Hunting for Unicorns
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- Опубликовано: 11 фев 2025
- You can find our The Lost Biker Stories book, tool rolls, stickers and prints here: www.theliberta...
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Please do leave a comment and share your thoughts. If you've got a story, insight or pictures to share, you can also email hi@tuesdayatdobbs.com
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My other RUclips channel: @FreddieDobbs
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Time Stamps:
0:00: The World’s Most Popular Custom Motorcycle: Yamaha SR250
6:15: The Bologna Bonnie (Italjet Grifon)
11:54: The German Brand that Rivals BSA: MZ 251ETZ (BSA Bantam and Harley Davidson Hummer)
17:59: The Malle Rally (Royal Enfield Classic 500)
21:06: Mongolia, a Chinese Motorcycle and some vodka
23:27:Bike of the week: Japauto (Japauto 1000VX, Japauto 950 SS)
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong Freddie, but if memory serves me right ?. It was MZ motorcycle that developed/invented the 2 stroke exhaust expansion chamber that was the real game changer in HP gains in 2 strokes of the day. Because it was East Germany based at some race a proper cold war cloak and dagger episode took place with Suzuki helping an MZ Rider escape bringing that particular secret with him to Suzuki. I didn't bother to Google to refresh my knowledge and memory before writing this comment, but I'm pretty sure I'm mostly right in regards. Certainly must be worth a story for you to collect ?.
Ernst degner racer for mz defected bringing with him spares for the race engines went to suzuki
That sounds right from my memory too!
Loads of MZ bikes when I was a kid back in the 70s and 80s. Fantastic bike museum in Berlin dedicated to East German motorbikes. Full of MZs, I hope it’s still there.
That 1984 MZ for sale at around £2400 you mentioned, was about £500 new, roughly, as i cant remember exact prices. My brother had a 125 and a 250, they were excellent bikes!
The Yamaha SR250SE was my first new motorcycle bought in 1983. That was a time of overproduction and over stock. So it was on sale for 2400DM (1250€). I drove it 13 years all seasons over 95.000 km without major technical defects. Only back side: in that time I spent more money on replacing exhaust pipes then the bike cost had been
My first ever motorbike at the age of 17 back in 1981 was a Yamaha SR250 and I absolutely loved it.
Once again, thanks for your video Freddie! I never miss them. Keep them coming!
I have fond memories of the MZs. The first bike I tried riding was a TS125 in about 1985. I passed my test on an ETZ125 and had a 12 month loan of an ETZ 251 in the early 90s, when my customised Suzuki GS 550 was badly damaged in an accident. I commuted 70 miles per day on the 251, and it never let me down, in all weathers.
The Yamaha SR250 is about as inspirational as a vacuum cleaner
Or Keith starmer
When BSA used the DKW design for the Bantam engine they did a mirror image of the blueprints so that it would give the standard British control layout with right hand kickstart and gear lever.
I had an MZ ET 300 two stroke single in bright orange had an exhaust like a drain pipe , had the most unique ring ting ting sound ,shook like a sh*ting dog rattled and smoked like a beagle but was an excellent commuter for me for several years , had a surprising turn of speed and I took great delight in surprising many much bigger cc bikes 😂
That was brilliant 👏🏽Tuesday at Dobbs’
Thank you Freddie 🙏🏽
This better be good, missing Leeds 3 V Watford 0
I hope it’s worth it!😆
Thanks for the video Freddie, I'm going to enjoy this.
At College in Brighton in 1983 one of my colleagues used an MZ250, it was powerful for a 250, certainly against the Honda 250N Superdreams of the time, while I was still on my Honda CB100N. Then in 2003 when I was a courier in London, 1 of the riders in our outfit had an MZ250, which used to suffer from punctures in its tubed rear wheel on too many occasions, while my Honda BROS 650 Product One, with a tubeless tyre got none. By 2003 the Honda BROS was the couriers 'goto' bike, apart from a large number of Kawasaki 4 cylinder GT550's.
I had Denco expansion chambers on my 1973 Kawasaki 500 Triple.
Thanks dobbsey. I had a friend with an mz. Ugly but reliable.
My mate had one for his first bike about 1980, we nicknamed it the Camel. Reliable as hell.
Loved the content, loads of great stories and bikes. I never took to the MZ
Italjet Griffin, Japauto?? Never heard of them Freddie. And I thought I was pretty well versed on old bikes. Glad to see you learned some Harley history. Ya the factory stole that DKW motor design for the Hummer after WW2. Those bikes bring good money too. There gas tank is very popular with chopper builders. I’ve been looking for a cheap one for a long time lol.
I had an MZ back in the early 90s, shortly before I got my full bike license. It was incredibly cheap but gave me nothing but trouble.
Great stuff Freddie, thank you
They had a race series in the uk for MZs. Had a TS150 and a ETZ251, great bikes.
A while ago i came across 2 english lads on mz250,s in tipperary,the exhaust had fallen off one,they were repairing it on the side of the road,ive no doubt that they got to their destination
When are you getting your hands on the RE Classic 650?
Supa 5 was my favourite MZ, brilliant usable bike.
haha me and my mates as 13 year olds were selling mz250 for 35quid back in 89-92 , we used them as field bikes and destroyed them as they were not that good/strong, engine was ok but the bike was not - somehow we kept finding them though and we must have had about 10 between us over a 3 year period, between them, suzuki x5 , cb175 and c90 we were set for canal runs at speed - proper little buggers we were
I've still got a CB175. Dark blue with an orange pin strip on the tank. Twin carb electric start. Bottom end is a little noisy
In the Uk the XS250 custom was a lot more popular than the SR , The XS was a twin and about 10 more horse.
Fantic 125 cc chopper yes it's true a production chopper ,saw one in a bike shop in the seventies should imagine not many of them about Freddie.check them out they'll make you smile .yours mick coates
I remember the 50cc moped version. !
Read the book "Stealing Speed" by Matt Oxley about MZ and racing, everything stolen by Suzuki in the early 60's
My friend has 20 bikes including H2s, GS's, Multistradas, 998s, KTMs, Harleys, Royal Enfields, etc and his unicorn bike? CFMoto 450 Adventure bike. It's a knockout, and he's always on it. I tried it too, it's a worldie, and cheap as chips.
Very interesting. I’ve heard very positive things about CFMoto in general. I have a Voge coming this week- very curious about this
I’m a Triumph man through & through. However, these Chinese bikes are REALLY starting to grab my attention. Can’t wait to see your review of the Voge. Could be enough to push me over the edge if it’s positive.
italjet also sold bikes with velocette engines
If Yamaha could produce a 250cc, air-cooled single capable of producing 20bhp, why are there so many 350cc bikes nowadays only producing the same power?
Back in '80 and '90 Balkans were full of MZ's and Jawa 350
Bit late this time I'm almost ready for bed.
Mz were among the best coming out from behind iron curtain. Odd design.
Utilartarian bikes and were a godsend for us long legged bikers that Jap bikes were way to small for.
Freddie, if the old mz got you, take a look at the mz skorpion 660 (yes skorpion is spelt correctly)
Yamaha SR250...45yr old,still more horsepower than the new Honda GB350S...progression???
Cleaner emissions always costs.
20hp each
@@stephendodd9360 that is unless you ride an ancient MZ two stroke, which apparently is ULEZ compliant 😂
The SR250, l had one as young kid but £1500 for a 30 year old 250? I could buy a 3/4 year old RE Meteor 350 for another £500. It's not as if the Yam is a thing of beauty.
I owned a MZ 250cc back in 1984 it was a terrible motorcycle, extremely unreliable, poor handling, silly sounding, completely embarrassing performance.
Loved the Italian Triumph 😍
I have owned blah blah blah....
Forget them all: None of them compare to my
*Honda NC750X*
Boring Boring Bike for boring boring people.........
@@buzzinadventures4217 What an ill educated, sweeping, pathetically immature comment. You know *nothing* about me, yet in one sentence declare me as "boring".
Please think through comments you post buzz, *before* you post them, if only in order to prevent yourself from coming across as an ill educated pathetically immature person.
Can see MZ's all over Bulgaria where I live and eastern Europe........... have a 5000 mile Skorpion Sport in my collection - the best bike MZ ever made..... the local farmer uses his ETZ 250 as a field bike to round up his cattle. Had an brand new ETZ 250 as my winter bike in the late 80's when the Le Mans MkV, R65LS and tuned Pantah 600 were kept in the garage. The ETZ 251 was eventually made in Turkey. Now ever heard of a Balkan?