Schoolboy MOT's the MZ and makes lots of Errors

Starting the MZ to go for it's MOT proved difficult - I have not mastered this yet, though the lack of time on the road hasn't enabled me to tune the carburetter properly, so that may be the problem. We had the MOT done at H Curtis & Sons at Overstrand, so we could have a nice little blat along the coast in the sunshine, through Cromer and out the other side.

I was a bit nervous, since this is the first time I have been out & about on any MZ in about 30 years. Initial reaction is that it's very steady, and the road holding feels very safe. There was a hint of a wheel alignment problem, and the rear brake is a long way down; the front brake is also quite worn & grabby but overall the bike seems to have a good deal of get up and go and we arrived safe & sound at the garage in Overstrand.

Throughout the trip, the front brake had got progressively less noisy, though the clutch is dragging and I think that there is a bit of a top end rattle. As I was a bit early, I took the opportunity to lean out the idle mixture a bit now that the engine was warm.

Leaving my helmet & gloves at the garage, I went for a mooch around Overstrand which has some pretty buildings, including the Methodist church designed by Edwardian architect Sir Edwin Lutyens:

Nearer the beach, we have the ubiqutous Fordson Major draped in a tarpaulin, and rusting away. These are used all along the coast in for hauling boats about:

Down to the beach, with Trimingham in the background:

This pretty bit of Overstrand is called the Londs:

Boats:

Lobster & crab fishing is very popular around here:

So, after an hour I wandered back to the garage to be greeted by an MOT certificate! It seems to have started for the MOT tester, which surprised me almost as much as the fact that he put it on the sidestand - it does look a bit precarious...

The MOT test had also found that the rear wheel alignment was a bit wayward, so I will have to fix that as he made it an advisory notice; and that was it. It started for me once I'd had a chat and got all my stuff back on.

Unfortunately, the pleasure did not last long, and some 100 yards spluttering towards Cromer saw it stop, and refuse to go on. It was fairly obvious that it was not going to move again so it was helmet & gloves off and out with the tools. It was so dead that I was fairly sure it was ignition so I started there, only to realize that I had packed the wrong size plug spanner and I had to pull off the side cover to get at the points to be able to see any evidence of sparks. A screwdriver in the plug cap revealed a relatively weak spark so I set about cleaning points, coil & condenser connections, plug cap etc. to the sound of some encouragement from people passing by on the pavement.

Bikers are a friendly lot by and large, especially if you are in trouble. A chap I now know to be Jimmy Lee Shreeve stopped to see what was up and he was kind enough to stay to the end. An interesting chap, his website is here. Besides keeping me company, he had a plug wrench under his saddle, which was a godsend. Since the last time I broke down (on the Cyclemaster, about two weeks ago) was a whiskered plug (and I didn't have a plug wrench then either - you'd think I'd learn), I was glad to check the spark plug with Jimmy's help - and it was fine. A van driver also stopped and got his tools out to see if he could help, offering to fetch anything I needed from the garage down the road.

Next the petrol tap came apart, followed by the carburetter - nothing amiss anywhere. I was just giving it a last kick before giving up and calling the RAC, when it fired, and spat back a couple of times, probably due to the serious clean out it had had when testing for sparks with the plug out. Memories of the first time I flooded the Bantam in Tesco's car park came to mind as did the serious tweak I had given the mixture screw when I had stopped earlier in the afternoon. Winding this out well beyond the normal 1 1/2 turn position had the bike running reasonably consistently, apart from the violent banging in the exhaust. This was so bad that it had become very obvious - the exhaust nut had shaken itself out. I wound it in again as best I could (no C spanner), which quietened things down considerably - so much so that I realised the top-end rattle must have been a leak starting.

So with a farewell from Jimmy I charged off to Cromer, exhaust banging away and sounding great. Tickover was not too brilliant, but I didn't let it die and got safely back to the workshop in 20 minutes or so. Once back, breaking out the C spanner had the engine running much more quietly, but I think we still have a leak. Judging by the smoke, it's probably an engine oil seal, but I am loathe to fix that when I have the Huntmaster waiting.

So I'll use it while I sort out a few little jobs on the SQ4 prior to the summer season, and then get it onto eBay. More of that later. 

So all in all, a good trip out. Best part? Meeting new folks and seeing just how kind people can be!

Black bin bags

I just fitted a tyre to my MZ TS250, without tyre irons, using only a bin bag like this:

I did use my feet, since a modern 350-16 tyre is a lot stiffer than the tyre he is fitting but it is brilliant. I’m never going back to the old way.

Norfolk Coast Bimble

A nice little run (after filling up with Super unleaded for the first time) to Overstrand this morning in milky sunlight found this rather splendid Commando special at a local garage:

I've been looking for a local MOT station to get the MZ TS250/1 on the road for the winter, and this is just the spot, with a very friendly and knowledgeable tester who owned also the Commando - which to me is recommendation in itself. All I have to do now is fit the tyres to the MZ and we'll be ready for it to become the hack!

Amelia seems very happy, in her element on these single carriageway, twisty relatively quiet open roads; but pulling away from the garage, noisily to show off to an interested pedestrian left me limping along beside the pavement wishing I'd turned the fuel tap on...

Returning to a more mundane setting (Homebase Cromer) shows her domestic side as well, running errands. A small oil leak has appeared which coats the frame rails, oil filter and sump. the chain oiler is open but the chain is dry; I have closed it now. We'll have to do a bit of investigation.

At least the rocker shafts are no longer leaking!

Fairly quiet on the Ariel front...

I have this old thing in my shed - as you can see it is an MZ TS250/1, as shown on one of the blog pages. I have been tinkering with it to try and make space for an Ariel...

But there is not much happening on the Square at the moment. Amelia now has her clutch cable fitted and the clutch lifts nicely - it is surprising light, but then I do not have the springs fully tightened up yet. The cable will need some lubrication - we msutn't forget that.

I've also fitted up the front brake cable - Length is good, but the adjuster block needed a little easing to get the cable in the slot. Soldering next time.

The next big job is to get ready for the cyclinder head. I will need:

• head gaskets
• a carburetter stud
• one of the locating pins for the rocker cover
• some time

Hopefully I will get to that within the next week or two, but there is business travel on the horizon...

Yet another Iron Curtain relic...

My dear son Thomas has a habit of bringing home examples of the finest Eastern Bloc motorcycle engineering available for under a tenner, mostly from eBay.

This was the first one:

It's a Minsk 125 marketed in the '70's under the Neval banner, and is one of those myriads of DKW RT125 copies of which my Bantam is a fine example.

He painted it, serviced it and we spent months fiddling around with a peculiar electrical system with no battery that was never going to drive those indicators without flashing all the other lights at the same time. It went OK though. 

He sold it for a profit, financing the purchase of whatever students drink these days.

It was followed by an MZ TS125, courtesy of eBay, it was the Luxus model (the one with the real hair?) with the rev counter. This was a bit more adventurous as when it arrived it had no wheels, tank or seat. He collected from somewhere in Hertfordshire, on the way to my Dad's funeral. He turned up behind the hearse with this MZ stuffed into the back of our Morris 1000, which was never the same again. And no, it wasn't an estate, or a van, or a pick up - just a regular two-door saloon.

Here it is:

He did a great job with it, collecting all the missing parts, repainting & rebuilding. This is how it ended up:

Strangely enough, it looks just like any other TS125 doesn't it! It ran pretty well once we got it going, which in itself was an adventure because some numbnuts had fitted a home made base gasket without cutting the transfer ports in the gasket. Puzzling - the carburettor had fuel in it, the jets were all clear, but the plug was dry...

He now has this one as well, which like all true enthusiasts he has in his dining room - along with cats & rabbits. His girlfriend, bless her, is just as enthusiastic! It quite brings a tear to my eye, reminds me of the 250 Matchless that used to occupy our living room:

So this is the latest addition, another eBay find. We bought this one together - I paid, he went & collected it - as a kind of joint project & a 'congratulations' for getting a promotion at work:

This is how the advert was worded:

1981 MZ TS250/1 Supa 5 restoration project or for spares.
Both tyres are useless and have punctures, the silencer has the usual case of MZ Rust Scabies, both tank panels have quite good chrome for an MZ but aren't perfect. The grey colour is primer and the general gunky condition is old Waxoyl put on years ago to try and help preserve it.
Engine kicks over freely and seems to have quite good compression, all gears seem to select - but it's not a runner and there's no Tax or MoT so please don't think you can ride it away. (It's happened!).
It has the correct front indicator lenses, sound speedo and tacho brackets and the rare-ish side stand plus a Rear lens and tool-box cover (no lock) come with it.
Originally bought by me (in this state) as a source of spares for my other Supa 5 back in 1994......and there it's sat ever since; and as my ride to work Supa 5 has long since gone this may as well follow it.
Interesting number plate? TEX 6**W
All in all a nice little project that just needs a little T.L.C........you could have it running by the weekend (lol)!
Just to re-iterate this is a non-running project, with no Tax or MoT so you will need a van or trailer to take it away (I'm unable to deliver). We are near Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk.
Having said that, there is a possibility I could take to Beverley (near Hull) for collection from there on 23rd February - but it is only a possibility, so PLEASE contact me first before assuming it's going to happen!
Any queries, please email before bidding.

And here is another view:

Now that is it at home in my garage (another thing he has learnt - why put stuff in your own house when you could leave it at your Dad's?), I have to say it is a fine machine. The Waxoyl the previous owner (I don't know his name) smeared all over it has made a great job of preserving the alloy and some of the chrome. It has apparently been standing in a garage for the past 20 years.

The rubber is shot to bits though. I was tempted to put some tyre sealant in the tyres just to move it around more easily, but on screwing the can onto the valve I found the valve completely detached from the tube!

So there it is. Waiting a bit of time, for #1 son to buy a battery and for me to take a trip to Leeds, where I understand Wyldes have some tyres at a good price...