CLASSIC MOTOCROSS IRON: 1969 CZ 360 TYPE 969/01 SIDE PIPE

01/05/2024 20:30

BY TOM WHITE

East German Paul Friedrichs won three consecutive 500cc World Motocross World Championships (1966–’68) on a CZ 360. With a record like that, any serious American motocrosser of the era would have been drawn to the Type 969/01 like a moth to a flame. In almost every way, the CZ production bike resembled the factory machine, and that included problem areas like the dual-plug ignition (that jumped timing easily), Jikov carb (that flooded easily) and a propensity towards heavy vibration. Even with its flaws, the CZ 360 was bulletproof and fast. And when put in capable hands, like those of Paul Friedrichs or Brad Lackey, it was unbeatable.  

CZ was founded in Strakonice, Czechoslovakia, in 1919 as a weapons manufacturer. In fact, the acronym CZ stands for “Ceska Zbrojowka,” which translates to Czechoslovakian Weapons Factory. It wasn’t until 1932 that CZ started building motorcycles, the first being a 76cc machine called the Cactus. After WWII, the communist commissars merged CZ with arch rival Jawa. CZ manufactured motorcycles for street, trials, enduro and road racing, but it was in motocross that they flourished. Joel Robert, Paul Friedrichs, Guennady Moisseev, Jaroslav Falta, Sylvain Geboers, Roger DeCoster, Zdenek Velky, Vlastimil Valek, Jiri Stodulka, Tony DiStefano, John DeSoto and Brad Lackey all raced CZs.

At its $1095 suggested retail, the CZ was almost a hundred dollars cheaper than the Husqvarna 400, but the initial cost didn’t factor in that most American riders switched the Jikov for a Mikuni and the Pal shocks for Girlings. For the serious motorcycle collector, original standard components are critical. On the 1969 CZ 360, it is most important to find a good original exhaust pipe, as the ’69 was often called the side pipe! As with all CZs, you must have a flawless stock steel tank, steel front fender, original fiberglass rear fender and airbox. The Jikov carb is a must, but is hard to find because very few CZ riders kept them on the bike when it was new.

CZ’s innovative two-strokes changed the sport and earned them seven World Motocross Championships. Unfortunately for them, CZ’s technology languished under communist rule and CZ withdrew from motocross competition at the end of the 1983 season. Today, the CZ factories produce gearboxes for Skoda automobiles, motorcycle chains and guns.

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