I had three Czech. bikes. My first one was a 1965 Jawa 
50cc scooter. It had leg shields, a 3speed transmission 
and a horizontal 2 stroke motor that was positioned and
similar in looks to the HD Sprint. It had a bathtub style
 body enclosure similar to the 50s triumph and 16 inch 
wheels. The electrics were PAL magneto and I recall 
having to keep the revs high to get decent light from the
headlight.

 My second was a black 1965 CZ 125cc Roadster. It had been
 a repossession and had experienced piston seizure. The 
steering head used to seize and lock. It had been abused.
It looked very european and vintage with full valanced 
fenders, 16 inch wheels and a european fender license plate 
holder mounted on the front fender. It was black with I 
believe gold pinstriping. My third bike was a 1966 CZ 125 cc
Roadster with 19 inch wheels and lightly valanced fenders
and turn signals. It was a great bike , I used to cruise 
at 45-50mph and occasionally make 120 mile trips to the 
USA and back-Minnesota. I remember with great pride being
able to out drag-not by much- a friend's 85 cc Kawasaki.
This CZ was rated at 7.5 hp, had Barum Universal type trials
tires and was an excellent handler on all surfaces ranging 
from dirt and gravel to concrete. I bought these bikes at 
Eaton's Dept. Store-Canada's largest Dept. store at the time.
They sold 50 cc scooters, CZ 125 cc/175cc Roadsters, 
250 cc/350cc Jawa Roadsters, under the Eaton's brand name 
of Road King from about 1965 to 1969 or so.

After I sold my 125 cc CZ, I bought a used 1965 Yamaha 250cc YDS3.
I was riding around the city and stopped at a traffic light, 
this would of been around 1967 and I heard a high revving, high 
performance 4 stroke twin, unlike anything I had ever heard before.
It did not sound like a British vertical twin or a Harley V twin.

 It sounded like a road racing twin. The bike pulled up along side
me, it was a Jawa 500cc OHC twin, the only one I have seen. A bike
like this was featured a couple of years ago in the Classic 
Motorcycle. It had been brought over from Czechoslovakia to Britain 
after the Cold War had ended. Anyways he took off like a shot at
very high revs, music to the ears. I have often wondered if Jawa 
CZ had made more bikes like the OHC 500 twin and been allowed
to continue development, where they might be now.
 
 One of my buddies had a 250 cc single, a real torque meister, 
another had a 350 Jawa twin. He was quite light and claimed he 
was able to out drag a Suzuki 250 Hustler X6. I'm not sure if he 
could, but I do know the 350 with him riding could really fly. 
Lots of pleasant memories. I remember trying to figure out how 
to start the Black CZ 125, I had to phone the dealer to find 
out that you had to push in the gearshift lever and angle it 
backwards so it would function as a kick starter. Anyways I 
hope your readers enjoy my memories.

 Eaton's foremost competitor was the Hudson's Bay Co., a dept. 
store still in business which was established in 1670-yes 1670. 
Anyways the Bay sold Honda and then went to Ducati. In the 60s 
and early 70s you could buy a Diana, Desmo 250, 350 street and 
450 Scrambler. Incredible to be able to buy these bikes at a 
Dept. store.

Bob.
Canada