For 15 years between 1994 & 2009 these basic two stroke singles provided me with commuting and winter transport. In total I rode 70,000 miles on these smokers from East Germany.
In January 1994 I found myself commuting on icy roads on my FJ1200. Realising that this was not a good idea I got the little ETZ125 from my brother. The bike proved to be an adequate commuter for a couple of years. It's memorable achievements were getting me to work in December 1995 when the temperature fell to -15 deg C and completing a 400 mile round trip to a rally at Applecross in the north west Highlands.
Prior to the CBF250 I rode a pair of MZ Saxons (250 & 300 cc). Over the years the two bike eventually morphed into one. They were well suited to the horrors of a Scottish winter. The best feature of the bikes was the enclosed chain. Rubbers tubes and a plastic cover protected the chain against the elements. The bikes were mostly reliable but both suffered gearbox failures due to the use of crappy bearings.
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| ETZ125 |
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| The little MZ laughs at winter weather |
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| Touring with 10 bhp. At least you have time to look at the scenery. |
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| Saxon on its way to Applecross |
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| It didn't often look this shiny |
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| Some repairs were occasionally required |
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| Honey, I'm home! |
And that brings me to the end of this series of posts.
Love the pic of the silver ETZ in the snow, you wouldnt dare try that on an FJ!
ReplyDeleteIf we still has snow in winter I would consider a small capacity trail bike, something like a honda CRF250L, almost bought one last year.
I believe that the engine out of your 125 ended up in mine after mine seized. It did another couple of thousand miles before I sold it. Good solid wee machine.
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