Praga????

[txvintage]

OK, those of you who are Kings and Queens of the obscure, tell me about Praga.

They are Eastern European imports, left overs actually. Something not everyone has, and as a true fan of the 70s Eastern Euro/Soviet bloc bikes and teams that rode them to gold in the ISDT, maybe a must have!

I'm wondering what the parts support will be for them. I can't seem to find who the importer is.


Thanks

 

[VintageDirt]

Have you contacted the guys http://www.jawa-cz.com/praga.htm ? I bet they know who the importer is.

 

[txvintage]

Thanks Vintae Dirt! But a Banana framed Jawa it ain't!

 

[VintageDirt]

?:confused:

 

[TM-Frank]

Praga is a czech manufacturer that also makes military trucks and such.
They have two motorcycles, a 250 twostroke and a 600 forstroke. The fourstroke is based on a Husqvarna or Husaberg engine. I think they use some older tooling from Husky or Berg. Those bikes are no leftover eastern block CZs or Jawas! They don't look bad and are said to be pretty cheap. There is an importer for Germany, but the business somehow doesn't really get going.
At least they have a website where you can take a look on the bikes.
Go to www.hells.de and click on "Motorräder" (motorcycles)

 

[Jo - EXC 520]

Hi Frank,
Some guys are everywhere !! (I'm Jo VdB in the Offroadforen)

Txvintage,

check also this website http://www.praga.cz/e_moto.htm

Jo

 

[TM-Frank]

The world is a village!

 

[WoodsRider]

Layton could probably give you more information on Praga. His stepson, a AA offroad racer in Illinois, raced a Praga back in '99. At that time the importer was located in Elk Grove Village, IL.

 

[yz 200 guy]

Layton's stepson is Phil Converse, and I see him at the races quite a bit. He had some trouble with the Praga. It used to quit shifting after it got hot, then after it cooled down it would start shifting again. I also remember him telling me how slow it was because it didn't have a powervalve. A buddy of his ported it for him and he joked that the bike lost a pound! I think it always lacked low end even after the porting.
Phil now races a Husky 250. Despite his speed, he told me this summer that he likes his motors to be smooth and his suspension somewhat softer than stiffer. That makes his opinion more valuable to us B and C riders. I don't think he complained much about the handling or suspension of the Praga.
Back in '99 Dirt Rider was supposed to do a short test of the bike (in conjunction with the Moose Run, I think), but it never materialized. Anybody know why?

yz 200 guy

 

[Layton]

Yz 200 guy and WoodsRider just about have it right. The 250 Proga came with excellent parts except for the engine, which seemed to have been left over from the early 70’s. No power valve, no compression, and huge counter-balance weights.

The factory quickly fixed the shifting problem so that really became a non-issue. The suspension and brakes were great but it just had no power to speak of. Also, Phil put a hand made aluminum tank on his with a dry-brake system but the stock tank was made of two sections with a separate gas cap for each section. Dumb!

They were trying to keep the cost down (about $4,700) so they choose the old engine style but it was rumored later that they could have used the same engine the ATK 250 uses but it would have raised the base price of the bike quite a lot. They should have done it because that stock engine just doesn’t cut it.

From the link that VintageDirt provided it appears that someone else is now trying to import them. At the time Phil had his Praga the importers name was Greg ? and he was from the Chicago area. I think that he basically gave up on it after Phil returned the bike to him. He had spent the entire summer trying to get dealers to take the line on but didn’t have much luck.

It was really to bad that the bikes just didn’t catch on but that’s life. It’s the same problem that VOR and other smaller companies are facing. Most U.S. riders are locked into the big 4. Of course KTM has made a huge comeback and Husky is in-line to do the same thing but these are companies with a previous history here in the U.S.

As a final note, Phil really wanted that bike to do well and to this day doesn’t regret giving it a shot. With a more modern engine it could have been a good bike.

Hope this helps.

 

[WoodsRider]

Originally posted by yz 200 guy
Back in '99 Dirt Rider was supposed to do a short test of the bike (in conjunction with the Moose Run, I think), but it never materialized. Anybody know why?

Phil didn't finish that year.

 

[Layton]

Even that was kind of a bummer. They wasted hours of Phil's time on Saturday before the race taking pictures but didn't even use one of them.

I'll bet that if Greg had taken out some hugh advertizing in their mag the pictures would have shown up.:debil:

 

[txvintage]

Thanks for the info guys, especially Layton.

The bikes appear to be available. Your choice of 99, 2000, or 2001 model. Prices ranging between 2500 - 4500 plus shipping and you set up.

Some further digging on motor info for the newer models appears to be in order!

 

[yz 200 guy]

Thanks Layton for the straight skinny. I hope I didn't give anybody the impression that Phil was badmouthing the Praga. When he told me about the issues he was having with the Praga, he was just laughing it off. It was pretty obvious by that time in the season that Phil was experiencing teething problems with the Praga. He handled the letdowns in positive manner considering how hard he works to be the fastest. Phil treats his sponsors really well.

I forgot about his cool aluminum tank. It had this little box around the dry break that looked absolutely lethal if you know what I mean. Only Phil could not get hurt with that design, I would be childless now if that were my bike!