Summer of '69: Fast Bikes & Ray Bans
Over the years, Vanderslice owned plenty of exotic motorcycles, including a stunning TZ750 and a tricked-out RZ500…
TITO VANDERSLICE
Ex-Team Roberts mechanic Merrill Vanderslice with his 1969 Kawasaki 500--in 1969. He was able to find his old bike, buy it and restore it.


If there’s one motorcycle that achieved legendary status the summer it debuted, it has to be the 1969 Kawasaki H1 500. Its reputation was built on a simple yet thrilling formula: a fire-breathing 500cc three-cylinder engine stuffed into one of the most inadequate chassis in motorcycle history. The result? A machine that was wild, cheap, exhilarating—and borderline terrifying.

Merrill Vanderslice, former AMA Racing department manager and ex-Team Roberts mechanic, bought a 1969 H1 500 as his first street bike that same year. Like many who owned one, he remembers the experience as equal parts ecstasy and sheer panic—blistering acceleration tempered by the ever-present fear that you might not make the next corner.

Time marched on, and like so many first bikes, his 500 was eventually sold and lost to history.

Over the years, Vanderslice owned plenty of exotic motorcycles, including a stunning TZ750 and a tricked-out RZ500 he rode while working at the AMA. But one question always lingered: whatever happened to his old '69 H1?
A D V E R T I S M E N T
About ten years ago, he set out to find out—and against all odds, he did. The remains of his first street bike were still out there, and when the opportunity arose, he bought it back. What rolled into his garage was far from pristine, but that didn’t matter. Piece by piece, he embarked on a full, ground-up restoration.

A few months ago, the project was finally complete. Today, Vanderslice proudly rides his very first street bike once again—this time, with a little less fear and a lot more appreciation.

Ghost of Jim Davis
Nearly 50 years later, Vanderslice stands with his old street steed. Fast bikes and Ray Bans ...
A D V E R T I S M E N T
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