Posts
87
Joined
10/10/2016
Location
Friendswood, TX
US
Edited Date/Time
1/9/2019 2:11am
I wanted to share with everyone a bike that I found in Europe this year. I was working there and ran across this bike, which I think is very significant to MX history. In 1966 a two stroke won the 500cc World Championship, for the first time. It was a CZ 360 twin pipe ridden by Paul Friederichs. He won the 500cc World Championship for 3 consecutive years, 1966 through 1968, putting the two stroke MX bikes as the dominant force to be reckoned with, for decades.
In 1965, Paul Friederichs finished 2nd in the 500cc World Championship on a prototype CZ 360cc, for the CZ factory team. The factory made 4 of these bikes and they used the 250cc lower end, with a 360cc cylinder, head, piston, etc., and is somewhat difficult to do. The bikes were made in 1964 and 1965 and raced to develop the World Championship 360cc twin pipe for 1966, since there was not a two stroke 500cc mx from the CZ factory.
I was later given a book from Roger DeCoster's 1969 factory CZ mechanic's son, that is 500 pages in length, of all CZ models from 1937 to 1977. I met him at a ECMO vintage race in the Czech Republic this past summer. There is a section in the book for the factory race bikes, and there is a picture that shows 1 of these 4 bikes made to campaign while developing the 500cc class two stroke, the CZ twin pipe 360.
In addition, the son told me of the issues that the bikes had during development of the 360cc twin pipe production model for 1966.
This bike was found in a motorcycle repair shop in Czechoslovakia, many years ago. I purchased it from the person that restored the bike. It is now in Texas, in my collection.
There is also a picture of Joel Robert on 1 of these 4 factory prototype bikes, back in the day. I consider it the find of a lifetime.
I hope you enjoy the story and the pictures. This bike is the prototype of the bikes that changed 500c MX history from 4 strokes to 2 strokes.
In 1965, Paul Friederichs finished 2nd in the 500cc World Championship on a prototype CZ 360cc, for the CZ factory team. The factory made 4 of these bikes and they used the 250cc lower end, with a 360cc cylinder, head, piston, etc., and is somewhat difficult to do. The bikes were made in 1964 and 1965 and raced to develop the World Championship 360cc twin pipe for 1966, since there was not a two stroke 500cc mx from the CZ factory.
I was later given a book from Roger DeCoster's 1969 factory CZ mechanic's son, that is 500 pages in length, of all CZ models from 1937 to 1977. I met him at a ECMO vintage race in the Czech Republic this past summer. There is a section in the book for the factory race bikes, and there is a picture that shows 1 of these 4 bikes made to campaign while developing the 500cc class two stroke, the CZ twin pipe 360.
In addition, the son told me of the issues that the bikes had during development of the 360cc twin pipe production model for 1966.
This bike was found in a motorcycle repair shop in Czechoslovakia, many years ago. I purchased it from the person that restored the bike. It is now in Texas, in my collection.
There is also a picture of Joel Robert on 1 of these 4 factory prototype bikes, back in the day. I consider it the find of a lifetime.
I hope you enjoy the story and the pictures. This bike is the prototype of the bikes that changed 500c MX history from 4 strokes to 2 strokes.
Have you ever ridden it?
Is that your collection in the photos?
.
I raced a twin pipe 360 for 2 years in the AHRMA series. I currently have 4 other twin pipe CZs. I really like those bikes.
No, that is the collection that it came from in Europe, in the background. Part of my collection can be seen at my website http://www.vintagemxbikes.com
Thanks again for the comment. Having the prototype for the two stroke MX bikes that changed the 500cc class history was never in my wildest dreams when I started collecting vintage dirt motorcycles.
But I hope you can forgive me for looking right past it in the collection pictures and going, "Whoa!!! A bunch of Ancillottis!!," thinking it was a U.S. collection. If there is a works bike I'd like to have, I think it might be the 1976 Ancillotti 125. Probably the best chassis the Sachs 125 was put in and not a brand sold Stateside AFAIK.
He also had several Goris, and took me to meet Mr. Gori at a bike show in Italy. I saw a vintage Gori with a water cooled head on a Sachs engine.
Appreciate the kind words on the factory works CZ. I see that you are in the Houston, TX area. I am from there, as well, I should know you, but do not recognize your name/picture.
Thanks again.
The Shop
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