No. 001
Museum
1971 H1 500
- Model
- H1 500 (Mach III)
- Year
- 1971
- Issued
- April 2018
- Custodian
- Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum
Charter · Founder’s Note
Provenance that survives the next owner, the next auction, the next fifty years.
A restored Kawasaki triple is only as valuable as the paper that travels with it. I have stood in auction houses and watched two near-identical H2s — same year, same color, same dyno sheet — separate by a factor of three in hammer price. The difference, every time, was the file.
Before 2018, we sent our machines out the door with a folder of receipts and a handshake. Half of those folders vanished inside ten years. The bikes survived; their histories did not. The 390 Stamp is our answer. It is not a marketing sticker. It is a metal tab physically riveted to the frame, a notarized certificate that names the machine, and a 96-page dossier that records every decision made during the eleven months we had it on the lift.
If you are an insurer underwriting one of our builds, an auction house cataloguing one, or the third owner of a bike we built for someone else — the 390 Stamp is your working reference. It tells you what the machine is, who made it, when it was finished, and how to call us to verify it. Nothing else in the North American two-stroke triple market does this. That is by design.
— Kent He, Founder · Portland, Oregon
Object Checklist
Four components. Every stamp, every build, without exception.
Issued together, recorded in the studio register, and referenced by number. The four items below leave the atelier as a single sealed package and are inspected as such by Hagerty, Bonhams, and the Kawasaki Akashi archives.
-
01
Frame-Tab
A solid brass-toned metal plate, 28mm × 14mm, hand-stamped with the unique 390 number and riveted to the frame near the steering head. Sized to remain visible without disturbing period-correct cosmetics.
- Material
- Brass-tone alloy, hand-stamped
- Location
- Steering-head lug, port side
- Format
- 3-digit + check letter (e.g. 074-K)
-
02
Notarized Certificate
An A4 certificate on cotton-fiber stock, bearing the stamp number, frame and engine serial, model designation, completion date, and the notarized signature of the studio’s registered notary. Signed in triplicate: studio, owner, archive.
- Stock
- 220gsm cotton-fiber, deckle edge
- Authentication
- Oregon Notary Public seal
- Copies
- 3 · studio, owner, archive
-
03
96-Page Bound Dossier
A case-bound volume documenting every mechanical, cosmetic, and provenance decision of the build. Includes tear-down photography, vendor sourcing, parts traceability, and a narrative chronology signed off by the lead technician.
- Format
- Case-bound, foil-stamped spine
- Length
- 96 pages, minimum
- Signed
- Lead technician & founder
-
04
Dyno & Leak-Down Appendix
A 200-hour dyno report and per-cylinder leak-down compression chart, recorded on the studio’ s Superflow dynamometer. Bound to the dossier and countersigned by the engine technician. Forms the machine’s repeatable mechanical signature.
- Hours
- 200-hour dyno cycle
- Chart
- Per-cylinder leak-down %
- Equipment
- Superflow SF-902
Selected Stamps from the Register
An archivist’s working document.
Forty-two stamps issued since 2018. The four below represent the range of the register — private collections, museum placement, and a documented auction record.
No. 019
Private
1972 H2 750 — ‘Brass Monkey’
- Model
- H2 750
- Year
- 1972
- Issued
- September 2023
- Custodian
- Private collection, CA
No. 028
Auction
1973 H2 750
- Model
- H2 750
- Year
- 1973
- Issued
- February 2024
- Custodian
- Bonhams Las Vegas, lot 47
No. 041
Track
1969 H1 500 — H1R Homage
- Model
- H1 500 · H1R homage
- Year
- 1969
- Issued
- October 2024
- Custodian
- Private collection, UK
Working Reference
How to authenticate a 390-stamped frame.
A four-step protocol for insurers, auction specialists, and future owners. Each step lists the artifact to inspect and the studio contact that verifies it.
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Chapter I
Inspect the frame-tab.
Locate the brass-toned tab at the steering-head lug, port side. Confirm the hand-stamped three-digit number and check letter. Tabs are riveted, never adhered; the rivet heads show tool-marks consistent with hand setting.
If the tab is missing, painted over, or shows adhesive residue, contact the studio before proceeding.
-
Chapter II
Read the notarized certificate.
The certificate must carry an Oregon Notary Public seal, the matching three-digit number, the frame and engine serial, and a date of issue. Fold marks indicate the original triplicate copy held in the studio archive.
Photocopies do not authenticate. The original is held by the registered owner of record.
-
Chapter III
Verify the dossier against the studio register.
Match the dossier’s spine number to the studio register entry. The dossier is case-bound, foil-stamped, and signed by the lead technician on the colophon page. Torn or unbound pages invalidate the document.
Register verification is provided in writing within two business days of request.
-
Chapter IV
Cross-check the dyno signature.
The dyno appendix records power and torque curves specific to the engine serial. The Superflow SF-902 header, date stamp, and per-cylinder leak-down chart must reconcile to the build’s recorded 200-hour cycle.
Direct technical correspondence is on file with the Kawasaki Heavy Industries Akashi archives for all stamps since No. 006.
Authentication requests are answered in writing within two business days.
Request Authentication
The Footprint
Forty-two stamps. Eleven countries. One register.
- Total Stamps Issued
- 42
- Continuous issuance since 2018
- Hagerty Specialist Status
- AAA
- Rated since 2020
- Museum Placements
- 3
- Including Barber permanent reference
- Countries Shipped
- 11
- Four continents · crate-and-ship
Aggregate insured build value under registered stamps: $4.2M · Cycle World Garage of the Year finalist, 2024 · Classic Bike Magazine ‘30 Workshops That Matter,’ 2022.
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