off and a new (trailbike) F11 sold for only $50 more than the $790 DT250 of '74. I know $50 was a lot back then but my way of thinking is you couldn't even buy a decent pair of aftermarket shocks for $50 (not even back then) even so the other 3 need more than just shocks to get them up to the same level as the F11. I feel it was more a case of 'the populous at large' never took the F11 seriously until it was too late as the model remained virtually unchanged during it's 3 year production run. Maybe by '75 it was getting a little dated but still a better then the models Honda, Yamaha or Suzuki were offering up at the time.
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mx250

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Re: As we do
« Reply #8 on: June 26, 2009, 12:32:07 PM »
$50 is a 15% price disadvantage, that's a lot no matter how you 'soft soap' it  :P. Kawa was coming from behind in every regard; it wasn't winning on the race track, it didn't have the same dealer network, etc etc. And they were behind on price. And they did very little in the way of advertising to convince the market it was worth the difference. And they didn't up date. They didn't give themselves a hope in Hades ::).

As I said "too little too late and cost too much. The horse had bolted"
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Offline vmxrider

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Re: As we do
« Reply #9 on: June 26, 2009, 12:43:21 PM »
Back in the early 80's used to do a bit of trail riding with some blokes from work. The father of one one of the blokes (he was 47, so old to be riding dirt bikes i thought!!!) turned up with this weird 250 Kawasaki MX bike that he'd apparently bought from a used car yard. Non of us really knew what model it was, had a green plastic tank, an underslung chamber which swept up at the back with a sort of cone shaped silencer which flaired outward at the back and went like the clappers. The outer cases were sand cast, which I thought was unusual. After a few reliable years it was eventully sold off to a young relative of his. As I was getting interested in VMX in the early 90's I tried to track it down only to be told it had been trashed. I've yet to see another like it, but I'm guessing it must have been an F11M.        
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mx250

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Re: As we do
« Reply #10 on: June 26, 2009, 12:55:47 PM »
Quote from: vmxrider on June 26, 2009, 12:43:21 PM
Back in the early 80's used to do a bit of trail riding with some blokes from work. The father of one one of the blokes (he was 47, so old to be riding dirt bikes i thought!!!) turned up with this weird 250 Kawasaki MX bike that he'd apparently bought from a used car yard. Non of us really knew what model it was, had a green plastic tank, an underslung chamber which swept up at the back with a sort of cone shaped silencer which flaired outward at the back and went like the clappers. The outer cases were sand cast, which I thought was unusual. After a few reliable years it was eventully sold off to a young relative of his. As I was getting interested in VMX in the early 90's I tried to track it down only to be told it had been trashed. I've yet to see another like it, but I'm guessing it must have been an F11M.        
Not with outer cases sand cast. It musta been something more exotic than a production trail bike (unless they had been sandblasted for the appearance ::)).
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DR

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Re: As we do
« Reply #11 on: June 26, 2009, 01:45:20 PM »
In the 3 year production run of the F11 they didn't update this is true, thing is by 1975 the other 3 still hadn't caught up to the capabilities of the '73 F11 so why change it. I agree PR work was woeful and $50 was a lot but I still the majority of people made up their minds without even considering the seemingly unpopular alternative. All the things you mentioned did happen back then but we live here and now and I still claim the F11 kawa to be the sweetest handling trailbike ever to come from Japan pre 1975. 
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mx250

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Re: As we do
« Reply #12 on: June 26, 2009, 03:09:50 PM »
Well that's one thing we agree on Doc ;). The K11m was the best looking, best handling, rare, desirable, collectable little orphan of the pre 75 period ;) :).
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Offline VMX247

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Re: As we do
« Reply #13 on: June 26, 2009, 04:51:23 PM »
Ok I gave the owner a ring and he told me it came out with a Japanese Racing team, then onto Darwin and now in his loft.  ;D
It has plastic tank-Chrome Molly Frame and magnesium cases,no lights as its a MX 1973 job.

He has a few write ups on it, the manual and other paper clippings written on them,so we can all rest in peace tonight knowing there is another special bike in our great land  ;)   ;D
oops forgot he said "tell ya mates its not for sale"  :D
cheers
« Last Edit: June 26, 2009, 04:55:21 PM by VMX247 »
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mx250

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Re: As we do
« Reply #14 on: June 26, 2009, 05:35:43 PM »
Quote from: VMX247 on June 26, 2009, 04:51:23 PM
Ok I gave the owner a ring and he told me it came out with a Japanese Racing team, then onto Darwin and now in his loft.  ;D
It has plastic tank-Chrome Molly Frame and magnesium cases,no lights as its a MX 1973 job.

He has a few write ups on it, the manual and other paper clippings written on them,so we can all rest in peace tonight knowing there is another special bike in our great land  ;)   ;D
oops forgot he said "tell ya mates its not for sale"  :D
cheers
Tell him 'don't be slack', to take it out of the loft, polish up the alloy, fuel it, fettle it and bring to CD7 and give all of us a look ;D.
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