CZ brakes indeed set the standard for pre '75 stopping power. Although the hubs look a bit heavy they're in fact quite light, being made of magnesium, a material which presents a couple of problems however. As many of you have probably found out the hard way, magnesium tends to become brittle with age and suffers badly from moisture corrosion. It pays to check your CZ hubs (or anything else made from mag) very, very carefully . The last thing you need is a mag hub exploding like a broken beer bottle as you brake hard going into the first corner. It happened to me but luckily it was the mag back hub on my Maico self destructing during a burnout at the drags. At an early Nepean vintage dirt track meet I was riding right behind the late, great Roy East who was aboard his famous Metisse when without warning going into turn one under hard brakes, his magnesium Rickman front hub exploded sending the old fella flying over the bars and head first into the track. The monster crash also took out a few more of us that were following, luckily with no major injuries. Roy however, was knocked about a fair bit and it took him quite a while to recover. The Metisse eventually came back with Husky forks and front brake.
Regarding CZs generally though, I reckon they're one of the most underrated bikes available in the pre '75 division. They're easily dismissed by the less knowledgable racer because of their cobby looks, funky ergos and lack of plastic but when you look inside at what makes them tick you'd be blown away by how sturdy the gearbox and bottom end are and how efficient the porting arrangement is. I know it's well worn hype but CZs really are almost bulletproof. The five speed '74 model trans did have some dodgy top gear issues but even that is uncommon. There are shitloads of trick aftermarket stuff available for them ranging from GMCs lightweight frames to reed conversions, plastic replacement fenders and tanks, and heaps more. The Jikov carby is finicky but a Mikuni goes straight on and works well. Having said that, my mate Stanleys fast ex George Pyne '74 250 still has the Jikov and it's as reliable as a slant six Valiant. The long throw gear change is a little disconcerting at first but after a couple of laps the "problem" disappears.
CZs can be bought for far less than the fashionable Maicos, Huskys and Spanish stuff but are more than capable to stick it to any of those more popular machines. I've raced a few CZs over the years and thoroughly enjoyed them. In fact I've got a basket case '73 250 in the shed awaiting it's turn on the resto production line.
