Sodding MZ

Twelve wheels? TWELVE? I'd be tempted to make a few trailers or
something.

 

Hmmmm, wouldn't happen to have a carb intake hose, in amongst
that lot that I could purchase off you, would you?

The one on my Saxon is I believe the same, and is badly perished.

 

Alex Ferrier wrote:

Wotcha.

I done my sorting out. It would seem the popular items are the ones not
there. The carb hose has perished on my ETZ too - was there one amongst the
bits ? Yep - two of 'em, even more perished than the one that's on the
bike. Same with right hand side panels - the ones I have spare are both
broken in the same place. Still, I have a vast amount of chain hoses, fork
legs, wheels, three frames but no log books, two more or less complete
engines. I did notice a lack of carburettors and front mudguards. Ah well,
can't have it all I suppose.
I can see eBay looming in the near future ;-)

 

ISTR that Frosts had a kit for making new ones from old (moulded, with
the old one as the model). You might want to have a look at this:

<http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?productID=9064&frostProductName=O
ur+CGI+is+rather+obvious!>

(sorry - couldn't resist playing with their code!)

It is bl***y expensive though, but if it works, possibly worthwhile.

 

Heh. Worth a try )

Just spent a fruitless day tramping around the Stafford bike
show looking in box after box of tat for MZ bits... nada!

Guess it's out with the old seam sealant then. I use it for
repairing the hard rubber rands on my mountaineering gaiters,
which it does very well. Hopefully it'll work just as well on
SOMZ rubber.

 

<gulp> How much?

Think I'll give the seam sealant a go first. If that fails, I've seen
'em on ebay new for £18ish.

 

I was there too. Did you notice the GT250 ticketed as a GT380? I was
tempted to look up whoever was selling it and ask whether the extra cylinder
was included.

 

Alex Ferrier wrote:

Wotcha.

Bugger !
I've got a free pass for Stafford tomorrow.
Best cross MZ bits off my list then.

Hmm - that's an idea.

If I come across anything that will do the job, I'll let you know.

 

Ah, well, I would just add the proviso, that as I'm relatively
new to the 'scavenging' technique required[1] and SO MZs, I may
have missed some stuff, if Oily was right and my search pattern
was flawed.


[1] Unlike my mate Baz, who I went with. He appears to be able
spot, categorize and determine the condition of FS1e and Eighties
GPz bits at 300 paces, blindfolded.

 

Can't say I did.

 

Er, no. Bugger.

What is it about that style of walking that is *so* knackering?

Didn't use it, fortunately, I live in Bridgnorth, so we just cut through
the back roads a bit to get back onto the A519 back to Telford.

 

Tell me about it. I find exhibitions (doing them comes with the job)
completely exhausting. You're on your feet, walking, all day.

 

I went to the Bristol show at the Shepton showgrounds a few months ago to
find some Bantam bits. The worst part was the crowds, I has to push and
wriggle to look at any stand that looked vaguely interesting, heaven alone
knows what was on the others. The whole place was heaving.

 

It's a shopping pace - imagine following the doris round Harvey Nicks.
Blokes aren't designed for it.

 

Likewise. But I have a mechanical explanation in my case: little/no
cartilage left in most joints any more means the shock of a footfall on
concrete travels straight up the spine. Traditional pavements aren't
nice for this, but after a day or so (Earls Court II is where I usually
get the most grief: they use very thin matting), I end up with aching
knees/hips a stiff neck and splitting headaches.

Hanging around on a stand isn't too bad (but not comfy exactly). I'm
glad I don't have to do that at the moment, although I used to enjoy
stand duty at trade shows. The worst thing nowadays is having to put on
a suit to see business contacts, or at least the Derbies that go with
the whistle. Big institutions tend to have acres of polished marble
floors, and they can do the damage in minutes as they've no give at all.

Anyway the fix is spongy-soled shoes. New trainers are OK, but I prefer
the Dr. Martin style workwear shoes that look a bit tidier. The slightly
stiffer soles last longer than trainers but do the job and don't look
too bad. Trouble is, trainers do tend to offset the effect of tailoring
somewhat.

Perhaps I need to stick with the trainers and just grow a ponytail -- I
already know a fair bit of UNIX and I'm getting a bit 'cuddly' (or so
the Domestic Controller says), so I might be able to pull it off.

 

I have no knowledge of that which you speak.

 

Be grateful.

 

Got a spare front wheel with decent spokes you could be persuaded to
part with?

I saw a bit of rust on a spoke & thought I'd give it a quick rub down
then a blow over with silver paint - unfortunately the chrome flaked off
& there wasn't much spoke left under the rust.

Come to think of it, the front brake m/c needs attention (pivot seized
during the lay up) - if you've a spare one...

I should get a 3rd gear as well but I got quite adept at double changes.

Almost bought an ETZ250 in bits as a donor bike last week but SWMBO lost
her job so the domestic budget got reprioritised - might even sell the
ETZ if she can't find more than a couple of days a week.

 

This is why rusty spokes constitute an MoT failure.

 

Which was why I was cleaning them up. I'm glad I found the rust but it's
a PITA that the front wheel now needs respoking or, preferably,
replacing