1974 MZ TS250 Fluid Capacities (Gear and Fork)

[neomuzzi]

Hi all. I am finding various information online that is contradicting. I do not have a manual for my 74, I have one for a 77.

I just emptied my gear oil and it was clearly 900cc, not 750cc. I have read both of those numbers online. I put 900 back in, but perhaps I read this wrong a while ago. Can anyone confirm this for a 74?

Also, I wanted to change the fork oil, which I have never changed. I sucked out about 260cc of oil, there is a little slur in the bottom of the fork for sure, so maybe a couple CCs left there. I have read 220cc, 230cc, and 275cc. Does anyone have the actual spec? If you have the rear shock capacity I would appreciate that as well.

Is there a safe way to test this fork oil level? What happens if there is too much or too little? Can stuff break?

thx!

MG

[neomuzzi]

Well I don't sprechen sie Deutch, but i did go to Kindergarten and thankfully we all use numbers...

I found this - http://www.manualedereparatie.info/en/d ... anual.html - which I am guessing is the same as my 74. Please do let me know if I am wrong.

I went with 750cc in the gearbox, and 220cc in the forks. Forks feel great. Gearbox seems OK, but how will I really know until something overheats or breaks.

Now onto the electrical system. This bike seems like it barely wants to start unless the battery is maxed out, and then when I am running the headlight, the blinkers blink about every 3 seconds.

Any upgrades here? thx!

[Blurredman]

Is your battery perhaps old and going out?


As for gearbox oil, as long as it flows out the 'level check' then that's fine I suppose. Unfortunately I do not know outright for the '74.

But it's only 150cc less. What bad could it do?

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[parrbd]

The ETZ250 manual says to flush out the forks with petrol before refilling.

[Kruh]

900cc of oil is for TS250/1 - thats the 5 speed model
750cc is for the older 4 speed models

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[neomuzzi]

Thanks for all the thoughts once again folks.

Battery is less than 6 months old. Maybe my charging system just stinks. But yeah, thinking about going to a 12V powerdynamo conversion kit. Was hoping someone would have info like, swap the coil from a this bike and it is 30% better...

The rubber parts are a bit beat up, so pulling the forks off completely just seems way to involved and expensive. I will definitely measure the L&R to make sure they are the same. Hadn't thought about the sentiment at the bottom, so I'll keep that in mind next time. I am assuming that newer oil (possibly at the "right" level) is better than old (maybe original) oil. It certainly feels better and there was a slight knock that went away.

Thanks for all the help. I don't mean to dismiss any advice, just that some is out of my comfort zone.

Cheers!

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[neomuzzi]

Touche! All good advice too.

I'll do a once over on the charging system. Hadn't really considered it from a wholistic POV. Ex, could just be the coil is problematic or something more isolated.

Bike is super fun to ride... Brakes? Not so much.

[Puffs]

Well, I didn't intend fencing with Dirk Gently...

Those drum brakes can underperform if the lining is glazed (due to time, rust, or maybe some grease), and it can help to roughen them up with very course sandpaper (grit 40), or maybe a wood rasp. The idea is not to remove much, but to roughen the surface. Best do this outside, wearing a dust mask - might contain asbestos.

There's a thread on brakes like this that re-surfaced recently: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=8446

[Fliphorizontal]

Further to the fork oil capacity thread.

The fluid volume is self explanitary, but do you 'dip' for oil level with springs in or out?

The Haynes manual just isn't clear on this point.

Mike

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