MZ Motorrad- Und Zweiradwerk - History

History

• 1906 Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen (Denmark) bought an empty cloth factory in Zschopau
• 1917 invented the Dampf-Kraft-Wagen (DKW) (German for steam-powered car) also known by its trademark DKW
• 1920 motor-assisted bicycle.
• 1923 renamed in DKW
• 1927 started racing activities
• 1928 DKW takes over the Audi factory at Zwickau
• 1929 60,000 motorcycles leave the Zschopau factory, and DKW is the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world
• 1931 introduced DKW small cars
• 1932 The Auto Union was founded, created from Audi, Horch, Wanderer and DKW.
• 1939 developed the RT 125
• 1948 renamed in IFA (a state-owned enterprise in GDR)
• 1950 The Zschopau works begins production of the RT 125 model, developed before the war, under the trademark IFA (Industrieverwaltung Fahrzeugbau). This model became patent free after the war as part of war reparations and was further developed in Britain (BSA Bantam), USA (Harley-Davidson Hummer), Russia (M-1A Moskva), Japan, Italy and West Germany.
• 1952 the BK350 appears, the first two-stroke shaft drive.
• 1956 The works is now called VEB Motorradwerk Zschopau, or MZ for short.
• 1962 The ES 125 / ES 150 starts manufacturing. Up to the present day (2004) it is the most-built German motorcycle. It was also the first motorcycle with an asymmetric low beam headlight pattern.
• 1970 the millionth motorcycle rolls off the conveyor belt, an MZ ETS 250 Trophy Sport
• 1972 MZ takes over manufacturing of sidecars from Stoye.
• 1983 the 2-millionth motorcycle rolls off the conveyor belt, this time an MZ ETZ 250. With disk brakes and 12-volt electrics the MZ had reached the modern standard in motorcycle design.
• 1989 MZ ceases manufacture of sidecars.
• 1990 MZ is privatised, on 18 December.
• 1993 MZ goes under receivership, and the ETZ patent sold to the Turkish firm Kanuni which continued producing models 251 and 301. The MuZ company is formed from the rest.
• 1996 MuZ was bought by the Malaysian Corporation Hong Leong Group
• 1999 the u is finally dropped from the name MuZ.
• 2008 On 9 June, Motor Cycle News reported that MZ is to cease operations at the end of 2008 because the company's Malaysian backers withdrew their financial support after years of continuing losses.
• 2008 On 12 December, the MZ factory in Zschopau closed. bringing a halt to motorcycle production that had lasted for 88 years in the same town. The old 'East German' factory became a night club, called MZWerk.
• 2009 Former GP stars Ralf Waldmann and Martin Wimmer buy the MZ motorcycle brand. The deal went through on 23 March 2009 for a reported four or five million euros. The cash is being put up by the Hong Leong Group. The new board will consist Ralph Waldmann, Martin Wimmer, Dr Martin Hager, Helmut Lichtenberg and Otto Elbers. Wimmer will take over the role of MZ Managing Director with immediate effect. There are rumours that the firm is going to produce a 600 cc road bike based on the Moto2 GP project bike.

The Zschopau works was one of the oldest motorcycle factories in the world, producing motorcycles since 1922. The most well known models were the two-stroke 125/150 and 250 series, with the variants ES, ETS, TS und ETZ. MZ was one of the few producers that made motorcycles with sidecars, though prior to 1972 sidecars were manufactured by Stoye.