Mitch Payton, the owner of Pro Circuit and the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki motocross and supercross teams, has another Kawasaki in his stable—the 1971 Kawasaki 75MT Parnelli “Kawasaki” Jones Dyna-Mite.Vintage dirt bike aficionado will remember that automobile-racing legend Parnelli Jones endorsed the 1971 Kawasaki Dyna-Mite in print ads, and Kawasaki promoted the model as Parnelli “Kawasaki” Jones edition. As Jones was quoted as saying in the ad, “You want a machine that you can have confidence in…a machine that gives you all-around action and total performance. The Dyna-Mite is just such a machine and that’s why I put my name on it.”
After securing a Dyna-Mite, Payton tapped Norm Bigelow to restore the vintage Kawasaki to showroom condition. It is difficult to imagine a better choice, as Bigelow worked in the Kawasaki R&D Racing Department for 30 years, is a member of the Pro Circuit Race Team, and is the curator of the Kawasaki Heritage Hall Corporate Museum. Bigelow does all this, and calls himself “semi-retired.”Mitch Payton (left) and Norm BigelowSomeone remembered the Jones connection to the 1971 Kawasaki Dyna-Mite. The Dyna-Mite’s gas tank and brochure were sent to Jones, who provided his autograph to the historical vehicle and document.Parnelli Jones’ autographThe Dyna-Mite was a family-oriented mini. The fold-down handlebars made it possible to transport the motorcycle in the trunk of a car—leakproof gas and oil tank caps helped, along with it weighing just 121 pounds. The diminutive Kawasaki had full suspension, with external-spring fork legs. A centrifugal clutch made it easy for new riders to get going, and the three-speed transmission gave the street-legal Dyna-Mite a top speed of 40 mph. The 75cc two-stroke motor featured oil-injection, which Kawasaki dubbed Superlube.Next up on Payton’s to-get list for the 1971 Kawasaki Dyna-Mite is the autographed photo of Jones and his Johnny Lightning car that dealers were handing out to prospective buyers. If you have one, you might let Payton know!
1971 Kawasaki 75MT Parnelli “Kawasaki” Jones Dyna-Mite Photo Gallery
Hello everyone and welcome once again to Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly Podcast—Motos and Friends.
My name is Arthur Coldwells.
This week’s Podcast is brought to you by Yamaha motorcycles. Discover how the YZF-R7 provides the perfect balance of rider comfort and true supersport performance by checking it out at YamahaMotorsports.com, or see it for yourself at your local dealer.
This week’s episode features Senior Editor Nic de Sena’s impressions of the beautiful new Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST that is loosely based around the original FXRT Sport Glide from the 1980s. Hailing from The Golden State, these cult-status performance machines became known as West Coast style, with sportier suspension, increased horsepower, and niceties including creature comforts such as a tidy fairing and sporty luggage.
In past episodes you might have heard us mention my best friend, Daniel Schoenewald, and in the second segment I chat with him about some of the really special machines in his 170 or so—and growing—motorcycle collection. He’s always said to me that he doesn’t consider himself the owner, merely the curator of the motorcycles for the next generation.
Yet Daniel is not just a collector, but I can attest a really skilled rider. His bikes are not trailer queens, they’re ridden, and they’re ridden pretty hard. Actually, we have had many, many memorable rides on pretty much all of the machines in the collection at one time or another.
From all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!
