Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

over Cosw orth piston and d ifferent cams are availa b le, says Ra y Ca mpani le o f Ame ri ca n Jaw a Ltd ., the A m e ri ca n importer and dist ributor of the MZ line. Accord ing to Cam pan ile, th ere w ill also be a flat -slide carburet or available from Sudco as well as an exha us t system from Dal e Wa lke r, an d the use of a TDM850 ignition m odu le fro m Yamaha raises po wer outp ut and th e rpm th at th e rev limi ter cuts in at from 7200 rpm to 9500. The co un te rb a lanced, dry-sump motor makes adequ ate power in stock trim (47 .7 h p at 6750 rpm on the eN d yno) and has a very flat power output tha t m akes th e machine both easy and, at times, eve n a little boring to ride . Engine vibra tio n is abou t wha t you wou ld expect from a big single, and because the only bikes we get in any number here in th e Sta tes that u se thi s typ e of powerplan t are off-road and dual sport bikes, the m ost common remark concerning the Sko rp ion is that it "sou n d s like a d irt bike." Indee d it does. It shifts like one too. Wh ich is to say, pretty goo d , but ju st a litt le bit vague. The real p rob lem wi th the gearbox lies betw een gea rs, so to speak. The ratios come strai gh t out of the off-road bike and are wi del y spaced. As was m ade eviden t in m y impromptu d rag onto the freeway, th e jump from firs t to second is wi d e, and first gea r too short to be usefu l - you seem to run out of revs before you really get m oving. Th e ratio spacing isn't as d ramaticall y wid e in th e u p per gears, and a tall fifth makes cruisin g at 80 mp h a 500a-rp m (and reasonably comfortable) proposition, Th e torqu e offe re d by th e big sing le is a nice broad plateau of twisting p ow er t hat remains above 35 foo tpounds from around 2800 rp m to th e rev limiter, so the gearing isn 't as much of a h an d icap as it could be . Clo ser rat ios wo u ld be better, though. O ne of the othe r ratios that needs to be changed is the ratio of throttle twist to ac tual th rottle m o vem ent a t the twin 29 / 39mm carburetors. To get full power fro m th e Repli ca requi re s th e ri der to re g ri p a t least once. When fina lly finished with the long trip to full-open, the Replica exhibits adm ira ble zip and will hustle down a fun road with the best of th em, but th e excess twist ne eded consp ire s to w ithh ol d a ll th e ava il ab le power. Carburetion is good and the MZ is ready to ride almost immed iately after starting. a procedure tha t requires choke onl y on cold mornings. Th e bi ke' s handling is such th at the lack of brute horsepower isn ' t the han dicap it was on the str aigh t and narrow. No, the lack of m ind-ben di ng accelera tion at the exit of a tum really isn' t much of a p ro blem when you don't have to . slow d own too m u ch at th e en trance. An d tha t' s re all y w here th e Re p li ca sh ines. Rear-set, solid- m ount foo tpegs and a solo seat that feels like 'an upholstered slice of stale Wond er Bread make pu tting around town less than comfortab le. And th er e are a couple of th in gs that m ake the sm all, round mirrors fairly useless, too - like your arms. And though we don' t count this as an inherent flaw, at the end of our test the MZ developed a loose w ir e in the ignitio n that a t firs t made it stu tte r on occasion th en cut the engine compl et el y. It was the sin g le m echani cal difficulty we encountered in ou r month-lon g test. Th e MZ makes a reason abl e day-today com p anion, but utilitarian puttin g aro u nd town is a inisuse. It is the pursuit of com ing speed that makes the bike special. Th e Replica feels a bit top-heavy es pecially ju st after you fill th e pla stic fuel tank to its 5.5-gallon capacity - but the susp ensio n, low overa ll w eight of around 375 pounds dry and a sho rt, 55.9- (Left) A stamped steel link works the sin gle' W P rear shock featuri ng s pring-pre ad and rebounddamping lOy adJustme~ts. (Right) 1)1e four-piston Brembo brakes are very strong . The cast wheels are made by Marchesin !. (Below) A pair of high-mounte d, sta inleSs-steel exhausts Increas e . power output over the other models in the MZ line that use the Yamaha s ingle. (Right) Handsome, easy-ta-read gauges relate road and engine speed. On the lower right Is a clock. 1996 MZ gkOltPiOtl CRepQiCG Specifications Lquid-coole d, SOHC . five-valve single Engin e Bore x stroke Displ ace m ent Com p ression ratio Horsepower/torque Ignition T ransmi ssion C h as s i s Ra k e/ t ra il Seat heigh t Suspension Front Rear . _ Brakes Front Rear Wheels/tires Front _ 100 x 84mm 660cc 9.2:1 .47.7 hp@6750 rpm/39.1 ft .-Ibs. @ 5250 rpm Carburetlon (2) 29/3 9mm Teikei ' CDI Five speed w/wet clutch Twin spar round-tube steel 26.5"/ 107mm 30 .3 in. .40mm WP inverted. adjustable l or compression and rebound damping. 4.7 in. travel Single W P shock link type . adjustable lo r spring preload and rebound damping. 5.1 in. travel D uaI 11.0-in. steel discs w/lour-piston Brembo calipers Single 9.4-ln. steel disc w/ tw o-piston Grimeca caliper 120/60 ZA 17 M etzeler MEZ 1 on 3 .5-in. cast March esini wheel , Rear 160/ 60 ZA 17 Metzeler MEZ 1 on 5-in. cast Marche sini whee l Fuel capacity _ 5.5 gal. Claimed dry weight .' _ 372 Ibs. Price $10.50 0 Distributor ..American Jawa Ltd.. 185 Express St.,' Plainview. NY 11803. 516/938-3210 inch wh eelbase add up to a package th at is well d ispo sed to di rectional changes. Fast, bumpy sweepers that h ave other m ach in es dodging an d weaving fail to upset th e Skorpion, whi le it still remains easy to tum qui ckly in tigh t comers. The inv erted 40mrn forks are set at a rake o f 26.5 ° (107m m tra il) a nd are adjus table for com pression and rebound d ampin g. Fork ac tion w as su p p le and there w as minim al d ive u nder heavy. bra k ing . The re ar WP s ho ck (with sta m ped stee l lin kage) features sp ringpreload and reb ound-damping adj u stment. Both ends w ork very well withou t a hint of harshness anywhere and retain their com posure under th e m ost challenging road conditions. Tall riders will feel a bit jammed u p on the Skorpion, tho ugh th e footpegs are adjus table with su pplied hardware th at inclu des a different shift-linkage rod. We fou nd no re ason to ra ise th em, at least not for the sake of gro und clearance. Though you'll ultimately end up using the brakes less than you might with other, heavier and not-so-corn er-speed-friendly sportbikes, the Replica is non ethel ess equipped wi th some of the best stopping equipment available. A pa ir of Brembo four-piston calipers work on 11-inch discs at th e front, a n d a firm, two-fin ger squeeze on the lever will haul you down from high speeds wi th a feeling of confiden ce. Brake feel is aided by th e use of braided line s, an d s trong initia l bite m ake s late -b r a king Ke vin Schwantz wanna-bes practice their craft with relish. Lifting the rear wheel under hard braking - part and parcel to the sho rt wh eelbase isn't uncommon when you really push it. The rear br ake features a Grimeca caliper, but is very easy to lock prematurely an d ultimately we just stopped using it. The Rep lica has its fla ws, flaw s one really doesn 't expect from a m ot orcycle tha t costs so mu ch. It ha s a s tee l sw ingarm, cheap-looking fasteners in a few places an d close scru tiny with th e fairing removed reveals a certain lack of fin ish we have co m e to ex p e ct fr om m otorcycles m anufactu red today. This is a narrow-focus motorcycle that is definitely fun in the right setting. and id eal to race in a singles class. But for $10,500 th e list of extre mely com peten t street-going altern atives is large and singles en thusi ast s might d o better to look at the oth er, less expensive Skorp ions in th e M Z li neup . One thin g you ca n be assured of with the Rep lica is exclusivity - o nly 24 cop ies w ill be com in g to the Ll.S, Which is good, because in th e end, th e Replica will only ap peal to a sm all au dience of hard-core singles enthusiasts l~ an d racers.

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