New to MZ rider

Black Panther/Street Moto, Baghira, Enduro, Mastiff, Skorpion Traveller and Tour.

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New to MZ rider

Postby Fortflory » Mon Mar 03, 2014 3:26 pm

Howdy ya’ll,
Bought a 2003 MZ Baghira Enduro in the fall of 2012. Extremely low miles (Km) but weather didn’t allow for much riding. However one evening I started out for a quick jaunt around the block. Just to see what trash people had thrown out. Don’t mess with Texas! How’s that working?
When I got to the end of the driveway and tried to downshift into 2nd it would not shift! Crap! Rolled out onto the road and feathered the clutch until it was up to a reasonable 3rd gear speed and then up shifted into 4th and 5th with no trouble. When I came to the corner I tried to downshift again. 5th to 4th to 3rd was fine but it would NOT go into 2nd.
Well I rolled through the stop sign and around a corner into a church parking lot, all the while feathering the clutch and gas. I head back for the house with the same results. 3rd 4th 5th were all fine up and down but no 2nd gear. It simply would not go. Crap again! Didn’t do this on the test drive before I bought it. Ya gotta wonder???
A former neighbor, friend and co-worker has a son that has a cycle shop so I called him. Now this kid has worked on everything from Sears Gileras to Ducati’s to new BMW’s. He’s worked in England for a few years too so he has the knowledge and skills and hopefully, the experience to work on an MZ, so I give him a call. He explains what it might be (I suspected a bent 2nd gear shifter in the trannie) but he wanted me to bring it into his shop. So I loaded the MZ in the truck and took it into Austin the next day.
Still locked out of 2nd. They’ll have to strip it out of the bike to get to the trannie which is no easy task. Turns out they did it three times as there was nothing obvious to keep it from shifting! They got it to finally fail but not consistently. A little polishing on critical parts and it’s smooth as glass. I just hope it stays that way. The rest of the engine looks brand new inside. What with the winter we’ve had (even here in Texas) there ain’t much riding getting done. I haven’t been to a station to fill the gas tank. Just out of a can so far.
When I got the Baghira I found out it was named after the Black Panther from the story “Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling. Well since my incident I now call it “The Golden Panther”. I didn’t mind paying too much because the kid has got to pay his employees and himself and I want him to stay in business, but these German toys (BMW-Mercedes-MZ’s etc) are expensive! I know…Yamaha engine but hey!
I started to ‘bling’ it out in gold items. Gold colored bar ends. Brass (gold) panther figurines mounted near the tank. Golden Angels wings on the headlight. 3D gold panther heads (place your thumb and fore finger together gives an idea of how big they are) mounted on each side of the rear fender. A golden panther mounted on the license plate holder backside. A golden brass placard for the front fender that says ‘Panther’. I also fabricated a rear luggage rack from an old shopping cart. Naturally it’s painted gold.
But so far the piece de resistance is my home made skid plate. I was going to use the back of one of those office chairs you see sitting out by the road on junk day. Got mine from the local recycle center for nothing. I figured the plastic back would be perfect. After I got it all tore apart I found out that under the exterior decorative shell (thin) there is a white shell (much thicker) that looks like the same stuff that was the skid pan on my Bultaco Sherpa “T” back in 1977! This stuff is bullet proof and flex’s better than aluminum. I LIKE IT!!!
Once I got it tore out I fashioned a piece of cardboard and marked it to match the frame. I had to trim and modify the cardboard some but it made a good pattern. Then I marked it out on the chair back. It has a curve to it that I didn’t think would fit but it actually worked out perfect. It covers and protects the down tube where the oil drain plug is located and it looks great. At least to me.
I cut it out with a saber saw in no time. I then tied it to the frame with strong tie wraps and so far they have worked well. I like the way my additions have turned out and hope to hit the road this spring. Next up for a spring build will be a center stand to make chain oiling easier cause I plan to ride the snot out of it! Ron Flory Age 72
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Fortflory
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 2:49 pm
Location: Elgin, Texas

Re: New to MZ rider

Postby edfmaniac » Mon Mar 03, 2014 6:39 pm

I'm just the other side of Manor and have a customized Skorpion. Maybe we can get together some time.
01 Skorpion Traveler 660
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Posts: 768
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:56 pm
Location: Austin, TX

Re: New to MZ rider

Postby Fortflory » Tue Mar 04, 2014 7:24 am

Sounds good but can we wait until the ice is gone?
Fortflory
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 2:49 pm
Location: Elgin, Texas

Re: New to MZ rider

Postby edfmaniac » Tue Mar 04, 2014 9:40 am

No rush here.
01 Skorpion Traveler 660
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Posts: 768
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:56 pm
Location: Austin, TX


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