Motorcycle "Chezet" - the cherished dream of a Soviet biker

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

In the early 1930s, when the first Jawas were already on European roads, the Czech arms factory Ceska Zbrojovka (CZ for short) also decided to switch to the production of two-wheeled vehicles.

Pre-war history of CZ

The first Chezet motorcycle, the photo of which shows a unit that looks more like a bicycle, was designed and tested in 1930, and the first batch was already released the following year. The machine was equipped with a 60cc engine3 located on the front wheel. The design turned out to be so unsuccessful that not a single one was sold out of a little more than two dozen copies. Even the decision to simply distribute them to the company's employees did not add popularity to the first Chesets.

The next CZ76 with a 76cc engine, released in 1932, proved to be much more successful, and a year later the CZ98, equipped with a 98cc engine, rolled off the assembly line³, and almost behind her is the CZ175 with a 175cc engine^{3. The new motorcycle "Chezet" had a double stamped frame and a three-speed gearbox. 175th became one of the most popular models of the pre-wartime and was released in the amount of more than 20 thousand copies.}

Factory Ceska Zbrojovka after the war

After the end of the Second World War, the enterprise again began to produce civilian products, resuming the production of an improved Chezeta-175 with a front telescopic fork, and later with a candle rear suspension. By the mid-fifties, CZ is part of the Java concern and begins to manufacture motorcycles developed at the Java association and equipped with 123 and 148 cc engines. And yet the history of Chezet did not end there, and factory engineers continue to develop their own motor vehicles. At the same time, the main bet was made on the sports industry. However, due to a number of circumstances related to the reorganization of the enterprise, the production of sports models had to be postponed for some time.

In 1962, the cross-country motorcycle "Chezet", equipped with a 250 cc engine, rolled off the assembly line, which immediately showed itself not only in Czechoslovakia, but also in international competitions. Famous riders of that time, from various countries, competed on the Chezetas - Igor Grigoriev and Viktor Arbekov from the USSR, Joel Robber from Belgium, Paul Friedrichs from the GDR.

Motorcycle "Chezet" in the USSR

In the 1970s, CZ re-established the production of road motorcycles, focusing on the production of motorcycles with engines of 250 and 350 cc3, some of which also came to our country.

In the former USSRCZ motorcycles with two-stroke single-cylinder engines with a displacement of 123 and 172 cm³³, as well as two-cylinder units with a volume of 250 and 350 cm^{33 received the greatest popularity. True, the latest models were supplied mainly for numerous DOSAAF motorcycle clubs, which existed in almost any, even the smallest town. Just like Java, the Chezet motorcycle became a symbol of prestige and a standard of reliability for Soviet motorists.}

The end of the CZ era

Unfortunately, the events of the nineties that took place in the USSR led not only to the collapse of the former union state, but also to the collapse of the entire Soviet bloc. The situation at the Ceska Zbrojovka plant turned out to be simply catastrophic. Showing an increased interest in the products of the Czech manufacturer, the Italian concern Cagiva acquired the CZ plant and launched the production of Roadster motorcycles sold under the Cagiva trademark. The new motorcycle was produced with two engine options - two-stroke Cagiva (V=124 cm³) and four-stroke CZ (V=200 cm^{3). However, the project turned out to be unprofitable and, in the end, it was decided to abandon the production of motorcycle equipment at the production facilities of the CZ enterprise. And yet, the Chezet motorcycle not only played its bright role in the history of European and world motorcycle construction, but also became a world-famous brand, a kind of visiting card of Czech craftsmen from the city of Strakonice. Although, maybe he is still only ahead?..}