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VOL. 52 ISSUE 8 FEBRUARY 24, 2015 P119 mild timing. The unusually long and gradual tapered expansion chambers also contributed to CZ's phe- nomenal pulling power. The bike's frame used sturdy, if uninspired chrome-moly steel tubing and was connected to a 6.5-inch travel front fork and rear twin shocks that provided 3.5-inches of travel, making it a relatively low-slung and flickable chassis. The CZs were light, the production models coming in at about 220 lbs. While the design of the CZ was tried and true, the impressive internals were belied by an espe- cially rough-looking exterior finish, quite typical of machines made exclusively for racing at that time. It was all about function and things didn't necessarily need to look pretty. In 1963, CZ lent support to an up-and-coming 20-year-old Belgian privateer named Joel Robert. Robert had raced a Greeves with some prom- ise, but it was still an inspired move by CZ to put a youthful Robert on a bike. The match proved fruitful. Robert earned his first GP win in the 1964 Belgian 250 GP that year and went on to become what was at the time the youngest ever World Motocross Champion that season. It also marked the Czech factory's first significant victory on the world stage. Robert would later say that his very first GP victory in Belgium, where he won by over a minute margin in each moto, would remain his favorite throughout his career, even though he would go on to win 50 MX GPs. "Back then there wasn't the money in motocross even at GP level," Robert recalled in a 2009 inter- view about his "support" from CZ. "A good rider was lucky to get a few spares, chains, shocks, etc. to keep them running. After two 40-minute motos on bikes with less than six-inches of travel, you could hardly walk afterwards. Not like today where they climb off, towel down and look fresh." When Russia got serious about motocross, the Eastern Bloc-made CZ became the motorcycles ridden by the emerging power in the sport. Rus- sian Victor Arbekov beat Robert for the 1965 250cc Motocross World Championship, giving CZ a one-two finish. Success for the factory ex- panded even further in 1966 with East German Paul Friedrichs who gave CZ three-consecutive 500cc MX World titles. Husky's Torsten Hallman temporarily put an end to CZ dominance in the 250 class in 1966 and '67, but Robert came back and closed out the decade with two straight championships with CZ in the 250 class. The 1968 season was probably the high-wa- ter mark for the maker since it won both the 500cc and 250cc Motocross World Championships. Later, CZ picked another promising Belgian when it supported a young Roger DeCoster. DeCoster finished third in the 250 GP standings in 1970 with CZ before signing with Suzuki. By the mid-1970s, works CZ motocross bikes, while considered trick, were also quite heavy compared to its main competitors. One of the last moments in the spotlight for the maker came in America, in 1974, when factory CZ rider Jaro- slav Falta captured the Superbowl of Motocross victory at the Los Angeles Coliseum in front of 65,000 fans. From Falta, it was a flash of 10 years previous since Robert helped bring CZ to prominence. By the early '90s the failing CZ brand was bought by Italian maker Cagiva, but the new venture nose-dived due to Cagiva's own financial prob- lems and motorcycle manufacture discontinued in Strakonice, although the factory continued manufacturing parts for the auto industry. CZ will always remain, in the annals of mo- tocross history, one of the makers that helped guide the sport into a worldwide phenomenon during the 1960s. CN STATE-OF-THE-ART MOTOCROSS MACHINE Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives