Ga-Ga For Praga!
GA-GA FOR PRAGA!
IF YOU RECALL PRAGA MOTORcycles, you're one of two things: 1) a very, very old refugee from the Eastern Bloc, or 2) lying. Absent since 1935, the Czech-built bikes are now back in production, with a range of dirtbikes slated to begin rolling off the assembly line in January, 1998.
A joint-stock, 300-employee company based in Prague, Praga was founded in 1907, and has since built bikes, cars and trucks. The company’s first two-wheeler was the 1929 BD 500 ohc Single, joined in 1932 by a shaft-drive 350. Motorcycle production ceased just three years later, and since WWII, Praga has specialized in the production of military vehicles.
The resurrected Praga motorcycle line includes twoand four-strokes of varying displacements offered in enduro and motocross guises.
Smallest is the ED 250, a 253-pound enduro powered by an oversquare (70 x 64mm), liquid-cooled two-stroke built by Jawa at the Technometra plant recently purchased by
Praga. Several versions of this machine will be offered, with different power characteristics and transmission configurations (fiveor six-speed), depending upon the application.
Moving up the ranks, there are three different liquid-cooled, ohc four-strokes in 400, 500 and 610cc sizes, all built by Praga itself. The high-revving 400 is an enduro model featuring very oversquare (92 x 60mm) bore/stroke figures, balance shaft, six-speed gearbox and electric-start, while the torquey 610 is aimed at motocross with a less oversquare (95 x 86mm) engine and a four-speed tranny.
Like many of its coun terparts in Europe,
Praga has taken a “world-bike” approach to
assembling its motorcycles: The engines and frames are built in the Czech Republic, while the suspension, brakes and various other cycle parts come from noted foreign suppliers such as WP in Holland, and Marzocchi and Brembo in Italy.
The finished bikes’ clean looks in no way recall the clunky, old, air-cooled twostrokes built by Jawa, CZ and their ilk. This is a credit to Praga’s chief designer, Jaroslav Sus, who along with fellow designer Vladimir Abraham formerly worked for Jawa.
What’s next for Praga? Well, once bikes begin flowing out of the factory, the company intends to participate in enduro and motocross competition.
Pavel Husak
