Racing a Kawasaki 500 in Thailand.
After a semester in college, in 1967 I joined my parents in Bangkok, Thailand. I turned 21 in Thailand and have some serious memories of living in the hub of this fabulous country with money to spend and good times to be had.
My first motorcycle in Thailand was the first year Honda CB 450 that ate Super Hawks alive. But then in 1968 Hugh Lokey bought a Kawasaki H1 500 from I believe Sang Fra (spelling is dubious – pronunciation is right). Sang Fra had five H1s; they were protypes brought to Thailand to test their ability to withstand some serious heat. At the shop they were painted in flat grey with no colors on the tank or the side panels; nor were there any numbers stamped on the engine.
When Hugh picked his up, the grey pieces were replaced with the white and blue paint scheme that was the first edition colors; and there was a vin number stamped into the engine cover. Alan Hetterly bought the second one; and I bought the third one.
We were roomies at the time. The fourth one was sold to a Thai gentleman, was stolen the next day, and never seen again. I parked my H1 in the side of a Datsun Blue Bird doing 75 plus mph, totally destroying it. We used parts from the fifth H1 to get mine back on the road.
Some time in mid-1968 along with about five other Thai riders, we formed The Thai-Am Racing Team. Most of the bikes were Ducati 250 and 350 desmos, with a few small two strokes and three H1s. We were a formidable team. I raced my Blue-Streak in every local race I could; some on street roads, some on park paths and even on a horse racetrack. Thais loved to bet, and The Thai-Am team won a bunch of money for several of the big betters that came out to see those two-strokes howl. Did I mention that at some races we had expansion chambers on them. Turned out though they ran better on short tracks with stock pipes.
Attached are two pictures of me racing in a government park west of Bangkok. My racing outfit was also my slow pitch softball outfit, right down to the cleats. The pictures were taken by a Stars and Stripes Newspaper photographer, though the article he wrote never made it into the paper.
The third photo is of two of the trophies I won that thanks to my parents made it out of Thailand and eventually back to me many years later. They help me convince my friends and relatives that there is some validity to those outrageous stories I’ve been known to tell.
Deryle & Wanda Mehrten
Sierra Vista, AZ USA
