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/141044
(Sia mesed) , two t ransfers and one exhaust (Siamesed) that seem to be slig h t1y m o re rad ical than in days o f yore. With the five speeds, it's no h as sle to keep the m o to r spinning and should you be c a ugh t napping it will still pull out from way down o n the RPM scale. It pull ed clean ly from 4000 RPM on the very fin e Pa trac o dynamometer as opposed to ro ugh ly 6,500 RPM bottom on th e Honda. On the CZ, you k eep th e motor spinning if y ou wan t to go re al fast, bu t you won 't ge t run ov e r if you slip up. Throttle re spon se is the usual CZ : predictable . Nothing happens in a blur or flash . Compared to the H onda th e throttle is like a rh e ostat. Compared t o a four-strok e sin gle . it's n ot. The surge in power occuring a t ar ound 6 ,000 RPM can b e used to gre a t advantage b y lettin g th e motor ge t up its he ad of st eam as yo u e x it a corn er. It surges s moothl y a n d makes for n ic e co n tro lla b le slid es. When it does get .go in g t h e "TCZ I" moves ou t. It is pr obab ly t he se co nd fastest 250 m o to c ro ss m o un t that o ne ca n purchase . Those w ho have rid den o lde r 250 CZs freque ntly find c om e rs ap proach ing muc h m o re ra pidly t han they re me mber when t hey're on th e new f ive -sp eeder . I t has very m uch mo tor, senor, T hree more tr ic k re fi ne me n t s fa ll info th e e ngi ne area. Fi rst, th e n ew 25 0 ge ts a radiall y finn ed " sunburst " h ead. It lo oks rig h t n ic e an d a ll, but CZs h av en't rea lly b een kn own fo r o ve rheating an d seizure problems . At leas t n ot in Spo rtsman l\IX . I f you a lways w an ted a ra dially finned head, yo u now w on't have to p ay extra on th is sc o o te r. Th e secon d change to th e e ngi ne lay ou t is th e ad d ition of a Fil tron a ir filt er . T here is a strong tem p ta tio n to ge l on one's knees and kiss so meo ne ' s feet for th is o ne. Thank yo u, thank yo u , than k 'y o u. The sam e air bo x is use d an d wa te r p ro o fin g it still good, b u t wh y n ot go hack 10 the fih er glass a ir box fro m b y go n e d ay s? A fter-a ll, p last ic a ir boxes a re ve ry tric k . Last and, p o ssibl y , n o t least is a ne w fly w hee l. Cou ld it be th at th is is res ponsih le to o , for a ll th e firs t kic k s tarts:' (T he tim in g is stayin g in p lace re al nice lik e . ) T he multiple booting remembered o n othe r 25 0 C Zs didn't eve r ha ppen . Even after leaving th e fuel taps o n. T he new Jikov is a signifi cant improvement. Jett ed correct ly . it wo rks very well at all Cl N s . 0.. M " Cl M .ci " u, ~ w Z W ..J U >- U V isually . the 2 50 5·speed is a works replic a. Fiberglass trough fender. coffin tank, rad ial-f inned head. Frame remains the same fo r 19 73 . Red coffin tank has strange knee pads and alu minum strap covering w elds. St rong po ints: small magnesium hu b Ba rum. Weak po ints : shocks and pipe . speeds. O ut o n the extremities of th e scoo ter are yet again so me new items. O u t ba ck is a new hub. It is smalle r yet seems to offer fu lly a dequate stopping power (as always). As usual , the hub is cast m agn esiu m and is consequen tly light and spiffy-looking . T he spokes that connect the hu h to the rim s are adequate but n ot as n e at as t he rein forc ed kin d o n the H on d a. T he rims are pl ain o ld steel and n o thing to brag abo ut. They work an d when th ey stop wo rk ing you repl ace th em with a lloy rim s . C hain adjuste rs are n o rm al C Z f un ky . Why the y h ave differe n t sizes o n differe n t sides is u n k n own ,- b ut they wo rk . The ch ain is a different st o ry. It's super. It m ay be th e b est that th e priva te racer c an c o me by . Eur opean factories (like H usq uv ama) run CZ cha in s (b ra n d name : Favorit) o n th eir works bikes. So d oe s De C oster o n hi s Suzuki. Up ab o ve th e wh eel s a re some disposable fiberg lass fe n de rs. I t se ems lik e th e y m a y h ave h ough t o ut so me Spanish com p any. The fenders lo ok nice (ju st like th e GP bike). and work until they bre ak . Then you re p lace them with an accessory. Y au still have a chance . yo u tri ck accessory guys! The fenders (Con tinued on pag e 40) Handli ng is both for giving and confi dence-inspiring . Despite severe challenge, the CZ remains the standard of the 250 class in motocross .