Cafe Racer, 1977 Jawa, CZ 250cc twin Cambridge Cafe Racers

[@eddiecaplan1908]

Im so glad i checked out this vid!, what a blast from the past!!,

[@eddiecaplan1908]

I loved the cz singles and jawa twins as a teenager, they looked so different and could be picked up for peanuts!,

[@David-wt4rh]

Very nice, beautiful :-). This Bike is called "smoleek" in Czech. So you can call it like this too.

[@buenamusica7254]

Very good sound for a 2t engine

[@MackieBass]

It's a lovely bike!

[@Yonex333]

simply beautiful

[@MackieBass]

+CYGNUS-X1 Thank you, ride safe!

[@CZ350tuner]

The CZ 250 engine can be bored out to take 350 pistons, which converts it into a 306cc engine (if using base size 58mm. pistons). One of my many CZ's is a 305, using an original Motokov GB big bore kit, from 1978. I had a set of cylinder bored out for a friend, during the summer of 2020, to 307cc (2 x 58.5mm.) by George Arnold Motorcycles. George has the tools, knowhow & experience to do the job correctly. The main jet, for a CZ 305, is 105 and the pilot jet remains a 50. Boring a 250 out to 305 was a feature of many 1970's 2 stroke twins. The Suzuki T/GT 250 can be bored out to take T 350 Rebel pistons and the Yamaha YDS7 250 can be bored out to take YR5 350 pistons.

[@MackieBass]

A lot of useful info there.

[@volgnit]

That is such a honey !!

[@MackieBass]

volgnit Thank you!

[@markhall0670]

nice lookin bike ...

[@garydunn3037]

Should've gone to spec savers.

[@garydunn3037]

Just kiddin it actually looks quite good. Nice to see a good old fashioned back to basics kind of bike.

[@szakacszsombor5046]

where did you find that seat for that project man? i'm building a brat from the same bike and I can't find any seats that'd be long enough

[@MackieBass]

Szakacs Zsombor hand made bro. Seat base and foam and I gave it to the upholstery guy. Job done. Custom made.

[@szakacszsombor5046]

cool man, you suggest fiberglass for the base?

[@MackieBass]

Szakacs Zsombor this one was made from ply wood. Fibreglass is ok when the shape is awkward.

[@szakacszsombor5046]

cheers man, much appreciated!

[@Lazyass975]

u live near me in cambridge i have one these as a cafe racer mental machines :)

[@MackieBass]

Gary Smith nice man. they're great fun!

[@Lazyass975]

mine is a 175cc reg as a 125cc one perfect condition well had it a week needs some some work to the frame were the weild has come away but easy fix and a new 6v battery for 100 quid tho was a bargin :) probley sort it out sand blast the frame then show it off rather then drive it :)

[@Lazyass975]

imgur.com/a/63fNx

[@Lazyass975]

had the battery strapped on that needs doing too

[@MackieBass]

Looks cool. Does need some work, but the potential is there!

[@jamesweber4938]

Hi Mackie.I had a yellow CZ 175 in the U.K around 1973 ?

[@garydunn3037]

From what I can remember, these bikes had an aweful Kickstart/gear lever that was reportedly very awkward to use, is this correct?

[@MackieBass]

I think it was one of the best features of this bike actually. It's a gear lever/shifter, and when you press it in it flicked to the opposite side and became a kickstart. It was a brilliant solution in my eyes, made a bike cleaner looking, and the thing was so simple it really worked well. But that's my opinion on this. I really liked that little bike.

[@garydunn3037]

From what I can remember reading road test articles on them back in the 1970's most complained about the gear lever being awkward to use. They claimed to keep getting false Neutrals between gears, and saidit was difficult to achieve a smooth change between gears. Is this true? I seem to remember them saying the lever had some kind of de-clutching mechanism attached to it aswell which they found annoying.

[@MackieBass]

Well, yes some of that is true. When lever was pressed down the bike was in neutral, correct. And well, the bike was 1977, but the technology was probably 1950s! So can't really compare it to Japanese bikes, where gearbox is more precise than a Swiss watch! But for what it was I think it was a brilliant little bike. No, it wasn't the smoothest, but that never bothered me.

[@garydunn3037]

I have only ever rode Japanese bikes and the gearshift pattern was almost always down for first gear, andup for all other gears. Neutral was usually between first and second gear, and yes, their gearboxes were always precise and smooth to operate. As you say, the JawaCZ range of bikes originated from way backin the 50's and the design, even on their latest models does not appear to have changed very much, apartfrom the new Jawa 350 Retro which now has electric start. It looks slightly different from older models,but still appears to have the same old 2 stroke engine with combined Kickstart/Gear lever.

[@josefmojito]

@@garydunn3037 ti,co to v 70' letech psali,byli blbci. Ta páka byl velmi dobrá a důmyslná věc. Řazení bylo pohodlné,bez problému. Ten co si stěžoval to jen špatně seřídil,prostě to neuměl. Celý motor,systém je poloautomat,výborný a spolehlivý motory 👍

[@stprtk]

Yeah CZ 250/471 made in Czechoslovakia

[@MackieBass]

+Štěpán Peroutka That's right. Beautiful motor!

[@CZ350tuner]

You do know that the reason the front TLS drum brake doesn't work very well is because you have it in backwards!! TLS drum brakes only work 100% in one direction!!

[@MrKlabosh]

+Andy Reid Why do you think that?

[@CZ350tuner]

+MrKlabosh Because it is supposed to have the mechanism on the left side as the brake only works in one direction hence the name "Twin Leading Shoe". The brake is designed so that the shoes dig into the drum only in the forward direction with more force the faster the wheel is rotating. This type of drum brake is reputed to be very grabby in the wet and capable of giving disc brake performance in the dry. Unfortunately they take a lot of skill to set up properly, unlike disc brakes. It is on this bike in reverse and is effectively a twin trailing shoe.

[@jediknight2350]

i laughed when i see it to lol it would be like weres my brakes lol lol.

[@walecwyrownalec1334]

Hail and Kill!

[@MackieBass]

No kurwa!

[@МаксимЕгоров-к8о]

Это даже не колхоз - испоганили мотоцикл.

[@MackieBass]

Когда у меня появился мотоцикл, это была куча дерьма. Он вообще не работал, и большинство деталей отсутствовали. Думаю, я вернул его к жизни ... но мы все имеем право на собственное мнение. Спасибо за ваш комментарий.

[@maratsuleimanov9732]

Согласен без вкуса, глушитель огурец хорош.

[@Vasek5288]

to je ale škaredý

[@MackieBass]

If you think so...