Like many of you, I started riding motorcycles when I was a kid. That was
1971. My first bike was a Montesa 125GP.  At the time, it was a fairly
competitive bike. A year later I was riding Yamaha's first production
motocross bike...in the desert.  I managed to get 250 yards off the starting
line before crashing and breaking my collar bone. Having had my fill of
desert riding, I switched over to motocross. In the early 1970's, Southern
California was the mecca for motocross and there was no shortage of
tracks to race on.  I eventually switched over to a REAL motocross bike, a
1973 CZ250 then a 1974 CZ250. Those were the days!

I got back into motocross bikes in 1994 when my son came home with a
motorcycle that was painted yellow......completely yellow.....tires, tank,
wheels, everything!  As I looked at it in utter amazement, it began to look
familiar.....a 1979 Husqvarna 390.  I convinced my son that only real men
could ride and appreciate one of these relics and he reluctantly turned it
over to me.....that's when this whole nightmare began!

I've been restoring motocross bikes ever since.  The first few bikes were
pretty rough and certainly weren't going to win any awards.  But as time
went on, I started meeting people who were afflicted with the same disease
and who had much more talent in restoration then I.  I'm a quick study and
soon my bikes started looking like the real deal.  When the stable hit
around forty bikes, my wife suggested I attend one of those 12 step
programs to cure this disease........when that didn't work, "she forced me" to
build a 1500 square foot garage on the lower lot and take my bad habit
elsewhere.

After collecting and restoring for many years, I have had the privilege to
meet a lot of very good people who share the same passion and who have
taught me a lot.

Back in early 2007, a friend sent me a photograph of a 1974 "works" CZ
(thanks Eric!). The picture had clearly been taken recently as there were
cars in the background that were European and very new.  My first
thoughts were, "I thought all those works bikes had been destroyed by the
factories at the end of each season". Well that clearly wasn't the
case....and now my interests had peaked...were there more out there?

Now keep in mind, when I got this photo, I didn't believe that any works bikes
still existed and surely couldn't tell you were to find one. Well that has
changed.  The bikes do exist and they can be had....maybe even by a motocross
enthusiast like me!

It's kind of funny now, looking back at it.  A year ago, I couldn't tell you
anything about works bikes and now, I have had the opportunity to travel
throughout California and even to Europe to  view some of the most
incredible collections of vintage works bikes in the world and now I even
own a few.  It's one thing to see one of these wonders in a magazine but to
sit on one is a whole different experience, one I hope every motocross
enthusiast like me has a chance to do.  

The purpose of this site is to share some of the bikes I have restored over
the years and some of the works bikes I have collected.  Because I hope to
include works bikes from friends I have meet, who in some instances do not
want to be identified, the owners of the works bikes shown here will in
most cases not be identified.  Having said that, I still wanted the opportunity
to show these wonderful bikes to those of you who have not yet found the
right doors to open.  I invite comments about this site as it will be changing
constantly.  If these bikes become available, it is my intent to create a
mechanism for collectors to discretely market their inventory to those who
have an interest in collecting  these "works of art".

Clay Setzer
FlashbackRacing
Welcome to VintageWorksBikes.com
1975 works CZ
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