Barn find jawa motorcycle, is it worth restoring?

48 thoughts on “Barn find jawa motorcycle, is it worth restoring?”

1. Let’s face it. It’s usually junk when you get it and junk when you get finished with it except it usually runs to some degree thanks to Fred Sanders parts from upstairs. Who cares what you do with it.

2. The CZs looked like Ferraris compared to ugly Porsches when compared to MZs, and performance wise and tunability they were by far better.

3. When I was a teen I worked on a boat and the captain/supervisor rode one of these daily, he had no other transport. But it was all black like this one.
   Those things were everywhere in Europe at the time and people would swear by their reliability (also MZ singles) but this guy was dumb enough to flood it daily and have to push it to somewhere where plugs can be cleaned.

   I would go in somedays knee dip in water, get the generator started and the main engines, and pump all the water out so the boat wouldn't sink, he was too scared to be electrocuted, he'd rather wait for an "expert" and wouldn't listen to me about flooding a 2stroke. He was the captain, I was a teen and had no bike or money to buy one.
   Generator was MBenz, main engines were GM 550hp diesels. So the CZ was simple stuff 🙂

4. Part of the attraction of this bike is that it's old
   Getting it running right, and just clean it up, and then ride it around to the local shops
   Nice video of a very good old bike

5. These are fantiastic utilatarian machines they will just run and run forever with minimal maintenance, its definately a keeper.

6. You’re right restoration of any vehicle like this or car etc is extremely prohibitive expensive

7. 10:48 SUCH WISE WORDS ABOUT WHAT TO CHOOSE TO RESTORE .

8. aha …. now I have a plausible explanation for the smoke.
   Thanks a lot, sir.

9. Rat bike material

10. That's what always happens where I live, people get something and start trying to do a full restoration not knowing what that really requires in time and money. Then after th get into it and realize how much it really takes to do it they put it up for sale and try to get what they put into it already and it's just not worth that much so it just sits there and rots away because they think it's really worth what they are asking.

11. I find that getting a vintage bike back to its best is most effective if done in stages.
    Each owner is willing to put Some effort into improving their bike, and if it is cared for, the next owner can take it that little bit further.
    By getting this one up and running, it greatly improves the chances the next person Will fix the paint, or repair some chrome.
    As time, care, and survival add up, the argument for further work gets better and better. With each stage of work done, the likelihood of taking another becomes greater. Mustie does an Immense service in taking negligible bikes and returning them to the enticing status of "runs well, but needs some cosmetic work"!
    Just saying…

12. thanks for these vids! just wondering what spark plug would you suggest for this bike? thanks

13. Exactly and it will never be worth much so why throw away all that money

14. Куплю крышку маслонасоса

15. great video

16. Realy feels like im with u in the garage, love ur videos dude. Keep up the good work

17. Vaseline, for switch re-assembly.

18. That headlight is a typical English Lucas, seml sealed beam.
    They were very common in Australia.

19. People will benefit from Darren's explanation of the economics of restoration. I've seen people put thousands into restorations or customizations without a snowball's chance in hell of recovering even a fraction of their investment. In this case, the Jawa, by the wildest estimates, might be a $4000 bike and most are saying it will never be more than half of that. Also, this bike was built to be cheap and very reliable transportation. You can see that the simplicity of the design and its mechanical durability is what this bike is all about. That is where the money and effort should be focused and that is what Mustie1 is usually all about. Thanks as always to Mustie1 and all due respect to all opinions on this.

20. Hate to be a worry wart but between all the lacquer thinner, gasoline, paint and exhaust fumes your are headed for lung problems. I enjoy your work and your calm demeanor but you seem a bit safety lax.

    My dad was in the heating oil business with garage mechanic and all those fumes contributed to lung problems.

21. Hey love the video I love to see if you have any good bikes to just ride around town

22. im with you mustie, i dont want no trailer queen. get it running mechanical good and enjoy it ,let the next person drive it or restore it.

23. For me the decision to restore or not is easy. Make sure the tank is as rust free as possible inside and maybe try to stabilize any further rust. Assemble the bike, make it run and ride it as is. I agree with Mustie1 it would just be too expensive to restore. Money better spent somewhere else.

24. The Java is a check republic bike and partially India now

25. I totally understand

26. I'll say use zip strip for the paint,

27. That is one odd bike

28. what is it first up then down 3 ?

29. What a strange gear lever/kickstart combo. Ive never seen that before.

30. You have to run the bike in order to get the voltage up the battery is there just so you can have some light when the bike is not running that little silver box under the seat is the converter so it does not blow the light bulbs i know for fact because i use to own one of those Czech Republic bikes for many years but it was a 250cc

31. $250 for a 64 Yamaha Trailmaster 80 (with original title). $1400 later, it looks damn fine and runs fine. Could I sell it for the parts I got in it + the bike $1600, not including my time. No way. It's slower than anything over a 50cc scooter. But it's cool looking and as old as me. I did the work, I did the paint. More about satisfaction to get it running again, than what I can sell it for.

32. Id paint it black and turn it to a cafe bike, eliminate parts

33. About (not) restoring : There is a point there about work/ Money Ratio and what makes sense for HIM ! I am fine with what the man decides! We are just guests. And the content is high quality . Thanks Musti1 for sharing the fun! (Your tools,- your rules… 😉

34. I would have liked to see that oil pump system worked on and tuned.

35. This bike looks cool, I wish to see this bike restored

36. Hey, armchair opinion viewers , listen to Mustie, he knows because he gets it done, you don't

37. had a cz 125 on the road for a couple of years (still have it in the shed) the wiring is 6 volt throughout and the lights are awful as standard. the headlight is a sealed beam so you get the lens and reflector as one unit. they are very basic bikes and you won't get a race bike out of one. they have many design flaws like the carb icing up on cold mornings (the damn thing spat me off every morning going to work on the same bend at 5.30, picked it up and smoked a cigarette while the engine heat melted the ice out of the intake) and it went through points like they grew on trees. if you balance the front brakes (twin leading shoe) they worked great , probably the best thing on the bike.hell even the key is the same as zetor tractors!! gearbox oil needs checking regular or you get false neutrals between the gears. I could go on for hours like this but I love them so I can't, says a lot that they come with a great little tool kit and mine had a tyre pump on the frame.you can't knock the optimism of those guys.

38. I would just paint it and ride. To heck with chrome. Lol

39. Just a little tip. Air cooled motorcycles can over heat quick, we always put a little box fan blowing on the motor while while working on it sitting still. I once had a 72 suzuki 350 rebel street bike, lots of fun….

40. Buy rust removal

41. But like I said Auto body suppliers are not really going to sell you Auto body supplies at what they sell it to a body shop because they can get in trouble because you're not using it in a proper approved shop

42. I'm sure none of the new except for Jack Slade at Derry Auto parts Auto body suppliers no me

43. You take it apart and I could have it factory orange in a few days for 200 bucks or much less

44. A free rebuilding a 65 BSA I can see all sorts of the British influence in that bike. British twins had only the "ticklers". There was no need for a choke.

45. I seen today I think today a guy make a piston and rings and some valves and stuff. It was pretty cool to see someone make that in a garage

46. That’s the same thing with any collectible. Buy the best quality you can and go from there. I have restored many fine Winchester and uS military collectible rifles and you can spend a fortune in parts and time doing so. Sure I made a profit from my efforts but I could have made a bigger profit had they been in better condition when I got them.

47. it's never about value…

48. 18:56 is why we see bandaids on Darren from time to time

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