Golden Jubilee Year.

The Club That Represents All Jawa and CZ Owners and Riders.

Club Officers.

John Blackburn (Chairman)

Paul Mason (Secretary)

Peter Edwards (Spares officer)

Arthur Fleming (Club Librarian)

Tony Thain (Member Sec)

John Woods Torque Editor

Mario Mager (Intl Liaison Officer)

Steve James Ian Bridge (Treasurer) (Anniversary Editor)

The views expressed in this Newsletter are the personal views of the contributors and not necessarily those of the JAWA-CZ OWNERS CLUB or its Committee and officials. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission.

2004 Jawa-CZ O.C. ___________________________________________________________________

Note:
The Jawa-CZ Owners Motorcycle Club is totally independent of the manufacturers and any dealers; and all Committee members and Area Representatives are unpaid volunteers.

******************************************* Contents: Page. 1. 2. 4. 7. 9. 11. 15. 20. 22. 26. 30. 33. 36. 41. 44. 48. 50. 53. 55. 58. Foreword ( by John Blackburn ). Editorial ( by Ian Bridge Anniversary Mag Editor ). The Beginning The First 10 Years. Rallies. Where can I get some information? ( by Paul Mason ). 1994 2004 ( by Peter Edwards ). A Sort of Profile (by Tony Thain). That was a week, That was ( by Colin Gregory ). A Life Changing Event ( by Ian Bridge ). In The Beginning ( by Mario Mager ). 27 years on a Jawa (or two) ( by Arthur Fleming ). Memories ( by David Haddock ). Historical facts about Jawa. Bob Rixen ( by Terry Wildego ). The Story of how I became Treasurer ( by Stephen James ). The Avon Section ( by Martin Broomfield ). The Irish Connection ( by Pat Brennan ). What it takes to become a biker ( by Roman Tobisek ). Sweden and Britain lead the way ( by Cay Bernhardsson ). In Conclusion (by Ian Bridge ).

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FOREWORD
2004 sees our Club 50 years old and still going strong! This is a remarkable achievement, and those few individuals who gathered together in London in 1954 to start the Club could not have realised that 50 years later their legacy would not only see the club still in existence but going from strength to strength. The Club was originally set up to provide mutual support, and today that philosophy still applies as we continue to provide services to members and opportunities for social contact with like-minded JAWA-CZ people. There were some prophets of doom who said the Club would decline after the political changes in Eastern Europe and also that the Club was doomed when no full time importer took over from Skoda GB. How wrong they were! The Club membership is increasing year on year; the number of people attending our annual rally is increasing and our events calendar is as full as ever. Our members are a diverse bunch - some ride their JAWA-CZs too and from work, others restore older machines for shows and displays, others still compete with their bikes in the disciplines of road racing and speedway. If there is one characteristic that is common to all, its their friendliness, as anyone who has been to a Club gathering will attest. I am proud to be the Club Chairman, in this our fiftieth year and hope you will all join me at all the celebration events during this special year. 2004 is also the 75th anniversary of the first JAWA motorcycle being produced and there is the possibility that the factory will produce a special edition Jawa motorcycle in commemoration. Let us hope that this marks an upturn in Jawa production so we can celebrate the 100th anniversary in 25 years time. 25 years is not so long a time, I joined our club in 1979! So 2004 also marks my 25 years of membership, and I have to say that the time has simply flown by, I have made many good friends and Club events have made riding my JAWA-CZs a more enjoyable experience. I hope you will all help make 2004 a very special year. John Blackburn ******************** ( Chairman)

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Editorial
It really is hard to believe that it was 10 years ago that I sat down at home and on my wifes typewriter spent many long hours producing the Owners Club Special 40th Anniversary Newsletter. Now here I am again doing the same, but this time it is to celebrate the 50th Anniversary. Not only is the Club that much older, but so am I! The last 10 years have indeed seen many changes. CZ no longer manufacture machines, Jawa are now only a shadow of their former self, and to all intense and purpose, new machines at the moment are no longer imported into the UK. All doom and Gloom it may seem, but from a Club perspective that is not the case. The last 10 years have seen the Club continue to function and hold many successful events. Its membership numbers have slowly grown and more and more older machines are now being seen worthy of restoration. The marques have now also gained more respect than ever as people look at them not as some crude Eastern European machine, but as the masterpieces of engineering that they are. The International Jawa/CZ fellowship has grown at a phenomenal rate, with a number of new Clubs being set up throughout world. Without doubt the Internet has made such contacts so much easier and our International Liaison Officer, Club Librarian and many other UK members have helped to make this international Jawa/CZ Fellowship grow. Many new friends have been made. Ten years ago I said that for any Club or organisation to last for 40 years is an achievement, well, here we are at our Golden Anniversary, and for a One Make Motorcycle Club with machines of Eastern Europe origin that is certainly phenomenal and I believe unique. I know of no other Club dedicated to these machines that has been in continual existence as long as we have. So why is it that our Club has proved so long lived? Well! It comes down to a number of factors: (i) It has been due to the dedication of a relatively small number of individuals, who have give much time, energy and frequently their own money to ensure that the Club continued to survive when there were turbulent periods. (ii) The bikes themselves have a certain charisma and charm and with being a minority marque in the UK this has attracted like-minded people. (iii) I believe the Club has fostered the feeling that all members are part of a very select family, and I know from my own point of view, that it has enabled me to make many true and special friends over the years. The bikes and the Club have proven to be an excellent catalyst. Im sure at times weve all had reason to cuss and moan about the bikes, but really deep down there is a special respect, if not always for the bikes certainly for the people who designed and manufactured them, frequently under less than ideal conditions. The story of the heroism of a small group of Jawa factory workers during the second world war, saw development of the Marque under very dangerous conditions, and many of these developments were such that their technical aspects are still very much to the fore today. I know that as I have got older the appeal of super fast expensive machines has dimmed, and today I can really appreciate the very relaxed way that riding my Jawas can give me just as much pleasure as more complicated and sophisticated machines. Jawa and CZ development has been by evolution, not revolution, and many will say the bikes

( 3 ) are now an acronym to todays riding public. Well, all I can say is that I like the character that these machines have, and I know that many of you feel the same way too. 2004 sees not only our Golden Jubilee year, but also the 75th anniversary of the manufacture of the first Jawa in 1929, and to celebrate both of these events the Owners Club here in the U.K. will be holding a joint International celebration rally, where we hope that many of our overseas friends will come and join in with us. With a membership scattered across the whole of the U.K., Ireland and even many overseas countries without doubt the main unifier keeping all members in touch with each other has been the clubs Newsletter (TORQUE). Torque originally got its name from the characteristics of performance that the bikes displayed, and made its first appeared on the July/August 1956 edition No. 25. Its inception has been credited to Doug Briggs (alias Schnorrer, which is Yiddish for beggar or scrounger!), and Im sure that all who have been members over the past 50 years owe a great deal of thanks to the many people who have spent a large part of their spare time (voluntary) to edit and produce it, the Club would have been a lot poorer without them. This special commemorative edition is to celebrate the Clubs 50th birthday, and as we look back over that period many of us will obviously have our own memories about events and people we have met, but as much as we now celebrate the past we mustnt be blinkered by it, but must also look forward to an equally successful future. In 50 years motorcycling has changed from purely a low cost means of transport to one that now seems to be primarily a leisure tool, but its nice to know that even today in less affluent countries Jawa and CZ motorcycles are still used as the work tools they were designed to be. I hope that as you read through this Commemorative Newsletter you will not only find it of great interest but that there will be new facts about the Club and the bikes for you to learn, and that it will further strengthen your bond with the Owners Club and the bikes. Many people have contributed items for this special edition, and I thank each one of them for their effort and support. The articles are varied and hopefully give an insight into why the Club has proven to be so successful over 5 decades. The Owners Club is here to help and support its members and all is done voluntary by enthusiasts, but remember that You get more out of the Club when you are prepared to put something in. Have pride in YOUR Club, after all it is a truly GREAT CLUB. Ian Bridge. [Anniversary Magazine Editor] ********************

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The Beginning The First 10 Years.

A common desire of many people is to trace their family history back as far as possible. We here in the Jawa/CZ Owners Club know exactly when our history started it was 1954, which is why this year [2004] we celebrate our 50th (Golden) Anniversary. Knowing ones roots is important as the Clubs heritage defines why we are the way we are today. With literally thousands of owners being members during the past five decades, a lot of history has certainly happened, but unfortunately the history of the first decade is only known by a very few people. The following is information about this period compiled from information supplied by a few of these early members.
********************

It seems hard to imagine today, but Jawa motorcycles had only been produced for some 25 years and CZs for about 22 years when the fledgling Jawa CZ Owners Motorcycle Club in Britain was set up during 1954. Although the bikes were in many ways more advanced for the period than many similar British product, total sales within Britain were minuscule, and so owning either a Jawa or a CZ was a rarity and meant you had no friends with similar machines with which to compare notes and ideas with. It was in this climate of trying to bring other Jawa and CZ owners together that a young man by the name of Ted Williams from Leyton in East London assisted by two brothers, Sid and Len Willis, decided to set up an Owners Club with the prime aims of mutual help, the exchange of information, friendships and of course a social agenda. Following some advertisements placed in Motor Cycle magazines of the day a small group of owners eventually got together and started to meet in Len Williss house in Flanders Road, East Ham every Thursday evening. Various club runs were organised (usually on a Sunday) and as a mutual help tool, a Newsletter started to be produced. Initially it had no name, but by the July/August 1956 edition (No 25) it first used the name of TORQUE. It is believed that the originator of this name was club member Douglas John Briggs (alias Schnorrer) who came from Essex, and who then owned a CZ 150cc and was employed as a river Thames boat pilot. He was renown for his great sense of humour, and later became Torques editor for a number of years.

Doug (Schnorrer) Briggs on his CZ circa 1956.

Although it was Ted Williams who initiated the club, he actually only stayed a member a short time and left it in 1955, leaving Len Willis to take over as Secretary and his brother Sid as Treasurer. A Peter Nurse at that time became the newsletter Editor. The Club during its

( 5 ) early years thrived, even though its membership was small, but it was helped a lot with support and assistance from MOTOKOV (the Czech vehicle export agency). At the motorcycle shows that took place in London during those early years, Club members frequently help helped out on the displays, promoting not only the bikes but also the Club. One of the major milestones in the Clubs history certainly has to be during 1956, when a certain Bob Rixen joined the Club. Bob was to stay an ardent supporter of the Club and the Marques for the rest of his life [he died in 1987], and without doubt he had an immense impact on the Club and the way it evolved. Bob only ever rode motorcycles (he never owned a car) and over many years undertook most of the Club committee posts at some time. He was technically brilliant, but most of all had the interests of fellow Club members at heart. He was always willing to help sort out problems. Following Bobs death, the Club instigated THE BOB RIXEN trophy which is awarded annually to a member the committee think has done most for the Club during the preceding year(s) it is the Clubs highest honour. 1957 saw major changes to the committee with Len Willis retiring after nearly three years as secretary, Terry Wildego taking over the post and Dave Hawkes becoming the treasurer and Schnorrer the new editor. By now the regular meetings were taking place in Dave Hawkes flat in East Ham. 1957 also saw (another to be Club stalwart) Brian Storey joining the Club and Brian too was to eventually undertake a number of the Clubs committee posts. 57 was also the year when the first really ambitious club run took place to Czechoslovakia.

A young Terry Wildego & Brian Storey doing some Jawa off-roading. 1958 saw a relatively busy events year, with long runs to Dorset, a weekend in Wales, a weekend in Cheddar and another weekend at Kelvedon Hatch. With membership now totalling approximately 60, although it was still small, the Club was gradually become more ambitious in the runs etc. that were organised. 1959 saw the meeting venue change first to a pub called the Sun in the Sand at Blackheath, South London, but this proved unsatisfactory, then in November to the home of another member, Jock Wades who lived in Bayswater. Jock was a character, he was a short wiry Scot who always wore a leather flying jacket, despatch rider trousers and boots, and the throttle on his bike only had two positions - full open or shut! Jock unfortunately died round about 1964. 1960 saw Bob who had taken on the P.R.O. post attending on behalf of the Club a meeting of One-Make motorcycle clubs. From this meeting was formed the One Make Federation and Bob was to be their first secretary. This organisation later went on to be the B.M.F [British Motorcyclist Federation]. The B.M.F. today is one of the two main motorcycle pressure groups within the U.K, so we can be justifiably proud that our Club was one of its

( 6 ) founding members. 1962 saw Bob change his role to Club Treasurer, and there was another Club trip to Czechoslovakia. There was also the Club taking part in the first rally of the Federation of One-Make Motorcycle Clubs at Beaulieu in Hampshire. Highlight of this and several future rallies was the Gymkhana events, where people couldnt understand why the Jawas and CZs excelled [they werent aware of the bikes semi-automatic clutch and Club members never let on] Oh Happy Days! 62 also saw Brian become the P.R.O, Ivan Wallace the Social Organiser, and Terry the Secretary and Editor on the retirement of Schnorrer. Early in 62 there was also a 24 hour endurance event called the Esso Scoot, which was a ride from London to Edinburgh. Terry and another member Don Newing entered, Terry on his wifes 98cc Manet and Don on a 175cc Czetta. Both completed the event with no problems and were awarded second class awards. Terry achievement on the Manet also got a mention in the national motorcycle press.

Geoff Brown, Brian Storey, Terry Wildego & Mick Grady, admire Jawa while on trip to Czechoslovakia.

Outside Hotel at Spindleruv Mlyn.

In July of 1963 clubs nights transferred to a church hall in Chillerton Road, South London which was to be the Club venue for many years to come and to many it took on the mantel of being the spiritual home of the Club. So as we enter 1964 we come to the end of the first decade of the Club existence, with Mick Grady taking over the P.R.O. post, Harry Hilton becoming the Social Organiser with approximately 60 members and a yearly subscription of fifteen shillings (75p). The Earls Court Motor Cycle show of 1964 was a great disappointment with it only being about a third of the size of previous shows. It was in fact to be the first signs of the general decline of the motorcycle as a popular means of transport, and reflected the general reduction in sales of new machines that was to take place. It was at this show however that a young 17 year old, Ian Bridge was to first make contact with the Club, although it was to be another 10 years before he started to take a prominent active role within the Club. So ends the first ten years. ********************

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Rallies.
National Rallies, and Branch camping weekend are perhaps amongst the most popular of Club organised events, and each year there are a number, which take place at various venues throughout the country. These events over the years have both been of the basic type, [where it takes the form of just a get together of members with their bikes,] to the more fully organised National Rallies. The Club however was 23 years old before the first National Rally was held in 1977 at Lydiard Park Swindon, but it has been held every year since and is now the premier gettogether event for members throughout the country. A full list of where these rallies have been held follows, but I think its true to say that the current preferred venue of using Rugby Club grounds has proven to be a winning formula. The Rugby clubs have given us the use of their fields for camping and events, while their club house and bar is perfect for the evening functions or in which to sit if the weather turns bad. This together with a full catering service is a far cry from the days when we huddled around campfires in the cold and the damp eating burnt sausages, or on one occasion, fish & chips out of newspaper. The fact that a rally has been held every year since 1977 is a testimony to the hard work of literally dozens of volunteers who have given their time [and often their own money] to ensure that their fellow Jawa/CZ members have the most enjoyable time. Some years have proven especially memorable, and the heavy rain and mud of the Stanford Hall rally in 1978, together with the snow blizzard wipeout of the 1981 Lilford Park rally stand out as perhaps the two most severe.

The Cover from the programme of the Very First National Rally.
The printing of this cover was done for the Club Free-of-Charge by the motorcycle division of Skoda (GB) at Kings Lynn.

Everyone who has ever attended one of these events will of course have their own favourite with their own memorable moments, but what is clear is that they are events primarily for people to enjoy the use of their bikes and of course to meet up with old friends and to make new ones. The last ten years has of course seen the expansion of the Jawa/CZ family throughout the world, but for us here in the UK and Ireland, I suppose the growth in the European family has

( 8 ) been the most marked. Our continental friends themselves now hold regular rallies and gettogethers, and many of our Club members have attended their events. These inter-country get together's have proven particularly successful, and not only foster friendships between the different European people, but also prove the strong international affection there is for our Czech machines. And long may it continue. Calendar of National Rallies.
1977. 1978. 1979. 1980. 1981. 1982. 1983. 1984. 1985. 1986. 1987. 1988. 1989. 1990. Lydiard Park; Swindon. Stanford Hall; nr Rugby. Donington Park; Derbyshire. Park Hall; Lancashire. Lilford Park; Northants. Kibworth RFC; Market Harborough. Kibworth RFC; Market Harborough. West Norfolk RFC; Kings Lynn. Kibworth RFC; Market

1991. 1992. 1993. 1994. 1995. 1996. 1997. 1998. 1999. 2000. 2001. 2002. 2003.

Harborough.
Top Farm; Yorkshire. The White Heart; Lincs. Kibworth FRC; Market Harborough. Callow Top Farm; Derbys. Northampton Agricultural College.

St. Brendans RFC; Bristol. Bunkers Hill; Boston, Lincs. New Kibworth RFC. Market Harborough. Preston Grasshoppers RFC; Lancs. Old Scouts RFC; Northants. Braitwell; Doncaster. Wrexham RFC; Wales. Wootton Bassett; Wilts. Wirral; Merseyside. Goulceby; Lincs. Sheffield Tigers RFC Oswestry RFC. Shropshire. Whitchurch RFC. Shropshire.

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The Club that Supports All Jawa/CZ owners and Riders.

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Were can I get some Information?

[ Paul Mason - Secretary] Summer 1982, a friend was selling a CZ Enduro as a non runner. As he had given up on it, I should have known better, but, I decided that a simple 2 stroke single couldnt be that difficult to fix! It was cheap (50 I think) and I wanted to do a bit of trail riding anyway so I bought it. Big mistake. Over the next months I struggled with the beast, but still I couldnt get it to perform correctly. At times I felt like taking it to the bottom of the road, and throwing it into the River Mersey. No one I talked to knew much about the machine (except Pauline at Mick Berrills who could supply me with most of the spares I needed) so I gave up and left it in the corner of the garage. 1983, and we made our annual pilgrimage to the Classic Bike Show, where I spotted the Jawa CZ Stand. Ha, Ha, I thought. Just maybe someone there could help me with the Enduro. Among other fine machines on the stand I was surprised to find an Enduro, SUCCESS Ive now seen another one! The helpful people (sorry, I cant remember who you were!) on the stand filled my head with many ideas why mine wouldnt run properly. Ray Burgess Lowe offered to send me copies of several sheets of factory modifications and wiring diagrams which arrived next day. These, together with the advice, had the bike up and running properly. Great, so I thought maybe I had better join this outfit full of helpful people, so, I sent off my money and became a member of the Jawa - CZ Owners Club. Over the next few years I attended several meetings and camps, the one that really stands out for me was a trail riding weekend in 1984, organised by Jeremy Thomas, and held at Shelve in Shropshire, and of course, the various Jawa - CZ Owners Club National Rallies and camping weekends. In the early 90s my Enduro was seen for the first time on the Club Stand at the Classic Bike Show, which was now being held at Stafford. This era also started the Northern Classic Shows at Bolton, with stands organised by Don Chadwick. My best recollection of these (apart from showing several Bikes) was carrying an Ice Racer across 2 Halls, as we were not allowed to put the spiked wheels down on the sports hall floor this operation caused a lot of cursing and swearing! I cannot recall the year, but it was around this time, that I was appointed Technical Advisor for the Enduro models. Over the years I guess that I must have talked to or corresponded with about 20 or 30 owners of these rather rare machines from all over the world (Australia being the furthest). A great pastime, and I think I have learnt as much as I have helped others over the years. My next Jawa was a 634 Oilmaster bought in bits (will I never learn? But it was at a friends stag night after many beers!) the guy who owned it had bought it as an outfit, with the lightweight Squire chair. He only wanted the chair to put on his Kawasaki and thought I was mad to buy what he considered to be a load of scrap. 3 weeks later, with Mally Morgans help it sported a new coat of paint and complete rebuild. The silencers were completely blocked and were probably why the bike was taken off the road in the first place. No way could we get it to run until they were unblocked. The previous owner admitted to being Totally Gobsmacked when he saw his old wreck at a Rally 3 weeks later I think he was rather sorry he had sold it to me! This bike served me well for several years until I got bored and sold it. Since then I have had a succession of Jawas and CZs (always at least one in the

( 10 ) garage) :- another 634, several 471s, 482 Trail, 638, 559 and a Mk1 500R. Some I just used as they were, but the Trail, one 471, 559, and 500R I totally restored. Some people ask why I bother to restore Jawas and CZs when they fetch so little money when sold. My answer is why not, I have the fun of restoring, riding, and showing them, and it certainly upsets the owners of the much more expensive Japanese models it costs an absolute fortune to restore an old Jap bike! I dont think you can ever get your money back restoring bikes whatever the make or model. Its also really nice to support the underdog. At the 1993 AGM I was elected as National Secretary, at first, a slightly daunting task, but with help from John Blackburn and Pete Edwards I soon settled into the post (thanks chaps). This job has had its ups and downs over the years; the really low point was the problems between the Jawa Riders Club and ourselves in the mid 1990s. Thank goodness we have put this all behind us and we now all get on with each other! Apart from the day-to-day administering of the Clubs affairs, this post also puts me in contact with so many people, mainly on the telephone, but the Internet is now catching up fast. (Even for us poor people who ride antiquated Eastern Bloc 2 strokes) Again it is great to talk to, and correspond with so many enthusiasts of both our Marques and motorcycling in general. Here I must also thank the membership for continuing to vote for me at the AGMs. But after 10 years I guess it must be getting towards time for someone else to take over the Secretarys post. (any offers?) Since 1996 I have organised the Club stand at the Classic Mechanics Show in October at Stafford. From its humble beginnings as a one-day show in just one hall, it has now expanded to be as big as the April Classic Motorcycle Show. We have won several awards over the years, much to the disgust of some of the big Japanese and European clubs. This is entirely due to the hard work (and many tubes of Solvol Autosol!) and many hours put in by so many Club members, bringing their bikes, and helping out on the stand. Thanks to you all, it all helps to put the Club on the map and gain new members. For a Club of only 390 members we seem to be able to produce a stand so much better than many of the larger one make clubs. 1999 saw myself, together with Sandy and Mally Morgan and Roy Fardoe organising the Clubs National Rally at Clatterbridge on the Wirral. A lot of hard work, but in the end it all came together really well and I think most people enjoyed themselves. In 2003 I found myself helping Sandy as she was the Rally Organiser last year, and Im sure this years 50th Anniversary Rally will be a real bumper affair as well. My present Czech stable consists of CZs, The 250cc Enduro and a 350cc model 472. 21 years of Czech bike ownership and still going strong. Finally, I wish The Club All the Best and its members throughout the World safe riding in this, our 50th year, and long may the Jawa CZ Club of Great Britain and Eire (to give it its full title) continue to prosper. (Maybe well even see the new Jawa 4 stroke being imported soon). ********************

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1994 to 2004
(By Pete Edwards) In 1994 we printed an A5 size 95 page history of the Club and I managed to fill pages 32 to 47. I am under strict instructions from Ian Bridge not to repeat myself and I will comply only as I still have a few copies of the first 40 years history available for sale for 3 inc postage. No price hike for a limited edition note! Cheques etc payable to JAWA CZ OC with your order. Likewise I have stocks of some early Rally Badges also 3 but only if you attended and have lost your memento! Just let me know which year you need. Now the commercials are over let me go back to 1993/4. The last article ended in February 1994 with the Club holding its collective breath following the breakaway by some keen but disillusioned members to form the JAWA CZ Riders Club. We wondered what effect it would have on us could the split herald the end of the OC? Nobody knew so we carried on as usual and have continued from strength to strength but sadly without some stalwart past members. As I write this the mailing list exceeds 380 with TORQUE being posted worldwide, as I am sure Tony Thain will have reported. We have a page on the Web still hosted at no cost by Freeserve and started, developed and updated by my son in law, Chris Baddiley who has no connection with the Club other than as a volunteer helper thanks Chris. In case you have missed it the address is www.jawa-cz-ownersclub.freeserve.co.uk or simply type JAWA CZ into a search engine and we appear near the top of most listings. I am working on Arthur Fleming to take over updating the web pages but he persists in using one of those funny Apple computers and using FrontPage is a problem. So, until that is sorted the pages will only be updated as Chris finds time. He is under some pressure as he made me a Granddad on 1st May 2002 and she is now walking. Soon time for a CZ in the garage? The web page has become the showroom of the Club and I must receive about 10 or 20 contacts each week as a result. Most inquiries want technical advice or spares and many are from outside the UK. We try and help with the technical questions but only supply spares to members, so I urge people to join and it seems to be working as we now have over 21 overseas members. As a small club we have found it impossible to set up a system to allow people to order and pay for goods online so while spares can be ordered by email they still come to you with an invoice that is due for payment within 7 days! I expect Treasurer, Steve James will comment on this. The advent of the web is seen as a godsend to some and an evil to others. Some members complain that they have no access to the internet but that is no real excuse as anyone can easily check out our pages, often at no cost and with little effort. Many libraries and IT training centres have free access points and staff who can show newcomers how it all works so there is no excuse for not having a look. Going back to 1994 when I was TORQUE Editor and Spares Officer I really do wonder what has changed other than I feel more aches when I get up in a morning. I am no longer Editor but get just as involved as I still print, collate, staple and mail out TORQUE. 400 copies 10 times a year and without the continued support from my better half, Pat, I guess I would have dropped that pleasure long ago. From memory I stood down as Editor for Alan Hinchcliffe to take over, then I think Colin Gregory did a stint, then John Blackburn, back to Colin and all the time I keep on printing and helping out by finding extra copy to ensure the magazine has a full 9 sheets of paper every issue. I apologise if I have missed out an Editor during these 10 years. I also apologise for some of the reprinted stuff older members have seen before. What has really changed has been the printing technology. In 1994 we were still using a duplicator with just an occasional photocopied article as they were expensive. Now with cheap computers, scanners, digital cameras and a colour laser printer we can reproduce almost

( 12 ) anything and put in some colour pictures. Even typing up is easier as many members and Swindon Branch send in articles ready to print. The other 2 labour savers are having a membership database used to produce the mailing labels and self seal envelopes both a godsend and cheap. I still revert to writing the odd article and when time permits submit articles under one of the many pen names I have developed over the years but I am not saying which as that is a secret for Editors alone. On 2nd November 1998 Motokov (UK) Ltd stopped importing Czech JAWA motorcycles but continued to import Tractors and tyres. CZ had stopped production in 1996 following the withdrawal of the Italian firm Cagiva who had bought the factory, built a new production line and then fled the scene. CZ continue in engineering making fine guns which is how they started. We still send them a copy of TORQUE but there is little or no contact and only the odd employee remembers JAWA CZ imports. Again the Club took a deep breath wondering if this spelled the end. Yet again we have survived unscathed but the reality is that fewer members now use their bike on a regular go to work basis as parts availability is problematic and there are no longer any official dealers carrying parts. Past dealers can still buy from the one great UK source, Mick Berrill Motorcycles in Northampton and Pauline Ingram is still the fount of all parts knowledge should you need parts. Mick has a web site www.mickberrillmc.co.uk or you can phone 01604 636760. Many members buy direct from MZ Berlin at www.mz-b.de as they seem to have cornered the market in European spares and periodically attend UK events. UK and European legislation appears to have ended the life of any new 2 stroke but I have seen reports of a new range of JAWA bikes with Rotax and other engines. We shall have to wait and see if they find a way into the UK. I suspect they will be a rarity as there is no real funding to break into established markets. Details have appeared in TORQUE.

Pete Edwards on his 450 at the National Rally near Swindon John Blackburn judging. Pat and I are no longer able to get to so many events due to ageing parents. As I write my mum is 2 weeks out of hospital and Pats 3 weeks out. Both live alone my Dad having died in July 2002 and a visit involves round trips of 80 and 180 miles. Each year recently we have said we will try and get to more events but even holidays have been rare. I have also been hard pressed at work. In April 1995 I took voluntary redundancy from my job with the trade union UNISON hoping perhaps for a 3 or 4 day job. Friends thought I might start a motorcycle business! I did use my redundancy money to buy a company from the liquidator in June 95. Brian Clarke is the owner of the firm and was once Club Membership Officer such is the strength of a friendship formed in the Club. I worked with Brian for 12 months and moved a bankrupt company to a 750,000 turnover in 12 months and got my investment back. In 1996 I saw a local job advertised as the Regeneration Co-ordinator for a Round 2 SRB

( 13 ) Scheme to run from April 96 to March 2002 for 37 hours a week. The attraction was not just to manage the scheme but to organise a motorcycle project for young people. Between being interviewed and starting the job the project was shelved and it was never possible to revive it. As I was enjoying the job despite the regular 50 hours plus I carried on without a care in the world and we even had one Club AGM at my Enterprise Centre in Cotmanhay. 2000/01 saw an extra 264,000 from the East Midlands Development Agency then in November 2001 I got the news no more money after March 2002 so I was facing redundancy again but not of my choosing. In January 2002 I moved to a local charity another so called 37 hour a week job with Erewash Council for Voluntary Service. It seemed a good idea at the time but I took over an empire built on sand. One of the applicants for my new job claimed disability discrimination so I had 2 Tribunal cases to sort to begin with so much for 37 hours. In June 2003 I have reduced the staffing from 49 to 16, closed 2 offices, am looking to rent out 2 IT suites we cannot afford to operate and have the main site on the market for 300,000. You can imagine how many funders including the lottery I am trying to pacify. I hope that explains why I am often not at home when members phone. In reality I ought to find another job or give up Spares and TORQUE but there seems to be a lack of volunteers for the latter option and I want to sort out the Charity before I try and move on. We had also moved in 2000 from Breaston to Langley Mill. I found my dream home a former cycle shop with a yard and outbuildings. Not quite as salubrious as Breaston village. That brought an immediate 1000 a year benefit to the Club as we were able to give up the industrial unit where we kept the spares a constant source of friction for some few members, notably those who left to form the other club, but a democratic decision had been taken to obtain the unit and it was within our budget! I became involved in the Club in 1977 at the grand old age of 26 and now at 52 it is like an addiction but I am serious - if there are members out there, reading this who fancy a chance at any of the Club jobs do speak up. Most of us have been in harness for too many years to remember and would welcome helping a new enthusiast take on a greater role.we (Pat & I) easily did the bronze award of 250 miles 2 up. A variety of bikes followed and included I will begin to wrap up this saga by talking about my bikes. My first CZ was a 125 model 476 purchased new in 1976 for travel to work, used for the 1986 ACU National Rally when it was relaunched and sold soon after on condition I could buy it back. After 2 weeks I never saw it or the local owner ever again. I guess we were the lowest value bike doing the new rally and as it was our first time a 634 from member Frank Bailey and a 360 (now reacquired as a bitza), a CZ Enduro, from a guy in Wells in Somerset, another Enduro from a chap in London and a CZ Motocross machine from Derby. I also acquired for a friend a CZ 472 (350 twin) from former Editor Cyril Wardell and then ended up buying that back. Eric Smith in Derby sold me a CZ 450 (175 single 1969) which I still use. We even had a 638 combo for a time. I have never owned a Czech scooter or moped (but I have a Babetta engine).I considered buying a 500R in 1989 (2300 approx.) but instead got my Suzuki 750 GSX ES (2700) for continental touring. Went abroad once with it to see the Belgium Grand Prix at Spa got there and found it had been cancelled months earlier. I did eventually get a 500R for 300 from Wigan (MCN advert) and soon sold it to a member offering me silly money. Finally, I could not resist the 500R bargain (arent all JAWAs?) on offer from John Blackburn, so I bought it, got a huge fright from a tank slapper first time out and found the swinging arm nearly solid. Freed that off and replaced the shockers. Not long after, that wonderful email brought me an offer of another 500R in Luton. One owner from new, T&T August 2003 150 ono. So now I have 2 recently acquired Mk1 500Rs. I have also recently bought a rough 632 sidecar outfit from Mick Berrill with a seized engine. Another project the owner had decided it was too expensive to fix. The good news is that my CZ Enduro which has been modified to take a 1972 500cc Triumph Daytona engine is nearing completion. Along the way I acquired a CZ Enduro with Trial sidecar from a member near Kings Lynn road legal and

( 14 ) first tested on a Sunday run in the snow, with Pat sat on the chair, in freezing conditions when she was so cold she failed to notice her fingers turn white from vibration. I believe that I should now have something suitable for all the events the Club is planning in 2004. All I need now is the opportunity to ride the blessed things. I guess that should evil befall me Pats garage sale will be the best ever in the Club. It remains for both Pat and I to thank members and club officials for their support and friendship over the years, especially Dave Blackmore and Jack Wainwright who helped me re-roof my outbuildings. That will allow me to get the spares out of my lounge/dining room to be when Pat gets vacant possession. Every year the Xmas card list gets longer as new members become new friends. That is the real benefit of riding a Czech bike. I hope I shall be invited to write a few lines when we celebrate our 60th Anniversary as I am sure we will. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Footnote: Even Ben the scruffy dog is here thanks to JAWA CZ members notably Jan and John Woods insisting at a National Rally, in 1999 that we have a rescue dog. A visit to the RSPCA 2 days later another bargain. What other club gives you all this? Pete & Pat Edwards *********************

The JAWA 500R which the Club Raffled in 19?? and which was won by our former Treasurer John ORyan. ( and what a cracker she looks). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

( 15 )

A Sort of Profile.
(By Tony Thain Membership Secretary) Some time ago, Ian Bridge asked me to write something for the clubs 50th anniversary magazine. I asked him what he wanted me to write about and he explained that he needed A sort of profile of the Membership Secretary. Now, I find it very difficult to write about myself, which is why I haven't had a best selling autobiography, making myself a multi millionaire like Jeffrey Archer [I haven't been in the nick either!]. But Ian is not noted for accepting excuses, and after a recent visit by him I have disentangled his arm from around my neck and have conceded defeat. So here goes!! I joined the Jawa/CZ O.C. in 1981; became Membership Secretary in 1986; in 2004, I still am! Got the tick; wearing the Tee shirt and built the Empire! Will this do? No of course not, so I will start at the beginning so that I can bore you all with my life story! Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away....... Sorry wrong script! Back in the mists of time; 1961 to be exact; a pimply faced teenager awoke on his sixteenth birthday to find that his prayers had been answered [almost] and that he was now a proud owner of a MOTORBIKE! In those days, only the well off or sales reps had cars, and all teenagers started off with a motorcycle [usually ex military] to learn the craft of riding and driving, progressing later to the luxury of a car, if they were lucky. Generally, the machine acquired, by nefarious means, was a rat 500cc BSA single [this was before even the 250 cc limit for learners]. Not for me a thumping 500, I was going to have to learn about the mechanics of motorcycles, so the machine waiting for me was a well used 98 cc James Comet. At first I was a bit disappointed but soon began to appreciate the thinking behind the choice. It was safer because it didnt go so fast as my mates BSAs, in fact it didnt go! With help it was soon running when the next problem arose, how to stop the engine! The bowden cable to the valve lifter had rusted into a few flakes and as my pocket money only stretched to a few pints of fuel I couldnt afford a new one, so I learnt the alternative way; short out the HT lead onto the cylinder head. In fact there were two lessons here as I also found out about HT electricity, having selected a non insulated screwdriver for the job. Dad wasnt too pleased as said screwdriver became airborne and whistled by his ear. I became quite fond of the little bike as it transported me around West London, and I was soon well versed in the art of roadside engine rebuilds using string, bodge tape and a big hammer. There were few journeys that I completed without the joys of a breakdown, usually in hissing rain. I was quite sad when I had to leave the James at home on joining the RAF at the tender age of seventeen and a half. Nine months later, and I had completed my basic training and was posted onto the Comet squadron at Lyneham but had to complete the specialist Aircrew training at Thorney Island, on the South coast. Although the public transport system was far superior than we are used to today, airfields tend to be at the back of beyond, so I needed transport. The James was too unreliable for the job, so it was part exchanged for a brand new BSA Bantam, with the huge 175 cc engine, well it seemed huge after 98 cc! I now had the freedom to visit home when I wanted and rode thousands of miles on this bike. Once again it was a learning curve, the joys of a whiskered plug in the middle of the night high up on the South Downs in driving snow is one experience that the modern rider doesnt have to face. My riding coat also doubled as a tool kit, with several fresh plugs, spanners etc., so that on these freezing nights I could change a plug before the cylinder cooled down and be on my way as soon as possible.

( 16 ) It was a bit of a shock when my parents moved away from West London to Chorley in Lancashire and instead of a seventy mile ride, I was now faced with a two hundred mile expedition along the M5 and M6. This was in the days before these two motorways had been joined at spaghetti junction, and to avoid Birmingham the route took me via Bridgenorth. I know that my parents were becoming worried about me riding the motorways in all weathers as often they had to lift me off the bike and thaw me out before I could get out of my riding gear. The final straw for the Bantam was when I had a front tyre blow out at Stafford on the M6 as I was overtaking an articulated lorry. The usual way to overtake lorries was to slipstream them and to pop out at the last minute hoping that the speed differential was enough to get you past. On this occasion the lorry driver was a comedian and decided to match my speed! You can visualise the situation; me with the throttle welded to the stop, flat on the tank, when there was an almighty bang! My memories are somewhat hazy over what really happened, but I can remember watching the central girder underneath the trailer getting closer until it hit my helmet and then I was out the other side onto the hard shoulder, still on the bike. Once stopped I took my helmet off, one piece in each hand and assured the lorry driver, who had also stopped, that I was all right but that the bike was knackered due to a now non existent tyre. The penitent driver offered to give me a lift to Keele services and we soon had the lame Bantam loaded onto his trailer and transported to the service area where I could contact the outside world and be recovered. At home the discussion took place, which heralded the wilderness years and the end of my current motorcycling activities. I must admit that I was quite shaken by the incident with the lorry and didnt put up much of a fight when it was forcibly suggested that I continue my travelling exploits on four wheels instead of two. The financial inducements helped and finally my hormones suggested that I had a better chance of pulling with a car than a motorbike. One minor problem, no car licence! This was soon solved as at the end of my two week leave, not only had I acquired a car, had intensive driving lessons but had passed my test. The success of the latter was purely due to the experience and road craft gained on two wheels.

Tonia & Tony during Obstacle Course at National Rally. The year is now 1981, and I am now living in Swindon, married to Tonia and still flying with the RAF operating the C130 Hercules out of Lyneham. The Air Force had started to get serious about war games and everyone had to be capable of reporting into work within 45 minutes of call out. No excuses were accepted!! This gave me the ideal argument to get myself a motorbike as standby transportation in case my car failed to start during a call out.

( 17 ) With the principal agreed, I started perusing the local paper for a 350cc bike; I wanted something with a bit of grunt that would act as a workhorse but not so powerful that I could wrap it around my neck, bearing in mind that I had not ridden a bike for nearly 20 years. Soon I spotted an advert for a Jawa 350 twin at the right price, at this stage I had never heard of Jawa and mistakenly thought that it was some obscure jap manufacturer. Never the less Tonia and I went to have a look at the thing, at a house in Wootton Bassett. Tonias first remark was, Its massive! She was quite right as I hadnt expected such a tall bike, but I liked it, also it was a two stroke, like my two previous bikes. OK the machine was in a bit of a state but closer inspection revealed that most of the dirt was superficial. I wanted it! But I also wanted to hear it running. Unfortunately the owner did not have a battery, but could get one the next day, I was rather suspicious, but agreed to come back when he had got it running. The next visit saw me parting with a wedge of money and I was the proud owner of this mysterious bike, It was quite an experience riding it home and watching the smoke screen being laid behind me as the unused engine cleared out months of oil from the exhausts. I had been told that the bike was of Czech make and that there was a club in Swindon run by some guy called Bridge and it was best to join as spares could be difficult to get hold of! After several weeks of research, I finally managed to track the mysterious Mr Bridge and his buddies down to a pub called The Steam Train, and on arrival noticed a number of bikes in the car park. Two had sidecars attached and one in particular, with ape hanger handle bars, looked in a very sorry state, I was starting to feel a bit nervous about meeting this lot! Peering around the bar, I noticed a pair of rather unsavoury looking characters in the corner; long hair, even longer beards and greasy cut downs festooned with badges. This was my first encounter with the feared Swindon Mafia! My parents had always told me never to judge a book by its cover, and this time they were very right, as Carl Humphries and Jack Wainwright made me very welcome, and when Mr Bridge arrived [I was allowed to call him Ian, or Sir] I was inducted into the Jawa/CZ Owners Club and the Swindon Branch. Joining the Owners Club proved to be a very good move, as the next week the bike failed to start and I ended up pushing it across Swindon back to home. Ian helped to educate me in the weird and wonderful ways of the Jawa and the near mystical incantations that all owners must learn by heart, most of which would make a Sergeant-Major blush! After about a year Ian had established that I was a bit of an organiser and would be useful on the branch committee to try and counteract the waves of apathy that seemed to be eating away at the branch and its activities. He also wanted someone who could put together articles for the Swindon Magazine [now called Smoke Signals] thus relieving the burden on himself. Yes, you've guessed it! I ended up as Chairman and Branch Representative, which gave me the opportunity to attend Club Committee meetings. By 1986 the Swindon Mafia had become one of the largest and active Branchs in the Jawa Club, constantly hosting evening runs, camping weekends, exhibitions and an annual rally. By this time Tonia was a proficient rider on her MZ 125 and through her we made contact with the MZ Riders Club and regularly invited the MZ Bristol Section to attend our events. It was at the Branch rally at Lydiard Park that I was involved in a discussion about the membership administration which appeared to be working rather inefficiently with club funds being wasted on sending duplicate copies of Torque to some members and others not getting any copies at all. The whole problem seemed to date back to a change in Membership Secretary and the computerisation of the records. During the conversation it suddenly dawned on me that I had been co-opted into doing the job! I did ask Pete Edwards how much work was involved in the job and was told, Oh, only a couple of hours a week. Yes, I

( 18 ) believed him! Ian seemed quite pleased as the Mafia now had two of its members on the committee in major jobs. We soon made that three as Tonia took over the role of Branch Representative. At the club AGM, the following September, I was confirmed as the new Membership Secretary, but it took a year to iron out all the problems with the membership administration. Bearing in mind that 1986 was before the PC managed to get into everyones home, I had to reconvert the administration back to a manual system.

Tony & Jack Wainwright Combo Obstacle course. For the next couple of years my trusty typewriter travelled all over the world and the monthly membership was completed in such places as the Falkland Islands, Cyprus, the Gulf and the States. Wherever I was transported by the C130 the membership went with me! A bit like heads of state and the ubiquitous briefcase full of codes. At the end of 1986 I was posted to Brize Norton and the club membership transportation was upgraded to a Tristar so now I could work in comfort and further afield. In 1988 I suffered an injury whilst getting out of a Tristar, in a hurry, using the escape slide, I wasn't to know it at the time but the back injury sustained would change my life. I was grounded from flying and told categorically by the doctors to stop riding motorbikes or I would end up in a wheelchair!! It is at pivotal times like this that everyone has to take a step back and reassess their lifestyle. Yes; I would have to give up flying as a career, and I didnt really want to stay in the Air Force in a ground job. No; I didnt believe the Doctors about riding bikes, so I continued even though it hurt like hell on a long journey.

Tony in Scotland with his and Tonias bikes.

( 19 ) It was at this time that Tonia and I decided to buy a house in the Scottish highlands so that we would be established when I left the R.A.F. in two years time. So the situation appeared to be worse than it really was, I was living at Brize Norton and commuting 600 miles to Tonia and still running the Club membership. At times this was a nightmare as all the letters were sent to Tonia at Achnaha and I either collected them in bulk during one of my frequent visits or Tonia sent them to me at Brize Norton; not the ideal situation when I was trying to process an accurate monthly mailing list for the club Editor. In 1989 another significant event occurred when I found that I could not get into my office due to the room being filled with boxes. When I queried their presence I was told that the Air Force was being computerised and that was my computer. The next question was when are they coming to put it together and train me in the use of it? The result was that I had to put it together, and then teach myself how to use it! OK, today we can all put a computer together blindfold and we all have some knowledge of how the software works, but in 1989 this was cutting edge! I soon began to realise that there was a use for computers in the membership administration although it would be two years before I could implement this knowledge. So I spent the next year learning about spreadsheets and databases ready for when I could transfer all the manual membership onto my own computer. In late 1990 I left the R.A.F. and moved to Achnaha with the time to enjoy, for the first time, my motorcycling. But things dont always work out how they are planned! First of all the only motorcycle MOT station in Fort William closed; no problem! I found another on Mull. This garage has now discontinued motorcycle MOTs. As the nearest garage is now either Inverness or Oban, both about 150 miles away by road, none of my bikes are road legal and I haven't ridden for a couple of years now. So here I am, eighteen years on and still doing the couple of hours a week as membership Secretary. The records are all now computerised, something that I resisted for some time due to the cock up that I faced on taking up the job. There is a lot more to the job than just pestering members for their subscriptions and I think that it is the best position in the Jawa Club. Lets face it; I am the only member of the committee that has communication with every club member at least once a year! Yes there have been frustrations and irritations, like the time wasters who have found this rare old bike at the back of a barn and expect a valuation; manuals; advice and spares all for not joining the club. They can get quite abusive when they are told that the club facilities are for paid up members only; and that their find is not worth a mint and that I have two like it in my collection! It is then that I wonder if I have had enough. Everything can change when I can help someone in trouble, like the phone call I received from a rider stuck half way to Gibraltar in the middle of Spain. It didnt cost me or the club anything to help in the best way that I could and when I received his postcard from Gibraltar letting me know that he had arrived safely, it made everything worthwhile. It was even better when he joined the club! So dont forget a thank you or some other nice words can work wonders for all our volunteer officers and may well negate some plonkers rude attitude. Over the years I have made thousands of acquaintances, but very few friends. Most of those friends are from my association with the Jawa/CZ O.C. and my job as the Membership Secretary, and, although I am miles away from the hub of events I still feel part of the Jawa/CZ family. I wonder if I will be writing a similar article for the clubs 75th anniversary!!!!! I hope so. ********************

( 20 )

That Was a Week, That Was!!

[ Colin Gregory ] Back in the 90s, many of you will remember that the Social Calendar of the Club was always full, and as we opened the decade we were able to enjoy the Brandeston camp in March of that year. The event was somewhat earlier than usual in 1990, but we did have the added bonus of seeing our good friend Phil Culley, (who was known to many as Omar) dressed up to the nines for the Saturday evening pub session, looking every inch like Omar Sherif. This however was not the reason he acquired his nickname but more for his regular uttereance of the phrase Omar Gawd. We also enjoyed a successful day visit to Newark, attended by over 20 members. May saw us enjoying the sunshine at the Bristol camp and the breezes of Shobden airfield, courtesy of the camp organised by Ken Wilbey. June saw us at Northampton for the Clubs National Rally, and Im sure that no one will forget the fantastic display of Jawa/CZs put on by Mick Berrill in his Showroom. What other dealer would clear his showroom of his current stock to put a display of his classic machines on show for our benefit. In July we had several independent and at least one full Club team entered in the BMF/ACU 500 mile National Navigational Rally. If my memory serves me correctly, it was a bit of a disappointment for one of the Jawa-CZ teams as they only gained a Silver award, and missed out on the Gold! There were, however, a number of members who wanted more than the regular weekend jaunts and to this end Tony Seward, Ted Bullen, and myself, at this time known generally as the The Notters but sometimes as the Nutters, thought that it may be an idea to stage a week long camp! We knew that a goodly number of club members had children, and if we were going to get sufficient number there, the camp would have to be staged during the first week in August to coincide with the school holidays. The idea was to keep it informal and to this end we organised activities on the Mon/Wed/Friday, leaving Tuesday and Thursday for people to do their own thing. The idea in practice worked out very well and we increased our support by inviting fellow members from the Federation of Sidecar Clubs to join in with us. We even managed to get support from three Dutch outfit owners. The uptake was good, with over 18 members starting the week with us, rising steadily throughout the week until on the Thursday we had some 25 tents on the site with approximately 45 members. The Callow Top campsite at Ashbourne which we used turned out to be the perfect spot for such an event as it is set in the beautiful Derbyshire Peak District National Park. The site had all the onsite facilities we needed including excellent catering. It was perfect !!! Monday saw us on a trip out to Chesterfield, a town which still retains a number of its medieval half timbered buildings in the town centre, and hosts a large open air market on Mondays. The weather was good to us. The return journey took us along the A.632 leaving our trails of blue haze through the hamlets of Spitewinter and Upper Hackney before dropping down into the motorcycling Mecca of Matlock. It was then onto Cromford, where we picked up the A.5012 the Via Gella, again leaving our blue calling card as we climbed up to Grangemill before turning for our last leg back to Ashbourne. A great day out riding some great Derbyshire roads, and leaving us all ready for a good meal in the Callow Inn followed by a pint or three. Tuesday was a please yourself day, and many did. Some even did a bit of tinkering on their bikes, and we had a few more arrivals. For those who stayed close to the site there was always the site pub close to hand for a snack and a drink, and some of the more intrepid took

( 21 ) the short cut over the fields into the pretty town of Ashbourne. Wednesdays run out saw around 20 of us heading over the White Peak Trail for Stanton-inthe-Peak then Rowsley, and Pilsley before arriving at the village of EYAM. During the scourge of the Black Death plague years, the inhabitants of Eyam showed great selflessness when the plague found its way into their village. Instead of keeping it secret, the villagers cut themselves off from the surrounding communities until the plague had run its course, allowing no one out of the village or anyone to enter.

Martin Broomfield & Ted Bullen In the Eyam Stocks.

From Eyam through Bradwell, Brough and Bamford took us up to that famous stretch of water headed by the Lady Bower Dam. This was the dam used by the RAF 617 Squadran The Dambusters to practice their dropping of the bouncing bombs during WW2. After this we once again heard the call of the campsite and headed back after another great day out.

Tony Seward, the Blackburn Gang and Martin Broomfield at the Lady Blower Dam.

Thursday saw even more members arriving, with others taking more trips out to discover Derbyshire by themselves, and coming back with even more yarns to relate in the pub that evening. Friday saw us once again heading over the White Peak for Castleton and the Blue John Mines, a wonderful network of caves cut into the High Peak stone by wild water. The weekend was to be a proper camping weekend affair, and we had booked the barn-cumbar for higher numbers, and the Saturday went off well. As it turned out the Cossack Owners Club had also booked Callow Top for their National Rally that weekend, but they only had 18 turn up, so it only seemed right that we should ask them to join in with our festivities. As far as I know that is the only week long camp that we have organised. Perhaps its time for another??? ********************

( 22 )

A Life Changing Event.

By Ian Bridge. Swindon Branch Secretary.

While 1954 was a special year in the history of the Owners Club here in the UK, its importance on the future influence it would have on so many peoples lives could certainly not have been envisaged at that time. After all it was just a small group of young owners of some obscure Czech made motorcycles who were looking for like-minded friends for social get togethers. None Im sure could possibly have foreseen that 50 years on, their legacy would still be going strong. The adage From small acorns grow mighty oaks is certainly very true. While it was true that Jawa & CZ machines were technically advanced for that period; at least within Britain they were being sold into a market that was totally dominated by the then mighty UK motorcycle industry. Trading conditions were very difficult, and certainly in the early years there was no noticeable price advantage available to them that could be used to boost what were modest sales. These difficulties while inhibiting the growth of the Marques popularity did in many ways help to strengthen the fledgling Owners Club, as members became more reliant on each other for technical help and support. By the time the Club was celebrating its 10th Anniversary, I was a young 2nd year Engineering Apprentice looking to upgrade from a 1958 BSA D7 Bantam, to something larger. However there was a snag. As an Apprentice my take home pay was then only 3 per week so to change bikes meant that my choice was severely limited. At that time even the most modest of new larger capacity motorcycles were priced from 170, so there was absolutely no way I could afford to buy a new machine. For 1 shilling (5 pence today) I used to buy the Motor Cycle weekly magazine, and spent hours reading it from cover-to-cover, drooling over the various models that it road-tested and looking to see what cheap second-hand models there may be. One regular thing that did catch my eye were advertisements placed by a company called Pride & Clarke in London, who were selling some foreign made bikes at greatly reduced prices. There was a 250cc Pannonia from Hungary for 115 19s 6d, a Moto-Guzzi Zigolo (110cc) for 89 19s 6d and of course the Jawa 250cc Favourite at 119 19s 6d or the 350cc Senior at 129 19s 6d. The style of the Jawas really caught my eye, but even at these relatively low prices they were out of my financial reach. One of my friends who was also on the look out for a bigger bike told me he had heard that there was a garage in the Wiltshire village of Pewsey which was selling off its stock of bikes at cheap prices prior to closing down. We both decided to visit that weekend to take a look around and see just what was on offer. The day we visited as we entered the garage we were greeted with a grand display of lots of British bikes of all sizes. To us youngsters it was like an Aladdins cave as we wandered around in awe, but reality brought us down to earth with a bump when we were told what these cheap prices were! They were indeed cheap but for young apprentices they were still too expensive. The owner could obviously see the disappointment in the eyes of us two impoverished youths and said If youre looking for two great bikes, at a price I know you can afford then those two bikes in the corner are the ones

( 23 ) for you. We looked, one was a 350cc Ariel Red Hunter the other a 350cc Jawa. While I liked the Ariel, my heart beat faster when I saw the Jawa and it only had a few thousand miles on the clock. We were interested, but the price he was asking was still too much, so we left. During the week we contacted him again to see if he would reconsider what he wanted, after all, his garage was in the process of closing. It was then that he made us an offer which was better than even we expected. 40 for the pair! So I became the proud owner of a 1960 Jawa model 354. After getting the bike up together and taxed, one of my first long runs on it was to the 1964 Motorcycle Show that was taking place at Earls Court in London, and it was here that I came across the INDUSTRIA (London) stand with a variety of Jawa, CZ, Manet and Tatran machines on display. As I looked around I was approached by a young man who introduced himself as a representative of the Owners Club, and he gave me information about the Club. Later while at home I was able to read it in more detail and decided to join, so I sent off my subscription and became an Owners Club Member! Little did I realise that sending off that letter with my money was going to be the start of such A LIFE CHANGING EVENT! The Owners Club at that time was based only in London, with a membership of possibly only about 60. A church hall in Chillerton Road in Tooting was the meeting point, and within a short time I decided to visit them one Club night and meet up with other owners. With no motorway link at that time a trip to London took some time on the A4, and with the meeting in the evening it meant that I was not going to get back to Swindon that early. Still I made the trip and met up with people who were going to become very good long time friends: Terry Wildego, Bob Rixen, Brian Storey, Colin Dennison and Gordon Dickson together with some of their wives, they certainly made this country boy very welcome. I attended what Club events I could, but distance and finances prohibited regular visits, so I had to rely on the Club magazine Torque to keep me informed. With the Club so small, and information scant, publication was quite erratic, but just as today was done totally voluntary. During the period 1964 till 1969 the Jawa and I went all over the country to many places and events and I must say during that time it attracted a lot of attention. With me then averaging about 15,000 miles a year (it was my only means of transport) an engine rebuild became necessary during that period, and it was then with the help of my father that I first became very conversant with just how well the Jawa engine was put together. It was to be the first of many engine rebuilds I was to undertake for both myself and others over the next 40 years.

Me on my very first Jawa parked up with some of my friends while returning home from a Castle Coombe motorcycle race meeting.

Circa 1966.

( 24 ) It was during the 1960s that the film The Leather Boys starring Rita Tushingham was released and it was to become a cult film for the Rockers of the era. The main venue was the ACE caf on the London North Circular, which became a mecca for the Ton-Up boys. Being young, two friends and myself travelled up to the ACE one-day to become part of the in-scene and I must say the caf lived up to all my expectations. In fact it was quite exciting for some rural hicks! Little did I realise then that some 37 years later I would revisit the reopened ACE caf with some friends, again on 350cc Jawa brilliant. 1968 saw me complete my Engineering apprenticeship (hurray) and also visit Czechoslovakia for the first time with a group of students (on a cultural engineering visit!). While in Prague I visited the Motokov building and came away with some very prized freebies. It was also while we were in the northwest part of the country near the large town of Karlovy Vary that I made friends with a young Czech man who had a 350cc Jawa like mine and we became life long friends. From then up until quite recently myself and my family were to visit and stay with him in Czechoslovakia on a number of occasions, strengthening further our ties to the Country and its people. By early 1969, with a girl friend [now my wife] to support I sold the Jawa (for 20) and for three years transferred my attention totally to her, and an Austin A35 car. By 1972 however I was back on two-wheels firstly with a 50cc Yamaha step-through quickly followed by a 250cc CZ (model 471) in brown and cream (I think the cost then was 270) and it was with this machine that I was to once again become active within the Club. The Club was still relatively small and still based around London, but new people were joining, and big changes were about to take place. The CZ was fine, but again wanting a bit more power, in 1976 I traded in the CZ for a model 634 Jawa and started to attend even more events. 1976 was in fact to be a pivotal year for the Club, as it was at a camping weekend in the Cotswolds organised by Alan Madeley from Liverpool that the idea of a National Rally was first mentioned. Those at the event showed enthusiasm so Alan and myself agreed to investigate the possibility of holding such an event in the Swindon area the following year. However we were not Club committee members, so towards the end of 1976 both Alan and myself travelled to a Club committee meeting which was being held at Bob Rixens house in Balham London to put forward our proposals. There was initially some reluctance on the part of the committee to sanction the event as there was concern that the meagre funds the Club had would be swallowed up. However following further discussion I believe the committee could see that here were two young members who were prepared to put in all the effort and hard work to make it a success. They did however say that the event had to be totally self financing! The first National Rally was held at Lydiard Park in April of 1977 with about 120 owners attending [Alan unfortunately missed it as he was in hospital following an accident], and this success was due to a lot of hard preparative work, getting sponsorship from about 25 companies and Skoda GB printed programme covers for us, and also producing posters which were displayed in the dealer network windows. The event made a small profit and so the National Rally entered the Clubs programme of regular events and has been held every year since. Alan and myself went on to organised the next two National Rallies, and Alan subsequently organised at least one other. Buoyed up by the success of the Lydiard event and also with the number of local owners who attended, later in 1977 I decided to form a Swindon & District Branch of the Club and this got off the ground with seven other owners joining me to form the Branch. The Branch since 1977 has continued to meet regularly but membership has fluctuated up and down. There have been hard times mostly due to lack of funds but there has always been a small hardcore of members who have supported and backed me up. Jack Wainwright and Carl Humphries

( 25 ) were my original lieutenants, followed later by Karen Minto, Tony and Tonia Thain, the Francis brothers, Gordon and Roland Webb, John Kennedy and Bob Bizley. There have of course been others and Ive been grateful for all their support as well. April 1978 saw me producing the first edition of the Swindon Branch Newsletter [later renamed Swindon Smoke Signals], and Im please to say that I have managed to produced it regularly six times per year ever since then [at the time of writing this, nearly 160 editions]. Smoke Signals has been a labour of love, as not only have I enjoyed the many hours I have spent producing it, but through it the Branch has prospered and I have made numerous very good friends, both here and overseas. Id be lying to say that its been easy its not been, but numerous members have helped by contributing articles which hopefully have helped to keep the magazine fresh and interesting. I joined the National committee in the early 1980s as the Clubs Public Relations Officer, and held the post for quite a few years. During this time Jawa/CZ sales within the UK increased quite dramatically, and the Club prospered likewise, however with us now into the new Millennium [new bike sales non existent] and the changes that have occurred within the old Czechoslovakia, the Club has managed to survive and is now entering a new era where it has become part of a larger global Jawa/CZ family. So by me taking the simple step of buying a 20 Jawa in 1964, joining the Owners Club and taking a relatively active part in its affairs over the intervening 40 years, I can truly say that it was a Life Changing Event. Throughout my years with the Owners Club, the bikes have been a catalyst to my meeting many people both nationally and internationally, making many really good and special friends, and if for nothing else the Club and the bikes are to be thanked for that. The Owners Club to me is now not just any Club, but in many ways has become like a big family, but like any family it needs to be cared for and looked after. Those of us [and there are many] who have been privileged to be part of that family for some time, like any parent become concerned with how the family grows, and are saddened when problems occur. There have been times when I have become dejected over things that have happened, but the good thing is that the Club is bigger and better than any single individual and has survived these events. Jawa/CZs over the past 40 years have given me much enjoyment, immense fun, and have been my hobby, my transport and my entertainment. I have visited places I would never otherwise have gone to, met people from dozens of different nationalities, and I have learnt a lot not only about the bikes, but about people from different cultural back grounds who ride them. Ive been involved with the bikes and the Club for 40 years, but 2004 is the 50th anniversary within Britain of those few stalwart in the far more difficult and austere times of the early 1950s who actually persevered and got the Club going. My thanks to them. My thanks to the Czechs for producing the bikes, And my thanks to the Owners Club for being such an influence on my life. ********************

( 26 )

In The Beginning.

By Mario Mager

MY FIRST RIDE At the ripe old age of 11 I was living in the small rural village of Stroat deep in the Gloucestershire countryside. One day my Dad had his motorcycle running outside of our cottage when he shouted "Hey Mario! Come over here!" Little did I realise that I was about to have my first lesson on riding a motorcycle! Once astride the saddle I found I was much too short to reach the ground, and I couldn't believe that my Dad wanted me to attempt to ride the bike! He gave me some very basic instructions, like, let this lever out slowly and when you feel the bike move forward, twist that grip there." But Dad!" I protested "If I get going, how am I going to stop? I cant reach the ground! Ill fall off!", "Don't worry son" my Dad said "you just slow down as much as possible and when you are near the house, just toot the horn, and I will come out and catch you!" So off I went up into the top field, where I did a very wide turn, before headed back towards the cottage and down into the bottom field. I did another wide turn there before heading back to the top field again. I was only in bottom gear but of course I didnt know that at the time but as I passed Dad on my third lap, he shouted instructions telling me how to change gear. Now I was using TWO gears and I suppose I was in schoolboy heaven, riding a motorbike in two large fields, Im not sure the cows were too happy mind you. When I eventually got fed up, as I approached the cottage I slowed down, sounded the horn and wondered just how on earth I was going to get off! My Dad however simply came out, grabbed hold of the handlebars as I passed and pulled in the clutch and brake levers simultaneously! So what was the bike that I had my very first solo ride on? it was a JAWA! All these years later due to an old photograph that my brother John recently unearthed, it turned out that the bike was a 1962 Jawa 250cc model 353. Little did I know that this would be the first of many rides on a Jawa and a long association with the Marque.

Mario on the back of the Jawa with his brother and father.

( 27 ) GROWING UP IN GLOUCESTER In 1966 my family moved from Stroat to Gloucester, but before we moved my Dad traded the Jawa in for a Mk1 Zephyr Six. Years went by and when I was old enough I became a motorcyclist in my own right. I had various machines such as a Vespa 125, Royal Enfield Clipper 250, then a BSA Bantam. I had a lot of trouble with all these bikes and my Dad tried his best to persuade me to buy a NEW CZ 125 (in those days it was a mere 120! from Malcombe Davies Motorcycles, Barton St.) The funny thing is whenever any of my bikes were off the road I used to borrow the CZ 125 model 476 that my Dad then had. Being young I was stubborn and was hell bent on trying to make my Bantam go faster with using George Todd performance parts. (What I should have done is to buy a bigger bike in the first place! MY dream bike at that time was a BSA 650 Spitfire) I could never get the Bantam to run correctly, so in the end it was banished to the back of our shed. Looking back I was a fool, I had spent over a 100 on that Bantam when for a few pound more I could have had a NEW CZ 125, which really would have been a much more sensible option. But since when did teenagers listen to the sound advice of their parents? I for one was not the first to ignore advice and would certainly not be the last. FULLY GROWN IN NORTH WALES & CHESHIRE Time rolled on in what now seems like a blink of an eyelid, I got married, moving to North Wales, had four kids and in one period we moved house five times in ten years! Eventually, due to family health problems we bought and moved into my in-law's old house in Mold. Times were certainly difficult and I couldn't afford to keep running the car to and from work every day, so I had to consider a cheaper alternative. One day my mother-in-law said "Theres an advert in the paper for someone selling a cheap motorbike because its got something wrong with it." The advert read JAWA-CZ 125cc, non runner, only 60. I went around to see it (CZ-488) and was pleased to see that it was quite similar to the bike I used to borrow off my Dad, albeit a bit taller, longer and modern looking. I bought it and after fixing it up and putting it back on the road, it became my regular mode of transport to and from work, (which was a 13 mile trip) all year round in all weathers. I can tell you that there were times when I would have rather stayed in bed than get on a frozen motorbike at 6.0 am! The only time it ever let me down is when the rear tyre found a nail on the road and you cant blame the bike for that. LOOK OUT CLUB, HERE I COME! It was only a matter of time before I acquired a FREE non running 634. ( I had never seen anything like it before). Some of the parts were in a box and due to my inexperience I couldnt work out how some of the parts fitted together, especially the brake lever! What I desperately needed was to find someone else with a similar bike, and to my delight a little while later I discovered in the list of motorcycle clubs in 'Classic Bike Magazine' the existence of the JAWA-CZ Owners Club. I duly sent off my joining fee and from then on have never looked back from joining the most friendly and experienced motorcycle club in existence. How many motorcycle clubs do you know of that date back to 1954? Most British Bike Clubs were not founded until production ceased, and people were begin to panic about obtaining essential spares. I soon became enthusiastically involved in the Clubs activities having been inspired following attending of my very first National Rally at Bristol in 1992. I particularly was interested in finding out if there were JAWA-CZ enthusiasts in other countries, in particular the homeland of the bikes, Czechoslovakia! (as it was called then.)

( 28 )

ROMAN
The ace that I had up my sleeve (which I was unaware of at the time!) was that my father is Czech, but as he has no known living relatives anywhere in Europe, I didn't think that he would be able to help me find a contact in 'Czecho'. Then my chance one day he was talking to a fellow Czech in Gloucester (Mr.Benesh), when my Dad mentioned that I was eager to find an English speaking Jawa enthusiasts in Czecho. Mr.Benesh just happened to know someone! I was provided with the details of this person and it turned out to be none other than Roman Tobisek! Roman and I exchanged many letters and photographs, and the climax of our pen and ink friendship was when Roman came over to stay with us, travelling all the way from the Czech Republic on his Jawa (634) 350, and then coming along with me to our 1995 National Rally. This was to be the first of three National Rallies in the UK that Roman has attended so far. My quest for other international contacts seemed at first to grow quite slowly but surely, I had articles published in American and South African publications which helped a great deal, but soon reliable contacts were made in the USA (Reese Dengler), Canada (Attila Kopanyi), New Zealand (Allan Cleaver), South Africa (Garth Green) and Finland (Timo Mononen and Viekko Koski). At one point, I had so many Jawa Pen-pals, that I had to actually farm a few contacts out to other Jawa/CZ enthusiasts. Some time later due to the large number of overseas contacts I was in frequent contact with, it was suggested and proposed by Don Chadwick at the Clubs AGM that I be appointed the Club's International Liaison Officer. This motion was unanimously approved and so ever since then I have had an official reason to seek out further overseas contacts to make the presence of our Club known to the rest of the world.

TECHNOLOGY TAKES OFF

As time and technology has moved on, the Internet has became an incredibly useful tool in seeking out further contacts and clubs around the world. Contacts have now also been made in Norway (Geir Henninen), Denmark (Peder Jensen), Austria (Peder Augustin), Canada (Roger Boothroyd and the Czech Republic (Pavel Konvalinka) itself. As a result of this e-publicity and with the additional help of old pal Roman Tobisek and his younger brother Martin we even had four Jawa riders from Czecho attend our 1998 National Rally at Wootton Bassett. As well as our old friend Roman, Pavel Konvalinka came all the way from Prague on his old Jawa model 11, and if that were not enough, TWO of these Jawa riders turned up on Jawa 500-OHC machines! An additional bonus was that my new found Danish friend Peder Jensen also attended this event! So at last, all my hard work seemed to be paying off and as far as I am aware since the Club's birth, we have never had so many overseas people attend a National Rally. I feel sure that these people would never have heard about and attended our National Rally if I were still only relying on pen and paper, and didnt have so many good overseas contacts. Technology now seemed to be taking off like a rocket, with countless numbers of people getting connected to the Internet each day. My good friend Reese Dengler pioneered the very first web-site dedicated to JAWA-CZ machines, although being primarily dedicated to offroad machines. Many road bike enthusiasts contacted Reese, as there just weren't any other JAWA web-sites that people could direct their enquiries to, so through his web-site many others interested in Jawa & CZs were directed my way. There may now be a vast amount of

( 29 ) Jawa/CZ information available, but in the beginning, there was only one, CZECHPOINT! http://home1.gte.net/jawaman/index.htm My good friend Jonathan May http://www.czowner.net/ convinced me, that it would be a good idea if I considered building my own web-site, as I had by now amassed a huge wealth of information and contacts, so after three weeks of getting stuck between a large book and a computer screen, and with an awful lot of support and guidance from Jon, I at last managed to post my own web-site in Cyberspace! This arduous task has also paid off, as since then even more contacts have been made! I started to get emails from places like Bolivia, Cuba, Argentina, Poland, Bulgaria, Turkey, Israel, Moldovia, Malta, Portugal, France, Australia, Guam and many more. The list just seems to go on and on! (Have a look for yourself by going to www.jawaczech.co.uk Click on 'Czechmates'). One of the most interesting that has came my was (via Reese?) from Cay Bernasson in Sweden. I had been trying for some time to contact a Jawa club in Sweden with no success, as I felt that as Sweden had been one of Jawa's biggest customers for military machines, that there must surely be a club! I learnt from Cay, that whilst there were many JAWA-CZ machines in Sweden no club existed! Cay however was toying with the idea of starting a JAWA club in Sweden himself and was curious about how our Club was run and how we were organised and managed. Cay eventually decided to come over and see for himself and subsequently attended our 2000 National Rally on his military Jawa 579! The end result was that Cay took the plunge and formally formed JAWAKLUBBEN. Which even though it had a slow start soon saw a huge influx of members, so many in fact that he found it hard to cope with all the work. Incredibly he did however and took all the responsibility onto his own shoulders! Not only did he handle membership applications, editorship of their club's newsletter Bladet, but he also organised JAWAKLUBBEN'S very first National Rally. I of course just had to attend that event. See http://hem.passagen.se/jawaklubben/ Internationally, with so many people now having Internet access the world-wide Jawa/CZ family continues to grow. The Internet has certainly made the world a much smaller place, and many world-wide JAWA-CZ enthusiasts are now finding our user group JAWACHAT (now hosted by Yahoo!) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Jawachat an invaluable source of help and information. All the hard work that Graham Wilson and myself did to create and get the JAWACHAT user group up and running has certainly been was well worth all the effort! So how many other Jawa/CZ clubs are there now I hear you ask? As far as I am aware the list looks like this:- America, Argentina, Brazil, Czech Republic, Denmark` Finland, France, Germany, India, Norway, Sweden, and Spain. Im also sure there must be some within the old Soviet Union but I have no details. It is good however to see that the forming of new JAWACZ clubs is on the increase, but just how many of these clubs will one day survive to celebrating their Golden Jubilee just as we do in 2004, we shall never know. We just have to rely on the integrity, enthusiasm and dedication of our younger club members to carry on all the good work that was started by our founder members way back in 1954. So to conclude, all I can say to the JAWA-CZ Owners Club and all of it's world-wide contacts is:- Live long and prosper! Mario Mager: www.jawaczech.co.uk *************************************

( 30 )

27 years on a Jawa (or two)

Arthur Fleming, Club Librarian.
The Club over the years has been able to amass a huge quantity of Jawa/CZ related material, and Arthur has become its sole custodian. Through his efforts the Club now has possibly the best and most definitive Jawa/CZ library of any single make Club, and it has become a reference source for not only our members but also many from overseas. Arthur has also secured the Clubs approval from the DVLA as an official machine dating authority. Arthur is to be thanked for all his hard work. [I.B.]

The Early Years When we were young. When I finally passed my bike test at the second attempt in 1977 I decided that a 75cc Yamaha was a bit small and that I needed a proper bike. I was contemplating buying a RD400 but was put off after a visit to the old Earls Court Bike show when I was told that I couldnt sit on the bike by a jobsworth. However at the Jawa stand I was made very welcome, had all the questions answered and was even allowed to try the bike for size. It felt just right so it was off to Myers M/cs in Gillingham where I bought my first Jawa model 634 and was given a membership application form in the information pack which came with it. I immediately sent off my application form, and when I took my brother-in-law Brian along to the shop with me, he also ended up with a bright yellow CZ175 Trail bike and later a secondhand red 634. My wife eventually also acquired a 1977 CZ 125 model 476 a few years later. The neighbours used to love our bike servicing sessions, especially when decoking the silencers without the baffles in! Just to complete the family set, another brother-in-law was also racing a CZ MX250 at the time. This 634 was the bike that took my wife and I to our first Owners Club rally, the Silver Jubilee one which took place at Donington Park in 1979. This was followed by the Charnock Richard rally in 1980 and the 5th Winter Lilford Park event in 1981. We also attended the excellent Market Harborough rallies. The bike was used to take me on Monday night run from Gravesend to Chillerton Road, where the London Branch then met, where I would discuss Jawa matters over a cup of tea with long standing members such as Gordon Dickson and Bob Rixen. Brian and I used to take great delight in leaving two blue smoke trails around Londons South Circular ! My first 634 survived for 70,000 miles, including our longest ride ever up the eastern side of England, around Scotland, (where it nearly got assaulted by an amorous highland cow on Mull,) where we also had the wettest drive Ive ever experienced in my life when on the A9 going to Inverness. The bike had its picture taken on Route 66 (homage to The Rolling Stones- really the A66) on the way south down the west coast side. During the 1980s my CZ 175cc 450 joined the collection and I also acquired my black Jawa 250cc 559 as a rolling chassis and a packing case of bits. I eventually successfully rebuilt this bike with the help of John Croote from Jawa-CZ at Kings Lynn, and a variety of local dealers. In the process of restoring these machines I started collecting literature which later evolved into the Clubs Library. Star Rider and what else is there to do at the weekend with a Jawa. Around 1979 I became involved with motorcycle training, and being the only Jawa mounted instructor in the south east, I can definitely say the air was blue when I ran a training session. I used to enjoy asking trainee instructors to talk their way around the bike controls and then wait while they tried to find the kickstarter. No one laughed at my bike or they would have to ride behind me! Star Rider was fun and some of us are still in contact today as good friends. Apart from seeing riders pass their driving tests, my favourite Jawa moment

( 31 ) must be while leading a novice group to learn how to approach and ride round roundabouts. The police in their wisdom decided to mounted a licence check roadblock in the underpass between two of these roundabouts. .My two stroke fumes in this underpass after demonstrating the correct riding technique, together with a steady continuous procession of trainee motorcycles through their road block was enough to make them give up after less than 20 minutes ! Many of you will know about my involvement with a Club display from 1987 at the VMCCs Festival of 1000 bikes, which was held annually at the Brands Hatch Racing Circuit. The event is now called the West Kent Run and its held at an alternate venue, the Club however still attend every year and often joins up with our Jawa-CZ colleagues from Europe to ensure the marque is still well represented with a variety of machines on display. It is also a valuable opportunity to promote the Club and its services in the south east of the UK. 2003 will also have seen the first International Jawa-CZ day and I hope that by the time you read this I will have co-ordinated all the UK reports, and that we are looking forward to a successful second event during 2004. Super Commuter rides a Jawa or two. Ive worked in London since 1976, luckily either with bosses who are also bikers or for organisations that were bike friendly, i.e. gave parking space and drying rooms for the wet days! I actually enjoyed commuting by bike although Ive now given it up after over 20 years, having been through two 634s and one 632. I remember many days on the 634 being frustrated by a CZ 250 single (485) owner who used to race me to the Blackwell Tunnel most days and always win. And all I wanted to do was hand him a membership form! Although my Jawas did occasionally have problems, such as breaking down in the Limehouse Link Tunnel with a broken regulator, having the asbestos exhaust baffle rings catch alight while on the A2 and causing a severe fog hazard and probable pollution warning, not forgetting stopping while on the M25/A21 junction in the middle of a snowstorm with a flat tyre, but for over 90% of the time it was absolute pleasure to ride being so well suited to the job it was designed to do best, a solid get you to work machine. Resting Peaceful in Pembury with the library books. The 632 now lives quietly in retirement after 80,000 miles, with my CZ 450, Jawa 559, and my wifes CZ 476, going out for occasional summer runs. My main club activity is to run our library service, which has been described as the best outside the Czech Republic, I would like to think that we now have nearly every post war model sold in the UK covered, and also some prewar and overseas models as well. The collection of material still continues to grow, either through purchases, exchanges with other clubs, especially the North American Register, or donations, all still being done at minimal cost to the Club. The primary aim of the library service remains to provide Club members with information to help run or restore their machines, and also to assist them to return these machines to the road. Due to changes in licensing approval at the DVLA, we have joined the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs along with all the other major bike clubs. This not only ensures that our registration applications are approved but also informs us regularly of any impending changes to legislation affecting motorcycles. The number of direct contacts, especially from Overseas, via email from our Club website has

( 32 ) grown considerably over the last few years. The next stage in our Library service must be to consider development of some form of on line service for members via our website, perhaps through a members only log in, such as used on other club sites. There are a lot of issues to consider here and we must also remember those who do not have access to the Internet and a paper service needs to be maintained as well. 1929 saw Jawas first motorcycle off the production line, 1954 the UK Club was founded, 2004 Jawa CZ machines are still running all over the world 75 years on. Heres to the Club celebrating its 75th birthday and the machines ton (100) in 2029.

JAWA CZ OWNERS CLUB LIBRARY

Service details, restoration project, model information etc. If you need information, the library service is waiting to help. Please send a SAE to:

Arthur Fleming, 5 Romford Road, Pembury Kent TN2 4HU Please note a charge is made for copying of material, which helps fund the library and other Club services. Road Tests & Sales Brochures Owners Manuals Spare Parts Lists Workshop Manuals Original books may be available for some models but will incur a higher cost depending on condition. All payments should be made payable to Jawa-CZ Owners Club. We can also assist with DVLA authentication letters. This service is free only to club members. We are members of the FBHVC

( 33 )

Memories

By David Haddock.

With the Club producing this special Magazine to commemorate its 50th Anniversary, it got me thinking and reminiscing about the twenty plus years that I have been in the Owners Club, and the pleasure it has given me over those years in meeting so many super, like minded people, riding these special bikes and also while attending the various events held, just standing and admiring the shear variety of Jawa and CZ motorcycles. Certain events however do stand out in my mind and so in no particular order Id like to recall a number of them. At the East European Rally that took place at Callow Top Farm, Ashbourne; on the Saturday afternoon, which was mainly sunny but with frequent heavy showers, I can well remember Frank Bailey having a brief (very brief) ride on Pete Edwards CZ Enduro. This type of bike was new to Frank and so as he opened up the throttle the front wheel lifted off the ground and he achieved a very creditable wheelie. No problem there, but as the front wheel returned to the ground and touched the wet grass, guess what? he fell off in a very spectacular style. Fortunately Frank was O.K. but as he rolled off the bike wearing PVC waterproofs, he appeared to slide along the ground an immense distance. In fact Im sure it was further than he actually rode the bike! Another incident which happened round about 1980 was when a group of members who were camping at the Holly Bush Inn, Grange Mill, were returning from a run to Buxton. I think we were on the A6 and there was a small crocodile line of solos and sidecars, when at one point there was this nice miles length of road which first dipped down and then went up the other side of a valley. It was here that Pete Edwards on a Jawa 634 with sidecar attached and with Pat his wife as pillion and Alan their son in the chair (I believe the bike was geared down), opened her up and came from the rear of the line and swept past us all. He must have been doing close to 70 mph, but unfortunately as he was passing the leading rider he was on the wrong side of the Double-White-Line but only by about 15 feet, nothing unsafe or crazy!!! Further up the hill in a lay-by waiting was a Police car and yes youve guessed it, he was pulled over. The Police pointed out the errors of his ways and he also had to visit the Police station during the following week to produce his documents. As you can imagine, over the next few editions of TORQUE he certainly had his leg pulled. On one of our many visits to a Swindon Branch rally at Lydiard Park, there was an obstacle course race for Combos. Figures of eight, in and out of bollards, pushing the outfit backwards etc. were just some of the things to do. Someone had loaned his Jawa 634 with a Tradesman box fitted (the one with the small wheel) that was extremely light and very responsive! Roland Webb who had never ridden a Combo before had a go, but when he tried to turn left the sidecar wheel shot up in the air and he ended up slowly disappearing down the field in the wrong direction. We were all in fits of laughter and our stomachs ached, and we were even more doubled up as he continued to try and turn left but just got further and further away. I dont think Roland has ever tried to ride a sidecar outfit again.

( 34 ) It was following another obstacle course event, this time at the 1989 Ashbourne rally, that someone commented on how slow Dave Widdowsons Model 11 Jawa (on Swedish Plates) ticked over. Dave said Thats nothing, I can make it even slower. He promptly made a few adjustments and the eventual tick-over settled to one firing stoke per second (an incredible 60 rpm). Its funny how little things like this stick in your mind even after so many years. I also recall that it was at the 1986 Wakefield event that during the afternoon there was a bad hailstorm with pieces of ice the size of small pickled onions. As this was the weekend following the disaster at Chernobyl it was a little spooky. It was also at this event that I met Bill Hurst for the very first time. Bill as well as being a Club member was also a longstanding member of the Skoda Owners Club, and could he tell a good storey! He was at one time a Chauffeur to the Royal Family and a part time photographer. His yarns always drew an audience, and his aural dexterities were legendary. During a weeklong Notters Branch camp at Ashbourne, on site with us were two Dutch families on holiday. One had a Honda Goldwing outfit, fitted with small wheels and leading link suspension. They were camping in some amazing inflatable frame tents, and on one of the days they came with us on an outing to the Speedwell caverns. My family and myself this time went in our car but on our return journey the Dutch family set off just 2 3 minutes before us. I tried to catch them up and even though I drove at 80 90 mph couldnt catch them. As we pulled back onto the campsite, there was the Dutch family sitting in their deck chairs and the kettle was boiling. I went across and asked them just how fast they had been travelling, and he just said, Its a secret! When Gerry and Shirley Williams were in the Owners Club they used to organise a camp at the Queens Head at Brandestone, Suffolk. There was a tradition of walking down a certain country lane to a pond, and a ceremonial throwing of the official stone into the water. It was then back to the site for the downing of some of Colin Gregorys brandy, followed by looking at the spinning gravel. One thing that does always amaze me is the one-off Jawa/CZ specials that various members have made. Choppers; Cruisers; Racers and pseudo Trailies, and of course not forgetting the odd Trike. At the other end of the Jawa/CZ spectrum are the Classics, ranging from those which have had a general refurbishment right up to those having has a complete restoration. There are some beauties out there!

Dave with his wife Rose, on their Jawa model 559 with PAV trailer, leaving the 1998 Wootton Bassett National Rally.

What I have also found interesting at Club events is seeing the different models that Jawa/CZ

( 35 ) have made, some of which were only sold in small numbers within the UK, and others which have now been imported from the continent. Czetta and Manet scooters, Jawa 90cc Roadsters and Trails, and occasionally even a factory special. The last ten years has also seen a number of our continental friends starting up their own Jawa/CZ Clubs, and there are now an increasing number of over-seas contacts who have become regular faces at our rallies. These people bring even more model variations for us to photograph and drool over. Over the years we have also held some camping weekends during the winter months of January to March, and why did we attend them? well I have to say that I cant give a definitive answer. I suspect that instead of the bikes being cosseted in the garage there was the desire to get out a ride them, and also the idea of a winter get-together seemed a good idea at the time. I know it certainly made one feel good when it was over! I recall at one camp it was so cold that Phil Culley slept overnight in his sidecar/shed on wheels, and to keep warm he had a paraffin greenhouse heater on all night. How he never suffocated I really dont know. On another occasion at a camp in deepest Lincolnshire it was so frosty and snowy with a bitterly cold North wind that the pub landlord took pity on us and suggested we sleep in his function room. A number of us who slept there were shocked when we saw John Blackburn fast asleep. He was laid out in his sleeping bag and it looked just like a corpse in a coffin; flat on his back with his arms crossed on his chest and his hands on his shoulders spooky! Apparently he didnt move or make a sound all night, obviously due to an excess of Batemans Bitter. Ive also seen him in a similar position, but this time spread eagled on his stomach after falling off his bike while Trail Riding. Over the years I have met many characters and some worth a mention are; Tom Smith; Tom Swinney; Steve Lucker; Roy Giles; John Orford and John Wiltshire. I know there are many more, but what is for certain is that our Club has brought together many interesting people, and has become much richer as a result of it. So summing up, once you have owned a Jawa or CZ and then perhaps strayed to other makes, it is surprising just how many people have returned to the fold, or told me that they wished they had never got rid of theirs in the first place. The bikes and the Owners Club certainly have had an impact on my life, and I know the same is true for many others as well. 50 years is a long time for any organisation, and I just hope that even though current times have been difficult, that the Owners Club will continue for many more years to come and also expand. Just as a final note. Who can remember the 1982 Lilford Park Rally which was flattened by a blizzard, or the 1987 Scorton camp where the field was under 2 foot [600mm] of water on the Saturday Morning? Memorable moments. ***********************************

( 36 )

Historical Facts about Jawa.

By now if youre reading this magazine you will appreciate that 2004 is a very special year for our Club and an important milestone in the general history of Jawa and CZ motorcycles. Also while 2004 is a year of celebration for us it is also the 75th Birthday of the manufacture of the very first Jawa motorcycle (in 1929), and Im sure that there are many owners and riders of these machines who know very little about the history of the Jawa Marquee. The information below has been published before, but I believe its worth reproducing it again. [ I.B.] Early History: The first motorcycle bearing the JAWA name made its appearance in 1929, created by Czech arms manufacturer Frantisek Janecek (Zbrojovka Ing. F. Janecek) who was at the time in the process of diversify the manufacturing programme of his factory. Janecek chose to go ahead with the manufacture of a motorcycle, even though at that time there were already about 21 other manufacturers in Czechoslovakia. The first motorcycles actually produced by Janeceks factory were built in 1927 and were licensed copies of a well known German make at the time, called the Wanderer 500 OHV. By 1929 however, production of the Wanderer in German had been completely discontinued, and so Janeceks factory became the exclusive manufacturer of the model. It was then that bikes manufactured at the factory started to bear the trademark JAWA. This being derived from the first two letters of JAnecek and WAnderer. The Trademark name was patented in August 1929, with the now famous JAWA oval logo appearing two years later. These first JAWAs differed from the earlier German model in a number of details, the most obvious being its large drop-shaped tank. With a 4-stroke, half-litre engine the bike also had a maximum speed of 95 km/h (60 mph), which was very reasonable for the time. The price new was set at 14,890 Crowns (approx 390 in todays prices) which may not seem much now, but back in 1929 this was very high. The bike came fitted with improved Bosch electrical equipment, and if a sidecar was required as well, the complete package came in at 17,000 Crowns. The bike came in a finish that has now become known as JAWA red, with cream lines and tank sides. Three series of this bike were produced although production of all versions only actually came to 1,016. Due to its robust appearance it was to earn the nickname of the Rumbler.

In 1931, profits from armament sales were still double that of motorcycle sales, but rather than give up motorcycle production, the company decided to create a simpler, cheaper, more

( 37 ) reliable machine, and this time it took out a licence arrangement with English designer George William Patchett. With Patchetts help and that of a talented young Czech designer named Josef Jozif, Jawa came out with a 2-stroke, single cylinder 175cc machine (maximum speed 70-80 km/h (50 mph) with an incredibly low-price of 4,650 Crowns, a third less than the price of the same class of motorcycle produced by other manufacturers. Better machine for less money was the advertising slogan. The motorcycle was a big hit and stayed in production until 1946 (barring the war years when all production ceased). In all, 27,535 JAWA 175s were produced. JAWA can also take credit for the heavy decline in import demand (in 1930, 94% of motorcycles bought in Czechoslovakia were imports 6% domestic; by 1937, the exact opposite was the case).

1934 saw the introduction of JAWAs first 350cc. It was a reliable machine with very good handling, and with a maximum speed of 100 km/h. The cheapest model sold for 6,950 Crowns [approx 180]. These motorcycles, slightly modified also competed in the 1934 International Six Days Trials in Germany, winning several gold medals. In the mid 1930s JAWA also went into car production (also under license). Successful at racing events, by the end of the 1930s JAWA was preparing a new car. Car production halted however due to WW2. Jawa also dabbled in aeroplane motor production, but this was a less than successful venture. In 1937, JAWA produced the JAWA 100cc Robot. A moped-like bike designed for the younger rider. In total, 12,000 were produced up until 1946. Also in 1937, the second JAWA car was introduced, the JAWA MINOR 1. A sporty little roadster capable of 95 km/h; the car was priced at 16,000 Crowns (the cheapest model) and sold well.

The Robot.

In 1935, while marketing the 175, the two 350 models and the JAWA700 (car), the 2-stroke JAWA 250 was introduced. With this model the great era of 250s was born and, after the war, brought the company world renown. Until 1946, with the wartime interval, 14,000 units were produced. Before the outbreak of WW2, JAWA came out with one more bike: the JAWA 250 Duplex-

( 38 ) Blok, a modified version of the original 250. In addition to the serial production motorcycles, JAWA throughout the 1930s manufactured special machines for Trials and Road Racing. These were mostly 250cc and 350cc 4-stroke single cylinder types. The War Years: With the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany on March 15th 1939, life changed overnight in the country. For JAWA, with its well-known reputation for top technology and capable personnel, major changes began in April of that year. The Germans transferred to the factory production of parts for the aircraft industry, bomb carriers and small stationary engines for generators. Motorcycle production was still eking out a living until it was stopped completely in 1940. Under orders all unfinished parts were to be surrendered and melted down, which in fact would have meant the destruction of some 8,500 motorcycles and 700 cars which were close to the assembly stage. Considerable supplies of materials for the production of motorcycles and cars, such as steel bars, raw castings, bearings, rollers, balls and sheet metal were stored at the factory now located at Tynec nad Sazavou (South East of Prague) which is where the current factory is now located. All of this material was supposed to be surrendered to the Nazi war effort, but it seemed only natural to those in charge of the material stores to hide and dispose of as much as possible so that it didnt fall into the Nazi hands. Their efforts were in fact helped by the famous German excessiveness for organisation and thoroughness. Each institution received its bureaucrats, plans and files, so that when one office was to confiscated something from JAWA, they were just told that another office had already seized the materials long before. In this way the working list of materials and unfinished parts simply got lost in the administrative system, making finding them impossible. Soon all the materials had been spirited away and there was nothing left to be checked. Part and materials that the Nazis should have had were simply hidden in rented barns and inns and under scrap-heaps, just to name a few places. Scores of people at JAWA worked feverishly to save all sorts of things, as nobody really believed that the two-thousand year Reich would last longer than a few years. It was a time when people were executed for much lesser offences than those mentioned, and all involved were risking their lives. The Nazis in fact forced all designers to sign an agreement, that under no circumstances would they be occupied with anything having to do with peacetime production, and they carried out random checks at every workplace. It did not take long however, before the people at JAWA took their subversive activities a step further. They made up their minds to produce a new motorcycle for a new life after the war. By 1940, work was started on two projects, one for motorcycles and one for a new car. The motorcycle design team were moved to the motorcycle service department, which was the only part of JAWA still dealing with motorcycles, though officially it was only for the servicing of Germany military bikes. In this department they found relative peace and quiet as well as a capable and skilled staff. The workshop was set up in a storehouse behind a wooden wall, which became known as The Brains. Unbelievably, the secret was kept throughout the war, although there were many tense and difficult moments. Josef Jozif, then 34, was the central figure in the group and was remembered for his white hair, which everyone assumed hed been born with. The truth is that his hair had turned white within one week, after the Gestapo had burst into the service department one day and taken away a man named Rudolf Osvald, who was one of the people working on the new motorcycle design. In the following hours all the new designs were hidden and then there was a period of nerve-racking waiting. One word from Osvald would have been enough to send all the team to the executioner. It turned out that Osvald had not only been involved with the

( 39 ) secret works at JAWA, but was also a member of the resistance movement. Luckily for JAWA he was arrested for being a resistance member, he did not speak about the JAWA secret works, and later paid for it with his life. Jozifs snow-white hair was the result of this event. Work in the Brains department was directed mostly at 2-stroke engines of several capacities. In the end the 250 was chosen. By then, the situation in the service department was so bad that design work was continued at peoples homes, and was eventually to move to Nova Paka in Eastern Bohemia. It was there that the first prototypes (20 in all) were constructed and tested. Using SS-registration plates, the bikes were able to make secret test runs on the open road. The result was to be the 250cc Perek (Springer). At the same time and under the same conditions, JAWA developed the Minor 11 car. Although all levels of JAWA management were in the know, it is almost certain that Janecek himself knew nothing about it. He had been seriously ill since the beginning of the war and didnt have long to live. He died on June 4th, 1941 of lung cancer. After his death the firm became a family company as provided for in his will. The end of the war was very intense for JAWA it is said that the very first barricade in Prague had been put up in front of the factory. Right from the liberation, in the first days of 1945, preparations for peacetime production were begun. All parts, components and materials hidden in 1939 were brought out and the first assembled cars and motorcycles (pre-war models) were on the market by July 1945. Post-War Boom. By 1946, the first 250cc Peraks which had been developed in secrecy during the war came out. The styling was attractive and functional and five years ahead of its competition. At the Paris Motor and Motorcycle Show in September 1946, it won a gold medal the first of what was to become a series of international conquests. In England, at the 1948 motorcycle show (despite the poor positioning of the JAWA stand), the bike was an overwhelming success. At night, the bike had to be strapped down with steel straps to prevent enthusiasts from trying out the bike. Dealer interest was enormous, but due to lack of trade agreements between Czechoslovakia and Great Britain the bikes couldnt be imported. Despite the import problems, a London company which had been importing meat cutters from Czechoslovakia decided to take a risk and imported some bikes even though the owners werent familiar with motorcycles. The importer borrowed 20,000 and within the first month all the bikes had been sold. In a similar way JAWA broke into the markets of some 112 countries around the world. Also in 1948, JAWA produced a 350 Perak, at first under the JAWA-OGAR name. About 180,000 of these bikes were manufactured up until 1956 when these models were discontinued. It should also be mentioned that the Peraks were the basis for the three-wheeled rickshaw models, in both delivery and passenger models, which were very popular throughout Asia. One three wheeled version produced in Czechoslovakia, was the Velorex. In the early 1950s JAWA returned to 4-stroke bikes, and from 1952 through to 1958 produced the JAWA 500 OHC, based on the 250 frame type. The maximum speed of this machine was 147 km/h. Shortly after the introduction of the 500, the company also put out the JAWA PIONEER 50, also called the Stump, because of the seat shape, and again from 1958 1962 produced the JAWAETTA, another 50cc moped type bike.

( 40 )

The Communists Take Over. The next generation of JAWAs after the Perak was the Kyvacka, or Swinger, which appeared in 1953. It came in 250 and 350 capacities. The Kyvacka remained in production until 1974, during which time it underwent many cosmetic changes. When the Communists came to power in 1948 this dealt a major blow to JAWA as a company. The company was nationalised and its progressive management style was constrained. For instance, the company could not reinvest its profits and so was forced to continue its production of the same models with only slight modifications for 40 years.

Freedom. Since the velvet revolution of 1989 and the fall of Communism, Jawa have had to trade on the world markets, unprotected. The Communist era left the company ill equipped to compete and JAWA production has slumped from over 130,000 bikes per year to less than 10,000. The various exhaust emission laws in many countries have now also effectively banned twostroke machines, so JAWA are currently surviving on sales to third world countries only. There is however hope, and even though their development budgets are small, they are in the process of trying to bring to the market a new range of machines. As 2004 is also the 75th birthday of the very first JAWA, Im sure we wish all at the factory our very best wishes, and hope that once again JAWA can revisit its glory days. ****************************

( 41 ) Go to the Clubs National Rally, and the premier annual award given out is The Bob Rixen trophy. The award is special as it is given to the person who the Clubs Committee considers has done the most to help and support the Owners Club during the previous year, and I have to say I have been fortunate in winning the award myself in the past. But who was Bob Rixen? Well if you had joined the Club prior to 1986 the chances are that you would have had the privilege of Meeting Bob, and a more dedicated member, with a wealth of knowledge you could not hope to have met. Not only was he an extremely nice and friendly person, but he was totally dedicated to the Club and Jawa and CZ motorcycles. Terry Wildego who joined the Owners Club just after it was formed has written the article below. I.B. .........................

By Terry Wildego.

Bob Rixen.
Some of you will have been lucky enough to have known Bob, but I suspect that the majority of todays Club members will only be familiar with the name by his reputation or because of the Clubs premier trophy, the Bob Rixen Trophy being named after him. Ian as the editor of this special newsletter has asked me to write a few words about Bob, so that all members will be aware of who Bob was and to tell a little about his years of dedicated service to the Club and the Jawa marque. I cannot be absolutely sure when I first met Bob, but I do vividly remember the beginnings of his association with the Owners Club way back in 1956, when at a club night held at Len Williss house, Len said that his local off-licence keeper had mentioned that his brother-in-law had a Jawa, and might be interested in joining. Well luckily for the Club, this brother-in-law was interested and so it was that Bob entered the Jawa Club story. Bob duly appeared on the scene, quite often accompanied by Pat, who was to become his wife. Bob instantly fitted in and was well liked by everyone, and he soon began to take a great interest in the actual running of the Club, and it was this enthusiasm which was to be such an asset in keeping the Club active during its infancy.

Bob as a young man in thoughtful mood.

(42) I honestly believe that I have never heard anyone say a bad word about him, and as is often the case, he rarely had a bad word to say about anyone in turn. It was difficult to argue with Bob as he was such a tolerant person and was always willing to see the other persons point of view. If anyone needed help hed be the first to offer, and nothing seemed to be too much trouble for him. It was obvious that some people took advantage of his good nature, using him as a free breakdown service, sometimes even very late at night, however no matter how inconvenient it may have seemed it made no difference to him and he was always there when needed. Bob was a film librarian with the Hammer Studios, and was also responsible for providing the various sound effects that were needed for their horror films. I can in fact remember one such occasion when I actually went with him as he tried to find a particular recording of a hooting owl. By now Bob and I had become firm friends, quite often meeting for lunch at a caf in Wardour Street, Soho (thats Soho London, not Birmingham), this being the place where most of the film companies then had their offices. It was in fact at one of these lunches that in 1957 we organised the very first Club run to Prague. (see In the Beginning), and in 1960, Bob and myself, now both married made another trip to Prague, but there was little enthusiasm from other club members. In 1960, Bob and myself attended a meeting in Clapham, South London, of representatives of One-Make motorcycle clubs. Here was founded the Federation of One-Make Motorcycle Clubs and Bob, as willing as ever was elected their Secretary. This organisation later became the British Motorcyclists federation (BMF), which today is one of the two major motorcycle pressure-groups, which operate within the UK. Unlike the rest of us, starting a family did not dampen Bobs enthusiasm for motorcycling, and while some of us used the excuse of a baby to tempt us over to four wheels, Bob resisted, and I believe only ever had one car driving lesson in his life. We always thought that this was a bit hard on Pat, who when they visited relatives etc, had to go with their daughter Anne on public transport, while Bob rode his bike. To be perfectly fair however, Bob had contracted Polio when he was young and this had left him with one leg shorter than the other, therefore it was difficult for him to

Bob & Terry

walk far.

One thing Bob and I did certainly have in common was a complete contempt for polish. Our machines whilst being mechanically sound and well maintained showed all the signs of utter neglect. Our philosophy was the same; our machines were just a way of transport. No time was spent with polish and degreaser. The film industry in the UK began to shrink and eventually Bob was made redundant, but he soon found gainful employment as a Jawa rep with the motorcycle division of Skoda GB. They offered him driving lessons and a car, but Bob remained true to riding to and from Kings Lynn from his home in Balham, South London. He also used his bike when visiting Jawa/CZ agents and I wonder how many motorcycle company reps actually ride motorcycles, let alone use them in connection with their work.

( 43 ) When Bobs daughter Anne had left London to work and live in Peterborough, Bob and Pat decided that they too would leave London, as Diana and I had done many years before. They also bought a house in Peterborough, and Bob told me that he never regretted doing this. Even at a distance Bob still remained active within the Owners Club, and this continued right up until his untimely death in 1986 from a heart attack at the young age of only 58. He was certainly a very special and unique person who put a lot of time and effort into the Club, and at some time possibly undertook most of the various committee roles. He was a great friend to many and certainly a superb ambassador for not only the Club but also to the Marques themselves. The Owners Club and many of its individual members owe him a lot, and Im pleased that the Clubs premier award is named after him and that this special magazine edition to celebrate 50 years of the Owners Club can give Bob the credit to which he is certainly due. *******************
I would certainly like to echo Terrys comments about Bob. I first met him and his wife Pat in 1965 on one of my infrequent visits to a Club night at Chillerton Road in London. He was a true gentleman and certainly a fount of knowledge when it came to Jawas and CZs. He gave me much advice and help over the years, and the maroon Jawa many of you see me on at Club events I bought from him in 1978. Thanks Bob for all you did for the Club and for its members, and through the Club your memory lives on. I.B.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

An Unusual Jawa based Trike.

( 44 )

The story of how I became Treasurer.

(By Stephen James) I purchased my first CZ in 1984, a brand new sparkling 250 twin (model 471) from Coburn & Hughes in Luton for the princely sum of 299.00 O.T.R. It was a replacement for a Honda CB250 T Dream whose cost of keeping on the road hit not only my wallet, but also my nerves, due to a swinging arm which become independently sprung at inopportune times. There was also a problem with the piston of the front disc brake which required removal every few weeks to keep the front wheel turning. I joined the Owners Club shortly after and became an avid Torque reading member, always waiting for the next issue with baited breath so as to read of the daring exploits of all the various Club characters, many of whom now seemed to have disappeared. As I have got older and hopefully wiser, I have with time had the great fortune to meet many of these characters, many of whom have been instrumental in shaping the Club of today. The CZ was a workhorse carrying me to work in all weathers, a trip of some 40 miles a day, never letting me down once, although the chrome plating had started to depart the scene together with the paint. When exhaust gases started to exhaust from the cylinder head it became obvious that it was time for me to do a top-end decoke. By then the machine had done about 20,000 miles, and on stripping I found that the exhaust ports had almost completely closed over with only a hole in one port. The machine however would still cruise comfortably at fifty mph with the cylinder heads rattling like an old saucepan lid. I joined the Birmingham Branch on their run down to the Bristol Branch National rally at St. Brendans Old Boys RUFC in 1991. There were 2 combos piloted by Paul Hadley & Phil Withers (with his wife Stephanie), John ORyan onboard the special Jawa 500cc Rotax he had won in the Clubs raffle competition, and I was to find out that my twin was in fact a single. To be more precise it was in fact a hybrid with a twin cylinder engine in a single cylinder frame. I didnt mind however as it sipped petrol on the way to the rally at an astonishing 99 miles to the gallon. I also drove my first combo at that rally and was hooked, on how to go very slowly and still manage to scare yourself silly. After this, accompanied by my family, my son Phillip on pillion, wife and daughter in car with the camping gear and push bikes, it was to Callow Top and the Nottingham Branch Camp. We pitched the tents with many curious on lookers, as we pitched two tents together with a toilet tent between containing only a fridge with the beer! That went down really well with the assembled crowd from Nottingham including Colin Gregory, Tony Seaward & Ted Bullen. This earned the family James the nick name the Fitt family. The following year saw me piloting a 1987 Jawa 638 combo, with my first outing being while I was on a night shift at work. This outing was not entirely uneventful as the main fuse blow just as I had left the lit section of road for the dark open countryside. Plunged into darkness and with no power I pushed the machine back to where the street lights were, and phoned my wife to come out and tow me home. Reluctantly she did, and as we set off I said, go steady as the brakes on the combo was not up to par (not that they ever get to par with a combo). On reaching 40mph and with three islands to negotiate my bottle left me, and there I was waving like a demented soul for her to stop. What the crowd in the local chip shop thought as they watched a combo just four foot from the bumper of a car flash past is best left to the imagination. My wife did eventually slow down and from there on we continued at a more sedate pace. (Moral of this story, the white wire is the earth, not the black one that the neutral light had been wired incorrectly too. This had dropped out and shorted to the headstock).

( 45 ) The following week saw me attend the Birmingham Branch meeting and while on my way home in the fast lane of the A38M I was to find out that the sidecar brake cable can fill with water then seizes, hence no brakes. Also while passing Villa Park, the traffic was at a stand still due to a Cup match turning out late, when a fuse blew and I had to push the dead machine across three lanes of traffic to the road edge. With the seat off and the fuse changed all the lights came back on, when the Police turned up in their Range Rover and shouted "What's up pal?" Blown fuse I replied should go now, but of course the bike decided to be stubborn and refused to start. The Police then pulled up behind me as I was still kicking for all I was worth. "Will it go with a bump?" the policeman said. He tried to help me push start the beast, but with no luck! He then pushed me and the machine about half a mile to the start of the hard shoulder of the M6 where I then contacted the police control room via the phone on the motorway. By this time it was well after midnight and he asked if he could contact any one about why I was so late. I said, "my wife", but this turned out to be the mistake that you wished you had never made. On returning to the machine I sat there at Spaghetti Junction looking at the machine when there was the dim realisation of what is the switch for on the right hand handle bar? The CZ did not have one, and yes you guessed it, it was the ignition kill switch. With the switch back to its center position, with just one kick the machine burbled back into life. I was quickly back on the phone to tell the police I didnt need the rescue service after all and I was about to leave the motorway. (Moral of this story is, dont put a 12 amp fuse in the system and expect the fuse to last long with all the lights on. Tech tip for anyone using a halogen headlight with a combination, the maximum design current for the alternator is 15A while the actual load current is nearer 18A). The following years National Rally was at Bunkers Hill in Lincolnshire. I set off from home with my son on a very wet Friday to meet up with the other combo drivers of the Birmingham Branch. Over the next couple of hour the rain seeped into every part of our persons and the cigarette breaks for our one smoker turned into a team effort as we all tried to help get the tobacco and the paper together in a dry enough state to light. The rain eventually did stop and as we ran into Grantham my combo was to expire yet again, this time due to the fuse carrier becoming elastic and the spring pushing the fuse out. Some one suggested that I purchase another fuse carrier. "But what's this buy business? I broke open the now solid fuse carrier smashed the glass fuse, then reconnected the fuse wire with two small pieces of chocolate block foil (sorry for the non electricians technical terminology). With the repair carried out the journey continued uneventfully. This temporary repair actually lasted for a number of years without any further trouble, but I did replace the headlight with a smaller wattage unit. The National Rally the following year at Market Harborough saw me win the Combo obstacle race title for 1993, and the certificate now takes pride of place within my works personal development file. Over the years I attended other National and Branch rallies with my son, and one such event was a very wet weekend at Middleton Scriven. The ride out for me actually took place in a very steamed up car, and after we had driven into Much Wenlock and stopped at the nearest Pub, I went in and asked if my son could also come in? The reply was he had to go in the childrens room at the back, so everyone on the run also adjourned to the childrens room. (Those who say motorcycle clubs are not children friendly have never been out with the Jawa CZ Owners Club). At every rally every one always makes you very welcome, always someone to share the silly games with, and its always nice to see old friends and meet new ones from across Europe. If you have a technical problem theres many years of experience on tap to usually get your problem sorted. I know of one person who seemed to have his bike serviced at every rally he attended. (So attend the rallies they really are good fun, even if it rains).

( 46 ) The food at these events is always of a very high standard, and the club usually gets the award for eating the pantry bare of anything vaguely edible. I will not mention the other award for the consumption of the amber liquid. My Jawa model 638 eventually came down with the dreaded centre main rumble, and began vibrating worse than usual. I began looking for a replacement as I thought the crank would be beyond economic repair. I did find a solo 1990 632 in Staffordshire, and as I rode it home I decided I was going to run it solo until the weather closed in for the winter. However fate and a patch of diesel on an island took a hand, off I came with rush hour traffic going round me whilst pinned under the machine. Someone did eventually stop and help lift the bike off me, I straightened the bike, rode it to work and put the chair on that very same day. Six months later this bike also was to expire with a piston skirt failure on the way home from work, which caused me to have the machine towed back to work. I cadged lifts from a colleague at work during the time it was off the road, and as the machine was striped and rebuilt at work, my production engineer took me on one side to tell me that if I was working on my bike in work I needed to let my supervisor know. I did not have the heart to tell him that if ever I did a job at work then I always told my supervisor. The manager did say to me sometime after, When ever I see you, you have some part of a motorcycle in your hands, and are you still keeping the other bike in the companies workshop? (no comment). After obtaining a new piston, before fitting I decided to split the crankcase and clean out any debris that might be there. On removing the crankshaft oil seals the main bearing balls fell out onto the floor! Obviously not right. The machine however up to the piston problem had been running perfectly well. (Moral - know where your machine came from, and if not a club member then drop your offer price and never run your Jawa on a ratio of oil less than 30:1). A trip to Mick Berrills and with his expert eye a new crank was indicated. So in the end I had to purchase a new crank for the new bike anyway. Twelve months of perfect running followed except for one winter night when on my way home from work the machine lost power and lights. I knew I was close to a lay by but in total darkness I missed the entrance by about twelve foot, I ended up riding over the kerb and across the verge before coming to rest. Changing the fuse this time did not work, but luckily a colleague from work who had witnessed my acrobatic stop came to the rescue. I asked him to phone my wife to once again come and tow me in, when he got home (You would have thought I would have learned after the first telephone message). I walked back along the road to a lay by on the other side of the road where I thought there was a telephone box, I did not find the box and later found out that it had been removed several years before And to think I had been past the same place many times on my way to work. Getting back to the bike, and with a small torch I traced the wiring into the depths of the side panel only to find the original Jawa fuse that I had thought had been removed by the previous owner was still there. I removed the fuse and twisted the wires together, and once again off we went. When I arrived home I found my wife searching through the garage for the 20 tonne sling we had used to such good effect years earlier. Muttering under her breath about what she would like to do to me and the bike. In the spring of 1999 as the weather started to warm up and on long journeys the machine started to nip up, all the usual checks were carried out to no avail, and the bike the bike expired completely on the way to the 1999 National Rally. I had to be recovered and attended the rally later in my sons car. Yet another strip down and a rebuild to the crank using bearings supplied by myself, the work on the crank this time being carried out by the engineers at SEP at Kegworth. Complete rebuild with new big ends cost about 80.00. The engine was rebuilt and the bike was back on the road. I am glad to say the machine is still running although for the first time leaking oil due to using the new type of Hylomar. It is now in a semi retirement

( 47 ) as I now run a car at nearly the same cost as the Jawa and you do not get wet. The last time I had the bike MOTd, the testing station had invested in a new rolling road and guess what? the bike failed. The tester took great delight in telling me that the brake drums were oval and that he had in fact failed many bikes, mainly classics, with the same malaise. I had the drums machined at work only to have the MOT reluctantly granted, with the testers last remark as I drove away, I will not pass it next time! With his preoccupation with the brakes he had failed to notice the strands of canvas showing through the tread of one of the tyres. (Before you say just who is this guy who rides his bike with faulty tyres?) I am the Club Treasurer, and treasurers are known for being naturally tight. In my defence I had coloured the offending items with a black magic marker, (Im not that daft) and tucked the longer strands in, as I was waiting for a new tyre to arrive. So now I am looking for another test centre without a rolling road. (Has any other combo owners had the same problem?). I have now bought a 1975, Jawa 634 from John ORyan with only 5100 miles on the clock and I am only the fourth owner. I am now in the process of cleaning and restoring it, to put it back where it should be, on the highways and byways of the UK. (If you want to get a glimpse of it you can, on a work colleagues website www.martinstanley.v-2-1.net). As I live in the Midlands the AGM is usually easy for me to get to, so I attend the Clubs AGMs on a regular basis. When John ORyan was appointed to the post of Treasurer in my absence from the one AGM I couldnt attend, I was appointed Auditor for the Club (moral attend the AGM if you can, as you can never tell what you may be volunteered for in your absence). This post I did for two years until John retired, then at the 2000 AGM I was appointed as Treasurer. In summing up my time with the Club I have to say that it has been very rewarding both as a member and as an officer. I would like to say to all you Anniversary magazine reading members, get out there and join in with the various Club activities! You will enjoy riding your bike more, you will meet great people and by showing the world our Jawas and CZs, the Club will continue to survive into our next half century. The Club needs an active membership, it needs YOU. *****************************

( 48 )

The Avon Section.

For readers outside of the UK. who dont know, the Avon is one of the West Countries main rivers, and the Club branch, which takes its name, is primarily based around the city of Bristol. Over the years they have run a number of very successful events, and their representative is Martin Broomfield. The article below gives a good potted history of the Branch.

.................................

By: Martin Broomfield. My first introduction to a Jawa motorcycle was in about 1973 or 74. Up until that point no one amongst my circle of friends had ever mentioned the name Jawa or CZ, and so the thought of owning a motorcycle made in Czechoslovakia had never entered my head. At that time in Bath, which was the nearest city to where I lived, there were three dealers who sold Jawas and CZs, and a further dealer in Radstock (Near Bath) also for a while sold Jawa 90s. I can well remember my first sight of a pair of new Jawa 350s in one of the shops lined up along side Triumphs and Yamahas, and I have to admit that my impression was of a bike ridden by old men of about 50. In November of 1979 I decided that my second bike needed replacing and looking through adverts I noticed a CZ 175cc Trail bike [model 482]. It was cheaper than 50cc machines that were also being advertised, so I went to have a look at it. I took it for a test ride and being suitably impressed, I bought it. By this time there was still one dealer in Bath selling spares, and there was HUB MOTORCYCLES in Bristol. Whilst in HUBS, Jack Townsend one of the partners in the shop told me that they were about to start a club for Jawa/CZ owners in the Bristol area. I showed little interest at that time, as I was already a member of the Norton Owners Club and the local Bath MCC. Jack however was very persuasive, and after all there was nothing to lose by going just once. The first meeting was held at the Black Swan pub, on Stapleton Road in Bristol and there was a good turn out of I think about forty people. I can well remember that a group of Club members from Swindon, led by Ian Bridge came along to encourage us. Ian told us about the National Club, and it was decided that we would meet in Bristol every Tuesday evening. I believe the first meeting at the Swan was on the 15th April 1980. Someone had previously tried to start a group in the Bristol area, but it had failed, we did not and I soon became a regular along with about a dozen others. I soon had several CZ 125 and 175 motorcycles together with lots of spare parts, and wanting more power I soon bought a Jawa 350cc. Our group occasionally went to the Swindon Branch evening meetings, and we also attended the Swindon weekend camps that were held in the Savernake forest and at Lydiard Park. We held a few Christmas evening get togethers and invited the Swindon Branch to Bristol. We changed our meeting place several times, but for

( 49 ) possibly the longest time was at The Old Tavern, Blackberry Hill, Bristol. Numbers attending the meetings after a few years started to fall, and sometimes only Roy Giles and myself met up. Dave Widdowson who had been in our group from the very beginning started to come back as a regular, and it was him who suggested that our group should become an official branch of the Owners Club, with me as the Area Rep. So with the sanction of the National Club we officially became the Avon Branch. We held out first area camp in 1987 which was a simple camp in a field with a pub about a of a mile away [easy staggering distance]. We offered drinks and Hot Dogs, as the only food the pub could offer was a Ploughmans lunch, and that was if you were lucky. Im proud to say that we have managed to run a camp every years since then, and I know that it was at one of our camps that the Clubs International Liaison Rep Mario Mager was baptised into the Jawa family. Our Branch today has very few members although we rarely cancel a Tuesday night meeting. We lost our last local dealer in the area many years ago, so Jawa and CZ motorcycles are now seen less often. I have been fortunate enough to have attended many of the events run by the Owners Club over the years, and have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed being a member. Its a club where I have made many friends and because of it, it has certainly helped me to enjoy my Jawa/CZ riding even more. For any club to reach 50 years old is an achievement, and The Jawa & CZ owners Club is certainly a special Club. ********************

Looks like the Avon Branch are off to yet another rally ! ..................................

( 50 )

The Irish Connection.

By Pat Brennan.

Jawas were on sale in Cork, down South in Ireland, from 1948 onward. They sold mainly around Cork in small numbers for many years. Only in the mid-70s did the importers make half-hearted efforts to sell Jawas and the much lesser known Zs elsewhere in the Republic. The Irish Section of the Club came into existence in 1977 and lasted in one shape or another until the early 1990s. While we existed we were a reasonably enthusiastic branch, and our members often had something to say in Torque. Yet our origins lay much less in sheer enthusiasm for the marque than in the need to organise our technical capabilities and source very hard-to-get spare parts. In 1975 I had bought a Z 175 model 477, buying a Czech motorcycle as much because I was a fan of Czechoslovakia as for any other reason. I found out very quickly that the Irish importers spares supply was abysmal. Not even Bowden cables were easy to get. Somehow I heard of the Owners Club in Britain. I joined, thanks to Frank Clapson. John Orford sorted me out with a few mail-order spares, the first of many such orders. In time Pete Edwards would succeed to the headache of supplying the Irish, a job he has fulfilled admirably. When I bought a maroon petroil 634/4 in early 1976 I met a few other local characters who owned similar machines. One day we advertised in a newspaper advert our hopes to set up an interest group in Dublin. We held a meeting in a hotel one Sunday morning, and loads of Jawa riders turned up. So we set up what we loosely called a club. I was the chap with the workshop manual and soon after, the factory engine tools - so that made me the technical bod. There wasnt much competition for the job! Right from the beginning, we never had more than a handful of officially paid-up Owners Club members. Most of our Jawa/Z owners here bought the machines because they were cheap. They rode them while putting money together for bigger and faster wheels. That was understandable enough, and would have been easier to disregard if there had been Jawas and Zs bigger than 350cc. As there werent, many of the riders here lost interest in the marques. Its probably a reflection on the inflexibility of Communist economics that they couldnt build anything more contemporary than the 634 models. (We had a minor flare-up of interest here with the MCN write-ups of the 500cc flat-twin, a machine that sadly came to nothing.) I mention the 634 models specifically, because long before the 638 came out the Irish importers had given up on the Czech bikes. I think it was in 1981 that they imported the last Jawa. Their sudden lack of interest coincided with a change in Irish customs charges. While wed had to pay a percentage of the unit cost as duty up to then, the changes meant we now had to pay so much per engine capacity. This change raised the price of Jawa/Zs while lowering that of the equivalent-capacity Japanese competitors. Result instant annihilation

( 51 ) of the Jawa/Z market. Even after 1981, we throve for a while. Some of us had gone to our first overseas National Rally at Stanford Hall in 1978. It was such a good experience that we returned to Nationals again and again for years. Some of us made friends at these Rallies who are still friends twenty years later. But our numbers here were dwindling. Even though the Hard Men like Mick Doran and Brian Moore would happily load up their 634/6s with all sorts of camping gear and head off for Switzerland on holiday, there were plenty of others who quit and went for the bigger Japanese machinery. With the commitment of going to the first of the MZRC Northern Ireland rallies beginning in Garrison in May 1988, we cut down drastically on attending the Jawa/Z rallies in mainland UK. One rally was affordable in May/June, two were not. We only staged one rally ourselves in all that time: that was in Blackwater, Co Wexford, at Easter 1984. Many of our UK friends came over most spectacularly, Roy and Margaret Giles, Dave Widdowson and Howard the Welshman. Its a pity, in hindsight, that we didnt host a few more bashes over the years. Throughout much of the 1980s we continued to hold weekly meetings in a pub in Blackrock, Co Dublin. These tailed off by about the mid-80s, partly because we were friends anyway and could talk to one another at any time and partly because there never seemed to be anything new to report anyway. Wed all done our rebuilds; there were no surprises, and no new machines on the way. Thats not to say that we didnt achieve anything in that time. We were awfully busy, fitting Piranha electronic ignition systems to our machines. This fitting became a regular stunt for me, seeing that I had a dial gauge and could set the systems up accurately. One chap, Stephen Alexander, turned up more than once to have his ignition system fitted, then a week later to have it checked unnecessarily - then again the following weekend to have some entirely imaginary complaint sorted. After the first two sessions, he, I and my sister Martina wandered down to the pub for a quick drink. After the third session, Stephen and Martina went to the pub without me. I got the hint. Stephen and Martina have been married since 1986. He doesnt have a Jawa any longer, though. We probably had more Mikuni carburettors fitted than any other Branch thanks to the late Bob Rixen, who sorted out loads of them for us. We had one or two Velorex sidecars too; Pat Fanning bought one en route to the National in 1983. I bought one myself in 1988, having become fed up of falling off in icy weather. Until about 1996 it was my primary transport. At that stage it suffered complete electrical failure, and it hasnt turned a wheel since. Someday I shall sort out the Elderly Courtesan thank you, Mr Colin Gregory! with one of Edgar Uhers marvellous generators, and off well go again. The one-time Irish Branch went out of existence many years ago. Still, I must mention the members who made it what it was then: Christy Thornton, Mick Doran, Gerry Quigley, Kieran Watters, Brian Moore, Kevin Lynch, Gerry Power, Pat Fainn, Phil Fanning and the late Colman Shanley. There are still a few of us around and paid-up, this time! One man who really must get a mention is the youthful Mr Pat Daly, whose two restored 354 models are the sort of things wed all aim at achieving. Pats great phrase is, The lads in the College made this up for me about one or other barely credible technical creation hed designed for his machines. Ger Duhig, long since lost to my sight, has got in contact again recently. Im looking forward to seeing his latest restoration, as his cosmetic standards in the past were the highest we had.

( 52 ) All of us here owe a load of thanks to various Club members whove been our friends over the years. In particular I would mention Frank Clapson, John Orford, Steve Adams, Pete Edwards, Colin Gregory, Ian Bridge, Dave Widdowson, Dave Lacy and Tony Thain. Likewise Mick Doran of this parish, very much a friend though nowadays not a Jawa rider. Not to mention all those unnamed British heroes at the various rallies we attended, who made the days and nights go with a bang, and with much too much booze. And of course our contemporary friends Sandy and Mally Morgan, and Paul Mason. And also Edgar Uher over in MZ-B in Berlin, without whom wed have very little light to cast on any older Jawa/Z/MZ subject! We might wind up with a section here again at some future time - who can tell? A combination of rip-roaring Rotax-engined 650s even without sidecars, if you see what I mean - and a load of 1948-on restoration projects could just sort something out. We live in hope! ********************

A young Pete Edwards presents an even younger Dave Haddock with a prize at a National Rally [early 1980s].

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( 53 )

What it takes to become a biker.

By Roman Tobisek

Once upon a time there was this young guy who dreamed of being someone special by doing something extraordinary. He used to make little model planes out of paper, starting with easy ones, then proceeded to more and more complicated ones, and finally he started to make models from plastics. I have to say he was really good, but somehow he still had the strange feeling that it was not the thing that would make him completely happy. He tried to force the models to fly hoping this would satisfy his desire for independence he felt as though he was nailed to the ground and he just wanted to be able to fly away like the birds do. For a long time he could not imagine what could actually meet his needs, when out of the blue he was given a small Jawa 50 Pioneer as a Christmas present from his father. His first impression was really scary; he had had no experiences with such vehicles, and did not even hold a driving license. Nevertheless with practice he started to learn how to control the machine, and with it being small it was pretty easy to operate, extremely light, and so he started to ride it around the garden. He even took it out onto the road occasionally even though he didnt at that time have a driving license. He spent the entire winter and spring like this but in the summer he passed his driving test and went for the ride on the road for a first time legally. THAT WAS IT! He realized then that riding even this little bike fulfilled his desperate need of being independent. He was now able to ride wherever he wanted, distances became much closer, expenses were lower than going by bus, and it was always only up to him to decide the time of departure. He was so excited at being in control of his own transportation that he wanted to enhance the experience. The only problem was that the little Jawa was not reliable enough to rely on, so he decided to learn as much as possible about engines and vehicles. So our young guy started to build a career as a vehicle mechanic. He deduced that knowing a lot about cars would give him the valuable experience he needed to be able to undertake any kind of repair by the side of the road. This course of action was later to prove invaluable and the collected experiences were to come in very useful. The little Jawa was not to be the only bike he owned. After he had made his first ride on that little Jawa he quickly explored the marvelous opportunities that traveling on two wheels could offer. An increase in power and speed of a vehicle was required and the way he earned money for his bike collection is really worth mentioning. Once, while skiing, he broke his knee, and the insurance covered the accident to the tune of 100. It was not much, but enough to buy a 1954 Jawa-CZ 150 and a 1949 CZ 125B, both of which were in terrible condition and in need of complete restoration. Later he further extended his collection of little scooters with a Sachs from 1933, a CZ 150 from 1951 and another Jawa 50 scooter with just one saddle. He was always thinking of traveling, about seeing different countries as a way of fulfilling his deepest needs, but more and more he came to realized that his bike collection with an average age of 40 years wasn't suitable for this type of travel. At that time whenever he rode any bike further than 30 miles away, some technical problem would occur. His Jawa-CZ 150 quite often ended

( 54 ) up missing some parts, after leaving them behind on the road when they had vibrated off. I dont think he actually ever made a trip without losing something. On one occasion it was a bolt from the magneto, which fell off and started to make a sound like a bunch of old spoons clanking about. Another time it was a loose cylinder head, making such a terrible racket that he thought the engine was about to disintegrate. The combination of these little incidents appearing on every single trip, finally made him look for something a bit more reliable. His most reliable bike at that time was a Jawa 50 scooter, but you can hardly imagine riding it any further than a distance of some 30 miles. Unless you're a maniac, rumbling along at a low speed all day, while even slow trucks are passing you is not much fun. Well, he decided to buy himself a bigger bike - a Jawa 350, he could only afford an older model, so it was a 634 model from 1982 which later he found out was probably the best Jawa since the after war model Jawa 250 "Perak". He than started to ride the bike everywhere and just couldn't enjoy enough the freedom it gave him, this was exactly what he had dreamt of. He made a few trips across the country and even for the first time crossed the border (to Poland) just by himself, not in a bus or the plane. The feeling he had was one of real excitement, and he liked that very much. Nevertheless he has still kept his old fashionable biked collection just for fun, and a few times a year he even got dressed up the way riders used to in early 50's, with long leather coat, leather boots used while riding horses, white scarf, white open helmet from his father and glasses taken from a WW II. fighter pilot. This look made people stop and stare at him in silent fascination when dressed this crazy way, and he always picked one of his bikes at random (there were 12 to choose from!) and would ride it around the town and near surroundings, just to feel the touch of the Czech legend Jawa or CZ being back on the road after some 50 years. While performing this crazy stuff he met a good friend of his grandparents, who had lived in England since emigrating there in 68, and from time to time he would return to his home country. After having a very pleasant conversation he said that back in England he had a friend, whose son is a member of the 50 years old Jawa-CZ Owners Club, and provided him with the contact information. You can bet that the letter to England was written in few minutes (no Internet in 1994) and sent to that mans son - Mario Mager. A very nice friendship was then established and in a few months our guy attended the Jawa-CZ O.C. National Rally on his recently bought Jawa 350 model 640. This was his first ever experience with traveling so far from home, it was almost 900 miles and he wasn't really equipped at all to handle any possible poor weather. He'd got only a leather jacket and blue jeans, no waterproof, no special covers for luggage. Looking back today we might say he was really silly. Of course he experienced heavy rain on his way through France, so he got wet through to the bones. On the ferryboat he met his first Englishman, who was also riding a bike as well and they spent very nice morning (ferry crossed the channel at 3 a.m.), establishing a very nice friendship, which actually lasts to this day. Finally he made it to North Wales to see Mario and together with his friends and relatives they rode in a convoy, consisting of 2 bikes being ridden, 1 being carried, 2 cars and 1 trailer, towards the rally. I believe that he won the "Furthest traveled" award was obvious after traveling over 900 miles in 3 days on the Jawa; in fact he was one of the first overseas visitor to have attended the UK rally. Except for one bad spark plug he didn't suffer any problems and he later made the trip back home to Czechoslovakia in just one day. Well, I don't mean the entire distance, but only the continental part.
The reason was the weather again; the rain was so hard at times that it made him stop and spend the night in a small church close to the beach. Next day he spent in the saddle and luckily made a safe journey home, riding 700 miles in 18 hours. So this was his first experience of traveling to England, and he found it so exciting that he attended every single national rally for next three years, every time taking the furthest traveled trophy back home. Nowadays he is proud owner and rider of the great English bike Triumph and his brother keeps the Jawa tradition alive.As you may already guess, the guy I was talking about is me

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( 55 )

Sweden and Britain lead the way.

By Cay Bernhardsson. Swedish Jawa-CZ Owners Club.

When it comes to general interest in motor sports, Sweden and Britain stick out in comparison to most of the rest of the world. This great interest manifests itself not only in a variety of motorsport competitions but Sweden and Britain also have the greatest percentage of its population who read motor magazines in general, as well as those specifically covering veteran (or vintage) machines. There is also a widespread interest in owning and restoring vintage motorcycles as a hobby. Although there are many similarities between our two countries, there are also many differences as well. For instance, in Sweden there is a saying that Cubic Capacity is King, and to prove this point, Harley Davidson have nearly one sixth of the Swedish market for new machines, and bikes with less than 600cc are almost impossible to sell. This puts bikes like the Jawa in a very awkward position, with the sale of new machines currently almost nil. This is in contrast to our nearest neighbours of Denmark, Norway and Finland where there are still some noteworthy sales. Other similarities between Sweden and Britain are that both countries developed big motorcycle industries, which now (with one or two exceptions) have become obsolete. The motorcar took over as the most common means of transport earlier in Sweden than in Britain and much earlier than in most other European countries as well. During the 1920s and 30s, motorcycle events in Sweden frequently attracted more than 100,000 spectators (Saxtorp), followed up with a renaissance during the 1950s (Hedemora TT) and later Mantorp, Anderstorp and so on. Subsequently Sweden has bred many World Champions in a variety of disciplines such as Enduro, Motocross, Speedway, Trial and even Road-Racing. Although the hay-day was probably from 1960 to 1980, Sweden still holds quite a few titles even today. Jawas in Sweden. In the early 1950s, Jawas were sold in great numbers in Sweden, with the first Perak actually arriving in February 1947 imported by a German gentleman. With a boom in sales it soon saw a general agent for the country being appointed, and in 1952 alone nearly 3,000 Peraks were sold, which for a population of only 7.5 million was not bad (population even today is only 9 million). The early fifties was the last period when motorcycles in Sweden were the common means of transportation, but by 2002 the number of registered motorcycles in the country had once

( 56 ) again risen and exceeded 200,000 which is in fact the highest figure since those heady days. Now of course the motorcycle is mainly used as a leisure and recreational vehicle as opposed to back then when it was effectively The common mans car. The early 1960s saw a dramatic drop in motorcycle sales, and thousands of new and almost new bikes were just turned into scrap metal. This development is reflected by the number of Jawas of different year models that can still be found today. Surprisingly many Peraks keep turning up thanks to a tradition of renovation that started during the 1960s when sales of new bikes dropped. The Swinger/Panelka type of Jawa is much less common here in Sweden than the Perak, the opposite apparently being the case in Britain. Through the years Jawa have renewed their efforts to sell bikes in Sweden and as a result of such campaigns we find a certain number of Californian models here, even though they are not very common outside of the USA. CZ from the mid-sixties to the late seventies are not uncommon. Bikes of the models 634, 638, 640 are less numerous, but a few new bikes have found their owners almost every year. The number of registered Jawa and CZs in Sweden is something like 1,200 or 1,300, not all of them in shape for the road though. Furthermore one can estimate at least a few hundred (or more) that still exist although they are no longer on the central vehicle register. A great proportion of the new members that are now joining the Club are people who in one way or another have found an old Jawa that they now want to restore or at least repair to be able to use it. Old bikes are popular here and old Jawas have an irresistible charm that turns heads around. One of the main purposes of our Club is of course to help and abet this trend and to find new owners for bikes that are no longer in use because of ill health or old age of their owners, and of course to keep the Jawas running. Help from our friends. Great help was given to us, in the formation of our Swedish Jawa Club, by newly found friends in the British Jawa & CZ Owners Club. The British was one of our inspirations and we received much practical help from your International Liaison Officer Mario Mager, who we have now made an honorary member of our Swedish Club. Our development has been very rapid. Today we have a board of directors that are at least beginning to function as intended, we have a very popular newsletter or Club Magazine with four issues a year, and since December 2002 we have also had our own Web Page (hem.passagen.se/jawaklubben/) Right from the start we adopted the Mario with his wife Sadie in Sweden. practice of organising yearly National Rallies and even some local ones. The geographical outline of Sweden may have had a deterring effect on our coming together, but give us a few years and I think we will find means of overcoming this deterrent.

( 57 ) The tradition of organisation is strong in Sweden in all layers of society, and that goes for the motorcycle world as well. There are many clubs and organisations from the smallest to a few big ones that organise all sorts of motorcycle events. The most common motorcycle clubs in Sweden are not One-Make ones, although the Ducati/Triumph Owners/ Honda Shadow clubs are just a few of those that do. Since a few years ago the Swedish Jawa/CZ Owners Club has now joined this esteemed group, and our membership continues to rise. Currently we have slightly over 330 paid up members which is really excellent for such a young club. Much of our work has been inspired by the fact that there are other Jawa/CZ clubs around, for instance in the other Nordic countries and of course the daddy of them all in Britain. The setting up of the Jawachat web link has also been a decisive factor and again we have to thank our British friends and colleagues for that. We here in Sweden would like to wish you in the Jawa/CZ Owners Club of Britain another 50 years of successful activity and hope that the future will bring us even closer together.

Cay on one of his Jawas joins a motorcycle event. ********************

1954

2004 Britain & Ireland.

Jawa/CZ Owners Club of

Jawas in Winter Wonderland.

( 58 )

In Conclusion.
Back at the Clubs 2002 Annual General Meeting little did I then realise just what the impact would be on me of my offer to edit a special anniversary magazine for our 2004 Golden Jubilee year. As I had already edited the Clubs special 40th magazine in 1994 I suppose I should have known, but it was ten years ago and with the passing years the memory does tends to only remember the pleasure it gave and not the pain it had put me through. As I now come to the end of putting together this anniversary mini-book, I do have to say that I am a little relieved, as for a good six month period it has totally dominated a fair portion of my spare time I estimate on average at least 10 hours a week, and it has been a real labourof-love! Seeing this end result may not the impression of that amount of work, but it is in fact only the culmination of many hours of research, letter writing and the cajoling of people to provide articles. This together with the actual editing, printing, collating and posting, has I hope ended up giving you a magazine worthy of this special Club year, and of interesting and enjoyable to all who read it. It goes without question that I must give a special thankyou to everyone who have provided articles and photographs, as without you it just would not have happened. Back in 1994 I was able to gather together many facts and figures about the Clubs early years which could have with time been lost if not documented, and this edition although it does delve back to earlier times as well does bring things upto date and into the 21st century. To celebrate the Club being 50 years old is certainly something the Clubs Committee takes seriously, as there are very few other motorcycle clubs who can claim to have for half a century served its members in such a positive way. Of course its not all been plain sailing, with at times financial difficulties together with personal differences between various members, but with a club which has had thousands of members during its life span, I suppose thats inevitable. These problems have with effort all been overcome and as a result the Club I believe has become stronger because of it. With the virtual collapse of Jawa production during the past ten years, the ceasing of CZ production and the stopping of imports into the UK, the need for the Club has become even more important. With all these new problems stacked up against us Im pleased to say that our membership is now virtually the same as it was ten years ago, and is slowly increasing. The Owners Club has been a catalyst and inspiration to others and this has seen an upsurge in Jawa/CZ clubs in a number of other countries, and Im pleased to say that the UK & Eire club has been at the heart of this increased worldwide interest. There is a growing interest worldwide in these Czech machines (and their derivatives) and Im sure that this must give heart to the Jawa factory as it tries to rebuild its product base. From a Club perspective no one knows what the future holds, but providing there are enthusiasts who own, ride and salvage/restore these bikes and wish to be part of a world-wide Jawa/CZ fellowship, then Im sure the Owners Club will rise to the challenges that are placed upon it. 1954 2004 is a period to be proud of, and while our roots and history should not be forgotten, we do have to look also to the future. The Club has been fortunate in having members who have cared enough to give their time and energies to run and promote the Club, I hope this continues. Ian Bridge ( This Special Edition Editor) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jawa-CZ Owners Club Contacts

Chairman:
John Blackburn, 39 Bignor Road, Wadsley Bridge, Sheffield. S6 1JD Paul Mason, 34 Central Park Ave, Wallasey, Merseyside. CH44 0AQ Steve James, 12 Tolman Drive, Glascote, Tamworth, Staffs. B77 2AJ Tony Thain, The Old Dairy, Achnaha, by Kilchoan, Acharacle, Argyll, Scotland. PH36 4LW

Secretary: Treasurer:

Membership Secretary: Torque Editor:

John Woods, Swn-y-Coed, Pontfadog, Llangollen, Denbyshire. LL20 7AG Peter Edwards, 29/31 Cromford Road, Langley Mill, Derbyshire. NG16 4EF

Spares Officer: Librarian:

Arthur Fleming, 5 Romford Road, Pembury, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. TN2 4HU Mario Mager, Llwyn-y-Glyn, Denbigh Road, Mold, Flintshire, North Wales. CH7 1BP

International Liaison Officer:

Area Representatives
Avon:
Martin Broomfield, 34 Southlands Drive, Timsbury, Nr Bath. BA2 0HB Steve James (see Treasurer - above).

Birmigham: Essex:

Sid Cockbill, 50 Canterbury Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, Essex. SS2 4QR Ray Pratt, 114 Anmore Road, Denmead, Waterlooville, Hants. PO7 6NZ

Hampshire: London:

Gordon Dickson, 14 Courthorpe House, Lower Road, Rotherhithe, London. SE16 2XH Don Chadwick, Foxes Bard, Barker Fold, Tockholes Darwen, Lancs. BB3 0LW Tony Seward, 25 Beckley Road, Broxtowe Estate, Nottingham. NG8 6GY

North West: Nottingham: Sheffield: Surrey: Sussex:

John Blackburn (see Chairman above).

Peter Amys, Goldcreast House, 31 Wyndham Ave, Cobham, Surrey. KT11 1AS Alan Thonpson, Grandads, 70 Hailsham Road, Polegate, East Sussex. BN26 6NP Ian Bridge, 6 Deben Crescent, Haydon Wick, Swindon, Wilts. SN25 3QB Mario Mager (see International Liaison Officer above).

Swindon:

North Wales:

Web Site: www.jawa-cz-owners-club.freeserve.co.ok

Edited, Published and Printed in Swindon by: The Swindon Branch Jawa/CZ Owners Club of Great Britain & Ireland.