Tarting up MZ ETZ125. ideas please!

[d113]

Hi everyone,

Got myself an MZ ETZ 125, lovelly little bike. takes me where I need to go and is comfortable as anything. Mechanically im pretty happy with it, runs and idles real nice, might sort a new carb for it and one of those german spannies for laughs but otherwise the engine is sound. got it with around 16,000 miles, now around 16,600.

It is very tatty, the paint on the tank is wrecked with petrol stains and it looks pretty miserable, the side panels are rusty as well so I think Im gonna splash out and have her painted. But Im kinda stuck for ideas, the ETZ tank shape is a bit, er, different, and it makes it hard to imagine what paint schemes would look good!

Part of me wants to go for jet black tank and side panels with matt silver mud guards, think thatd look nice and tidy but part of me wants to go with colour, like a bright orange tank and side panels with matt silver mudguards, or should I combine the two? with black and an orange stripe down the middle of the tank.....

what do you guys think? any other ideas would be great. What were MZs racing colours? were they always white and green or did they ever have anything else?

any other ideas as for modifications would be appreciated

Pics to follow soon.

Dan

[garryl]

Is this it?.....




If so then I S'pose it depends on how you're getting the paint job done, ie DIY with rattle cans or a Pro job.

If the former then a nice simple flat colour would be easier to get a better finish - if the latter than I'd go for a 2-tone type job to break up the overly large tank profile..... something like below only perhaps black where the blue is for a more retro feel.

[cerberus73]

I like MZ's a lot, had a lovely TS 250 supa 5 in mid 90s till some thieving ned nicked it and i got it back as a wreck.... only ever ridden one ETZ and suffice to say i didnt buy it, shame engine ran sweet but the gearbox was bad, i mean to change gear you had to lift foot off footrest to clunk her into gear. i much preffered my TS... would love a ES 250/2 trophy, there the mad ones with earles front forks and heavy headlight instrument cowling and the goofy front mudguard.

My TS had a black tank, with chrome inserts and black rubber kneegrips, made the bike look older than her 70s age,, more 1950s black sidepanels and chromed mudguards with the ally section of frame polished. same with engine casings, polished and powder coated barrel

seen a great ES trophy in yellow and black, made her look like a crazy wasp... i guess that 2 stroke buzzing and screaming was very apt.

The ETZ was always a boring if reliable bike compared to the earlier offerings from them, and always seemed to be in single flat colours, red, blue, and black, and i think silver was an option as well, as you said tank dont really lend itself to fancy complex paintjobs, id go with a laverda jotta type orange or the metallic KTM orange (lol i LOVE orange, cant exactly miss it eh!) or a metallic scooby blue... thats a nice shade... even gunmetal metallic can look good on a simple large expanse of metal like the ETZ tank. i wouldn't go overboard on chrome, but stainless spokes and rims or plain old powder-coated rims and stainless spokes, with a plain black powder-coated frame, and stainless bolts, after all i bet you intend to ride her in all weathers, so a nod to practicality on the ease of upkeep front

[jonw]

Sounds a perfect rat bike to me. No fake patena, just the real thing!!!

Have seen an ETZ made into a very mean looking trail bike.... prehaps an option???

[d113]

I think I will be getting it done professionally. I dont want to rat bike it and just let it gradually look more sand more shite.... Its taken me to a lot of places with very little fuss (until the other day unfortunately, sounds and feels like a top end job is in order) so I feel like I owe it you know, I wanna give it some dignity so a nice tidy up with paint would be just the thing.

I love that honda caf racer but dont think it would suit the humpback tank of the ETZ. the hond is sleek whereas the MZ definately isnt!!

Im really liking the Laverda Jota orange idea maybe that with matt silver mudguards....
mmmm

now just need to decide between Jota orange and plain old jet black...



I know what you mean about the clunky gear box, Im tempted to adjust it so the gear lever peg sits a bit lower but for all of its quirks I really like this bike. I bought it because it was what I could afford not necessarily what I wanted (yet I was desperate not to have to settle for a 4 stroke so at least that bit went right!) it only cost me £110, and in total around £150 after a couple of parts and the MOT so it really doesnt owe me anything, I love it to bits so want to spoil it. Never ridden any other MZs. I love the look of the older ones but the faff of premix doesnt appeal (my previous bike was premix and now i have auto lube id find it hard to go back to premix)

I reckon im gonna be getting the top end done, found a cheap replacement engine as well so Ill get that as a spare while the originals getting rebuilt (might not do this one myself, theres a famous MZ tuner near by so ill leave it with him if I can and have it all done right) and hopefully by then ill have settled on paint

the original muffler is rusty as well so Im tempted to get one of those 40 euro spannies from germany.
so much to do!
Cheers guys,
Dan

[TerraRoot]

Think we need pics of your bike d113, if it's the same as the one garry posted i'd be tempted toward the off road/super moto look with high mudguards as your right about the tank being too short for a sleek cafe racer look.

Jota orange FTW!

[cerberus73]

only major issues that really go wrong with MZ's is that they need the crankcase oil seals doing if the bikes been laid up and unused for a period of time, and yep the gearbox is what i would describe as "agricultural" wiring can be a bit crap on them, so if your doing a engine out rebuild it use that time to sort the electric's. good points, all parts can be had new and cheaply. they aint an expensive bike to buy, run, or fix. downside is that they aint exactly fast or glam, but hey they get you there! i would get your engine professionally rebuilt if you aint up to doing it yourself, once she is back then you can look forward to 1000s miles of trouble free riding. have a look on the MZ riders club website, ok the sites a a bit crap in terms of style, but some good info and help there

[jawathemutt]

any progress?

[davytelford]

interested too