ETZ125 - Starting Problems

[Samuel_James]

Hello all,

Got an MZ ETZ125 1988 and, to be honest, it feels like I own Pandora's box. Had intermittent issues that have caused me problems but I managed to get them sorted and had been running okay for a while.

At the moment, having trouble getting the bike to kick over, sometimes taking dozen kicks or so. The engine is firing and threatening to start but revs just will not pick up. Also, when it does finally decide to start, it will maintain its revs at a very reduced rate (tacho isnt working so not sure of exact numbers) and applying the throttle has no affect on the rev rate.

Any suggestions as to what could be causing this, and how to sort it out, would be great.

[Agronski]

Sounds like it could be a fuel-flow problem - hard to kick over and an unresponsive throttle usually mean either dodgy ignition or no fuel. Have you checked to see if your sparkplug is wet after kicking it over a few times? Check your fuel filter (if any), main carb jets and float. Could also be the tank breather - disconnect the fuel line from the carb and check if the flow is good with the tank cap on.

If you're definitely getting enough fuel, maybe the ignition is a bit squishy - use a new plug and check the points and/or condensor (or even the magnetic sensor if the early ETZs came with the newer ignition system)...

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[Samuel_James]

Had the points and condenser checked not too long ago. Turned out that it had two condensers (one piggy backed onto another) and after sorting that out it ran fine for a while. Recently had the carb apart numerous times and its all working fine but will check the fuel flow. Cheers.