Viral Interlude

[AlanJ]

Hi Guys,
First off, I hope you are all surviving the virus problem ok. Sadly though because of my age we are into our 7th week of lockdown, bit of a pig.
Anyway, as I can't go anywhere I thought now is the time to have a go at the 7 boxes of Saxon Tour 301 parts that the previous owner sold me with my
now running Saxon Tour 301. I thought, shouldn't be too difficult, especially as I have a running Saxon to look at. I must mention that the boxes are not
nice ones, all clean etc with everything all nice and lovely, it's in a right mess chains fork springs yuck. Trouble is it all takes up so much room. Incidentally,
I must also mention that beside the 7 boxes there is the front forks frame tank dual seat various panels etc. In the boxes some of the parts there are 4 of them
all in different boxes so it gets a little complex here and there. Anyway enough of my drivel, I have now finished all the part spraying except the engine which
I have started to strip down, mind you we had some fun undoing the main shaft clutch nut (100Nm) I had to extend the 22mm by over a meter and shove another meter tube up the chain holes. With the wife pushing and me hanging onto the chain end, Bingo. I must admit I wish I had a picture of that caper.
I will try to get some pics when I start to rebuild but at the moment I am waiting for the double lip main seals and a rattle can of high temp satin black for the engine.
So, wish you all well take care Alan

[Puffs]

Hi Alan, hope you'll get through this well too!

The advice is to do some exercise, together with the wife, but I'm not sure the intention was to hang on chains & pipes... Here they're advising things like walking & cycling. But it sounds like you're having fun, so good for you.

Good luck & looking forward to your pics.

[AlanJ]

Hi Puffs,
Thanks for your kind thoughts. I am waiting for an order from Parcalari which includes a pair of front fork stanchions and until I get those I can't really start building, although, at the moment I am well underway with the engine refurb. I was very lucky, recently, I managed to buy from Verity in St Ives Cambridge who used to be a main MZ agent way back, a few of the main service tools/jigs, the one that clamps onto the engine, the beam for extracting bearings and the clutch compression tool, it all helps. Anyway when I start building I will try to do some pics.
Stay safe, take care Alan.

[Blurredman]

Have fun..

During the process of being told to stay home, an awful lot of people are doing an awful lot of things that they had no time to do otherwise!!

[Puffs]

Special service tools from a previous MZ dealer - that's a good opportunity! Previously in Aberdeen there was a dealer, but here in Belgium I'm not sure if the MZ was actually ever imported... Sounds odd, with B neighbouring on D & part of it actually speaking German, but MZ's seem to be quite rare here.

Best of luck!

[AlanJ]

Hi Guys,
Just a bit of an update, in the previous post I mentioned that I was waiting for parts from Turkey, the main parts being the fork stanchions and at
44 dollars I had to go for them, just because of the price. There were lots of other small parts, and the rear grab handle. Trouble is with the Covid problem
I am not getting any replies to my mail from MZ Parcalari or PTS Worldwide Express. Now I know that Turkey is in trouble with Covid 19 but if that is the
problem wouldn't you think they would put something about it on their web sites, but NO not a thing. The reason I am posting this is be careful guys where
you shove your money during this very terrible time. On a lighter note, I have just cooked the engine barrel and head in HER oven, now, i've got this female
machine that i've had in my possession for 61yrs and when I bought it it only cost 7 shillings and 6 pence, mind you now it's in charge of the oven I am not
sure if it was a good buy.
Anyway All wish you safe and well, Alan.

[AlanJ]

Hi All,
Just a thought, has anyone else had this problem? (with Turkey, not the oven)
Alan.

[Puffs]

Yes Alan, long before Covid-19 existed I had sent them some mails & they never responded. It might be the company or the staff (English?), not so much the virus. Anyway, that's one of the reasons I never bought from them.

I rarely cook my barrels & like to keep my head cool. But if you like to share your recipe...

[AlanJ]

Hi Puffs,
Having 3 Z's I have used Parcalari often, not without problems though, they sent one order to a London delicatessen/ cafe, luckily the owner
got in touch and it all worked out ok, but this time I have tried everything I can think of including phoning twice, trouble is the answering person
would only talk to me in Turkish, can't understand that. Joking apart about the overn on my Saxon 301's right engine cover I forgot to cook the
satin VHT black paint and I over spilt some petrol on it and it washed the paint off, not good, so this time, in the oven for 15 mins 120c, hope it works.
To be honest Puffs I am a bit concerned about this order as there are 38 items in this one and if and when it's finished it will be sold, so I want it to be good
for a new owner.
Anyway stay safe Alan.

[Puffs]

I see Alan, you're baking high-temp paint; ta for clarifying.

I only have 1 MZ (ETZ251), and barrel & head are not painted, nor is the engine case. The engine covers were painted alu colour, some 20 years ago. They were not baked, and by now there are some rare spots, but not nearly enough to warrant new attention. I used engine enamel, indicated to work up to only 315°C/600°F. Unlike very high temperature paint (up to 650°C/1200°F, some even 800°C) as used for exhausts, that does not require baking, and seems to stick & cover much better, and is glossy.

Hope it all works out well with your order. They indeed had a few items which appeared quite attractive, but in addition to communication issues, what I also did not like about that shop is that they had different prices for inland sales vs. for exports (sort of an export tax, to support Erdohan), + that here in Belgium I'll have to pay import duties & taxes, on anything above €22. And that also means it's stuck in customs here for an extra month or so, and that financially it's not all that attractive anymore.

One thing you can try is, in your mails, add a translation to Turkish, for instance using Google translate (https://translate.google.com/). That should reduce language issues.

[AlanJ]

Hi Puffs,
Thanks for your thoughts, and regarding the translation I have always used and given them info for my order in both English and Turkish and as you know
it's inside a second for them to receive that order. To be honest Puffs, as I mentioned earlier I have tried to contact PTS Worldwide Express 5 times without a reply so perhaps it's a Turkish thing, keep the b******ds wondering. Anyway enough of my grousing. Back to Z's, my TS 250/1 has an all alloy finish on the engine
whereas the Saxon Tour 301 has the outer engine covers in satin black. At the moment though I'm twiddling me thumbs waiting for the clutch plates to arrive
on Wed or Thurs. Incidently, the reason why I am sticking this subject out in the open is to say be careful guys.
Be safe Alan.

[AlanJ]

Hi Guys,
A bit of an update on my order from Istanbul. Everything arrived ok this morning. Just in case anyone is looking to use Parcalari, it took exactly
4 weeks from me ordering to delivery and as Puffs said earlier communication is not good, I have always used a translator but the replies are very short from
them. I must mention I am not pushing for sales to them and as Guesi said on an earlier post, quality is sometimes suspect. But!!!, it's up to you.
Take care all, stay safe Alan.

[Blurredman]

Ah yes, the modern Turkish language is a revelation!


Personally, I've never ordered from Parcalari. I have kept my reservations on them whilst I stuck to the suppliers I had always used. All the concerns I have heard on this forum over the years about Parcalari haven't seemed to have changed. I believe you often post about them, Alan and have problems (?). On their website they state 'Fast World Wide delivery'. But I never wait for more than a week anywhere else.
It doesn't make me want to buy from them specifically, esspecially when I get my poor quality reproduction parts from Germany or Hungary for the same price

However.. that said, it could be that you stick with them for it is better the devil you know?

[AlanJ]

Hi Guys,
You're probably right about "the devil you know" some of the time it's the devil I don't want to know. To be honest M I didn't want to awaken Germany again especially as Guesi is so bloody good at helping with info on models and parts,. But!!! I Will tell you that the stanchions which are ok are $44 and the ETZ grab handle is $15. Just look at prices elsewhere. To be honest though there are not too many idiots like me that start building from 7 boxes.
Stay safe Alan

[AlanJ]

Hi all,
I pondered over whether I ought to carry on grousing about the way things are that are not too good at times
Then I thought what the hell, so, as I mentioned earlier I am giving the clutch cassette a refurb so because the 4 pressure
plates and the 5 fiber plates were rather rusty, I ordered new ones for both, from eBay and they arrived Tuesday so I cleaned all
the parts after dismantling and as I am lucky to have an MZ workshop pressure tool, started the rebuild. Trouble is when I tried to
add the first pressure plate it was a fraction too big to slide down the splines and all 4 pressure plates are the same so I have cleaned up the
originals and they are fine. The bit I am trying to get to is, I have sent 2 emails to the supplier and as yet, no reply. It doesn't seem to matter
these days who you pick. When I took the cassette apart there should be 6 small washers, called spacers you can see them in the books or better still u tube
In my cassette there was only 1 washer spacer. Just thought I'd mention that, they are important.
Anwyay Guys sorry about the grousing. Stay safe Alan