The two-stroke blues
Cheap to make. With nice few parts, with a much higher return than a four-stroke. So the two-stroke.
Kawasaki was a quartermaster, Suzuki scored enormously with the T500 line and the GT750s. And then it was pretty much over with the two-stroke in Western Europe. Environmental requirements and so on. Hassle.
On the cold side of the iron curtain, however, plenty of two branches were made. Jawa / CZ, MZ, Ish ... These were usually very basic mopeds that were made purely for transport reasons. Currently, Jawa and Ish are the extremes in that area. Jawas are starting to raise serious prizes. And even a very beautiful ISH Planeta is worth at most a few hundred euros.
The best of those three, the MZ, is nicely in the middle. The demand is mildly rising, the prices still extremely friendly. But never mind the economic aspect. Such an MZ is simply a very nice, usable and reliable classic. And with that once characteristic blue oil fumes of such a beautiful singing single-cylinder, it is not too bad with the current two-stroke oil and a mixing ratio of 1 on 40. And the TS and ETZ models are 100% usable.
MZs are the rising points
TS means' Telegabel / Schwinge, ETZ means' Einzylinder Teleskopgabel Zentralkastenrahmen '. Very nice xexemplars with an asking price of 1200 euro remain. The purchase is not too bad. The parts supply and the prices are absolutely right. Such an MZ is fast enough for all secondary roads and controls and brakes properly. We see those MZs becoming even more popular.
The prices for Jawa's have really only risen sharply for the early models up to and including the Jawa Californian. Consider prices in the meantime between the 4000-6000 euro. You no longer have the 500 cc single-cylinder four-stroke under the 15.000 euro.
But what about those ISH motorcycles?
The factory is called in Russian IJ, but you also read through free translations from the Cyril script Is H, Iesch, Isch, IJ of Ug. In England these engines (and the Urals) were sold under the name 'Cossack', Neval and Kalasnikov.
And what we got to know here in the West were or are the Jupiter and Planeta models.
The Planetas are 350 cc single cylinders that still share genes with the pre-war DKWs. And there is a 'crazy Sport' version of the Planeta. With its 30 horsepower and good brakes, the Sport could compete quite well with its Japanese contemporaries.
The Jupiters are twin cylinders of 350 cc. The machines are fueled with basic lubrication and are equipped with 6V electrical installations. The twins are often used as sidecar tractors
Rare and yet not wanted
Sales were dead due to European emissions regulations. The numbers sold here were minimal anyway. The current interest is about the same level. And there has been a ZGAN copy on the Internet for a long time that is not even offered. The serviceability of such a Russian two-stroke is as befits a classic: limited. The parts provision here is on the same level. In the former Eastern bloc countries, in Russia, the Ukraine and similar desolations, there is still plenty of parts for about twice the money. The two-strokes are still in quite large numbers the daily transport for many people.