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I purchased this H2 in Capitola, California during the summer of 1986. I test drove it to make sure it still wheelied on command. The speedo showed about 17,000 miles. The paint was a bit faded on the right side but everything was pretty much there. Satisfied, I bought the bike with the expectation of making a show piece. I had a seriously modifed purple \'72 Denco Cobra in college so this bike held nostalgia for me. I figured what better way to honor the memory then to create a perfect version of one. Busy with a career in the budding Silicon Valley scene, I sprayed the whole bike with 80 weight oil and stored it away knowing one day I would come back to it. In 1995 I decided to redo the bike, but it turns out really all I did was a deep cleaning. I stripped it to the frame, but only did head gasekets, carburetor rebuild kits, battery, bulbs, tires. I didn\'t swap out any parts, unless they we broken or non-functional, and it turns out it didn\'t need much, but certainly retained plenty of patina. The bike ran well, although I could detect a bit of piston slap, but crank seals were still tight as it ran like expected, without excessive smoke or lag on full-throttle. I rode it to work a few times, although it had no current registration. I stored it away again until 2006 when I decided to do a nut and bolt restoration, restoring or replacing everything, if it needed it or not.
Restoration details can be found at https://theholts.net/collectables
Starting with a bare frame powder coating, every part of the bike was disassembled, bead blasted as appropriate, and polished. Anything not perfect was replaced.
The engine was redone, starting with the crank re-build by Damon Kirkland of Dothan, Alabama. Cylinders were bored .020 over and Wiseco pistons installed. Carburetors were rebuild (again), all new lines, clips, and rubber completed the restoration.
The transmission checked out fine with straight forks, clean drums, etc. All new seals were used on the re-assembly. Fresh NOS clutch plates were used along with Barnett pressure plates.
All cables and brake lines were replaced with new. Brake master cylinder and disk were rebuilt. Spokes were replaced with stainless steel. All chrome, including front fender, pipes, headers, and rims where re-chromed. All other shin surfaces on the bike were fessionally polished, from the rear hub and torque-link to the engine cases, top and bottom.
Upon completion, late 2006, I was moving to Hawaii and knew the salty humid air would not be the right place for a bike of this caliber. I got a spot to display the H2 at the Kansas Motorcycle Museum, in Marquette Kansas, along with my highly modifed Yamaha TZ750, where they have both been ever since. They keep the temperature and humidity appropriate for a museum of motorcycles. The bike has 0 miles since the full restoration.
Restoration details can be found at https://theholts.net/collectables
Engine number is H2E-44033. California license plate number 343710, expired Aprl 1987. Registation sticker number W0160595 and Frame number H2F-43751. I never titled the bike in my name after purchasing. I knew I wasn\'t going to ride the bike for awhile and though I would take care of when I got around to it. 20 years later, here we are, but a clean California title can certainly be revived.
