Germany 1956 - 2024
1907: A bicycle factory is founded in Zschopau, Germany, by Danish engineer Jorgen Skafte Rasmussen. One of his first creations was a steam-powered vehicle which he called Dampf-Kraft-Wagen (Steam Engine Vehicle). DKW soon became the name of the company.
1919: Production of a two-stroke engine begins. It is a toy engine. The people started to translate DKW with "Des Knaben Wunsch" (Little Boy's Wish). People were poor, and the toy engine wasn't a great success. But the little engine was robust and strong, and in 3 years more than 30,000 were sold as bicycle engines. This engine was called DKW = "Das Kleine Wunder" (The Little Wonder).
1922: The first motorcycles were built.
1925: The first motorcycle assembly line in Germany is installed at DKW in Zschopau.
1931: The removable alloy cylinder head leads to better cooling. In the first twenty years the factory had an output of 650,000 two-stroke motorcycles.
1932: The AUTO UNION is founded with the brands DKW (Zschopau), Wanderer (Chemnitz), Audi and Horch (Zwickau). The logo of the new brand were four rings, the same symbol which Audi employs to this day.
1939: DKW is compelled to build motorcycles for the military.
1945: The complete factory is disassembled, and the machinery is confiscated by the Russians. The AUTO UNION management moves to Ingolstadt in West Germany.
1946: Production of parts and engines starts again.
1949: Motorcycle production restarts.
1950: The IFA (Industrievereinigung FAhrzeugbau) RT 125 leaves the production line. It is an improved prewar design, robust and reliable. Later an engine with a displacement of 150cc was available besides the 125cc RT. The fan cooled versions of RT engines were used in the IWL Pitty, Wiesel, Berlin and Troll scooters.
1956: The brand "MZ" (Motorradwerk Zschopau) is introduced. In the best years 3200 employees built more than 80000 motorcycles, many of them were exported to more than 100 countries. The new ES 250 is introduced.
1957: First year of the 175cc version of the ES
1958: First GP victory at Hedemora
1962: The RT production ends.
1971: The 175cc production ends.
1976: Last GP at Anderstorp.
1983: July, 6th - The two millionth MZ motorcycle leaves the production line, an ETZ 250.
1989: The wall between the western and the eastern (communistic) part of Germany falls.
1990: The former "people's factory" is now managed by the Treuhandanstalt-office, which is intended to lead the former state-owned factories to private ownership
1991: MZ sales drop dramatically, because the old communistic market has vanished and the bikes are not attractive enough for the new market.
1992: the MuZ (Motorrad und Zweiradwerk) brand is established. Only 80 employees are left, but they are enthusiastic: the first new models, now with ROTAX four stroke engines, are a hit at the motorshows.
1993: MuZ wins some designer awards for the SKORPION model: Silver Award from the Designers and Art Directors Association (London), International Design Award (New York) and a BBC Design award.
1994: The production moves to a modern factory in Hohndorf, just outside of Zschopau. The SKORPION models are now approved for 49 states in the U.S.A.
1995: The SKORPION gains even the DOT/EPA/CARB approval for California!
Here is the homepage of the MZ (now MuZ) factory: http://www.muz.de
Most of the above courtesy Hartmut Schouwer
The mention of MZ returning to GPs prompted a look at their history.
Here are some notable dates from a long record:
| DATE | CIRCUIT | CLASS | RIDER | POSITION | NOTES |
| 1955 | Nurburgring | 125 | K.Petuschke | 5th | GP |
| 1958 | Hedemora | 250 | H.Fugner | 1st | First GP Victory |
| 1971 | Ulster | 350 | P.Williams | 1st | Last GP Victory |
| 1976 | Anderstorp | 250 | T.Virtanen | 9th | Last GP |
13 GP victories in all. Hope the new racer uses disc valves like the MZ racers of old.
Dave Nixon
More MZ history at Wikipedia
