How I became involved with MZs. . .I came into MZs by accident and had had a rather tainted view of the marque, having spent quite a lot of time in the former GDR during the late Eighties (under Honiker), but it was mainly due to a friend's TS 125 which came into my possession on loan and still occasionally comes to haunt me that had set my opinions against the dreaded MZ.
The first clue to things being amiss is when the rear wheel refused to rotate due to one of the big end bearings, being unhappy with its station in life and had decided to venture off on a journey of discovery, unfortunately it chose to do this at 90 mph on the outside lane of the M27 at 7.30 in the morning. Bother. Was not the first word that came into my mind. Fortunately having owned some fine Japanese two strokes in the past pulling in the clutch in times of mechanical crisis was an all too familiar course of action. An unusual problem faced me, a seized engine, a rapidly decelerating bike, in the outside lane of a busy rush hour motorway with no indicators and my handsignalling arm firmly attached to the clutch lever. It still remains a mystery how I managed to make the hard shoulder. The Honda was recovered, rebodged and resold to the 'friend' I originally bought it from. Divine justice. This now left me living away from home, in the process of attempting to sell the house in Westbury, trying to fit in a new depot with a markedly different work content, heavy freight to intensive suburban is quite a change, the Industry itself threatening to slide into chaos and me having to use the trains to get about. As if I didn't get enough during the working hours. The chap from the top of the road came to the rescue, he knocked on the door asked if we owned all the bikes out the front (the house I lodged in was owned by a friend I had known for some years through the Trade Union and was also shared with two other lodgers. All of us owned bikes in varying states of decay, from pristine Italian muscle to my 'classic' Honda). At first we thought he was about to complain but when he asked if we wanted another we all trooped out to see what was on offer. A 1984 ETZ250 sat at the side of the road looking distinctly unloved and underlining that ten years outside in a seaside atmosphere was not the best way to retain the showroom finish.
It was even easier to adjust my gearchange technique. This was then put to the 120 mile commute/thrash for several thousand miles in all weathers with no real problems. The bike itself must be pictured, although in reasonable condition mechanically only falling out of use with the previous owner due to the gearchange spring and change to his domestic circumstances, it really was more rust, grime and unidentifiable corrosion than anything else. Real MZ cred. It ran well all winter and I was truly impressed, especially given the mileage and abuse. The handling was excellent, even on its balding Pneumats (they do exist) and it had a good turn of speed, although anything would impress compared to that Honda. But the MOT had expired and it was due some tax and I felt I couldn't push my luck with the Police and such a decrepit looking bike. It was at this point that Ed came up trumps. He had three MZs that needed a home, or more to the point, he had to move from his Fathers shed. Two TS 250/1, one of them in several boxes, the other complete but a non runner and a 1989 ETZ 250 with a collapsed gearbox (the moral of the story is don't lend it to someone who doesn't know how to adjust a chain. Overtight chains equal collapsed gearbox sprocket bearings which then equals hole in the gearbox casing and one very dead bike). The ETZ was immaculate cosmetically, but no engine. Whereas I had a good engine and mechanicals with a finish that was, well, finished. All three of Ed's bikes were bought, a bargain at £130 including transportation, and deposited in the front garden, front room and hall. That weekend the transplant was complete, new tyres, full service, MOT and tax later I now had an excellent 1989 black ETZ. Two non running TS250/1s and what was left of the original 1984 ETZ in boxes and more spares than I would ever need (including for some reason seven clutch cables). All for a total of £250!
It coped very well but did fall victim to an electrical gremlin which had me and everyone else in the house stumped (and incidentally Burwins, who still gave patient and seemingly limitless advice over the phone, and I didn't buy anything!). When the headlight was turned on it misfired under load, the same symptoms as a deceased condenser, which was duly changed. Which if that had cured it I wouldn't have bothered mentioning it. Obviously it was supply related, the headlight being an additional load that the ignition system couldn't cope with. The regulator was suspect number one, the wiring being in good condition and all the connectors clean and the battery giving a reasonable output (over 12.5 volts and the lights were bright with the engine shut down). Following Norman Wade's instructions a Lucas electronic regulator was fitted, along with a new aftermarket and better sited fuse box. This improved things considerably, for a few weeks. Headlamp problem? Fit a new halogen bulb (the phrase 'clutching at straws' comes to mind) which not surprisingly had no effect, except I had a much better view of the road, if not a particularly fast one. At £2.80 from the local motor factors it was much cheaper than most motorcycle dealers who want up to seven pounds. It's a fairly common standard fitment to a lot of cars, just take in the original bulb and buy a halogen one with the same base and rating. The headlamp unit seemed to be unaffected by the increased heat. The problem all along was the battery, when that was finally replaced the fault never reared its ugly head. Funny things lead acid batteries. It is worth remembering that normal multimeters put little or no load on a battery and will return a reading of an apparently healthy battery. Despite said battery being neither use nor ornament. Its a shame I didn't remember and I've been there before. The only other time it let me down, sort of, was when it would only run on two thirds throttle. Which for seventy five miles was a bit of a pain. But any bike that can run at all with the main jet resting in the bottom of the float chamber is alright by me. The house now sold, savings emaciated the ETZ was pressed into service getting from new home to work and back at all hours. The clogged exhaust syndrome was avoided by using fully synthetic two stroke (of which I had been given five litres, and continued using when that supply ran out). I am convinced that it led to much more reliable running, better performance, no smoke, dribbly exhausts or smelly clothes and saved the engine from a lot of unnecessary wear during the previous 8000 miles of high speed commuting. The spark plug also lasted much longer (3000 as opposed to 1500 miles). The gearbox spring finally had to be changed, only because it moved and I couldn't select any gears, fortunately only 300yds from my front door, unfortunately at the bottom of a hill. The job of dismantling the engine was extremely easy, even if making head or tail of the factory manual wasn't. The spares box was raided for a new spring and the local bearing factors visited for the crankcase seals, at £2.50 each was a lot cheaper than £20 the pair plus postage from the MZ specialists. I only wish I'd fixed it ages ago. . . The clutch centre was lapped on with fine grinding paste and thoroughly degreased. If you don't degrease both the clutch centre and crankshaft taper you're just wasting your time, but be careful as most degreasers eat rubber, and your crankcase seals. The clutch was driven on to the taper with an air impact gun, just wheel the half finished bike and engine to your local friendly tyre depot, contribute to the fitters beer fund and no more clutch spinning problems. I painted the frame, under the seat, tank and just about everywhere else with WAXOYL. A rust proofing wax which really does protect the bike from our lovely winter roads. With the electrics painted with it as well WD40 powered starts became a thing of the past.
I keep repairing (although lashing up would be a better description) a friends TS125, the same one from years ago, I never liked it as I was always being stopped. The Police keen to inform me I had no 'L' plates which meant I had to keep producing my (full) licence at the local station, a good incentive to keep the bike legal, I suppose. I'm still a member of the MZRC, still have the ring a ding bug and wont have a word said against MZs (except green TS125s).
That TS 250/1 complete, but a non runner? Now on the road, with an unhealthy appetite for pistons, but that's another story. . . Simon Weller. |
