Click Here for Full Screen Image - Click Here to Download Image
;) | ;) |
| Lot number | 19 |
|---|---|
| Hammer value | £900 |
| Description | MZ ES 250/2 Trophy |
| Registration | RBD 43M |
| Year | 1974 |
| Colour | Cream/Black |
| Engine size | 250 cc |
| Chassis No. | 1426663 |
| Engine No. | 4860329 |
Founded by Danish engineer and industrialist Jorgen Rasmussen, DKW began manufacturing motorcycles in Zschopau, Saxony, in 1922 and was soon the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, dominating the European racing scene in the Lightweight and Junior racing classes prior to World War Two and continuing to churn out huge numbers of two-stroke machines right up until 2008.
From 1932 DKW was merged with the formidable Auto Union group, maker of some of the finest Grand Prix cars of all time, and after the war the motorcycle side of the business was renamed MZ while DKW continued to produce cars in West Germany until 1966. Remaining at the forefront of two-stroke development in the post war years under the guidance of Walter Kaaden, the state-supported East German MZ factory had notable successes against the might of the British and Japanese opposition in the 1960s.
Although its Grand Prix efforts eventually faded, the MZ legacy was to live on when some of the top brains at the factory notoriously defected to assist in the development of the soon-to-be all conquering Japanese race machine programme. MZ also built many highly successful ISDT machines in the 1960s and 1970s and it was from lessons learned with these that the two-stroke Trophy road bike range was created.
The ES250/2 Trophy was launched in 1967 and was primarily designed to ride with a sidecar attached. A triumph of function over form, it bristled with practical features such as a chain enclosed in rubber tubing to minimise maintenance and maximise longevity, elastic engine mounts to minimise vibration and rugged Earles-type leading link front suspension. The curious blended tank/square headlight styling earned it the unkind nickname ‘Flying Suitcase’ in the West and ‘Iron Pig’ in the East.
Dating from the last year of production, this March 1974 Trophy has been in the Stondon Museum Collection since 1997 and just oozes Cold War cool. In good cosmetic order, it will doubtless benefit from thorough recommissioning before being put back into use. The accompanying file contains a V5C, expired MOT from 1995, Haynes workshop manual and a comprehensive original factory handbook.
