Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126242
GP Works Action I By Jody W eisel t is a crime when a manufacturer allows his dealer network to fall apart. It is a crime when a top of the line producer fails to produce top-line equipment. Criminal proceedings .in the form of slumping sales: and dwindling outlets have already beset the world's most individualistic (and communistic) motorcycle brand. CZ has put itself into this situa tion through a tangle of red tape and internal bickering. On on e sid e stands the old guard wh o believe that if th e works riders (Fa lta , Velk y and th e old ga ng) ca n chu m ou t victo ries on basically stock mach inery th en so ca n th e weak , capitalistic punks of the degene ra te Wes t. On th e other side stands th e bureaucrats of th e party who don 't even care to send motor cycles to America when th e masses of Czecho are in need of che a p transpor tation. And in th e middle sta nds th e mot ocross er who likes to have a choice in what he ca n buy and not be limited to racers of oriental extraction. Boiled down to its essence CZ will either build a new mach ine in the next year or it will be "Cz echo go home. " The amazing part of the whol e sad mess is that th ey are not that far away from their competition. Psychologically th e old comrades at home don't have it together, but here in America they are still pumping out good CZ's with Yankee ingenuity. American jawa, the distributor, wants improved equipment and have even contracted American constructors to do modifying for them. The brightest hope for CZ is that there are still thousands of dyed-in-the-wool CeskeZavodny fans and even some dedicated shops. The brightest hope for CZ is thousands of dyed-inthe- wool fans . . . Gran Prix Specialties, 1312 West Burbank Blvd . , Burbank, California . is perhaps the most fanatica l and dedicated group of CZ specialtists in the states and th ey ha ve done what the factory refuses to do . Back in th e homeland this operation could be incorporated into th e production line within a month , but it would take four years worth of arguing and dogmatizing before it would be initiated. Until then consider the Gran Prix Specialties CZ250 and 400 to be an alternative to Swedish steel or Japanese flyers. The Specialties Manifesto 4 Putting the power-to the ground is what motocross is all about and CZ and four-strokes put more oomph per inc h than any other machinery. The 400 engine ha s com pe titive power right out of the box , while the 250 needs a little help. GPS puts a heavy duty port job on th e jug that moves the rev range up with the help of a Mote-plat ignition, then they bolt on a 36mm or 38mm Mikuni and special manifold to get th e gases going. Carb size is largely determined b y personal preference and riding skill. The bigger the better and vice versa. There are no fancy reed valves. just good straight piston port power, and conversely a simpler and longer lasting package. The exhausts are carried awa y through an uppipe that tucks neatly around the engine. Without the porting the pipe alone will release a lot of pent· up ponies on a stock engine. The up-pipe is a necessity because the frame and forks are going to increase travel well beyond where the old down-pipe went.