MZ Baghira
 

Hi,
I am looking for as much information as I can get on the Baghira.
How sound and reliable is the engine?
How tough is the bike?
Can the bike be worked on or are you stuck with dealers?
Has anyone attemped an RTW or long trips on a Baghira.

Thanks

Hi Stephen

Ý know nothing about the Bagýra but have noticed over the last few months travelling through eastern europe and now in eastern turkey, still heading east!, that MZs are extremely common in the 250/301 guise.

Therefore mechanics are likely to know what they are doing with MZs and parts should be available as i would imagine alot would be interchangeable? They are also mechanically very simple i believe.

Thats the extent of 'my' knowledge!!

Good luck

the baghira has absolutely nothing in common with the old 250/301 air cooled two strokes. it uses engines from the yamaha range, first from the tenere models and in the last few years(mastiff/baghira/scorpion included) from the more modern XTZ660. this is a water cooled 5valve four stroke.as far as i know they are pretty solid bikes.

i think the reason the old MZs are so common in turkey and surrounding area is because they now make them with old tooling from east germany, like indian enfields and mexican VWbeetles.you can buy them in UK somewhere, but i would rather suck my eyes out with a hoover first.

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dave

[This message has been edited by DAVSATO (edited 17 November 2002).]

[This message has been edited by DAVSATO (edited 17 November 2002).]

I ride a 2000 MuZ Skorpion Tour which has the same motor as the Baghira. I've put 35,000 miles on it with zero problems, the Yamaha XTZ motor is very solid, I've seen others with twice as much mileage with no problems.I'm planning my third trip to Central America on it now. When I wear this one out, I'm going to trade it in on a Baghira.

The XTZ is indeed a solid eengine albeit a twin.... The 660 however is about as durable as big singles come too :-)
I did a roadtest once on an Baghira and it is basically an XT with a better handling chassis. Through german specialist shops like Touratech and others several adaptations are available although, apart from a larger tank, none are realy needed. Apart from general prep. it should be desert-proof.

The XTZ is indeed a solid eengine albeit a twin.... The 660 however is about as durable as big singles come too :-)
I did a roadtest once on an Baghira and it is basically an XT with a better handling chassis. Through german specialist shops like Touratech and others several adaptations are available although, apart from a larger tank, none are realy needed. Apart from general prep. it should be desert-proof.

The 660, five valve, watercooled, single cylinder Yamaha motor is also an "XTZ". I just did a web search on "Yamaha XTZ motor" to make sure. There are many, many, references to the XTZ 660.

It's a great motor, I know of a guy in California who has in excess of 85,000 MILES on his with zero problems, not even an oil leak. There is also a guy in Oz with 100,000 kilometers on his. I've never seen that kind of mileage on a bike without something going wrong.

Here is a link to a German Page of REAL fans:

http://www.mz-baghira.de/

You will find contact info under KONTAKT - if you have probs to contact these guys drop me an e-mail - most of them are technically informed, love their bikes and have LOTS of info...

I've got one, had it since the beginning of the year. Engine-wise as it's been said there's no worries, though no land speed records either!

There's a few niggles though. Brake bleed nipples are made of something that's less strong than chocolate. I can't undo mine and will have to destroy them to get them out and replace them with something more substantial. The clock lights have been dead for ages, they presumably vibrate too much and the bulbs blow. I can't be bother replacing them anymore. And lastly the rear sprocket is held in by allen bolts! Which have gone the same way as the brake nipples and can't be undone without damage. So the bike will be off the road while that gets sorted.

Would I buy one again? Yes.

Why? Well, I've had this one for a year, it cost £3,500 new (enduro version at a friendly dealer) which is cheaper than an XT. I've never cleaned it and ride it every day (20K miles this year). The above are the only problems I've had, and given the cheap new price are fair enough I think, the money has to be saved somewhere - and at least it's not the engine where money has been saved.

If you buy one, replace the above mentioned bolts as soon as you get it and you'll be fine. You will need to replace the seat if you're going to do a RTW trip, but that applies to pretty much all bikes depending on daily milage. After a year with mine I've decided to keep it for my 1/2 RTW next year and hopefully a proper RTW in a couple of years.

I was looking for a large tank, as touratech don't do one, this is from tunebike.de

"You may choose, there are different options:
20L-tank, suitable for varnishing, incl. mountingkit: 254,45 EUR + seat
28/30 L-tank, not suitable for varnishing (since ~three month only
available in orange), incl. mountingkit and pump 536,86 EUR + seat
Reartank 5L, incl.cover and pump (see pics on website)203,49 EUR
Seat for big tanks 153,39 EUR.
So you have 18, 20, 25,~30, ~35 L if you combine reartank with stock or
big tanks or big tank alone.
Prices are incl. shipping, airfright needs additional amount.
Foreign orders must be prepaid (bank guaranteed cheque or transfer). I
will send an invoice, as soon as parts are ready for shipping."

Thanks Doug,
Good information and appreciated.
I understand that the hoses on the motor are not braided or re-inforced in anyway have you experienced any difficulty off road with these.

Steve

Hi,
Yeah the hoses are standard. I've not done any 'serious' off-road and haven't dropped the bike. So I've not had any problems with the hoses yet.
When are you planning to get a bike?

Not sure if you know, but the Baghira and the Baghira Enduro are the same machines, except the Enduro has a large front wheel and longer travel front forks.

Cheers,
Doug


[This message has been edited by DougB (edited 11 December 2002).]

Hi,

These MZ Baghiras’ are great bikes. I have a 2001 and it has been bullet proof so far. Some of the MZ owners have over 100,000 miles on the 660 motors and still running strong. I my opinion, the Baghira’s components are a level above the KLRs, XRs, and DRs; and a much better value.

Thanks,
Bill

PS: If anyone is interested we have started a new MZ Baghira group on yahoo. Just go to yahoo groups and search for “MZ Baghira”.