Always liked these kind of bikes, cut my teeth at 16 on an MZ 50 (simson s51), C Z 125 @ 17, had an ETZ 250 for years, ran it on premix after forgetting to top up the autolube tank, well it showed me how to rebuild a big end 😢, , now at the age of 50, back to a CZ for the summer commute, just enjoy the countryside and waft through it in a stroker haze, ride safe.

A Jawa 350 twin leading shoe brake works well on these models.

Love the styling, these are really good motorbikes, well done with the restoration.

I had one that was in poor shape given to me. The electric start didn’t work. 2 kicks on cold start every time without fail. 1 kick when it was warmed up all the time. Never did anything at all to the bike as far as repair goes. Only maintenance at all was oil changes. The bike was extremely dependable. I road it on 300 mile day trips all the time. Built like a tank. The bike was not really beaten to death but was heavily neglected. Out side all the time even during the winter in the snow. Come spring it was the only time I had to kick it 3 times. Had more fun on it than all the other bikes owned mostly due to the low high automatic transmission. Was a pleasure to ride. It had 183 THOUSAND miles on it when I got rid of it and still started on 2 kicks cold start every time and ran like a champ so in tune and in sync that it could not be improved on and all without ANY maintenance at all except an oil change. I really miss that bike and wish Honda would bring them back again. 👍

These are wonderful machines- almost no plastic used in their construction, easy to repair at home , parts availability is not a problem and they are totally reliable with basic servicing: Clean petrol and decent 2 stroke oil and you're good to go .I have the later model - a 1984 ETZ 250 machine and that is very modern really - autolube, 12 volt, and a disc up front- and will keep up in todays traffic.The only problem is that they are now becoming sought after and consequently expensive- nobody sneers at them anymore! Greetings from Ireland!

I had one of these in the 80's it was good to ride, standard 6v electrics were fine and maintenance was simple.

Thank you for this review . I got a 150ts and a 250/1ts (300ccm). I love these mz,s. 😊. Greetings from east germany. ✌️

As a despatch rider I OWNED 3 TS 250's and rode several more; they would cruise on a dual carriageway / motorway at 85 mph for 3 hours without getting hot to touch. Top speed is nearer 95 (but it varies a lot on engine component stack; slightly slower flat out is better on juice) Basically if this bloke rides this bike like a 350 enfield single he should park this old mz up and go do something else.

Every time I hear or see a guy wearing a kilt I think of that old song . What does a man wear under his Kilt ! Awang Awang .

Enjoyed your recording of the Hop Run 2023. I also take my 1977 Supa 5 out to play with the big boys…always creates a stir! I too lost the end can from the exhaust😢were you able to source another or are you still like me riding it ‘Sputnik’ style?

Seems like a very flexible motor.simple and reliable.great video cheers rick

MZ made great motors. My 1984 ETZ250 that I bought brand new is still running well on the original piston and rings etc after 145,000km.

just bought one

mz,s were made to make my cz look good lol.

Any chance of finding one in the States? I have a Vw bus i would trade for a few of them and some other Ridgid frame two stroke

Rode one of these for 3 years. Great bike, so simple to fix. 6volt electrics weren't great, always little niggles, generally fixed by making and breaking the relevant electrical junction. Brilliant headlight though for a 6 volt system. The engine was a bit like a diesel. Not that fast on take-off, but pulled really well in top gear (for a 250). Jap bikes were faster, but very revvy compared to the MZ. The enclosed chain and quick release back wheel was fantastic. No chain adjustment needed if you had to take back wheel off. Puncture repair kit, rools and pump in the back of the seat. 80mpg regular+ 2 stroke of course, but at 50:1 mix ratio, oil wasnt a huge extra cost. Decoking the cylinder was quick and easy. A great bike. I loved it and the look of it. Comfortable on a long run, easy low rev cruising at 65mph. Sometimes think about getting another one. Only real flaw for me, were the Pneumant tyres. Lethal in the dry, never mind the wet! Very quickly replaced. And brakes worked the wrong way round. Front brake was so bad, it was practically non-existent, while back brake with a super long lever was vastly overpowered. Fixed the front somewhat by fitting a Honda 250 twin leading shoe wheel and learned to be very careful with the back. Never could get it to idle without holding the throttle open ever so slightly, but just couldn't get that adjustment to work with the idle stop. A quirky bike with unusual looks and characteristics. I really enjoyed mine.

Great looking bike! Hoping to get the cm400 soon here! Love classic bikes.

Had the 4 speed for a year then the 5. Great fun back in the late 70s with my girlfriend on the back. Moved on to BMW Rs and Is but later bought a TS125 and a Turkish 301 from Burwins. Before bad arthritis set in I had a TMAX 500 and a disabled adapted STX1300. Mobility scooters now though!

I could have bought a new I SDT 250" in the eighties here in CA USA for around 800$ but didn't have enough cash . They were in a warehouse near me and no one was buying them because they were not flashy etc. I really wanted one but.... Oh well

Good work, dude. I had MZ125 in 1976. It was a fun to drive. It has a long stroke suspension and big soft wheels as it is variant of a military bike. It is really nice to drive in terrain. Servicing is simple but frequent,

Very nice job and a well sorted machine. I had the 4 speed version in the same colour and in most respects I was very pleased with it. However a Suzuki GT 250 came up locally and the difference was chalk and cheese. It was the first bike I had ever owned with a disc brake and it was so easy to start so the MZ had to go. What really gave me the pip with the MZ was the crank mounted clutch which made silent gear changes impossible!

Friend just shared this video after discovering we both had them back in our college days. Haven't heard that "ring ting ting" sound for such a long time! Such good memories. Mine was bright yellow and added a matching yellow topbox. Looked amazing. Thanks for the video. ❤

Very nice video, mate! I enjoyed the calm style. Videos without overblown music and yelling are becoming more and more rare these days. I'm not riding a motorbike (not planning to, either), so I am not having any experience. Whenever I see modern bikes, I have the impression that they are trying to radiate a feeling of be edgyness. But I wonder, just out of curiosity, if there's any contemporary bike with this obvious "no frills" attitude - a bike for commuters who just wish to get from A to B, reliably, comfortably and (if possible) cheaply. Suggestions are welcome! :)

Hello, pronounce the Z hard. Just like the word: Set = M-Set.

Very nice restoration, I've had my black (the fastest colour!) 1978 Supa 5 for nearly 10 years now - I've got no plans to ever get rid of it. Severely underated machines.

What a sweet bike, looks in fab condition 👍

Beautiful bike. Makes me feel old. I remember when they were new but so dated now but still beautiful. Superb job done. Make sure you keep it. Value surely will only go one way from here…

Beautiful

Nice weather, nice pictures, great mopeds - I probably wouldn't be able to handle left-hand traffic on my own and in an emergency, as a German, I would probably swerve to the right... Funny to see that the right eye saw blurred at higher speeds ;-) The exhaust does not seem to be original - it would be made of a single part, MZ only had a screw connection for the muffler ending on the 250 ETS models from the early 70s.

It is a great pleasure to read here that MZ riders in other countries also appreciate this motorcycle, which was a realistic dream in our youth and which ultimately came true for many of us. Looking back, we were very stupid back then, didn't understand MZ's constructive and design decisions and always only looked at the Japanese motorcycles, even though we had such a good motorcycle in our hands and didn't know how to appreciate it. The great technical advances that the Japanese motorcycle brands consistently implemented in performance but not in longevity originally came from the great MZ engineer Walter Kaaden and were betrayed to Suzuki in 1961 by MZ factory racing driver Ernst Degener. I bought my TS 250/1 new in 1979 and it is still in the garage next to a wonderful MZ ETS 250, the most beautiful from MZ. In addition, there is a much stronger and faster Kawasaki Zephyr 1100 with a very nice classic look but an unfortunately weak chassis. I would like to thank you very much and wish you a safe journey at all times.

Jelly mould . lovely lookers .

Nice little 2 stroke classic,im wondering what's the mpg? They'd make ideal commuting or 2nd bikes.

Hi love your Honda 400 A Hondamatic i would love to get one i would like to see more Videos on this bike i rember them back in 78 - 79 in New York .👍

Great presentation Blue , I live with my wife in Cuba , we recently purchased a 1975 Etz 250 with side car , in Cuba they use car engine oil instead of 2 stroke specific oil , I have brought a few litres of 2 stroke oil from a recent visit to Mexico, what ratio would you recommend, I normally use 40/1 for chainsaws and such , I noticed one of the guys in the comments mentioned 50/1 , would that be too little?

Love the Hondamatic!! Please Please do indeed make more videos on it! Thank you!

I had one a few yaers back and loved it, but you are right about the front Brake mine was lethal, I replaced it with a twin leading shoe drum brake from an old honda

USED TO LIKE THESE BIKES BACK THEN.... SECRETLY! 🙂

Excellent bikes, so underrated.

Nice Bike

lovely little bike, keep it up buddy

Great looking bike I had an 89FK brand new in 89 in these colours. Sadly long gone. Bought another in 2016 for £300 looked OK from a distance. When I removed bodywork it was obvious seeing how rusty the frame and swingarm were it needed a full refurb. As you said body panels are rare Mine looks in similar condition to yours now. Massively underrated bikes - keep them over 7k revs and they’ll surprise some much newer bikes Got an old original race series maxton shock had it rebuilt and forks resprung by Maxton. Handles lovely. Wish I could send you some pics. Great job and enjoy it 👍

hi lovely bike ,im a big fan of the older bikes ,when this came out it was ground breakijng really ,ive owned a few f3 600 ,all great bikes

Good bike. Orthodox and easy to maintain.

Always great to see MZs outside of Germany. Beautiful one you got there. Myself I have an ETZ251. Feel like these low rev two strokes are so great to drive. One question: What is the middle gauge between rev and speedometer?

It must be the KZbin algorithm, but I just watched a fascinating video on MZs in Cuba. Then this popped up. What a beautiful little bike and detailed explanation of your tasteful restoration. Yes, I was a sneering youth in the 70s. Would love one now. I live in Germany, so still see them come up. Thanks, brilliant video.

The twin leading shoe Honda front brake transforms this wonderful machine into a safer one!

I remember the ts125s from my learner days. They were £400 new and claimed the best ft/lbs of any air-cooled 125 on the market. Now I've finally got one with a 143cc conversion and it will easily hold 50mph even with my 16 stone bulk on it. Incredible technology from the 1960s Cold War era.

Love your respect for your bike.

Thanks, great video. Driving bikes trought +50 year ;from JLO and sachs two speed 49 cc to Beemer Gs modern boxers . Also has a couple MZ's in my garage . Nimble no nonses reliable bikes to drive With a good carb , electronic ingnition and later disc brake it fits the modern traffic . The typical MZ ding-a-dang-dang completes it. Rare seen on the Belgium roads. I have to check the exhaust pipes.