Fosse way day trip on an old MZ motorcycle
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- čas přidán 24. 10. 2023
- On a sunny day in October 2023, I took a run along the Wiltshire section of The Fosse Way in the UK. These days, this old Roman road is part surfaced and part track, mostly straight, but sometimes overgrown and with some river crossings.
The motorcycle was a 1979 MZ TS125. A barn find that was given to me and which was made roadworthy over the course of a few months. The light 2-stroke bike coped well with the difficult terrain, although some off-road tyres would have helped in the muddy sections. The simple mechanics and rugged design made it a strong choice for adventuring.
If you're here to see my failure to negotiate the rutted section, it's at 3:10 😅
www.steves-workshop.co.uk - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Also mine was the one with the Chrome Sides to the Tank and added by a previous owner Black Rubber Pads on either Side making it look like a Honda Black Bomber....not that I knew it at the time.....ha ha....!!!!! Just looked Proper to me at the time & Was Such a Joy to Have such a big proper looking first bike....!!!! :) :) :) :)
If you had the chrome side panels, then you had a Lux (delux) model. These usually had a rev counter too. Mine is the cheaper Alpine model, with less chrome and the speedometer in the headlamp shell.
In 1977 Went to Hiedelberg Germany from Scotland on an MZ TS250 2 up... 19 Hp, great bike never missed a beat those were the days gone on a whim
The 250s are still very popular bikes in the club, especially for touring. It's hard to beat a 2 stroke for simplicity isn't it. No oil and filter changes, no valves to adjust. They may not be as efficient and a modern bike, but they certainly are rugged and reliable.
My first proper bike - after a moped - was TS125 in blue, bought from a next door neighbour for IIRC £150 in 1977, it had beensat unused for 12 months in his garage and had only about 200 miles on it when I bought, it sadly got killed by a idiot car driver who turned right across me. It was replaced with a TS150 (and an older etz150) bought for the insurance value. Great little bikes in the day.
They are nice little bikes. I find mine very comfortable, with a keen engine in a lightweight frame. Shame that yours got wiped out, it being such a low mileage example too.
I had a 150 version of this bike in the early eighties.....great little bike!
I knew nothing about them until I had this one. But the more I learn about them, the more I appreciate the design and thought that has gone into them.
Green Laneing Great Fun, a chance to see the countryside and be at one with Nature, and a great way of destressing ones self from this crazy world, makes a good change from Fishing. Take Care !!
Yes. It's good to get lost in the countryside. Travelling alone is a nice way to clear your head too.
My first bike was an ETZ 125. It was both awesome and scary at the same time, the latter because it had a habit of breaking in the weirdest of locations.
I guess the simplicity of them means they can break, but (so far) I've always managed to get mine going again. Always carry a spare plug!
The TS 125 was my first Bike and really felt like a proper sized bike with iirc the 250 frame and 125 engine and running gear....!!!! it was bought for £150 which unfortunately reflected the state of the exhaust and the amount of exhaust paste holding it together....which as you can imagine didn't last too long....!!!!! However this was the thing which allowed for the most incredible mod which was my Dear friend Rob Day.... telling me that what it really wanted as a replacement was a micron race pipe.....Which I somehow managed to find prob off an RG 125 which someone had spent some money on etc...... Rob then managed to weld on to the cut off Header Pipe on the TS 125 cut off an inch or so from the cylinder.... and hung it from the exhaust hanger at the back and suffice to say that it fitted perfectly...... that is to say having a 6 inch wide expansion chamber under the foot pegs did limit ground clearance somewhat fortunately on my slightly more nervous side....however any obstacle to ground clearance was swiftly remodelled by a combination of the weight of the Bike and my enthusiasm to grind the aftermarket chromed footpads on both sides as I discovered and explored the Joys and 3 dimensional delight of riding a Bike for the first time....!!!! And Suffice to Say that the made to fit Micron Race Pipe Thanks to my Dear friend Rob's engineering Genius and inspiration Looked, Sounded and went Amazingly well & was Set of Fantastically By the Annodised Purple Motocross Bars which came at the same time as the new exhaust more than completing the look..... And Def Having Such a Seemingly Proper Bike made such an incredible introduction to motorcycling especially in Devon.....where the 45 degree rake on the front forks and epic Czech Build and Proportions made for Something which was equally at home on the odd green lane too..... I will however say that the electrical system was indeed another story entirely and the cause of endless problems especially in combination with the horizontal Biblical Devon rain which was Particularly Heavy through those few years and literally didn't stop from September till April for two years running....apart from for three days over new year both years where ups it froze hard to -10 or so where all of the surface water did exactly the same thing....!!!! and happened so fast the second year that all of the water in my leathers froze hard minutes before a fairly major off on 20 yards of sheet ice with a river running across it from one side of the road to the other....!!!! But Suffice to Say that Keeping all of the Rain out of the Big Steel Headlight and the End of the Crank Case where all of the 6 volt electrics lived was another endless battle..... But Suffice to Say Having Such a Big Proper Bike as my first Bike Was def an Experience I'll never forget Especially where all of the Beautiful Sunny Days were concerned as well...!!!!! Unfortunately it was killed by being run over By a Reversing Lorry Who Hadn't Seen me and when I couldn't Get it out of Gear in Time and so had to Lay it down and watch the inevitable..... But it was replaced by an RXS 100 which was immediately Modded with the same Purple Bars which significantly improved the Handling with both their width and significantly more forwards riding position....And suffice to say that it was pretty quick for what it was and absolutely bombproof able to hold an indicated 70mph literally all day long.....and reved to the red line in every gear and was unbelievable reliable.....But I have to Say that even with the new Bars replacing the original Shopping Bars and the resulting improvement in handling even with descent tyres....It Never had the Handling characteristics and confidence inspiring ability to grind the pegs from one side to the other afforded by the weight of the TS125 which was Just fantastic to Hustle through the Lanes B roads especially in the Summer in the dry.....!!!! :) :) :) :) :)
Ah great memories, thanks for sharing. The MZ electrics are a weak point I would agree. This bike has a later regulator which is electronic, rather than mechanical, which is an improvement I think, but generally 6v electrics can be troublesome. They certainly are good bikes for handling, and I find mine very comfortable too.
Great video thanks - love the bike. just a piece of constructive criticism: motorcyclist like to listen to motorbike noises not elevator music.
The only changes I'd make would be to tyres, mudguards and slightly wider handlebars.
I agree 😀the tyres especially, but that may also necessitate lifting the mudguards of course. I found the handlebars OK, but wider might make it easier.
@@stevesworkshop2194 Yeah, just a few inches wider might help it in ruts or slightly more difficult terrain. You've certainly given me food for thought and its so nice keeping the old bikes going. My problem is I have to travel 14 miles before the fun green lanes begin. I'm considering a DT175 or Suzuki TS185, although they're getting pricier these days.
Likewise, I have about 10 miles to reach my closest green lane. The road section is not much fun on a 125. DTs are nice, my mate had a 50cc one back in the day when we were 16. That was great off road because it was so light.
What's the rocker switch on the right side of the headlight shell for? Nice video.
Hi David. The switch is for the yellow spot lamp (seen at 1:52 in the vid). I use it as a daytime running light because it has an LED bulb, so doesn't overwork the fragile 6V electrics. At night I switch it off because it is too dazzling for other road users. Thanks.
You did well to stay on for so long on road tyres Steve ! How did you get the moving shots apparently shot from away from the bike, yet very close to it - were there two of you ?
Thanks Dave. Most of the track was straightforward but the ruts caught me out. Unfortunately the track was fenced off at the end so I had to go back the same way. The fence was the Cotswold airfield perimeter which breaks up the old Roman route.
The tracking shots are made with a camera on a stick (so to be used with some caution) and the software removes the stick. All very clever. The camera collects data from all 360 degrees too, so you can frame it later. I think it comes from Google earth technology. A case of shoot and point, rather than point and shoot like in my day.
I'd heard of the invisible stick thing, but your shots are all so stable - in fact in your opening shot you can see the bike bouncing over the road, yet the scenery is all completely stable - this is absolutely amazing ! I expect it's old technology to everybody else on the planet though.
Cotswold airfield is what used to be Kemble is it ? I can't remember the Fosse Way geography now.
Shame you had to turn around - you were prob expecting to have to do that though. Dave
The image stabilisation is astonishing. I think on that opening shot it has locked onto the horizon leaving the bike to move against this fixed datum? The camera uses Gyros. At one point it fell off and tumbled along the ground, but the footage remained locked in the correct direction!
Yes the airfield is Kemble. There is a bike friendly cafe there called the "AV8 cafe" and that was my goal, but the time I lost battling the ruts and the dead-end meant I had to start heading back.
@@stevesworkshop2194you can get further than Cotswold airport by going off the track before you reach the dead end section and there’s a path through the field and beyond. Dropped pin
goo.gl/maps/pMA7KTjkebc4GzpVA goo.gl/maps/pMA7KTjkebc4GzpVA
Then on the road to Rodmarton, turn left in Oathill Lane and follow it along u tip you reach another on your right that you can follow heading north east from … Dropped pin
goo.gl/maps/tUPwNSFJosrUEnwd9
"PromoSM" ☀️