A fascinating creation of Prague, the factory based in the Czech Republic that has already built the Bohema hypercar. Refined materials, double hydraulic drum brake and a mind-boggling price
February 9, 2023
Not just hypercars, on the contrary the Czech company Prague founded in 1907 in the course of its long history it has produced means of transport of all kinds: cars, motorcycles, airplanes, helicopters, tractors, trucks and even military tanks. Today the production is focused on cars of the highest level like the Bohema and the R1, karts and aircraft, but Prague hasn’t forgotten its past as a manufacturer of innovative motorcycles and high class.
Prague ZS 800: 28 exclusive examples for the 142 kg special
In fact, the BD 500 was born in 1928a motorcycle whose project was initially conceived by the young aeronautical designer and passionate motorcyclist Jaroslav František Koch and equipped with one of the first DOHC four-stroke engines designed by Koch himself who also set a duration record on the BD 500 by driving it from Rome to Prague, covering a distance of 1,480 kilometers in 35 hours and 40 minutes.
The Prague ZS 800 starts from there, from that legendary motorcycle and milestone in the Company’s production and ends up defining a motorcycle with a very 1930s look but equipped with refinements on materials and solutions which make it a unique means, or rather not: 28 units will be produced at a price of 86.000 euro. Not a little, certainly, but justified by the workmanship and the singularity of the project.
Let’s start with the weight: 142 kg dry, 158 with liquids; an excellent result, however, given by the materials used. In fact, it starts from the extensive use of titanium which peeps out from almost all the screws, axles, nuts and bolts of the frame and engine, but also the exhaust system is entirely in titanium and weighs only 4.8 kg. with some 3D printed elements. The forged carbon is used for the rims, while the frame is made of chromium-molybdenum steel: the 11.5-litre fuel tank forms a structural part of the frame, saving an enormous amount of weight thanks also to the carbon covers.
The chassis sees one at the front Girder forkwith fully adjustable Öhlins TTX22 monoshock and titanium spring, at the rear what looks like a rigid tail… it is: the shock absorbing function is entrusted to an Öhlins TTX shock absorber, while the height of the saddle from the ground is 765 mm .
Definitely sought after and which recall the BD 500 ancestor i freni: it is about two drums of 200 mm in diameter with hydraulic drive at the front, while at the rear there is a single drum, always with hydraulic control.
The 18-inch wheels mount Dunlop Roadmaster tires with a look appropriate to the style of the ZS 800 which for the engine chooses the inline twin from the Kawasaki W800: a propeller that in the forms (remember the distribution with bevel gear shaft) gives the illusion of being faced with a vintage unit but which is instead regularly Euro 5 approved. The power is 50 horsepower with a maximum torque of 65 Nm. But we are more than certain that the horsepower and Nm are not the qualities that interest potential – and lucky – buyers of the ZS 800. For more information on the Prague website, it is possible to book one of the 28 ZS 800s: delivery is scheduled for mid-2023.
