I have returned!!!

[TS2Fifty]

Following my recent absence, due in more than part to bad weather & for some crazy reason, losing interest, I've finally got round to getting the TS250/1 up and running.

I can't really remember where I left it on here, whether I'd mentioned the replacement engine or not but hey... After some discussion with a local bike shop owner it transpired that his father was an MZ man & had in his shed a spare motor with non-blown gearbox, along with a decent carb & exhaust all of which I duly bought when funds would allow.
The motor seems to be an earlier unit with only 4 gears & no rev-counter drive fitted but with standard size top end & in good order aside from the chain "guide" part of the casing which appears to have been savaged by a snapped chain at some point & ground away so that the chain tubes don't now fit on but no bother, at least it goes!

So in the last couple of days I've been doing the first few test rides & had surprisingly few problems, only 2 in fact - first being the crud in ther fuel tank from standing empty all these years, which took no less than 3 tankfulls to wash out! Second being that the new NGK plug I bought to replace the snapped L78 is a dud hence I'm currently riding round with the original (probably in a literal sense!!!) Champion wrapped in electrical tape & re-hashing it every 20 miles or so which reminds me, I've got to do it again before I go home...

All that's left now is to finish splitting the original 5-speed lump & see what bits are needed to rebuild that, although once finished I think I'll just be keeping this as in effect a "spare" due to simple fact that I'm a lazy sod & also I think the smashed casings of the 4-speed are nicely in keeping with the look of the rest of the bike, that & it has (surprisingly) more than enough torque to handle the wider ratios given the type of riding that I'm doing.

If I ever work out how to transfer pictures from my phone to this blasted computer I'll post a few pictures up of the beastie in all its filler & road film glory for you all to laugh at. Anyways better wrap it up now, sorry for the long post but it's been a while & I've actually done something in that time so if you don't like it why did you read this far?

Cheers & happy MZ'ing, Dan.

[TS2Fifty]

Guess I spoke too soon about that plug, it finally let me down just after having got home (fortunately!) on Sunday. Still not bad for a 30 year old spark plug in a 2-stroke I suppose...

I've managed to get mobile again using another plug of roughly the right size from a lawnmower & went to the bike shop to order a supply of slightly hotter plugs this time, hopefully they'll improve running further.

Also, I now have a rather embarrassing testament to the durability of these machines & more specifically their supposedly weak gearboxes. Having a few minutes spare after the plug failed I decided to fit the rev counter drive & do a few other bits including lube duties & checking the gearbox oil...... Empty!!! From the lack of leakage/smoke screen after re-filling I know it must have been running empty for the last week/200miles at least! Gear selection is a little smoother now & my respect for these machines has gone through the roof.