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.

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. By the late 1990’s MZ had been on a roller coaster ride of success and failure. They had stopped making their own excellent 2 stroke engines in favour of out-sourced Rotax and Yamaha units. Production of 2 Strokes had been transferred to Turkey and the MZ engineers were sitting around looking for something to do. They had had some Malaysian capital injected and they were ready to make engines once again. Today there are more learner-legal 125s than ever to choose from, ranging from nakeds to sportsbikes, adventurers to cruisers and everything in between – not to mention 125-equivalent electrics motorbikes! By around 1974 the world wanted more European looking motorcycles and sales of the flying bananas had slowed. The last few Trophies were slow to sell and some were actually registered one or two years after being manufactured having stood in the viewers show rooms for some while. Ever since its original launch in 2008, Yamaha’s ‘junior R1’ has been the benchmark sports 125 thanks to its combination of grown-up proportions, brilliant, yet novice-friendly dynamics and styling any Valentino Rossi fan would die for – even if it has also been one of the priciest offerings in the class. The most recent major update in 2019 raised the bar again with a new, more flexible, variable valve-timing engine; revised chassis to give more confidence-inspiring handling and new R1-alike styling that makes it the poster bike for any sports mad 17-year-old. While for 2023 further tweaks include a flash new colour TFT dash. Not cheap, but if you want a sport 125 and can afford it, this is the one. Read our Yamaha YZF-R125 review here.Getting a moped insurance quote is easy with Bennetts – we’ll do the legwork to find you the best premium for your requirements from our panel. It is also interesting to know that the Tiddler models didn’t mirror their big brother 250s in style, construction or production dates. If the 250 was being updated then the Tiddler would be done a couple of years later or, as happened in the eighties the styling of the 250 did not follow the 150 (ETZ series) for nine or ten years. If you look at virtually any copy of MZ Rider Magazine you will see adverts from spares suppliers who will be happy to chat with you to make sure that you get exactly the correct part for your bike as they have intimate and detailed knowledge of what fitted what and when. All-new for 2019, Kawasaki have returned to the 125cc A1 class for the first time in 25 years with not just one, but two new learner lightweights. There’s the Z125 naked roadster and this, a fully-faired, sports-styled machine based on the same engine and chassis. The result is eye-catching, attractive, sporty and instantly identifiable as being part of the Ninja family. Performance is on par with the competition. It had a disc brake with a caliper made by (trumpet fanfare) Brembro no less. We don’t know if any of the MZ calipers ever actually had the word Brembro cast into the surface but certainly the caliper is Brembro even it is only a copy of made by them with an MZ badge. It is a straight swap for many calipers fitted to Moto Guzzi and other Italian machines of the day. It is an excellent brake even though it is only single sided. In true MZ fashion, and anxious to use even more of its aluminium, the disc is of a rather top hat construction with an integral aluminium carrier cast onto the un-drilled stainless steel disc.

It looks stunning, sounds the best and, money-no-object, would be a lovely thing to have. Fantic have spared no expense by taking the 500 version and just replacing the engine with a 125cc, which you could view as a good thing, or lazy. Unlike the KTM, the Husqvarna forgoes a flash TFT dash in lieu of a more modest, round LCD unit more inkeeping with the style of the bike. Relying heavily on its exports, MZ responded to the market pressure. They introduced the TS250 four speed model. Although ultra modern (by MZ’s standards at the time) a cursory glance revealed an engine that was lifted virtually straight from the 250 Trophy but with a different generator cover to “modernise” it. The TS250 had virtually the same gearbox ratios as the Trophy and still with only four gears (at this stage the Japanese had five gears normally and some already had six). The MZ gearbox was really something that you didn’t want to desire. It really wanted to be five speed gearbox but they hadn’t got enough gears to fill the case. From 2023 onwards and with the demise of the Suzuki GSX-R1000, the GSX-R125 stands alone as the only sportsbike in Suzuki’s range, too. 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.

Fantic Caballero Scrambler 125

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. The latter is true for 22-year-old Joseph Wright, MCN’s new videographer (and the reason the quality of our YouTube videos has stepped up a gear). He’s at the beginning of his biking journey and closer to the world of 125s than crusty old road testers like me. Before: “This is the holy grail for me – really cool, but ridiculously priced. The performance shouldn’t be different to the others, so it’ll be interesting to see if it’s worth it for the styling and all the extra bits”

Finally, somewhat too late in our opinion, MZ launched the 1000ST, the bike that perhaps (if they were to attract the travelling MZers) should have launched first.The bike had higher handle bars, higher screen, slightly lower footrests and a full set of Krauser luggage. It was great, BUT it was expensive. For the same price, you could buy a Honda VFR800 or a Pan European. The market didn’t want an MZ Tourer when they could buy a Honda. The dealers never had any test bikes in and nobody wanted to ride one of they thought it was going to ride like the 1000S. It is a great pity because the 1000ST really was an MZ for the millennium. The A1 category, in effect, allows riders their first taste of ‘proper’ motorcycles. A1 bikes can be up to 125cc and 11kw/15bhp (as long as the power/weight ratio is no more than 0.1kw/kg), are often capable of around 70mph and as such, although targeted at novices, can also include the whole gamut of ‘big bike’ motorcycling features such as six-speed transmissions, proper brakes and suspension not to mention the ‘big bike’ looks that go with it.

Honda CB125R

In the early eighties MZ also introduced the ETZ 125 and 150 to replace the TS models. Like their big brother, the smaller models now boasted Mikuni oil pumps. Before: “I want to try a budget Chinese bike, just to see what one is actually like. The Zontes looks really good and I wish I could have tested it when I bought my YBR.”

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. throughout the 1960s MZ developed their lightweight two-stroke motor is by competing at the highest levels in road racing and International Six Day Trials. Development was led by their chief engineer Walter Kaaden, now considered to be the father of the modern two-stroke engine. In those days the Japanese insisted on using cross headed Phillips screws which were made from some soft cheese like material. As the average motorcyclist had never even seen a Phillips screw driver (as opposed to a Pozi-Drive screw driver) there was certainly no chance that they would possess the impact screw driver required to remove the Phillips screws without butchering them beyond recognition. The result was usually that the head had to be drilled off and the whole screw replaced. The MZ screws had good old fashioned slots. Every motorcyclist had a flat bladed screw driver and so motorcycle tinkering could continue.In the late seventies early eighties, styling tastes were changing by the day. The Japanese manufacturers were changing models annually. Without the financial resource of the far eastern companies MZ had to settle with having a make over every six years or so. Even so, they did better than Triumph, who were still making in 1980 a model that was basically designed in 1938. Good old Edward Turner. Although 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. And so, for the first time since 1962 (or 1967 depending on who you believe) MZ launched a new (4 Stroke this time) RT125. Now I don’t know about you, but we think that the RT125 is without a doubt THE best looking 125 motorcycle ever produced. It’s even better than the icon of 125 motorcycles the CG125 Honda and the build quality is probably on a par. It deserved to do really really well and it deserved to really well in Briton where the learner laws required a learner to cut their teeth on something no bigger than 125cc.