Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Ca n y ou im agi ne yourself wheely ing o ut of t h e parc f e nne on the third day still on yo ur go ld m edal? th at six tim es. as th e stampcd gas tank ca p proudly p roclaims ( 19 63. 1964 , 1965, 1966. 1967 , 1969 ). T he gas ca p stamping , however. leaves o ut a few d etails. MZ s for th e ISoT ar e m ade for th e men who ride them. Those same men happ en to be a mo ng th e most dedicated-to-one-purpose mot orcycl ists in the world. rankin g with th e Cze chs for being th e best. .lust because you see th e m co n q ue ring every obstacle. winnin g the special tes ts. and bringing home the go ld as they wheelie out of th e pare ferm e to hit the asphalt a t speeds up to 95 MPH d oes no t m ean that J oe End u ro can do al l that on an :'fZ. ISOT bikes are su p posed to be ultra-reliable, understress ed tanks. This on e is. T he MZ has 24 3c c providing nice. broad power that will torque up hills slowly enough for the rider to pi ck a sm o oth lin e b etween rocks without havin g to swe a t wheelspin and clutching. or scream its brains out at close to 100 1\11'11. (T he fastest we ever got o urs was a tad o ver 90 MPH as indi c at ed on a c h ase ve h icle ' s sp e e d o rn e te r .] It h a s a usuall y bull etproof fiv e speed tra n smissi on. bu t ours would mi ss fi fth gear re gu larly when h o t . The ri ms are steel. w it h c en t er pull sp o kes be cau se ce nter pull spokes are supposed to res is t loosening better. O urs lo o sene d . T he st eel rims di nged o n roc ks. too . T he b rakes we re O K but nothing spec tacu lar. They weren't very powerful. S te el a lso is the fron t fen der. as is th e rear fen der and t he pre-mix gas tan k . Frame sections and rei nforcing are massive , eng ine castings huge an d he avy . an d t h e pi pe gigantic. With gas an d o il. th e MZ weighs an honest 315 portl y pounds. T he Ioo rpegs are roun d st e el tubes. pure junk. Wh en th ey gct wet. th ey a lso ge t slippery. T he seat fell off in fast rid in g ove r rough terrain . (o r in a cras h). It is sec ured in a w ay simi lar to the Yamah a factory mot ocrosscrs used to be wh en Pierre kept lo sing h is several m onths ago. A sing le 6mm b olt w ith a small washer t h ro u gh the fen d e r keeps the se at fro m slid ing o ff its mounts. The nut on th e undersid e would pull through t he steel fender o f te n . .lumping was a gas, with t he bike giving a ni ce soft landing if the sh oc ks were not hot . The fork s arc just fin e , but shock"damping goe s aw ay ~fter thcy get h ot. Spring rates seem correct for the weight an d application . A b ig bl a ck leather to ol bag with gre en mold and funny lillie insects lining the bollom inside lived on the gas tank. It is secured by th e leather straps which a lso hold o n th e gas tank. T hey stretched when wet. allo wi n g th e tool bag t o slide around and t he tank to move ba ck on its rubber mounts. All sorts of neat tools, a tire repair ki t. a grease gun . spare ca b les. German language fir st a id pamphlet an d own ers' manual. first aid -su p p lies, an d two countersh aft sp roc ke ts sha re d th e m oldy interior o f the p ou ch . Rid ing with th e b ag in pl ac e was a n ece ssi t y . sin c e a steel angle wel d ed to th e ta n k held the re ar of the bag in p la ce . I f th e tan k were removed. a nd th o litt le ste el shelf left exposed . a ri der wou ld b e aski ng for a sex c h ange o n th e occasion of hi s firs t en do, if "he" w as indeed a he to begin w ith. A tire p u m p w as m ounted under t he tank. on two little pegs. The exhaus t pipe is built fo r torque, bu t is pretty b ig for n ot d oing mu ch a s far as noise c o n tro l and arresting sp arks. The size , sh ape, an d positioning of the p ipe encourage feet-up riding as appropriate to a Six Days event. If a rock whips your right foot b a ck while cornering with it stuck out MX ·style, yo ur ca lf and t hig h will e ncounter the pipe and right side me tal number p late intimately. As it turns out. the MZ works a whol e bunch b etter ridden that way. Bo dy German and hanging o f f ge t yo u arou n d corners better th an putting a foot down. T he :'I Z like s to slide , too. T h e s peedome te r read ou t in kilome te rs per ho ur for a b o u t o ne hal f mile. then it bro ke . It d id n ot feat u re a rese ttable odome ter . either. The tires we re fine o n w e t or loamy surfaces. bu t were not th e h o t se t up fo r sand-orr-hard-pac ked s urfaces or gravel. They worked well in rocks and ha rd ruts . In fact, the w ho le m ach in e was very forgiving on c a bb y surfaces. T he ignition system was magneto with two coils. A small toggle switch po king au t fro m under t he side- float car bure to r's viny l shroud swi tched in an e ntire new ignition system if n eed ed , all the way down to t he sec o nd spar k pl u g. Grease fittings abounded. a long with uniquely "ISoT -ish" feature. Wh en th e sid es tan d is lowered, it au to m a tica lly app lies the re ar brake. The idea . w e presum e, is to kee p the I\!Z from rol lin g away during in -the-field maintenan ce or repair duri ng an ISoT. A transparen t fuel settling b owl built int o the petcock allows capture and insp ection of any debris in th e gasoli ne m ix . So m e rolled pi ece s of what a ppea rs to be inner tube rammed through h ol es drilled in the cy lin d er he ad fin s try to lessen fin vibr ation and n o ise . I t's quieter than n ot h av ing them . T he drive ch a in · is t otally enclose d for long life a nd a regular p ain in the ass wh e n changing cou n ters ha f t sprockets: the sidecase m us t co me o rr to d o the j ob. Pre su ma b ly . y o u' lI be geared co r rec t ly fo r an ISoT b efore yo u lea ve im pound th e first day. The lights run off the m agne to w h e n th e e ngi ne is running. They are n o t too bright, bu t mi ght p ass for stre et legal if a b atte ry were includ ed. Five y ears ag o. (t he last time th is mac h ine w on a n ISoT). th e MZ would probably have been worth all th e has sle s a serious A merica n enduro rider w ould have to put up with in o wn ing o ne. It needs, as it com es o ut o f the box, a re se ttable MPH speedometer/odometer. some he avy -duty lightening up (p la stic fenders. tank, number plates, et c.] , a sp ark arre sto r/e xh a us t system. improved seat mounts a n d a battery lighting system t o be street legal (in California at least) fo r endures req u ir in g thaL It wou ld still lac k , a f te r th o se home improvements were made. an English lan gu age manual. ready ava ila b ili ty of All IS OTs seem to h av e p laces t o drown o ut the mac hi ne s. T he M Z passed the test, e xcept f or the t hen -slippery pegs. pa rts. special tools req ui red fo r internal w o r k and e a s y - t o - f i n d trai n ed , mechan ics. But now. in 19 74. th e MZ is not e nough " b e tte r" th an th e co mp e ti tio n 's enduro b ikes to be w orth it, T he in itia l cost an d ownersh ip hass le just d o n ot fu lly justify the benefits t ha t o wn ing an ISoT "Replica " 1\IZ mi ght ca rry - su ch as lo w frequ ency of re p ai r and m inimum main tenan ce in ac tua l trial use. A look a t t he G re enhorn fin ishing list wi ll prov e tha t J apan cse machinery has ta k e n a great lea p forward in en duroability la tely. With the im p rov emen ts in Japanese m achinery. an enduro er cou ld buy a J apanese bike a n d all so r ts of trick parts fo r the price of th e MZ alon e and put toge t h er a machine th a t would d o everything the MZ does and do it better (e xcep t last six d ays in a n ISoT environment). with le ss hassle and better parts availability a t c h e ap er pri ces. On top of a ll th at. hc wouldn't have to be a giant, well -conditioned East Gcrman to rid e it well. • Just in fr ont of the strap-on tank tool bag, the gas cap tells you how many Tro p h y Team cups MZs have won. The ETS 250 is starkl y a nd f unctionally d e signed t o do one thing ve ry we ll : win the Inte rn ationa l S ix Days Tria l. O ne o f t he three productio n bikes in the world with a fully-enclosed chain. The p ipe is b ig. h ea vy, and not ve ry qu iet . ISOT ·standards: back-up du al ignition. carb sh roud. and cl ip-on t ire p ump. MZ specifications Manu f act u re r: Importer : Mo t o rra d w er k Zschopau, East Germany East-E u ro p e Import Export Inc., 440 Park Avenue South, New York . NY 10016 Su99ested retail pr ice _ $1460. 240 pounds Cla imed dry weight Actua l wet weight . . " . " . " . . . .. ... ...... ....•. . .. .. ... 315 pounds Top speed _. " 90 MPH+ Wheelbase __ _ 53 inc he s Transmission up for up. 1·N·2·3·4·5 Carburetion . .. . . . .. .. .. . . .. ... .. . . .... . • . . ... .. . . .. 30mm BVF Compression ratio claimed " 11 : 1 Bore X Stroke 69X65mm Claimed horsepower _ 32 @ 6.500 R PM Displacement _. . . . . . .. ... . .... . .•• .. . .... . . . . .. 243cc "

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