Motorcycles do not seem very popular in Somerset. I think they view all new inventions with a primitive fear and also because your mind has to be alert to be a motorcyclist. If you think I jest, you only have to talk to any of the natives. They still shoot cider apple trees to drive out evil spirits. Christianity has not arrived yet, let alone the motorcyclist.
Being an ardent reader of this magazine since it was born, I decided that the MZ was a fair machine, all things considered. It was all that I could afford as I needed a new machine for the reliability. The bike was purchased locally from a very helpful garage - they let me test ride it as soon as I had paid for it. £1100 on the road, including a top box and carrier.
My first impressions were of pleasant surprise. I had expected it to be quite rough running, but it was rather smooth and well behaved - despite the healthy thump when the oversized piston hit the firing point. The extra oil added to the petrol, which the garage had recommended for the first tankful, did cause heavier than normal smoking and the usual symptoms of running with an excess of oil in the mixture, Luckily, this model does sport a Japanese manufactured oil pump, adjustment of this device being made extremely simple to ensure the correct petrol to oil ratio.
The riding position was sit up and beg, with a firm but not uncomfortable seat. Gear and brake pedals were in just the right position and all the handlebar controls came to hand nicely.Two up riding was not much of a problem to the 300cc two stroke engine, provided you didn’t expect miracles in performance. It would hold 70mph without effort with the wife hanging on the back. In fact, I could hardly keep her off the thing, she always wanted to pillion. What I could never quite fathom out was why after a ride out she would get off all weak kneed and grinning like a Somerset cat. Vibration was noticeable at most speeds and could be annoying on a long journey if you could not get the speed past 60mph because of traffic. Funny that, my wife liked those journeys better than motorway ones - I told you at the beginning the locals were an odd lot in many ways.
Roadholding left a lot to be desired after the low speed running in period had ended, but following general advice, I ditched the East German tyres and fitted Michelins for £50 the set. Wet or dry conditions could now be met with full confidence, gone were the low speed wobbles around left-hand bends and the slight slip experienced on wet roads and when moving over white lines and cat eyes.
Mechanically, the two stroke engine seemed very sound, but don't let piston slap put you off a possible secondhand purchase. When they first increased the engine size to 300cc they put in a piston with piston ring clearance nearly double that of the 250cc model, hence quite a lot of noise at tickover. This was, apparently, not detrimental to engine life as initial models are around with over 40000 miles up - rattling the same as they had done from new. Later models had different internals fitted to eliminate the slap, which can be fitted to the earlier models if you insist on a quiet life. I know of two 250s that have 70000 miles up on original engine components, so how long the 300 will keep going is anyone’s guess.
Although I always use synthetic oil for the autolube system, which did tend to make it run slightly rich, it's recommended that a SAE40 grade two stroke oil normally be used as this offers greater protection to the brittle East German bearings if they have not already defected, as seems to be all the rage at present. The gearbox was very clunky, which, if you are refined, you may wish to translate as agricultural, as the West German bike owners prefer to term it. What does it matter as long as it works? This needed no maintenance other than an oil change at the 2000 mile mark just to keep it nice and fresh and to wash out any bits that had either broken or fallen off.
Routine maintenance was extremely easy, to say the least, so was breaking things whilst doing it. The quality of the alloy leaves a lot to be desired by modern technological standards. First to go was the twist grip housing when I checked the tightness of the Allen bolts. Copper wire held the twist grip in place for two weeks until the replacement arrived.
Second mishap was when I took the front wheel out for no reason other than to take it out - do you have to have a reason for everything? It came out easily enough and went back in easily enough, however, the wheel spindle fork clamp was also easy to snap off. This worked on the pinch bolt principle and broke off with a loud crack, just as if a border guard was after me. Loctite, Superglue and a piece of bent metal held the wheel spindle firmly gripped to the fork leg for two weeks until, a £19 fork leg came from the importers.
You can certainly enjoy yourself breaking MZ bits without worrying too much about the cost. I even did over 600 miles in one day with that repair holding up, probably stronger than the fork casting which looked like that foreign cheese with holes in it.
Apart from the charging circuit fuse blowing during the first week no other problems electrical were experienced, even after 180 miles of torrential rain.
WD40 has always been liberally sprayed on all my bikes, on electrics, metal, you name it yes, and the wife! It certainly does keep moisture from the electrics and helps prevent corrosion on all chrome and alloy surfaces. With the chain running in an enclosed rubber sleeve, road grime and rain cause no problems. The occasional spray with Silkolene chain lube kept everything smooth running, but a word of warning here - if you happen to be colour blind, you may notice that oil can collect inside the crankcase housing under the front sprocket. You may think that a seal has gone, as I did, but if you are not colour blind you'll note that the oil is of a different colour to the gearbox oil. in fact, it’s the same colour as the chain lube - so I am told. The excess lube runs into the housing trying to fool you that-something has given way. I wish oil could be made in yellow and red colours according to viscosity.
MZs are certainly rugged in their construction, with hardly any use of plastics, even the side panels are alloy. The paint quality was certainly good and applied to a decent thickness. The tool kit allowed you to do most maintenance and for an extra £6 the hardback German equivalent of a Haynes was available. This being so comprehensive it even shows how to make your own special drifts, pullers, clamps and the
Suspension was on the firm side but this contributed to the bike’s stability and made sure it could be chucked through the curves without getting tied up in knots. Compared to similarly priced Jap commuters - such delights as the Honda CG125 - the MZ is a much better handler and feels a whole lot more stable at 70mph. Fuel consumption was about 60mpg, with the oil consumption about 600-800 miles per tankful, depending upon the driving conditions, but certainly a decent range regardless of actual consumption figures.
Would I have one again? Without a doubt, yes! Even the street credibility is good in Somerset, for those young enough to care about such things. My wife even preferred it to a smooth running Honda and the Norton 850 Commando of a few years back. The only one she reckons approaches it for pillion comfort and pleasure was the BSA Spitfire Mk2, but as I told her, and you out there too young to remember, that thing did more damage to itself through vibration than putting on mileage would ever do. With a smile, she just replied, “I know.” Maybe northern savages are missing out somewhere down here.
Elgin Savage