The mythical Kawasaki H1 Mach III needs little introduction. The triple-cylinder 500 cc two-stroke made a splash when it hit the market in 1969, with an unforgiving power band earning it the infamous ‘widowmaker’ nickname. There are faster bikes out there these days, but a classic H1 is still a good candidate for a rapid restomod or cafe racer build?if you can get your hands on one.
But here’s something you don’t see every day: an H1-based flat tracker, pieced together almost entirely from leftover parts. Dubbed the ‘Räng Däng Däng Sweet Bum Bäng,’ this scrappy wonder was lovingly built by Rolf Reick?the man behind the Krautmotors name.

Based in the university town of Heidelberg in Germany, Rolf’s an industrial designer, and heads up a design school in the neighboring town of Mannheim. He’s also been building and racing bikes for the longest time, so he’s amassed a workshop full of parts. Most of Rolf’s race bikes have been designed to compete in the European Sultans of Sprint series, and the StarrWars spring races at the Glemseck 101 festival. But he’s been itching to build a flat tracker for a while. So he pieced this one together from bits and pieces from previous builds, dating way back…

?I started Kawasaki rebuilds in the 90s,? he tells us, ?and bought up a lot of parts when they were cheap.?
At the heart of the beast is a 60 hp H1 motor that Rolf previously used for sprint racing. He dro...