1976 TS 250 Could anyone tell me?....

[polycyclic]

Hello again...

a) I have just purchased a pair of prong-type ignition keys (minus the pins), but as I do not have a handbook I know nothing about the 6 ignition switch positions that I am able to click through.... starting with the "handle" of the key at the 4 o'clock position and rotating the key clockwise through to 9 o'clock...
- could anyone share this information with me?

b) I have a "Haynes" manual and reference is made to starting the bike with a discharged battery using the "emergency ignition position on the ignition switch" - my bike doesn't have a battery yet, and a previous keeper has connected the battery leads together
- will the ignition circuit work with such a set-up?

c) I have kicked the engine over with the key in each position but have not obtained a spark yet; I read about some other bike with a magneto/dynamo system that if a bulb is blown then the ignition circuit will not work
- is this the case with the MZ TS 250? ...If so then my shattered headlamp bulb would contribute t
o the lack of a spark.

d) I have decided to pull the head and barrel because the engine has a standing seizure when I recieved the bike; will there be markings on the piston indicating an oversize if the engine had been previously rebored? In buying a new head gasket, do I go for a .2 or a .4 and why? Would a .2 result in higher compression compared to a .4?

That would be about it for now!
My name is Ken and I'm a bikaholic

[Eric Frith]

The bike really needs a battery to make it run, & the gaskets are available in different sizes to achieve the correct compression ratio, the manual shows you how to measure the piston to head clearance using solder in the plug hole,

The original gasket thickness is probably the best size to start with.

My bikes are ETZ's so not quite the same but very close.