c.1966 CZ 360 "Twin Port" Motocrosser
The CZ 360 has been called the motocross bike that killed off the big four-stroke Thumpers, and the facts speak for themselves. CZ served notice of the coming tide in 1963 when a works 250, over-bored to 263cc, became the first two-stroke to win a 500cc GP MX race. After two years of R&D, the CZ 360 took to the track and almost immediately upset the apple cart, rider Paul Friedrichs coming second to the BSA four-stroke of Jeff Smith in the final point standings. That proved to be the Beezer's swan song as Friedrichs and his CZ 350 took the crown the next three years on the trot. In all CZ two-strokes in the 250 and 500cc divisions would take seven world titles.
Production versions of the 360 were immediately popular with amateur racers, just as today the bikes fill AHRMA staring grids in vintage racing. Before joining the Mork stable, this particular 360 was owned by Robert Borg, founder of Northwest Maico & CZ, a longtime vintage racer whose collection once numbered 200 machines. It retains its stock steel "pumpkin" fuel tank and has been rigged for modern racing.
