By January 1993 I finally had the chance to buy a bike. A hunch-backed solicitor had written off my car and I'd managed to extract a decent amount of dosh from his insurance company. I hadn’t passed my test by then so when I saw a clean ’88 GP100 for 380 notes I went for it. It had been owned by an old gent for the last five years and was immaculate with a top box and screen, which were soon ripped off. The clock read only 10500 miles, seemed to be genuine.
The bike wasn't actually that easy to ride for a novice. The clutch was quite dead in feel and there was bugger all low down power. Still, once it gets going it’s quick up to 50mph, holds 55 to 60mph all day long. Unless, it’s a windy day. I once went from Exeter to Southampton into a gale - the little bastard refused to put more than 40mph on the clock.
I'd only intended to keep the bike until I'd passed the test, then sell it for something like a YPVS, but when you're eighteen there always seems to be so many other things to spend money on. Which helps explain why I kept it for over a year.
I passed my test after three weeks and having a bit of spare time from school (I'd been suspended for reasons I won't go into here), went to visit a couple of prospective universities. The journey took me from Bath to Southampton and then on to London. Fortunately I’d invested in a decent set of waterproofs - it pissed down the whole way, which wasn't too much fun.
The bike was alright, totally reliable and it kept up with A road traffic, although overtaking was a bit dodgy. I even got 80mph on the clock out of it, on the M25, slipstreaming the traffic. I passed a bloke on a ZX-10, who looked a bit surprised at having a GP100 overtake him in the fast lane.
In the time I owned the bike I put just over 12000 miles on the clock. For most of the time the GP was reasonably trouble free and enjoyable. The only real problem was that rather than using it as a town commuter, the treatment it received was more along the lines of a 600 race replica, or similar. I did a hell of a lot of long journeys, often two-up. Or, worse still, in the company of my two mates on a 350YPVS and FZR600.
They did tend to get annoyed waiting for me. I just had a good laugh at their speeding bans and insurance premiums. That said, even I managed to get done on the GP when I was late for work. 57mph in a 30mph limit, for which I received a largish fine and three points, despite trying my best to grovel to the Nazi bastard. He looked like, were he in a less civilised society, he’d have willingly shot me for my crime. Annoying, considering what football hooligans get away with.
There are quite a lot of reports of the GP’s handling being as jumpy as a monkey on speed. It’s true that it’s a bit skittish but when everything's in good order it really isn't bad. Indeed, on my favourite roundabout I could even get my knee down. This isn’t on standard tyres, they really are shit and should be lobbed at the first opportunity. Otherwise, it’s suicide the first time it rains. I found Metz’s were good. First, I had a pair of slightly oversize ME77’s, which weren't bad but the back sometimes let go with no warning whatsoever, depositing yours truly on his arse.
First time this happened was on a large roundabout at 50mph. Fortunately, damage to self and bike was minimal. However, the rear tyre wore out incredibly quickly - 3500 to 4000 miles of hard riding. The replacement ME22 was even grippier but lasted an even shorter amount of time and cost nearly £40. You can see why most people stay with the cheap tyres.
I must admit that my enthusiastic riding led to quite a few spills, usually without too much pain. Although I was well pissed off when I scraped my prized Shoei. My school went on and on about the dangers of motorcycling - not helped by the time I performed a monster wheelie right in front of the head when he was showing a group of prospective parents around the school. Great fun!
Actually, the bike was quite wheelie prone, especially two-up. The little bastard nearly flipped once in a sharpish getaway from the lights. Thus failing to impress a group of nubiles, as I flailed about trying to avoid a crash. The GP was actually surprisingly useful for pulling. OK, it looks crap but they all enjoy a ride on the back and the high frequency vibes make them feel quite kinky, which can be used to good effect.
The GP was used really hard over the summer of ’93 for various holidays. A group of us went to Devon, the ride down to Salcombe on a sunny day was gorgeous, pulling in at the odd pub for a half and a fag. We went to Torquay one night and on the ride there we overtook a couple of lads on XL125’s and I then chased my mate on his FZR down a twisty hill full of 40-50mph bends. The GP’s light mass and limitless ground clearance meant that he couldn't lose-me, much to his humiliation.
On long journeys the bike was too slow but comfort wasn't too bad. And, it was reliable, so I decided to put the GP to the ultimate test. A friend said that she was going inter-railing over the summer and did I want to stay in Germany for a week? The place was Amberg, near Munich, and I decided to go on the GP.
The bike was loaded up with rack, panniers, and a rucksack on the tank - to bring it to Euro tourer spec, and I set off for Dover. Not being a complete maniac I bought some breakdown insurance in case the worst happened. I arrived in Calais at 3pm, set off in the direction of Brussels, which took about three hours, then carried on to Liege. Here I was becoming a bit worried because the bike seemed to struggle in the intense heat and the tank range was only 100 miles. In Belgium on a Sunday afternoon with everything shut, that ain’t too handy. Anyway, I reached Spa by 8pm and started to look for somewhere to kip, which was fruitless as everywhere was shut or full.
I felt like Mary and Joseph but eventually met some lads on a CR500, who then rode their illegal bike at a maniac speed on the public roads to show me a hotel. Mad, those ’crossers don't half go some. Unfortunately, it was too expensive so I ended up kipping in a bloody field, was woken up by a cow the next day. I made Amberg that day, having done about 500 miles, mostly on the autobahn! I was shattered but my hosts were great. A shower and a few German beers soon sorted me out.
The next week was spent being as lazy as possible, but I can only say that if you get the chance, go to Germany, although preferably not on a GP100. The scenery and towns were really impressive and the Krauts, much to my surprise, were dead friendly. Diet was limited to sausage and beer, the women automatically assume that if you speak English then you are an American GI and were therefore pretty keen.
Unfortunately, all too soon it was time to return to good old Blighty. I'd decided to take three days over the journey back to have an easier ride. I got to Koblenz on the first day, stayed in an astonishingly seedy hotel with a landlord who kept giving me the eye - I made sure I kept the door locked that night. So, I left bloody early the next day, soon found myself buzzing down pleasant country roads.
I started becoming worried when I kept seeing traffic signs of a crashed bike by the side of the road, with an obscure German message under it. Turned out it was because this was the road to Nurburgring and the police were warning bikers to slow down. I decided to visit the historic circuit and turned right in at its entrance.
The bike wasn't actually that easy to ride for a novice. The clutch was quite dead in feel and there was bugger all low down power. Still, once it gets going it’s quick up to 50mph, holds 55 to 60mph all day long. Unless, it’s a windy day. I once went from Exeter to Southampton into a gale - the little bastard refused to put more than 40mph on the clock.
I'd only intended to keep the bike until I'd passed the test, then sell it for something like a YPVS, but when you're eighteen there always seems to be so many other things to spend money on. Which helps explain why I kept it for over a year.
I passed my test after three weeks and having a bit of spare time from school (I'd been suspended for reasons I won't go into here), went to visit a couple of prospective universities. The journey took me from Bath to Southampton and then on to London. Fortunately I’d invested in a decent set of waterproofs - it pissed down the whole way, which wasn't too much fun.
The bike was alright, totally reliable and it kept up with A road traffic, although overtaking was a bit dodgy. I even got 80mph on the clock out of it, on the M25, slipstreaming the traffic. I passed a bloke on a ZX-10, who looked a bit surprised at having a GP100 overtake him in the fast lane.
In the time I owned the bike I put just over 12000 miles on the clock. For most of the time the GP was reasonably trouble free and enjoyable. The only real problem was that rather than using it as a town commuter, the treatment it received was more along the lines of a 600 race replica, or similar. I did a hell of a lot of long journeys, often two-up. Or, worse still, in the company of my two mates on a 350YPVS and FZR600.
They did tend to get annoyed waiting for me. I just had a good laugh at their speeding bans and insurance premiums. That said, even I managed to get done on the GP when I was late for work. 57mph in a 30mph limit, for which I received a largish fine and three points, despite trying my best to grovel to the Nazi bastard. He looked like, were he in a less civilised society, he’d have willingly shot me for my crime. Annoying, considering what football hooligans get away with.
There are quite a lot of reports of the GP’s handling being as jumpy as a monkey on speed. It’s true that it’s a bit skittish but when everything's in good order it really isn't bad. Indeed, on my favourite roundabout I could even get my knee down. This isn’t on standard tyres, they really are shit and should be lobbed at the first opportunity. Otherwise, it’s suicide the first time it rains. I found Metz’s were good. First, I had a pair of slightly oversize ME77’s, which weren't bad but the back sometimes let go with no warning whatsoever, depositing yours truly on his arse.
First time this happened was on a large roundabout at 50mph. Fortunately, damage to self and bike was minimal. However, the rear tyre wore out incredibly quickly - 3500 to 4000 miles of hard riding. The replacement ME22 was even grippier but lasted an even shorter amount of time and cost nearly £40. You can see why most people stay with the cheap tyres.
I must admit that my enthusiastic riding led to quite a few spills, usually without too much pain. Although I was well pissed off when I scraped my prized Shoei. My school went on and on about the dangers of motorcycling - not helped by the time I performed a monster wheelie right in front of the head when he was showing a group of prospective parents around the school. Great fun!
Actually, the bike was quite wheelie prone, especially two-up. The little bastard nearly flipped once in a sharpish getaway from the lights. Thus failing to impress a group of nubiles, as I flailed about trying to avoid a crash. The GP was actually surprisingly useful for pulling. OK, it looks crap but they all enjoy a ride on the back and the high frequency vibes make them feel quite kinky, which can be used to good effect.
The GP was used really hard over the summer of ’93 for various holidays. A group of us went to Devon, the ride down to Salcombe on a sunny day was gorgeous, pulling in at the odd pub for a half and a fag. We went to Torquay one night and on the ride there we overtook a couple of lads on XL125’s and I then chased my mate on his FZR down a twisty hill full of 40-50mph bends. The GP’s light mass and limitless ground clearance meant that he couldn't lose-me, much to his humiliation.
On long journeys the bike was too slow but comfort wasn't too bad. And, it was reliable, so I decided to put the GP to the ultimate test. A friend said that she was going inter-railing over the summer and did I want to stay in Germany for a week? The place was Amberg, near Munich, and I decided to go on the GP.
The bike was loaded up with rack, panniers, and a rucksack on the tank - to bring it to Euro tourer spec, and I set off for Dover. Not being a complete maniac I bought some breakdown insurance in case the worst happened. I arrived in Calais at 3pm, set off in the direction of Brussels, which took about three hours, then carried on to Liege. Here I was becoming a bit worried because the bike seemed to struggle in the intense heat and the tank range was only 100 miles. In Belgium on a Sunday afternoon with everything shut, that ain’t too handy. Anyway, I reached Spa by 8pm and started to look for somewhere to kip, which was fruitless as everywhere was shut or full.
I felt like Mary and Joseph but eventually met some lads on a CR500, who then rode their illegal bike at a maniac speed on the public roads to show me a hotel. Mad, those ’crossers don't half go some. Unfortunately, it was too expensive so I ended up kipping in a bloody field, was woken up by a cow the next day. I made Amberg that day, having done about 500 miles, mostly on the autobahn! I was shattered but my hosts were great. A shower and a few German beers soon sorted me out.
The next week was spent being as lazy as possible, but I can only say that if you get the chance, go to Germany, although preferably not on a GP100. The scenery and towns were really impressive and the Krauts, much to my surprise, were dead friendly. Diet was limited to sausage and beer, the women automatically assume that if you speak English then you are an American GI and were therefore pretty keen.
Unfortunately, all too soon it was time to return to good old Blighty. I'd decided to take three days over the journey back to have an easier ride. I got to Koblenz on the first day, stayed in an astonishingly seedy hotel with a landlord who kept giving me the eye - I made sure I kept the door locked that night. So, I left bloody early the next day, soon found myself buzzing down pleasant country roads.
I started becoming worried when I kept seeing traffic signs of a crashed bike by the side of the road, with an obscure German message under it. Turned out it was because this was the road to Nurburgring and the police were warning bikers to slow down. I decided to visit the historic circuit and turned right in at its entrance.
Fuck me if I didn’t nearly get killed by a huge group of speeding Krauts
on race replicas joining the circuit. I parked up, scruffy jeans and jacket with tiny GP100 next to a Duke 851 and rider in full leathers. For some reason the inverse snobbery felt quite good.
After this, I carried on into Belgium, when just after I had overtaken a truck at about 60mph, the bike started to weave badly... at the worst possible moment. I was approaching a hairpin bend with a sheer drop off it. I braked as hard as possible, my fear inspired grip on the brake lever actually squealing the front tyre (normally impossible with the crap drum brake). I just made it round the bend by keeping the bike upright and hanging off.
I had a bloody puncture in the back tyre. Fortunately, I found a garage just down the road who repaired the tube for me at negligible cost. I then carried on to Brussels, kipped in a youth hostel, who insisted that I parked the bike in the lobby. Otherwise all the local urchins would've stripped it in no time.
Brussels is a pretty nice place, but it’s very easy to become lost - and it has some dodgy districts. By the end of the next day I was back in Bath, the bike having performed brilliantly. I did 2000 miles in two weeks with just one puncture, caused by the rear tyre being so worn. The chain had only needed two adjustments. Maybe not the best tourer ever, but it just proves that you can do it on any motorcycle.
Next, I went up to the Donnington GP in the company of my RD350 mounted mate, who managed to achieve 50mpg when following me. He did enjoy scaring me by going past as close as possible at 120mph - bastard. The Saturday night campsite was an eye-opener. Bloody crazy. The GP provided broadside slides and two-up wheelies.
However, on the way back disaster very nearly struck on the Fosse Way. My mate on the RD had gone ahead, racing a nutter on an FZR. I came across a youth on an RGV250 who couldn't ride to save his life. In my desperation to prove a case of skill over machinery I got the GP up to 80mph down a hill... unknown to me there were two S-bends at the bottom. I know I said that the GP’s handling was OK but at 80mph it’s different. Very bouncy, wobbly and almost brakeless. I just made it round the bends but only because nothing was coming the other way. On the next straight the git on the RGV flew past with a cheery wave. Talk about humiliated.
In September I moved to college in Southampton, from where I went to Brum to visit a mate and see the bike show. By the time we reached our destination, my pillion had such a sore bum she nearly slapped me. My mate who had the RD had received a two week ban for speeding. Had to sell it and buy a GP to afford the insurance. It was quite fun speeding around Brum together. I doubt many bikes are much faster around a busy town than the GP.
Unfortunately, the engine was becoming a bit rattly and by Christmas became so bad that after a journey to Brighton I stripped it down. Shot big-end. A bit extreme as it'd only done 22500 miles. Eventually, the engine was rebuilt but it leaked gearbox oil and the bike look scruffy, as well as having no tax and test. In addition, I was utterly skint so I sold it to a dealer for £225.
I was sad to see it go. GP’s are nice bikes if they are a late model with low miles. The bottom end of the market's a bit dodgy and overall build quality is low. They are fairly cheap to run. Mine was on the original brake shoes at 22500 miles, the chain did 15000 miles and the front tyre lasts forever. However, fuel’s only 60mpg and can even go under 50mpg if used very hard and rear tyre wear’s ridiculous. You must also remember that the electrics, especially the headlight, are bloody dangerous.
After this, I carried on into Belgium, when just after I had overtaken a truck at about 60mph, the bike started to weave badly... at the worst possible moment. I was approaching a hairpin bend with a sheer drop off it. I braked as hard as possible, my fear inspired grip on the brake lever actually squealing the front tyre (normally impossible with the crap drum brake). I just made it round the bend by keeping the bike upright and hanging off.
I had a bloody puncture in the back tyre. Fortunately, I found a garage just down the road who repaired the tube for me at negligible cost. I then carried on to Brussels, kipped in a youth hostel, who insisted that I parked the bike in the lobby. Otherwise all the local urchins would've stripped it in no time.
Brussels is a pretty nice place, but it’s very easy to become lost - and it has some dodgy districts. By the end of the next day I was back in Bath, the bike having performed brilliantly. I did 2000 miles in two weeks with just one puncture, caused by the rear tyre being so worn. The chain had only needed two adjustments. Maybe not the best tourer ever, but it just proves that you can do it on any motorcycle.
Next, I went up to the Donnington GP in the company of my RD350 mounted mate, who managed to achieve 50mpg when following me. He did enjoy scaring me by going past as close as possible at 120mph - bastard. The Saturday night campsite was an eye-opener. Bloody crazy. The GP provided broadside slides and two-up wheelies.
However, on the way back disaster very nearly struck on the Fosse Way. My mate on the RD had gone ahead, racing a nutter on an FZR. I came across a youth on an RGV250 who couldn't ride to save his life. In my desperation to prove a case of skill over machinery I got the GP up to 80mph down a hill... unknown to me there were two S-bends at the bottom. I know I said that the GP’s handling was OK but at 80mph it’s different. Very bouncy, wobbly and almost brakeless. I just made it round the bends but only because nothing was coming the other way. On the next straight the git on the RGV flew past with a cheery wave. Talk about humiliated.
In September I moved to college in Southampton, from where I went to Brum to visit a mate and see the bike show. By the time we reached our destination, my pillion had such a sore bum she nearly slapped me. My mate who had the RD had received a two week ban for speeding. Had to sell it and buy a GP to afford the insurance. It was quite fun speeding around Brum together. I doubt many bikes are much faster around a busy town than the GP.
Unfortunately, the engine was becoming a bit rattly and by Christmas became so bad that after a journey to Brighton I stripped it down. Shot big-end. A bit extreme as it'd only done 22500 miles. Eventually, the engine was rebuilt but it leaked gearbox oil and the bike look scruffy, as well as having no tax and test. In addition, I was utterly skint so I sold it to a dealer for £225.
I was sad to see it go. GP’s are nice bikes if they are a late model with low miles. The bottom end of the market's a bit dodgy and overall build quality is low. They are fairly cheap to run. Mine was on the original brake shoes at 22500 miles, the chain did 15000 miles and the front tyre lasts forever. However, fuel’s only 60mpg and can even go under 50mpg if used very hard and rear tyre wear’s ridiculous. You must also remember that the electrics, especially the headlight, are bloody dangerous.
By October 1994 I was once again in the fortunate position of being able
to buy another bike, courtesy of the nice people at the Student Loans Company (it's not just me that does that then! 2020 Ed.). My budget was about 600 notes for bike and insurance. I was thinking about something along the lines of a D125 or GP125. Nothing in good nick turned up, apart from a clean AR125 but it had received the big bore and spannie treatment, so I had to reluctantly knock it off my list as I couldn't afford any engine rebuilds.
This was how I came to be looking at an MZ 251. G reg, black and very good condition with full service history. Although not my first choice, for £385 it was the best option I’d seen and as it was my birthday I thought it'd make a nice treat. First impressions were mixed. It was very different from the GP. Very large and tall, whilst the engine was low revving, not making any power beyond 5500 revs. A very old fashioned feel.
In its favour, it was fairly quick. Depending on conditions it would cruise at 65 to 75mph. The front brake was very good, the headlight was superb (better than on cars I’ve owned). I was quite pleased with my purchase. In the first weekend I had it I did the Southampton to Brum trip, which took an hour less than when I did it on the GP. My mate there now had a restricted TZR125, and it was amazing how closely matched the two bikes were. They both topped out at 80mph, whilst the TZR handled better at speed and the MZ had much more bottom end power.
I got a part time job as a DR in Southampton, which showed up the MZ’s good and bad points. Around town it was superb with an upright riding position and light handling plus good brakes. On a long run the four gallon petrol tank was useful, but the upright position led to neck-ache and in headwinds the inability of the engine to pull top gear was very. annoying. In addition, thrashing the motor (as I usually did) gave appalling fuel economy for the speed, down to 40mpg at times.
The bike’s handling wasn’t bad although at speed it was quite twitchy and it was less confidence inspiring at loony lean angles than the GP. Also, in the wet the front would let go very easily, although it must be pointed out that the bike was running a Michelin Gazelle tyre on the front and an Avon Supreme out back, so it was not blessed with the ultimate in rubber.
However, like the GP the rear tyre, which was nearly new when I bought the bike, wore out in about 3500 miles; due to finances had to be replaced by a Cheng Shin. Not nearly as bad as I'd expected, but with a bike of such little power, it's a mystery to me as to why the rear tyre should wear out so quickly - paying £40 every 4000 miles seems ridiculous for a commuter bike.
At least on the MZ the effects of a carrying a passenger were minimal. The bike had plenty of space for two, whilst the engine had plenty of torque, if not power. In addition, the weight of a passenger meant that it was possible to scrape the sidestand around tight bends, which is always a good way to keep them on their toes.
The side stand was a home-made affair (by the previous owner) but it was far better than the stock swinging arm mounted one. The only problem being that it had to be kept down when kick-starting the engine. This meant I often forgot that the stand was down until I leant over and almost flipped off.
Luckily, in the six months and 7000 miles that | owned the MZ, I never crashed, even if it was knocked over a couple of times, smashing both mirrors. However, the poor build quality was shown in the number of things that broke. The grab rail snapped whilst the plastic rear light cracked because of the vibration, not that any was noticeable when riding.
In addition, the centre stand broke when it was only gently knocked dismounting a high kerb. The speedo cable broke at 14000 miles and took three weeks to replace because the MZ workers were on a two week training course in Germany. Working on the bike was fairly easy, if a little awkward at times because of the difficulty of accessing certain bits.
When I sold the MZ with 17000 miles covered, the engine didn't sound as healthy as when I bought it. Most annoying was the electrics, the speedo’s bulb always blew meaning I never knew how fast I was going at night. The indicator relay broke (£15!). Riding through winter on the four year old bike destroyed wiring and connectors, due to corrosion and naff insulation. Replacing most of the electrics and cleaning the rest, stopped it cutting out on long runs in the rain.
However, it never failed to get me home and it had better brakes and performance than the GP, if sharing its poor build quality. There was also a degree of giant killing in the machine, which led to some wild rides. The best was when I went out with a bike club that included CBR600’s and other exotica. Down wet and twisty B roads we were actually faster than most of these, the only bike I couldn't get past was a rat VF500 (which had a bald back tyre and was two-up).
Flying down the twisty lanes with the front tyre squirming on the way into every bend was the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. It was this ride that saw my highest ever speedo reading of about 85mph, as well. Another good thing about the MZ was that however much junk was thrown on it, the handling never turned nasty. One time, taking two people and a term's worth of junk from Bristol to Southampton. Apart from there being nowhere to sit on the bike, there were no problems.
Unfortunately, by April ’95 I was skint again and had to sell the MZ to pay my rent, which was a bit of a bummer. I got £370 for the bike which was pretty good and by the time my despatch earnings were included, I'd basically had six months biking for free, including petrol. Not bad, eh?
Despite this, I’d say that unless spanner twiddling every weekend is your idea of fun (and I don't mind doing it now and again) then the MZ is likely to be a bit of a hassle, as something minor was always going wrong on mine. Perhaps for someone doing fewer miles, it would have been less of a problem. Anyway, I’m finishing college this summer and if I get a job, then with any luck I'll be back in the bike market soon. Hopefully, something a bit bigger than the last two.
James Bridge
This was how I came to be looking at an MZ 251. G reg, black and very good condition with full service history. Although not my first choice, for £385 it was the best option I’d seen and as it was my birthday I thought it'd make a nice treat. First impressions were mixed. It was very different from the GP. Very large and tall, whilst the engine was low revving, not making any power beyond 5500 revs. A very old fashioned feel.
In its favour, it was fairly quick. Depending on conditions it would cruise at 65 to 75mph. The front brake was very good, the headlight was superb (better than on cars I’ve owned). I was quite pleased with my purchase. In the first weekend I had it I did the Southampton to Brum trip, which took an hour less than when I did it on the GP. My mate there now had a restricted TZR125, and it was amazing how closely matched the two bikes were. They both topped out at 80mph, whilst the TZR handled better at speed and the MZ had much more bottom end power.
I got a part time job as a DR in Southampton, which showed up the MZ’s good and bad points. Around town it was superb with an upright riding position and light handling plus good brakes. On a long run the four gallon petrol tank was useful, but the upright position led to neck-ache and in headwinds the inability of the engine to pull top gear was very. annoying. In addition, thrashing the motor (as I usually did) gave appalling fuel economy for the speed, down to 40mpg at times.
The bike’s handling wasn’t bad although at speed it was quite twitchy and it was less confidence inspiring at loony lean angles than the GP. Also, in the wet the front would let go very easily, although it must be pointed out that the bike was running a Michelin Gazelle tyre on the front and an Avon Supreme out back, so it was not blessed with the ultimate in rubber.
However, like the GP the rear tyre, which was nearly new when I bought the bike, wore out in about 3500 miles; due to finances had to be replaced by a Cheng Shin. Not nearly as bad as I'd expected, but with a bike of such little power, it's a mystery to me as to why the rear tyre should wear out so quickly - paying £40 every 4000 miles seems ridiculous for a commuter bike.
At least on the MZ the effects of a carrying a passenger were minimal. The bike had plenty of space for two, whilst the engine had plenty of torque, if not power. In addition, the weight of a passenger meant that it was possible to scrape the sidestand around tight bends, which is always a good way to keep them on their toes.
The side stand was a home-made affair (by the previous owner) but it was far better than the stock swinging arm mounted one. The only problem being that it had to be kept down when kick-starting the engine. This meant I often forgot that the stand was down until I leant over and almost flipped off.
Luckily, in the six months and 7000 miles that | owned the MZ, I never crashed, even if it was knocked over a couple of times, smashing both mirrors. However, the poor build quality was shown in the number of things that broke. The grab rail snapped whilst the plastic rear light cracked because of the vibration, not that any was noticeable when riding.
In addition, the centre stand broke when it was only gently knocked dismounting a high kerb. The speedo cable broke at 14000 miles and took three weeks to replace because the MZ workers were on a two week training course in Germany. Working on the bike was fairly easy, if a little awkward at times because of the difficulty of accessing certain bits.
When I sold the MZ with 17000 miles covered, the engine didn't sound as healthy as when I bought it. Most annoying was the electrics, the speedo’s bulb always blew meaning I never knew how fast I was going at night. The indicator relay broke (£15!). Riding through winter on the four year old bike destroyed wiring and connectors, due to corrosion and naff insulation. Replacing most of the electrics and cleaning the rest, stopped it cutting out on long runs in the rain.
However, it never failed to get me home and it had better brakes and performance than the GP, if sharing its poor build quality. There was also a degree of giant killing in the machine, which led to some wild rides. The best was when I went out with a bike club that included CBR600’s and other exotica. Down wet and twisty B roads we were actually faster than most of these, the only bike I couldn't get past was a rat VF500 (which had a bald back tyre and was two-up).
Flying down the twisty lanes with the front tyre squirming on the way into every bend was the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. It was this ride that saw my highest ever speedo reading of about 85mph, as well. Another good thing about the MZ was that however much junk was thrown on it, the handling never turned nasty. One time, taking two people and a term's worth of junk from Bristol to Southampton. Apart from there being nowhere to sit on the bike, there were no problems.
Unfortunately, by April ’95 I was skint again and had to sell the MZ to pay my rent, which was a bit of a bummer. I got £370 for the bike which was pretty good and by the time my despatch earnings were included, I'd basically had six months biking for free, including petrol. Not bad, eh?
Despite this, I’d say that unless spanner twiddling every weekend is your idea of fun (and I don't mind doing it now and again) then the MZ is likely to be a bit of a hassle, as something minor was always going wrong on mine. Perhaps for someone doing fewer miles, it would have been less of a problem. Anyway, I’m finishing college this summer and if I get a job, then with any luck I'll be back in the bike market soon. Hopefully, something a bit bigger than the last two.
James Bridge