Other bikes?

[Blurredman]

Hi guys,


Wondered if there was any interest in people knowing what other bikes that people ride on this forum? If so can post a list and pictures of other bikes you currently have and what you like about them etc...?

[Blurredman]

Well, okay- I guess I'll start.

I have two MZ's:



This was my first- a 1987 ETZ 250. It started out looking like this:



I initially wanted both an offroader/trail-er and an MZ in one and picked it up for a fair price (I think) including the fact that it was delivered to me (Cardiff) from Gloucester for no extra charge. Over the first few years I did a mix of things on it, sometimes used it for commuting, sometimes I did go offroad. It was a bike I was not specifically going to spend much putting into it other than have some fun on a 2t really. I started to buy age appropriate things for it, like proper clocks, re-standard the wiring (it was hacked up really big), proper seat, side panels etc. I then got a proper exhaust (aftermarket) because the one on the bike blew the weld you can see in the picture straight off. The pipe was just hanging. I then had a crash in a lane which ended up in having putting my knee in the tank- I decided then to 'do it up'. I chose Rustoleum Orange spray cans and then I did lacquer over the top too. The first tank wasn't successful and the lacquer never hardened- so had to sand down and start again, but 2nd time was grand. The engine was rebuilt 2 years ago (I think - viewtopic.php?f=20&t=9593) as the big end bearing collapsed whilst on a ride in the country. The gearbox is very smooth (at least- night and day compared to my 251), but I still need to do some engine work. It has a 300cc piston in it but requires the head to be machined to accomodate the new height in the combustion chamber. Other than that it's a sweet ride and pleasant too.


My 251.



This little bike came to me in 2016 as a project. I bought it for practically nothing - my only want was the carburettor and exhaust. But my housing situation meant any bike I had, had to stay outside. Cue my interest in making this bike the new 'winter hack' as they say. The piston was seized. I had to seriously hammer down on that piston with a 4lb lump hammer to get it to shift the smallest of fractions. But I eventually got it out and put on a spare barrel and piston I had. From there it was all electrical problems. Foremost was the points couldn't be gapped properly (nenver found the reason why), so bought electronic ignition which is still going strong. I then had small issues like coil breakdown, and tank rust problems. I must say I never did anything with the tank rust other than put bolts and nuts in it and rattle it around. I just continued to used the bike and when the fuel tap got clogged up I simply unclogged it. After a while, fuel starvation was never an issue. From that point it was quite reliable and i've done 16,000 miles on the thing. Two years ago I rebuild the engine because of a gear shift problem (return spring bounced off pin!) but also found other issues with the crank and clutch so had to do a full rebuild. It has a very clunky gearbox (compared to my 250) which I'm not a fan of but I've got used to it. If I have it apart next in the future I will be seriously scrutinising the gearbox system. As a bike that did 30,000 miles before my ownership, I don't know if the gearbox has ever been addressed in regards to the notorious 'third gear problem' etz's seem to have. Third gear is noticibly more clunky than any others, but has yet to actually be a problem.



My Suzuki!

I bought this as a two for one deal with my brother. He got an '84 version and I got this '79 registered (i now know it is an '80 model though), TS185ER. Lovely dual sports bike. I haven't really used it much over the 5 years i've had it (just less than 1k miles) but I have some thing to address with the vehicle. The ehxuast has some small holes that despite patching over the years needs properly addressing with some sort of welding/brasing. Nothing really much worth saying other than that it is now tax/mot exempt so I only need to buy insurance and put fuel in it basically. Minor maintenance work has been done on the bike but nothing invasive. It came to me as a 'semi' restored condition but missing some items. It is 6v bike and the main lamp is 25w so it's not the best for those single lane roads in the country- but it is amusingly cute and endearing. It has had a rebore and new piston soon after I got it as it was evedent that it was a very abused bike.





Last bike in my garage is my Honda CX500. 1981 model. This is a marmite bike for me. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it-
It has 87,000 miles on it now and the frame is really showing the effects of poor frame and water flow design. CX frames as well known to rust the frame inside out and this is no exception. Some welding work needs to be done- This bikes has had a few holidays abroad with me over the years and is a very comfortable machine. Various engine problems have been an issue for me however and I have boxes and boxes of various spare parts. My plan with this bike is to fully strip it in the 90-100k mile mark for full restoration. The picture below was taken a few years ago. Time/water has taken it's toll since.





You can find more about these bikes including even more out of date pictures on my website:
blurredmanswebsite.ddns.net




Sooo.... What other bikes have people got!?

[DAVID THOMPSON]

my stepson had a cx 500 they like lots of fresh clean oil
the ones here in the usa were bad about loosing the crank bearings
because the riders did not change the oil and filter very often
if you take care of it it will serve you a long time but letting it set is very hard on it
Dave

they sold a bunch of them here

the most seen bike here now is the Honda GROM 125cc UJMC/scooter
this bike is already sold the dealer puts it out the door as soon as it is assembled
it never gets a chance to get dirty on the show room..floor.
if you want to look at one you have to troll parking lots
if you find a car that costs less it is a JUNKER

[nice2day]

Hi Blurredman...A very interesting and enjoyable thread.
Hopefully others will join in. All I can do at the moment is simply list my bikes as I currently don't have enough time to take photos or add details on them. I am currently contemplating reducing the numbers of bikes (but hard to part with them)...maybe so I can buy others as I have run out of room to keep them covered, plus the fact it seems unlikely that some of them will ever be ridden again by me but I'm a silly old sod and get sentimentally attached to things too easily and see them as old friends


1. MZ TS 125/150
2. MZ ETZ 250 (Auto-lube)
3. Mz ETZ 250 (petroil)
4. MZ Saxon Tour 301
5. Royal Enfield 500cc Bullet
6. Moto Guzzi V50 Mk II
7. Kawasaki W650
8. AJS Model 18 Short Stroke
9. BSA Bantam B175
10. Norton Model 7 500cc Dominator
11. Matchless 650cc Monarch
12. Royal Enfield Constellation 700cc

PS:
13. Ariel VB 600 sidevalve (Thanks Puffs for letting me know I'd left this one off the list)

Les

[Puffs]

Following a moderator choice that is IMO biased and flawed (someone posting aggressive personal attacks is rewarded, while my technical posts are removed), I have withdrawn from this forum.

[Puffs]

Following a moderator choice that is IMO biased and flawed (someone posting aggressive personal attacks is rewarded, while my technical posts are removed), I have withdrawn from this forum.

[Señor Willy]

May as well throw mine up.
From the left, ZZR1400, Tuono Racing,Gen 2 Tuono factory R, Mille R and Mastiff.

[tigcraft]

Well I wouldn’t know where to start, 60+ bikes in 40 years. Everyone has some strange memory. I’ve only logged pictures in the last ten years as phones as so good at recording.

These are in my life currently The ones that are ‘runners’, the rest are projects waiting to be started. I like simple bikes although I’ve also had many technically complicated ones too that I’ve found good but mundane.

[spooky]

I have a few others, pictures to follow but for now , I have this....

[tigcraft]

Looking forward to see the others

[spooky]

biggles.jpg (29.48 KiB) Viewed 6098 times

syd.jpg (38.83 KiB) Viewed 6098 times

terror.jpg (40.41 KiB) Viewed 6098 times

[spooky]

the black pig

[tigcraft]

I like the macho names for them!

[spooky]

Ha ! Biggles was my childhood favourite read and the 500 is squadron blue, The Black Pig, well that speaks for itself. The Gilera is called Syd because of the number plate ( it looks vaguely like Sid) and the Terrot was wrongly named during it`s registration process by the guy that imported it, The licensing agency called it a Terror and that`s what is on it`s log book. No name for the T5 yet but as it is a Spanish import it might be Pedro !!!

[JawasandMZs]

I have a 2015 Jawa. It's almost too good, it feels like a Japanese bike. My F reg ETZ feels really primitive and ring a ding in comparison which is great but I'd def prefer the Jawa for a long journey or even a little jaunt to Catalunya if things ever get back to normal.