Messages

My name is Milan. D. from Subotica (in Yugoslavia). I'm 20 year's old and a student of civil engineering
here in Subotica. I saw your site and I must tell you that it is really nice, and to be honest very long.
Don't get me wrong I didn't mean too criticize, I spent 45 pleasant minutes reading the story about your
history with the bike. The pictures are very nice as well. My story with the MZ bikes has started on
13 December.1997. in a village near Subotica. That day my parents decided to get me a bigger bike
than my previous Tomes APN 4 from 1972. (50 ccm). When we arrived the owner took us
in the yard and in between of the garage and some shed was my future MZ TS 250 lux from 1977.
It was there from 1989. on the snow, rain and sunshine. The paint was in a terrible shape, tires old as the
bike, battery non existent and ofcourse the machine was a wreck (it had 27347km on the clock
and by my estimate's it was driwen to the maximum rev's possible). I exchanged it for a 486 PC computer
so it cost at the time around 400 DM. Now comes the happy part of the MZ story. My parents as part of their
philosophy on how too make us (me and my brother) appreciate and value of work and money bought me
that bike for me too restore (what I make by myself I will have more respect and love for that (MZ)).
After a month or so I found out that for that money I could have bought a ETZ in a "good" condition.
It took me a whole year too find and buy all the parts (only when you buy something you find out that
there are no parts or a mechanic in all the country). As I'm still young (and stupid) I didn't overhaul it I just
patched it up and drowe it. Last month I took it from the garage and when I tried too start it the
engine fell of the bike. Two of the three bolts that cary the engine broke. After that I totally took it a part
so now it will be painted, overhauled and put together by me and not some "mechanic".

As I read your article I noticed you wrote about the fuel and the chain on your bike. About both you are wright.
The mixture is much better when you make it your self, and with my bike I got a original manual for the TS250
and it confirms your findings about the tightening of the chain. It should touch the back fork when it's tightened
properly.

Sorry to bother you, and thank you for your story I realy liked it. Could you write me what bike your driving now,
and if it isn't a MuZ could you plaese write me the reasons why not a MuZ?

Hello, I am Fabian from the United States, many people here use vetter fairings or stop riding altogether.
I have a saxon tour 500 which you can imagine is very unique in the U.S. I love your MZ. I need a fairing like
that to ride through the winter. Is there a web page for them?- thank you,

The WWW never ceases to amaze me. A couple of weeks ago I had a message from a lad in Yugoslavia,
and now yourself from the USA. It makes the world such a small place.

As for your inquiry, I'm afraid Acrybre Products can manage without the need of the Internet or credit card
sales for that matter. It keeps a steady turnover of business supplying to Motorcycle stores/dealers,
racers and direct to individuals by mail/callers.

For direct supply I think you will be best telephoning them at Acrybre Products of Weymouth on
Tel: 01305 787498 ask for a brochure to be posted or faxed. They will almost certainly request full payment by
cheque in advance. This is the cheapest method of buying the fairing but you may not feel safe doing so.
I personally have bought from them 3 or 4 times like this with no problem if that helps.

The alternative is for a parts dealer to supply you with the fairing which should allow for credit card ordering
(which should give you some consumer protection) however it will cost more, probably about £40 to
£50 more ($55 - $75). Try the following sites to check the dealers www.mandp.com or www.burwin.co.uk.
The fairing is not shown on either but I know they supply it so you will have to make inquiries to
them. If you are a MZRC club member Burwin will probably give you a 10% discount. At worst tell Burwins I recommended you to them. I was and still am a regular customer and there is no harm in asking for a
discount. Good luck with your shopping and let me know how you get on.

When fitting the fairing you will need an extra pair of hands at times to hold the faring in place and allow at
least a day to fit it as I believe it can be a bit fiddly. One thing which the dealer who fitted mine did was to
drill a hole just below the headlight. This was to allow for headlight adjustment when the fairing was in
place. Something the instructions omit.

Hi Nicholas,
Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed your article on the ownership of your MZ, I stumbled across it when I did a search for Coburn and Hughes. It was such a refreshing change from the usual 'My bike's faster than yours' stuff!. I have only ever owned one MZ, that was a 150 about 22 years ago, I used it to commute 5-6 miles and found it fun, reliable and economical, and it handled amazingly well, too. It had the added bonus, of having pnuemant tyres which were so stiff that when they became punctured, they would still support the bike and rider adequately enough to get home, even the rear!.
My current 'everyday' bike is a Yamaha XTZ660 which fulfils all of my needs, particularly as the Scott-oiler means that the chain is practically maintenance free.
I have been a motorcyclist for nearly 30 years, I've commuted, toured, raced, dispatched, trialed, motor-crossed, enduro'ed, the lot (I still race a 620 Yamaha single and have a Ducati in the shed for sunny days) but I regard people like you as REAL motorcyclists!,
Thank you for your article, and long may your wheels turn beneath you!.
Yours Mike B.

I'm glad you enjoyed the article. I have been greatly surprised that the site has had over 570 original
hits since 1/11/00 when I introduced the hit counter. These have been from all around the world and
I have had feed back from Yugoslavia and USA. Like yourself, most of the hits originate from people
searching general headings, but it is still a surprise people elect to view the site, on average 8 a day.

I currently ride a Honda CB500X (see www.bikegroups.com/group/group.cfm?GID=106466 CB500 riders)
which replaced the MuZ 18 months ago. Despite obvious performance benefits and improved fuel
consumption (60-70mpg) servicing, insurance, tyre and chain costs have been rather steep on top
of the purchase price. I am therefore planning to return to the world of MZ's this spring when
hopefully I can get a reasonable price for a 20,000 mile bike.

I must admit I have another 6 years to go before my 30 years of motorcycling, however I have covered
over 200,000 miles in that time. My experience has not been as diverse as your own because the majority of
those miles have been covered on the Honda CD200T (70,000+ miles) and Saxon Tour (84,000 miles.).
As for being a REAL motorcyclist most people probably think I am a real nut as I set off at 7 am in the
morning for a 37 mile ride in temperatures as low as -5 degrees, torrential rain and the occasional
snow storm. But for sheer pleasure in all types of traffic and road conditions there is nothing to bet
the interactive experience of riding a motorcycle whatever the size. It is as skillful, if not more so, to
trickle through slow moving traffic occasionally stopping but maintaining perfect balance without
having to put your feet down as it is to red line a bike down an empty straight motorway. But give me
a warm overcast day and dry twisty country roads I am in heaven.

Unfortunately for the likes of me, the big market at the moment which every one aims at is the person
with a big wad of cash who wants 160+ performance for 2,000 miles a year and is not bothered at that
mileage about running costs. Hence it is currently cheaper to run a small car than the average mid size
motorbike. On the bright side there are a lot more scooters which means motorcycles in general and the
people who ride them are becoming more acceptable to the general public which will benefit us all.

My ideal bike is unlikely ever to be built. It would have a similar chassis to the Saxon Tour with a
economical 250-300cc 4 stroke engine capable of returning 100 mpg at a steady 70 mph with a top
speed of about 100 mph. It may sound ridiculous but my CD200 always returned 100 mpg running between
60-65 mph with an all time best of 125 mpg cruising at 65 mph 2 up on dual carriageways.

Enough of my chatter, did you find out what you wanted to know about Coburn & Hughes? I ask a that is where I bought the CB500 and have it serviced.

Life with a Motorcycle does not seem to have changed much. It has been some years since I had a bike on the road, and much of your experiences and comparisons were reminiscent of my own. The idiosyncracies of each bike, experiences with Dealers, all pretty much the same love-hate story.

The RAC 24 hour Rallies, and the cold fingers of rain trickling down inside the collar of my Barbour Jacket, as I pondered how to get 'it' to take me home. The homemade fixes for manufacturing short comings.

The wiring harness shorting on the frame problem was common back then, and it was almost default practice within the first 6 months to pop the Tank & Seat off, and go over the Connector blocks with pliers to ensure a tight fit, a smear of paraffin wax to seal out water, then thread 2ft chunks cut from bicycle inner tube over the harness sections prior to taping them firmly on the tubes. Lengths plastic electrical sleeving over the rear frame wiring cured chafing there. A piece of rubber garden hose between steering head and headlight housing was a common cure for problems in this area.

Once every 2-3 months, weekend maintenance included dismantling the nipple end of Brake, Clutch & Throttle cables from their controls, fill a balloon with oil, and pop it over the end of the cable. Retain balloon with a rubber band, and prop the ballloon as high as possible above the cable - then let gravity do its job over night.

This was a good time to do Chains, which were removed, cleaned with Paraffin, dried off with a rag and coiled to fit inside a shortbread biscuit tin. Prior to this, the biscuit tin was filled with low melting grease and dry graphite lubricant from Halfords. Warm the mix over a camping stove and stir the graphite in before allowing to cool. Place the coiled chain on top of the congealed grease, and warm until melting - the chain would sink through the melting grease - air between the links would rise with the heat, and 'wick' the grease through the joints in the process. A 10 minute soak, and peal the chain out before turning off the heat - suspend the Chain from a handy rafter in the garden shed over the Tin of grease and the excess would run off ready for next time. Chains were always Reynolds back then, and lasted a year - since they cost a weeks pay, sometimes more - I do not remember ever breaking one. Best of all, this method left only residual grease on the outside, and did not spray all over the rear Tirewall.

Hi Jack

Thanks for dropping me a line. At least I know I changed my e-mail address on the site. I was thinking the other day it needed changing as I had changed addresses to rid myself of spam. Well one less job to do.

I'm glad you were sucked in to to the experience. I still end up reading more than I should when I do my very infrequent updates.

The answer to your question was yes, it was East German changing from MZ to MuZ after the wall came down. MuZ now produce hitech 4 stroke motorcycles usually based on Yamaha engines. The old 2 strokes are now produced in Turkey by Kanuni. Changes in "Type Approval" (more EC red tape) and pressure on improving emissions are making life for 2 strokes difficult, but according to a recent report by a dealer in the MZ Riders Magazine there is still life in them yet. Funds allowing, I hope to buy a second hand one next year for weekend use.

The days of home maintenance as you describe are also almost over as well, with riders having little choice than to pay £30.00+ an hour for a "technician" to service their 16 valve, four cylinder, twin cam, fuel injected, electronic ignition, engined motorcycle with catalytic exhaust and 6 pot , twin disc, antidive, linked braking systems.

The chain lube described ended up being marketed in a suitable tin, as I used it for my honda Benly chain, which I heated over a Gaz stove.

The MuZ just had high melting point Lithium grease.

When I have finished decorating (probably when I retire in 20 years) I hope to get some more pictures on the site, especially of a special I saw at the BMF Rally many moons ago.

Home Page (part 1)	First Impressions (part 2)
The Dark Side (part 3)	The Good, the Bad and the I can live with that (part 4)

Home Page (part 1)	First Impressions (part 2)
The Dark Side (part 3)	The Good, the Bad and the I can live with that (part 4)

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