Racing THE "BIKES"

THE BIKES

FOR MZ'S HISTORY AND SKORPION TIPS GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE!

!COMING SOON AN ARTICLE ON STEVES MZ BK 350!

We reckon the Skorpion is the best value track bike you can have! Cheap to buy at around 900 quid it will get you started racing. Zero maintenance, well Halfords best synthetic oil now and then, batlax bt90s are the best tyres, ebc pads on the front, dont know about the back brake, never used it, dont even know if it works! Four pot grimeca dual opposed callipers and a massive disc are all you need on the track.

The skorpion handles like a dream, as you would expect from a frame created by Tigcraft and Dave Pearce in collaboration with English design team Seymour Powell the same people behind the legendary Norton F1, remember Trevor Nation? This bike has pedigree... The engine is a Yamaha xtz 660, raptor power! Loads of torque, 42lb.ft@5250 with max power of 48bhp@6250 ,top speed of around 106mph a nice safe speed for us sad old farts!

Suspension is paoli non adjustable 41mm at the front and a bilstein four way preload monoshock unit at the rear, all standard units on the skorpion, the front forks are a little soft but adequate enough, i've got progressive springs and 20 sae oil in mine but Johns is standard. We fitted our own 10mm fork brace as the standard one is a little thin!  On the track the skorpion is a dream, we both regularly get riders coming to us in the paddock saying how fast the bikes are around Gerards at Mallory, our mate rides an R6 but he can’t match us round there, ok, he gets away a bit down Kirkby but not by much!!  Our best lap time is 1.05, ok, not earth shattering but not bad for a totally standard 660 single, you will never be embarrassed on this MZ, we reckon its a genuine dark horse. Go and get one, join the team, and find out for yourself.... See you next season !

New for 2007 John's bike fitted with dynojet kit, will it make a difference, lets wait and see.

The motorcycles are special, or at least we think they are, and we are trying to raise enough interest in racing these machines so that we can establish a "class" at local motorcycle race meetings.

BEFORE

AFTER

 

JOHNS BIKE ..................................................................................STEVES BIKE

 

BIKE TIPS

Brake Pads: When changing the front pads on the Skorpion I discovered that, if you buy the recommended EBC or Ferodo pads, you have to take a file to them to open out the holes at the top of the pad so that the pin fits through them. This is, apparently, what your dealer does when you put the bike in for a service. I didn’t fancy this too much so bought myself a set from Hein Gericke, having checked them against the pin (and MZ are listed in their catalogue). I didn’t need the file. They fitted without any hassle. I know which ones I’ll be buying in the future.

 

MZ HISTORY

 In 1907, a Danish engineer, Jorgen Skafte Rasmussen, started the first company in Zschopau which dealt with the production of engines. He built the first steam-engined car, under the name of DKW (Dampf-Kraft-Wagen). 15 years later, the first of many two-stroke motorcycles left the production line at Zschopau.

In 1932 DKW joined with three other Saxonian motor manufacturers, Audi, Horch and Wanderer to form AUTO UNION. The four ring trademark, signifying the merger of the four companies, is still used today by Audi.

Before the second world war, the Zschopau factory was the world's leading producer of two-stroke engines and motorcycles. In 1945, when Germany was divided up by the Allies, Zschopau became part of East Germany and the DKW company was dismantled by the Soviet Army. In 1956, however, the company was rebuilt and renamed as MZ (Motorradwerk Zschopau), and went back into the manufacture of two-stroke motorcycles, producing 80 000 machines a year. In 1983, total output passed the 2 million motorcycle mark.

In 1989, after the re-unification of Germany, MZ was put under the control of Treuhandanstalt, a holding which was to privatise the company. In 1992, a private investor was found and MZ (Motorrad und Zweiradwerk ) GmbH was formed. The management realised that new markets had to be explored to enable the company to succeed in a free market economy, without the government subsidies supporting the old two-stroke operations. The launch of the stylish single-cylinder Skorpion models was a brave move away from the traditional commuter models associated with the company's history.

The first years of the MZ company were not easy, with new products in new markets with a new image being produced in a new factory, change was the only constant. In 1996, a Malaysian company Hong Leong bought MZ and the resultant massive investment from the new parents has stabilised the company and allowed them to look forward again. New projects include new models, new engines and a major involvement in racing.

The Skorpion caused a sensation when it was previewed in 1992, winning several design awards. Originally, this lightweight sports single was to be Rotax powered, but by the time the new model reached production, the engine had been uprated to the 660cc Yamaha five-valve single used in the Tenere. There were five versions of the Skorpion, the unfaired Tour, the original Sport, the fully faired cup, an uprated high-specification Replica and the fully faired and luggage-equipped Traveller