These additional castings probably provided a dubious (if any) additional amount of cooling but they do make the Wilf Green 300s look very distinct. Wilf Green 300s are few a far between. Following on from Wilf Greens inspiration, MZ started making 300ccs themselves (actually they were 296cc and were badged as 301 models). The 301 provides a negligible amount of power over the 250 but they are very sought after simply because of what they are, with just a bit more power when loaded, two up or going up hill or in a head wind. The general consensus of opinion is that the marginal amount of extra power is hardly noticeable and probably not worth the extra cost. Whilst all this development had been going on with the 250 the 125 and 150 models sat on the sidelines looking at what was happening. In response to the Trophy Sport 250 hot on its heels came the ETS125 and the ETS150 Trophy Sports which, like their big brother dispensed with the Earles forks in favour of teles, had sportier looking tank and seat, straight handle bars and sleeker mud guards. Only about 4,800 ETS125 and 14,000 ETS150 models were made and it makes them very collectible. It always remains a mystery to me as to why MZ made a 125 and 150 version of the same model. Some say it’s to do with Learner legislation but as far as I am aware, the 125 Learner legislation was, in the early seventies, many years away. Explanations on a post card please. It is a testament to the popularity and longevity of MZs that virtually every spare that anybody is ever likely to need is still available new. Spares which are no longer factory made are more often not being re-manufactured although sometimes not to the quality standard of the original MZ parts. But it’s not pitched at someone like me. It’s too much of a nice thing to drop, especially off-road, which would make me enjoy it less. I’d be gutted if it went over. It’s hard to place, as it’s just so nice to look at.” If you’re learning to ride and aged 17 or older, after passing your CBT certificate (Compulsory Basic Training) you can gain your provisional A1 bike licence, which allows you to ride up to 125cc motorcycle on the road, producing a maximum of 11kW (15bhp) power output with a power-to-weight ratio of not more than 0.1kW per kg.

Enter, the MZ Skorpion range of bikes. A Japanese engine, frame and plastics designed in Briton by Seymour Powel,l and made in Germany the Skorpion range made complete sense. For once a complete range of MZs for every purpose. The Traveller with its full faring and luggage was a capable tourer. The Sport was something that the journalists could get their knee down on. Why buy 500 Rotax engines on there own when you can also buy 660 Yamaha engines? Why use an existing frame when you can completely redesign it, have a new frame and yet another range of bikes.

Despite being on the very cusp of securing the 1961 125cc GP World Championship, MZ factory rider Ernst Degner defected to the West during the Swedish GP. A trained engineer, Degner took the technological secrets of Kaaden’s designs with him to Japan and the following year Suzuki secured their first world championship using this technology in the 50cc class. 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. 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!

Most recently updated in 2021, the NMAX is Yamaha’s answer to Honda’s best-selling PCX125 affordable commuter cum all-rounder 125cc scooter and it’s such a close contender it’s also one of the best-selling scooters in the class. There is no doubt about it, MZ is more famous for its 2 Strokes than probably any other manufacturer in the world. The early RT125 has been copied by manufacturers all around the world and it is clear therefore that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. The Berlin Wall came down in 1980 when Communism collapsed. Without Communist Government subsidies, MZ collapsed. MZ was privatised and they redesigned that ETZ250 and morphed it in to the ETZ251. Why, we will never know but, they did. They changed various panels, mud guards and instruments and for a while, it isn’t possible to look at any ETZ251 model and say for certainty whether it should have plastic or metal mud guards, plastic square or metal round instruments or what. MZ seem to put on their motorcycles whatever they happened to have in the parts bins at that time.Finally, gone too were the tin covered handle bar switches in favour of large chunky (aluminium!) more European looking items. Switch gear was transferred to the left hand handle bar with indicators, flasher and light switch all in one unit. Some think that the smaller ETZs had rather odd styling with that bulbous looking tank. Odd or not that styling was to endure until the end of small model production. In fact, MZ adopted the same styling for the 251 model introduced in the late 1980’s early 90’s. The GTS is Vespa’s largest, modern, but classically retro-styled machine, first launched as the GT200 in 2004 before itself evolving and being updated into a whole family of machines in 125, 300cc and standard and premium Super forms. All combine classic Italian Vespa style, easy small-wheel riding, decent practicality, plenty of quality design touches to justify their premium prices and, of course, unequalled Italian scooter style. As such, it’s no wonder they’re so popular with fashion-conscious scooter types.

With a very sporty riding position (as you’d expect from a GSX-R) and, in true Suzuki tradition, it’s priced very attractively, too. The GSX-R125 is another bike that’s built in the Far East (Jakarta, this time), to keep costs down but, unlike other Far Eastern 125s, its aimed more at the European market so has an excellent power-to-weight ratio and is very economical. It looks super, especially in the slightly pricier MotoGP colours and has remote keyless ignition, as well. Before: “I really like the Honda CB range and this has big bike proportions and a lot of presence. Those were my two biggest things when I chose my 125. I think scooters and delivery riders get pushed around and no one really cares about them. Being upright with wide flat handlebars appeals to me and I’d hope I’d be treated the same as I would on a bigger bike.” The people who bought these bikes would just not buy an MZ. It’s a shame that the bikes did not sell well because they were beautifully made, well engineered and put together, have a very high specification of suspension etc but they were taking on really tough opposition in what is already a niche market. A shame. The latest update is Euro5-compliant and has Piaggio’s latest ‘stop-go’‘i-GET’ four-valve, single cylinder engine producing a reasonable 12.2bhp, reasonable handling for a small-wheeled scoot, decent practicality including a comfortable seat and under seat storage capable of taking two open face helmets along with a useful leg shield compartment plus bags of style and quality touches. These include lashings of chrome and neat badging, updated LCD dash and tons of options. The GTS may not be the cheapest but it’s a great all-rounder and nothing comes close for authentic Italian styleAlthough so often the bridesmaids on the Grand Prix circuit, the same cannot be said of the MZ factory’s performance in the ISDT competition. To put it bluntly, they dominated it for almost a decade. Look on the fuel caps on any of the ES machines from the early 1970s and you will see the MZ were rightly proud to be crowned world trophy winners every year from 1963 to 1967 and once again in 1969.