MZ/MuZ Riders

Howdy folks. I just picked up a new project and stumbled upon this forum while doing some research. It's a 2003 MZ Baghira with 4800 miles that I picked up locally for $200. Even at that price I was considering passing on this bike as it needs some restoration and from what I've learned thus far, it can be difficult to obtain parts here in the US. I brought it home yesterday and from a cursory glance think I've got my work cut out for me. The bike has sat a few blocks from the Atlantic ocean for a couple of years and the salt has definitely done it's work.

First job will be to flush the tank, clean the carb, install a battery and see if it's even worthwhile going forward with the rest of the repairs necessary to make it road worthy. The other obvious items that require attention are the chain and sprockets (chain is rusted solid), the spokes on both wheels, the brake calipers are frozen, and the most disconcerting issue, the inner fork tubes are pitted. I don't know what else I'll encounter along the way but I'm sure that there'll be some surprises in store.

I've done my best to search this forum for information regarding replacement parts and it seems that there is no US distributer so I'm looking to cross-reference parts that might be available on eBay. I read that one can use KTM forks as a replacement but again, I'm not certain about anything. My local bike guys want $140 a wheel to lace and true the wheels which is something I have never done and am a bit nervous about taking on as a project. Don't even know where to get the replacement spokes. The rest of the work I can do myself and as long as the engine hasn't suffered any internal damage from being improperly stored.

Any help in my new project would be greatly appreciated. I've owned an XT600 and a KLR650 in the past, and am really interested in seeing how this bike compares. I know that the 660 is a Yamaha engine so without any mods it shouldn't be too different from what I've experienced on other bikes. I am blessed to live in North Florida so I can work on it as time becomes available. Thanks in advance for any help that you have to offer!!!

Welcome Mr Large,

I remember somewhere on the site there's a cross reference of replacement parts from other makes that fit.
Maybe someone has it bookmarked?

Congratulations on the bike at $200 you can't go wrong!

The wheels are the things that are pretty specific to the baggy. Some have fit others but not without considerable headaches.

here is one link for you mate

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5874

and heres another

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=606&hilit=interchangable+parts

There you go , hope tis saves you hours of frustration trudging through this site , Glad i could help eh cat,,

Welcome. I am in Gainesville, so not so far from you. My Baggie is a 2002, but looked almost new when I bought it a year ago. I can't help much with parts interchangeability, but if you ever need to see what something is supposed to look like, let me know.

Harry

You guys are great!!! I'll post some pics as soon as I have some time to take them. The bike is complete minus a few of the bolts for the plastics so at least I'm not trying to piece together a basket case. I bought it off one of my neighbors so if there's anything else missing I can always go over and scour their garage for whatever it may be. At one point someone took the tank off with the intentions of cleaning the carb but only got so far as to remove the plastics and tank. I'm hoping that nobody has been into the carb yet so I won't have the usual UGH!!! moment when you see stripped bowl screws. Good news is that I've got another bike to ride in the meantime. I'm looking forward to doing some wheelies again!!!

This is the project. I cut the chain off to make it more mobile and it moved nice and free after. Pulled the carb this am and it was surprisingly clean. One of the float pin towers was broken so after cleaning the carb I used some JB weld to hold it in place. Should be fine. Couple of questions, is there a service manual available online and what is the float height spec? The pilot screw was turned out 6 turns which I've understood to be normal from threads on this forum. Obviously the carbs have been messed with in the past.

As you can see from the pics the spokes are toast and the fork stanchions are pitted with rust so they'll have to be replaced. Has anyone ever found a stainless steel spoke that'll work on these???? I'm hoping to get it running in the next few days and that'll determine whether or not I go forward with the rest of the repairs.

Hi

As was said,you can`t go wrong for that money!

Before buying a new battery,i would try and`borrow`a car battery when it came to trying to fire it up.

What does the oil look like,have you drained it?

Cheers

The oil looks good but I'll replace it before cranking and fog the cylinders. I can always pull the battery from my Katana and give it a shot if need be, but I have faith that it'll be alright. It was a running bike when parked so I don't really have any reason to think that there'll be a problem. I'm just cautious about spending money unnecessarily. I may spring for a chain though just so when it does fire I can take it for a rip. Anyone know where to get an air filter? Does it cross with any other bikes? Mine is missing...

This worked for me.
Good Luck, Ed


Twin Air
Part # 22508
Vendor # 154512
Air Filter KTM 154512
KTM 350/400 93/99 Maico 98/04

Well I finally got some time to work on the bike and reinstalled the carb, bought a battery and went to fire it up. The good news is that the motor turned freely and the starting system operated as it should, the bad news was that I had no spark. So, I checked all the fuses and they were fine then I went to the CDI to see if it was okay. Low and behold, all the connections on the CDI were completely corroded. Lucky for me the pins on the CDI itself were still okay and I was able to clean them up. I dug out an old harness from another bike and went to work finding spade terminals and soldered them on to the CDI wiring after carefully removing the old ones from the connectors. Total pain as they were REALLY bad and removing them without breaking the plastic sucked out loud. After putting it all back together, she fired right up. I have some tuning to do as it's popping out the exhaust (pilot screw was out 6 turns???) and it won't idle without choke so either my intake boots are rotten or it just needs some adjusting. I only ran it for a minute.

I have just realized that I am missing the air filter frame that mounts in the air box. I don't know how much of a difference the filters make in the tuning of this thing so I may have to add some restriction to the intake just to see if that makes a difference in the mixture. I'm going to see if I can locate the frame but if I can't, does anyone have any ideas as far as a replacement goes? I do not have a machine shop at my disposal.

The other good news is that the rims cleaned up nicely and so I will only have to lace the wheels at some point. I contacted Grahams and they want $190 US shipped for just the spokes. I may have to stick with Yamahas as the parts prices and availability is way better than that of the MZ. Still a lot of work to do but I should be able to take it for a spin later today if I have the time to pick up a chain. The spokes are rusty, but not broken so I should be okay around the neighborhood. I'll probably end up going over the entire wiring harness to look for other potential issues. I am also considering removing the subframe to paint it. Does anyone paint the plastics or is it a waste of time?

So, at least I know it runs, ann now I can direct my efforts to the rest of the laundry list of things that require attention. Next will be the air box conundrum and the forks. Total cost thus far, $275.

Hi

So far,so good.

Any decent wheelbuilder should be able to supply spokes of the required length/gauge you want,motorcycle manufacturers don`t make their own spokes,in the same way they don`t make their own tyres or batteries.

Stainless spokes,even bicycle ones,are surprisingly expensive though.

If/when you do it,put some penetrating fluid on the nipples(Spoke )well beforehand,you may well be able to re-use them(Decent ones are brass)

I wouldn`t run without an air filter myself,not for the sake of a missing cage.(You have spent VERY little on it SO far,as it is)

Have you tried getting back to the last owner to see if he has it tucked away?
It might be diplomatic NOT to tell him what a bargain you`ve got though

Good luck

I've contacted the original manufacturer of the wheels (they're in Italy so I'm not holding my breath) to see if they'll send me a set of spokes directly. Went out and pulled the carbs again and the intake boots. The left (carb side) boot is totally baffed. Corrosion underneath the rubber all the way around. No wonder it ran like poop. Should've check them the first time I had the carbs out. The right side looks fine but there's really no telling. I'm thinking that these are a Yamaha part number??? Probably the same as the XT???

I won't be running the bike without filters. Worst case is I end up having to make one, but I'm pretty sure I can source one out somewhere. Again, the rarity of these bikes is kind of aggravating as I'm used to having eBay as my one stop parts shop.

Well, the saga continues. My repair on the intake rubber was successful and after reinstalling the carbs I went to continue tuning the bike. Idle was high even with the screw turned all the way out. Found out that the pilot screw o-ring was bad and replace that. Just as I was getting it to idle better I realized that the battery wasn't charging and then the coolant T under the rad split. AAARRGGHHH!!! I knew that there would be challenges with this bike but jeez.... Does anyone have a PDF of the wiring diagram available or even a shop manual? I can't see the stator being bad with only 4800 miles on the bike but the regulator-maybe. Most likely I have more wiring connector issues to deal with. I'm flying blind here without the manuals so t's anyones guess where my problems might lie. I did find the 3 amp fuse blown but I doubt that has anything to do with the charging system. Once again, any help would be appreciated. I really need to get this thing running well before I spend any dough on the cosmetic and mechanical issues.

Mr. Large,

Wiring diagram...

Mr. Large,

The manual has been posted recently, I've just not been able to help you find it yet.
Don't remember the tread...
I can't download the copy I have as I'm told the file is too big.

OMC