The CZ fails but Honda does it

James Devery is a young friend of mine who bought himself a two-stroke Czechoslovakian motorcycle which is nearly twice his age. He fiddled with the wires and rode the thing straight up the Hume to NSW and back, in the week of heat that preceded Black Saturday.

The CZ has "character", so James has not ridden it much. Though he has gone from an ignoramus to a skilled home mechanic in a short time. Here it is:



On Monday last, James and I went on a ride. We intended to wander about the hills between Daylesford and Maldon. The little 175 handled the freeway well, though it left me worse for wear from my position behind, drinking the blue smoke it emitted.

Just south of Tullamarine Airport, James pulled over.  The bike had failed in some way.

You check the gearbox oil-level on the CZ by unscrewing a bolt in the case: if hot oil pours out, there's enough in it. ...a simple yet strange motorcycle! We stood there scratching our heads, turning eccentric bolts, watching oil leaks and strange smoke for a few minutes, while cars accelerated past us at 100kph.  We later learned that his clutch had decided that, now the electrical system was sorted, it should self-destruct.

Suddenly a light truck pulled in. I was getting ready to wave the driver on, when his grinning face revealed Craig, of Mischief Makers, a custom bike fabricator. It was like a TV show where the young bucks get themselves in trouble, and the cool older guy happens to turn up and save the day.

So James' CZ returned home via Craig's truck. After I ferried James himself home, I set off (it was now 1pm) to take the Eastern Freeway out to Kinglake, where I had lunch, then Flowerdale, Strath Creek for Coffee, Broadford to visit an aunt and cousin I have not seen in years, and home down the Hume Freeway.

At Flowerdale I explored a new dirt road, Spring Valley Road.