1974 CZ 400 Works Bike
Today we have a real treat to feast your eyes on thanks to John Feit of Redmond, Oregon. A 1974 CZ 400 works bike. Yummy. John describes his works retro rocket as follows:
The bike originally came with a works peanut tank.
Completed first restoration with CZ RV400 aluminum fuel tank.
About 17 years ago I was full bore into the vintage racing scene. I traveled a lot and would search out bikes and parts everywhere I went. It is amazing the stuff one can find if they look hard enough. One day, I was looking at an old Dirt Bike magazine. It featured an article about vintage CZs. It featured several shops that were into the vintage scene. Just on a whim I started calling all the shops. One shop would say “I sold everything to this guy”, I would call him then another and another. Eventually I found the guy with most of the bikes and parts. We talked for a month or so, worked out a deal for several bikes and tons of parts.
I traveled from Asheville, NC to a small town in eastern Ohio. I picked up a race ready CZ 400 centerport conversion in a handmade one-off chromoly frame by Bassett. For $385.82 a guy brought the bike in 3 years earlier and never came back for it. Wow!!!! It even had a gp seat. That bike is another story. The shop owner saw I was a hardcore CZ nut and mentioned that he new a guy that had a honest to goodness real works CZ. He said the guy had it for sale a year ago. I was jumping out of my skin. He found the guys number and called him. He still had the bike, and it was for sale. I had just enough money to get home. The guy said he would send photos. The longest week in my life, the photos finally arrived. I couldn’t get to FedEx fast enough. I over-nighted the money. 1 month later I had that baby strapped down on a bumper carrier on the back of my Chrysler Newport.
Ok, the details. The bike came out of Motokov of Canada. They sold 2 works bikes to a big shop in Ohio when they shut down the factory racing program. So guys, there is another one out there! It is a true works bike. Sandcast magnesium engine. Sandcast centerport cylinder. The engine is loaded with all the works internals. Everything is drilled and lightened. From the clutch hub to the transmission gears to the foot pegs. Titanium here in there for good measure. Race ready weight with 1 gal of gas. 221 lbs. The pipe was totally hacked up, so I had a new one made. The shock mounts were moved forward. So, I moved them back to 1973 specs so I could race this baby… and race it I did. I have crashed my brains out on this bike. A lot of guys thought I was crazy. My response was: It’s a CZ. The bike has a mile wide power band and is the best handling CZ ever. I am one lucky dog.
Great story and information John, thanks for sharing your treasured CZ!
This CZ if now FOR SALE, Click Here!
1974 CZ 400 Works Gallery
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- Completed first restoration with CZ RV400 aluminum fuel tank.
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- The bike originally came with a works peanut tank.
11 Comments
@John Lanting, try my personal or work e-mail laecutter@yahoo.com, or rwesolak@dfwairport.com, or post your e-mail address and I will get to you.
Thanks
Ron, your email address did not work.
What colour were the frames of CZ400s?
@John Lanting: Do you still have the CZ, or any pictures you could forward and are you interested in selling?
Thanks,
Ron
Email laecutter@yaoo.com
Peter lost your number. My email is oregonfeit@gmail.com
John, first look at the engine. Is it alloy or mag? Look closely at the photo of my bike. There are a lot of differences between the stock and the works bikes.
Ron, yes the bikes and the frame are still for sale. Sorry about the delay. Been really busy.
I have a CZ400 I purchased about in 1995. It is a 1974 model but it has a red frame. I had the engine rebuilt by CZ Bob in Utah in about 1998. I has sat in at my brother’s place and unfortunately I moved away and it has been there since then. How would I know if it is a factory works machine or not?
Afternoon John, do you still have both cz’s the works and Bassett framed if so are you still looking to sell them?
Thanks
Ron Wesolak
John, call me.
Dan, there are alot of CZs still out there. It seems there isnt as many on the market as in previous years. They are fast, reliable, great brakes, great handling, just a little heavy and some say cobby. As with any vintage bike, condition is important. The best thing about CZs, parts are pretty easy to come by. I would look for a frame that hasn’t had the shock mounts moved. A motor that turns over freely. Unless you are a good wrench the cost of restoring a bike can get pretty expensive. I would do some research and attend some vintage events and talk to some guys riding CZs. There may be a few for sale at the race.
Greetings, I have just read about your CZ. What a find!! I grew up in Oregon in the 80’s and some of the 90’s before moving to Indiana where I have been for 17 years now. The south west area is my stomping grounds (Grants Pass, Cave Junction, Selma etc.) I had old 74-75 Yamaha’s,(DT’s and MX’s)both of which I think I have pushed as many miles as I have ridden. Did you ever hear of a place called Blitz Canyon Hillclimb? It is right there on the outskirts of Grants Pass just off of I-5. It has been closed now for many many years,but I had a chance to run my DT 250 in it once. My boys and I really like old dirt bikes. Are CZ’s very hard to come by? I have heard they were very reliable. I have always thought that they looked pretty cool. The ones you have here are really nice. Any tips on hunting down a CZ and what to look for or to stay away from?