My first impression of the MZ was of a tractor on two wheels. When I saw the ignition key, my cobweb-like brain recalled the image of a Zetor tractor key - exact match! The MZ had retained most of its paint and the alloy had not corroded to the same degree as short-lived Japs.
The vendor wanted £345. I gave the ETZ a good look over, managing not to fall instantly in love with its eccentric appearance. The only obvious problem was a busted mirror. I demanded a test ride, so he wheeled it out of the garage and spent ten minutes trying to kick it over. Eventually, he bump started it and I got aboard. I selected first and gingerly let the clutch engage. Nothing, nothing, bam! One mini-wheelie later, I was off. After a non-eventful test ride, all I noticed was the rev counter stuck on zero. It was always difficult to gauge a machine on a brief run when trying to get used to the controls.
I offered him £250 but after haggling he wouldn't budge below £300. I only had £275 in the entire universe, so I left him my phone number in case he changed his mind. One month later I was still desperate to find a larger bike than my wife's GP100. I was working further away, looking at 400 miles a week commuting, something that seemed likely to blow the little Suzuki's heart. I went back to see if the stubborn git had sold the MZ. He hadn't and I still had to pay £300 for it. He bump started it for me and I rode home.
I assumed that the bump starts were due to a flat battery, so I decided to recharge it. The battery was under the right-hand sidepanel, held on by a key that had snapped off in the lock. A combination of brute force, ignorance and a large screwdriver pulled it off. The battery wasn't just flat, it was dried out and held together by tape. I should have checked before I bought the bike, but it was a useful bit of minor design, typical of MZ, that it would still run with a naff battery.
After replacing the battery, I looked forward to some serious commuting, and the gasps of admiration from fellow workers. On the way I noticed that the rear brake was a joke and that the front tyre shook on sharp left-handers then tried to break away. When I arrived at work I had to suffer the tirade of piss taking that goes with MZ ownership, but I loved it.
The ETZ felt much more solid on the road than the little GP. Its larger dimensions made it much more comfortable. Despite its Iron Curtain origins, handling was better than most commuters and performance well able to keep up with the traffic even on the open road.
Over the next week I found that the engine cut out if you used main beam or if you kept over 4000rpm for long, or if you went through a puddle. The wheelies were due to a frayed clutch cable. Out of my next pay packet I bought a new Avon tyre, clutch cable and front pads. I changed the 50/65W headlight for a 40/45W, changed the oil, replaced the metal spark plug cap with a plastic one and cleaned the hole in the fuel cap.
I found the front end was as steady as a rock and the back tyre (cheap and Chinese) broke away after hardly any lean, but I could live with it. The MZ could be flicked back on line with reasonable ease. Three months and 5000 trouble free miles later, the only maintenance I did was to fill it with petrol and cheap two stroke oil, and to occasionally adjust the chain.
I lost my job, so my MZ had a little holiday, until my wife passed her test. She started riding to work on it, about 150 miles a week. About two weeks later she complained that the kickstart was slipping. I examined it and decided to take the left cover off the engine to have a tinker. I removed the rev counter drive, the oil pump pipe and the screws that held the cover on. It wouldn't come off. I hit it with a block of wood and wiggled the kickstart. It moved about 4mm.
One hour of frustration later it was still on. I had another look and decided the rev counter worm gear was holding the panel on. I decided to undo it, but rather than coming undone it just turned the engine over. I then removed the right-hand casing, tied rope around the generator to jam the engine. I turned the worm gear, the bodge seemed to be working so I gave the spanner a thump which had everything rotating. It gave me a shagged generator.
The rope had slipped off the rotor and smashed the carbon slip-rings on the generator. It seems that to obtain everlasting wear, MZ made the slip-rings and brushes out of very brittle carbon. Replacements were not available, a whole generator costs about £100! A ridiculous amount given how much I’d paid for the bike.
I eventually got the worm off by filling the piston chamber with two stroke and putting the plug back in. When I turned the worm, the oil locked the piston before TDC, so I could loosen the worm. The kickstart was okay, just the teeth on the meshing ratchet were worn flat on the crown.
I couldn't afford to buy the replacement parts, so I placed an advert for a knackered MZ. Three weeks later I received a call from a bloke 200 miles away who had one, with a good generator, for £50. As it was the only response I had, I went for it. When I saw the bike I was quite happy to pay £50. It had new Pirellis, a good generator, three good indicators, mirrors and a decent battery. The previous owner had undone the neutral detent when trying to change the oil, then selected a gear before replacing the detent. He realised something was wrong when he only had a couple of gears, but the gearbox had seized before he could do anything about it. It had burnt out the clutch, snapped his chain and dropped him on the tarmac. He wasn't willing to make the effort to put the bike back on the road.
I loaded the donor bike into my van and brought it home. My MZ was back on the road within a week. Looking at the other MZ I could see things that were wrong on my bike. My centrestand had sagged, the rear brake linkage was broken and bent back into shape. I swapped the bits over and I also treated it to a new chain. MZ sprockets seem indestructible. The bike is mechanically sound now and I get a grin every time I ride it. The Pirelli tyre was a massive improvement over the Chinese rubbish on the rear. The MZ seemed to sing along full of joy.
The bike has a top speed of about 90mph, although the clock only goes to 80mph. Fuel consumption is about 50mpg if I thrash it, which is pretty good. I put a fairing on it which knocked the top speed down to 80mph but saved my fingers from freezing to death last winter. Performance is sufficient to eat Honda Benlys and CB250 Superdreams but Yamaha RD125s can be rather difficult.
Strangely, I always get a wave from other bikers, even those on Gold Wings. In the future I intend to put a better regulator in it (one of the MZ's few dodgy components), which might let me fit a better light. I'm also hoping to put on electronic ignition, possibly a digitally mapped one, which I will have to build myself. The existing ignition has no advance/retard mechanism, so when the points are set it's for peak power...... if you twist the throttle hard in fourth all that happens is groans from the engine and a deepening of the exhaust note. You can, however, set the ignition for better acceleration and a lower top speed.
Also, I intend respraying the panels and tank off the spare bike. When summer comes I'll remove the fairing and put on the resprayed bits, so I'll have some posing power for the sunny weather, which is when I really enjoy my bike. It must be one of the best fun ways of getting to work cheaply.
Rob Howes
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Cheap and cheerful are the best I've heard anyone say about the MZ 250 despite it shining brightly and going okay. The most lampooned feature was the oddly shaped petrol tank. I can only assume it's very cheap to make that way. The new MZ's have a much more functional combined tank and half fairing - and a higher price. Petrol tank aside, the ETZ exudes functionality. Gaitered front forks, fully enclosed chain, hardly any chrome to rust, a logical rear drum and a sensible riding position that only BMW better.
The left-hand side kickstart was the first item of quaintness noticed. It's so awkward that I was never able to start the engine from the saddle, always had to stand awkwardly alongside and use my right leg. Not much pressure was needed, usually starting first or second kick. The cold motor liked to stall at junctions for the first ten minutes, which meant I had to enrage cagers by hopping off.
The two stroke motor always smoked heavily when started up but soon settled down to a mild haze. Doubtless, the ecological lobby will end up banning this type of motor and we'll all end up on Rotax engined MZ's. There's a lot to be said for a well set up stroker, though. The ETZ knocks out 21 horses in a spirited and civilized manner, only running a bit rough just above tickover, when it also threatens to oil the plug during sustained town riding - announced by a slight stutter and cleared up by a wicked wrench on the throttle.
Top speed is dead on 80mph and it's even possible to pretend that this is the cruising speed under favourable conditions. The engine might vibrate but it's absorbed by the mounting system, which hinges the engine at the rear with a vibration absorber fitted between the rear of the cylinder head and frame. Like the full chain enclosure, it's simple and sophisticated at the same time.
Achieving the top speed often required an excessive amount of use of the five speed gearbox when riding into winds or up hills, although 70mph was easily attained and sustained. On some roads I never managed to get into top gear. The gearchange was better than a BMW boxer, wasn't so slow that it couldn't keep up with the rate at which the engine revved. It wasn't light like a Japanese gearbox but I could live with it. High mileage MZ's are slightly famous for rumbling gearbox bearings but that doesn't happen until well after 30,000 miles.
Swinging around town on the MZ for the first couple of weeks I was thankful for the single Brembo front disc brake. Talk about putting the front forks down on their stops! The front tyre would slide with sudden violence that had my heart quaking. It was also easy to lock up the back wheel.
On one occasion the lights changed but I decided to charge across the junction. Then I saw that a car was going to cross my path. Both brakes on as hard as they would go. Both tyres sliding away and I thought I was going to die. On and off with the brakes a few times, the whole chassis feeling twisted up. I stopped way past the white line feeling like a right plonker. The snappy acceleration up to 50mph did encourage a fast pace through town.
That was in the dry on 5000 mile old Pneumats. Tyres that had a terrible reputation in the wet. With this in mind I rode very gently in the rain and didn't really experience any spitefulness except for a very remote feel from the road. They would probably have lasted another 15000 miles but a cheap set of Avons persuaded me to do the decent thing. Much more grip and a safer feel in all conditions. The back lasted for 12000 miles and the front has yet to wear out.
The tyres were square section that made the MZ feel like it was falling off the edges of the rubber when really hustling through the bends but the grip was tenacious and the bike only weighed 300lbs. Unlike most commuters, the ETZ gave off an aura of general competence that was well matched to its speed.
The suspension could turn harsh over bumpy roads and didn't quite know what to do when attacked by pot-holes but that was even more true of things like Honda Benlys, which were just plain floppy. The rear shocks were the weakest part of the chassis, not up to taking the mass of a pillion and the springs shedding their chrome at the first taste of an English winter.
I also thought that the swinging arm mounts were a touch elastic as a weave would come in at 75 to 80mph on bumpy roads. Nothing outrageous, but it spoilt the otherwise fine feel of the bike. I never did get around to replacing either the shocks or swinging arm bearings (the clock now reads 23000 miles), preferring to adapt my riding to its intrigues than spend my hard earnt dosh on non-essential items.
Many find the MZ the kind of machine that they can bond to and keep for a long time. I didn't find myself particularly enamoured of the motor, the two stroke rattlings, the plaintive exhaust and clouds of pollutants failed to win me over to its cause for all its practicality and useability.
Fuel varied between 50 and 70mpg but averaged out at around 55mpg. 70mpg only resulted if I pottered along at 30mph out of town, which was as boring as it was dangerous. 70 to 75mph cruising gave dead on 50mpg. Range was around 150 miles which matched the comfort of the seat. It was rather shiny, letting me slide around all over the shop and the tank wasn't shaped so that it could easily be gripped between my knees. A couple of times I ended on top of the tank after hard abuse of the front disc. It hurt!
A lot less painful was keeping the bike clean. Paint was as good as the best Japanese efforts and always polished up well. The alloy was better quality than most, easy to keep shiny. The ETZ still looks good. The enclosed chain did a lot to help keep the grime off the bike (as did reasonable mudguards) and the chain lasted for 17500 miles with just the odd spray of lubricant. The chain isn't very easy to change, though, so it's not a good idea to neglect it until it breaks in the middle of nowhere.
With a rack for the camping gear, and a tubby pillion, going touring around Scotland was pushing the experience to the limits. Top speed was a mere 65mph and fuel was just 45mpg. Any kind of hill gave the motor a sullen note and a heavy amount of smoke was blown off. After 2000 miles of this abuse I was beginning to worry about its longevity but once back to solo riding, running was as good as ever. The pillion found the pegs on the swinging arm a bit disconcerting and wasn't willing to lean over with the bike. The back tyre squirming and distorting didn't inspire him.
In all honesty, I reckon the Rotax engined MZ has to be the better option, but they cost two to three times as much to buy. The kind of money that buys very interesting Japanese tackle. For a few hundred quid the ETZ 250's very hard to beat. I'll be keeping mine for a few more years yet as I can't afford the insurance for anything bigger.
H.K.L.
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I couldn't believe my luck. All the omens were in my favour. I couldn't have been luckier if a back cat wearing a golden horseshoe crossed my path whilst I was shagging Kim Basinger in a field of four leaf clovers. Everything suggested that this bike was going to be an absolute bargain. Okay, I know this sounds a little over the top, but you don't understand - I had gone to view a prospective purchase and for the first time ever....God wasn't washing his Harley. As for the MZ, that seemed pretty good as well.
The bike in question was a black MZ ETZ250 with 7000 miles on the clock. After a thorough going over and a bit of haggling, D735 TMR had the dubious pleasure of becoming my new toy. The good omens didn't last very long, however, and the little sod broke down on the way home. After doing the usual things, such as checking the spark and making sure petrol was getting through, she fired up again straight away. Wonderful - the bike had only been in my hands for five minutes and already there were the signs of one of those horrible elusive faults looming on the horizon. Or perhaps I was just being untowardly fatalistic? No chance.
For the next two weeks, the bike intermittently cut out without so much as I'm about to piss you off by cutting out again, which in my view would at least have given me some sort of warning. I imagine that the NSR750 had a facility whereby the bike will converse with its rider in such a manner as to warn of impending doom. Of course, the swine would never cut out when riding on an empty or straight road. Annoyance factor being close to maximum meant that it would only do it while in heavy traffic or on roundabouts.
Every time I got off the bike to try to fix it, the ignition light would cheerfully come back on (I should imagine the NSR would say something like, har, har, har - bet that pissed you off, serves you right for having more money than sense), indicating all systems go until the next roundabout. After two weeks I cleaned the whole electrical system from top to bottom, made sure that all connections were spotless before putting them back together again.
The fault never recurred. Although I can't be certain, I think the fuse-box was the culprit as the fuses were extremely dirty and probably not making a very good contact - corroded fuse-boxes being quite common on old MZ's, therefore worth checking and a useful bit of knowledge when buying a non-runner or poor running MZ - you may get lucky and pick up a bargain for the price of a new fuse!
With such minor misdemeanours sorted out, the bike went into service, taking me to work and back over the summer, and to college during term time. Summer commuting was about 30 miles a day, while college was a shade over 300 miles away (Bristol to Sunderland). In all this time, I never managed to start the bike first kick - not once. After a few weeks of ownership I gave up. Living on a slight hill, I always bumped her into life. Much to my annoyance, anyone who I challenged to try to start it invariably managed it first kick. I never did work out what I was doing wrong as the MZ 125 I'd owned previously never failed me on the kickstart. I suppose it was just getting its revenge for me stopping its fun at roundabouts after I cleaned the fuses.
Before my first trip to college on the machine, I fitted a pair of panniers. I managed to buy a used set of throw-overs for a tenner and as there was a rack already fitted to the bike, I attached them to its frame. A piece of wood was placed inside each pannier, which was bolted through the panniers to the rack. I've used this method on several bikes as I went off throw-overs when an empty pair once fell off my X5 200, became attached to the following car's bumper, never to be seen again.
The first ride up to college was achieved with an enormous amount of luggage on the bike. The panniers were packed, large tank-bag was filled and various bags were tied all over the seat. Looking at the bike, it was impossible to imagine that I would actually find a place to sit. As it happened, I couldn't and had to remove a bag - but the point I'm trying to make is that an impressive load was taken with no discernible effect on the handling of the machine.
Prior to loading the bike, I stiffened the rear suspension. This is done by turning a lever on the bottom of the suspension units. These are made of rolled up silver paper, or some equivalent soft metal, and one of them broke. Turning the collar could then only be achieved by use of a massive pair of stilsons. Even if you never take a passenger, or tons of luggage, it may be worthwhile turning and greasing these units occasionally, to avoid seizure.
I was initially a little bit worried about parking the bike in Sunderland due to my previous experience with an old Ford Capri, which was broken into a couple of times a week. I needn't have worried, however, because with a little pushing and shoving, and a great deal of violence, I could squeeze the bike into the house and park it in the hallway. The landlord was none too pleased when he saw it there, but what the hell, the old geezer still owes me all of fifty quid.
Just before one particularly memorable journey to Bristol, the bike developed a nasty rattle on the left side of the engine. Because of its location, and because it became louder when the clutch was pulled in, I naturally assumed it was something to do with the clutch. Not having a socket set to hand, I decided to ride all the way to Bristol at a steady 50mph on the motorway.
On this particular day, God wasn't just washing his own Harley, he had very kindly offered to wash next door's as well - it was hammering it down. The journey took more hours than I care to remember. A few days later I took the bike to a dealer in Bristol, who confirmed that the rattle was probably due to the clutch and quoted a very low price for fixing it.
Did they see me coming, or what? They phoned me up to say that they had stripped the clutch but couldn't find the problem, which suggested that the main bearings were at fault. Because they had already started I let them carry on. With new main bearings fitted, they told me all the work that would be necessary for the MOT - front bearings, rear tyre and a fork seal.
When everything was done I was presented with a bill for £320, almost as much as I'd paid for the bike in the first place. I have never used a dealer for any repair since and if I can avoid it, I never will. I never found out the reason for the failure of the bearing (only one failed, hence the rattle being only on one side. It looked like oil starvation, but the other bearing was perfect, as was the oil pump, which with only 12000 miles on the clock shouldn't have been surprising. I still find it quite amazing that the engine lasted a 300 mile trip in such a state.
Apart from this little episode, the MZ performed okay. Acceleration is fairly brisk up to 60mph, but once reached opening the throttle achieves little other than more noise, smoke and vibration as the bike wheezes its way up to 80mph. Fuel consumption's 60 to 65mpg - acceptable but I'd expect a little more from a commuter. Handling, however, is extremely good, and I doubt that there are many commuter machines on the market that would handle as well as an MZ. Brakes are pretty good, the front disc being a big improvement over the drums.
The bike also makes a surprisingly good tourer. Well over 200 miles can be achieved to the tankful and the seat's far more comfy than many larger machines that I could mention. My 300 mile jaunts usually left me with little discomfort. The time the bike impressed me most, however, was when I didn't ride it for a year and it was left outside with just a bit of plastic covering it. To my amazement the only sign of rust was on the downpipe - try that with your average Jap machine and I think you'd be treated to a different sight.
On the whole, I would say that the MZ fulfils its role reasonably well, has some features that you would not expect from such a budget priced machine and due to its inherent build quality, represents good value for money. However, there is a sad end to this tale, one that has radically diminished my respect for MZ's. The main bearings started to rattle again (only 2000 miles after being replaced). Considering that the 125 I owned previously had also died from mains failure, this does not represent a very impressive record. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if I have another of these machines one day, but it will only be if finances dictate - 'nuff said!
Stuart Pitt