How the Sly Siblings Learned to Share

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The latter is true for 22-year-old Joseph Wright, MCN’s new videographer (and the reason the quality of our YouTube videos has stepped up a gear). He’s at the beginning of his biking journey and closer to the world of 125s than crusty old road testers like me.

It appears therefore that in the early nineties MZ were making the ETZ251 with the metal tank, the Saxon251 with the plastic tank and the Saxon Fun 251 with the plastic tank and head lamp combined. It is probably no wonder that they went down the tubes because not only were they doing it with the 250 models but they were also doing similar things with 125/150 models. There is no truth in the rumour that they re-badged the same capacity 250 as a 251 so that they could use the same number decals as the 125! Despite developing the technology, MZ never had the financial resources to invest in it as the Japanese could and Suzuki went on to claim 125cc successes in subsequent years. For most of us when we start out in motorcycling, one capacity category of bikes is the most important of all – 125s.Although the Teutonic styling of the ES range of motorcycles with the integral head lamp, valanced mud guards and rather odd shaped rear light, was met with some derision by the motorcycle buying public in 1970 the motorcycle press loved them because of the finish, durability and reliability. How the motorcycling press has changed: now, unless you can get your knee down, do stoppies or pull wheelies the motorcycle is not note worthy. Whatever happened to having a motorcycle that you could actually ride? Finally, somewhat too late in our opinion, MZ launched the 1000ST, the bike that perhaps (if they were to attract the travelling MZers) should have launched first.The bike had higher handle bars, higher screen, slightly lower footrests and a full set of Krauser luggage. It was great, BUT it was expensive. For the same price, you could buy a Honda VFR800 or a Pan European. The market didn’t want an MZ Tourer when they could buy a Honda. The dealers never had any test bikes in and nobody wanted to ride one of they thought it was going to ride like the 1000S. It is a great pity because the 1000ST really was an MZ for the millennium. Introduced in 2008, the R125 took over as the sports 125 to appeal to every red-blooded teenager thanks to its full-size proportions, full-quota performance and R6 looks. By the late 1990’s 2 Stroke production had stopped in Germany and MZ were being made in the Kanuni factory in Turkey. Initially bikes were badged MZ with Kanuni written on the seat but, in the early 2000’s they revamped the cosmetics completely and finally dropped the MZ badge a tear forms in ones eye at this point. In our opinion the true Kanunis are probably the ugliest MZs ever made but it is true that they remained as reliable as ever they were right until the end of production in Turkey in 20XX. After: “I wasn’t blown away by the Honda at first and thought it was very middle-of-the-road, but by the end it grew on me and became my favourite. It’s the bike I had the most compliments on, which surprised me – I thought the Fantic would attract more attention.

MZ have always been excellent at making their motorcycles go, Unfortunately, Walter Kaaden’s jet technology did not apply to brakes. He was interested in making the bikes go faster not slower and so his development didn’t go into brakes. This shows.By 1983 the ETZ models were in production as the 2 millionth machine was built. Fitted with 12V electrics, disc brakes and automatic oil injection as standard, the ETZ brought to an end the practice of mixing oil in the fuel tank whilst filling up. After the end of hostilities in 1945, the occupying Soviet forces nationalised the Zschopau factory, erasing the DKW name from the Chemnitz register of companies. Under the threat of prosecution, the former DKW directors fled westward to set up protection once more in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. Getting a moped insurance quote is easy with Bennetts – we’ll do the legwork to find you the best premium for your requirements from our panel.

By the late 1990’s MZ had been on a roller coaster ride of success and failure. They had stopped making their own excellent 2 stroke engines in favour of out-sourced Rotax and Yamaha units. Production of 2 Strokes had been transferred to Turkey and the MZ engineers were sitting around looking for something to do. They had had some Malaysian capital injected and they were ready to make engines once again. The Zontes would’ve been my first choice when I took my CBT, but now I’ve got more experience it feels soft and not as rewarding as the others when you push it hard. But nothing about the fact it’s Chinese puts me off and it feels very much like my old Yamaha YBR125. I haven’t ridden it for long enough to test its reliability, but you get a lot for your money: crash protection, adjustable levers and a 20-litre tank that gives it the feel of a big bike.”So, who better then Joseph to put a bunch of new 125s to the test? We asked him to choose the three bikes he’d buy if we gave him a budget of up to four, five or six grand. We gave him the keys for two weeks and told him to go off and do what he wanted with them, which turned out to be around 150-200 miles on each, commuting and doing whatever 22-year-olds get up to…

Parallel to this MZ were developing the bike that would take the Japanese on head to head. An in line 4 cylinder 1000cc sports bike. It was available as a full blown sports bike, the 1000S with all the plastics or as a naked street fighter, the 1000SF with an odd shaped beak at the front which carried the head light. Odd shaped or not, the “beak” does an absolutely superb job of keeping the wind off the rider (on this unfaired bike) at highly illegal speeds. The street fighter was superb. The wind protection from the “beak” was excellent, the bike pulled well, it was reasonably economical, looked the part and was everything that you wanted it to be. The first models imported into Britain by Wilf Green in the early 70’s were the ES150 and ES250/2 Trophy models. The ES150 had taken over from the RT125 when the RT125 ceased production in about 1962. I have an RT125 which the name plate says was manufactured in 1967 and this anomaly is hard to explain because, by 1967 they had long since stopped making the RT125. The name plate says it was manufactured in 1967 and it was registered in 1967 (obviously not an official import) but the mystery remains. You’ll have to wear L-plates, avoid motorways and won’t be allowed a pillion, but it’s a great gateway into bigger bikes and the joy of road riding. Next steps in learning to ride a motorcycle:

Case study: Finding a bike for our learner

MZ front drum brakes can be made to work and modifications to them have been the source of many articles in MZ Rider Magazine. I like its low seat, which is what you want when you’re learning and it’s easy to both feet flat on the floor at the lights. The riding position is relaxed, neutral and it’s heavier than the others, but it’s a 125, so still light and it’s the most fun in the corners. The bars are narrow and you’re low to the ground, so you can lean it over more and feel like a hero. The TS250 did undergo some changes in its short life. The Sporty Chrome front forks were replaced with completely redesigned alloy bottomed ones and the rear swing arm lost its oiled cast iron bushes in favour of rubber bonded items. After a buyout, MZ started production of their first for-stroke machines, the 500R range of road and then euro bikes, utilising the 500cc Rotax motor. This same motor was used in the Seymour-Powell designed award-winning Skorpion, although it was replaced by the watercooled Yamaha 660cc motor for the production machines.