The ISDT Replica.

We finally managed to drag this one out of the back room in the cellar. I really do mean drag as it was easier to do so rather than find the U Lock keys.

This is a 1972 MZ ISDT replica. Most of any year are highly sought after. The engine has lot of tweaks compared to the usual MZ 250 engine. Over twenty years ago I had a go on Steve Thoma's (a former MZRC technical officer) and it went like stink. This one was bought as a non runner and remained tucked in a corner as a future project.

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Another 150 Variant - ETS

This was another one of Mark's ebay purchases. It is an TS 150 I think the old importer Wilf Green organised the restyling with MZ but someone would have to confirm that. Needless to say Mark was chuffed that he found this variant to add to its collection. It has always been in the back of the cellar so I have no idea how easy it would be to get it to run.

I was going to completely change this post but instead please refer to Neil's attached comment. I have struck out the incorrect information. With regard to Wilf Green it was probably another bike I was think of. 

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The Stroke Half goes

This picture is a bit misleading as it was taken on the 7th Jan. We removed five bikes including the Stroke Half from a mill where they had been stored. The BK 350 is the only one left there now. The bikes that day were going to the cellar.

On Saturday 28th we delivered the Stroke Half to it new owner. This was after the lockup in Gomersall had been emptied and its contents are now in the cellar along with the Panther engine which is reunited with the rest of the bits. That just leaves the two Jawa engines to fetch from Mollsprings's workshop.

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An old Indian bike.

This is a 1978 Indian Enfield. It was one of Mark's surprise ebay purchases. Primary drive chain had gone which was the reason for stripping it down. It was another unfinished project.

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Another rare old MZ in the UK

This is the classic MZ RT125 which shares some heritage with the DKW 125 and the BSA Bantam. That is a euphemism for there was a bit of copying going on after the second world war. I don't remember the exact details but there are books documenting the history of MZ's. This one is also not registered in the UK. Not even sure if it is a runner. Its Maker's badge off the handlebars and the chassis plate are in a tupperware box. That is assuming that it is the correct chassis plate.

Still collectable even in this state

Alasdhair kindly donated this picture to me of Mark's BK350 It was taken on the day he purchased an ES250/2 off Mark (Piccy of the that to come?). These are flat twin two stroke and a very early 1950's MZ. They have become quite collectable and restored do fetch a price higher than the average MZ. I understand that they were very complex  and expensive to build and had to be fettled to keep going so MZ changed to the simpler singles. It is currently residing in a dry area of an old West Yorkshire mill. The frame is bent so there is another one in the Garage in Gomersall. It was originally purchased of Mark's friend Niel. He can probably comment further as to where it came from.

The CZ trail bike

This is a CZ 175 trail bike. It is fairly standard although the headlight shell is green. I do not remember if it was a runner.

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Another rare old bike in the UK

This is a bike my eyes keep getting drawn to. If I had less sense and more room in the garage at home I would have this. It is an MZ ES175/2. The engine is a sleaved down 250. I ought to look up why MZ did that? They were never imported into this country as far as I know as the engine size is an odd one for the UK market. This was another one of Mark's eBay excursions. It was a runner when he got it but it suffered from low compression. He tinkered with it but it soon dropped down the priority list of project bikes. It is now a non runner and the cyclinder head needs finding.

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It's Hungarian....!

..and it is a Pannonia 250. It is a non runner but a complete bike. I am not certain how Mark came about thia one so please post if you can help me out.

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A break for tea!

We were in the cellar last night trying to bring a bit of order to the room with all the parts and tools. Nigel came across this, a tea tray with an ES250/0 advertiswng design upon it. I have put it in the saddlebags of the Stroke Half for the lucky buyer.

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More stylish leg shields

This is one of Mark's more recent purchases. It is a Simson Schwalbe scooter. It has the 50cc Simson 2 stroke motor in it. It is a complete bike but is a non runner.

Having seen it in the flesh and sat on it I really like it. The Simon motor is fairly torquey so when it runs it should be fun.

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The IWL Troll

This next one is the IWL Troll1. This is a 1963 model. MZ ES150 engines were put into these. They were converted to fan cooled. The fan is driven from a belt on the left hand side I the crank.

This along with my own black and cream 1964 version was bought off eBay Deutchland. Kurt collected both up for us and we went in a van to pick them up from Seigen. The two Trolls travelled together to the 2008 East European Rally. They prove themselves as able tourers. Into Melton Mowbray they cruised at 60mph as the engines had really freed up after 100 miles of travelling.

There is a small bit of work to get this one back on the road.

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The hybrid MZ

This is another MZ 150. Apparently this has an TS rear end and ES Trophy front end. I will have to take a close look at the engine. It is a non runner.

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This one has travelled !

You've seen the ES250/ half, now its the MZ ES250/1. Mark bought this one on eBay Deutchland with a Super Elastic sidecar perhaps the finest sidecar right hand chair ever made (or at least in my opinion). His now late friend Kurt from Seigen collected the outfit for mark. Mark made his way out there and rode the outfit back to England. Quite a brave as the outfit was an unknown quantity. It did indeed make it back. It was also not set up for left hand drive camber which made the handling on the UK side somewhat interesting. He had it for a year or so and I travelled with him to the Panther Rally in Silverdale when he rode it there. I forget the year, probably 2005. The back routes over the moors were taken so his arms were pumped up by the time he arrived. 

Some time afterward he sold it to a mutual friend called Woody. Such is the Love/Hate relationship Mark had with outfits. Woody kept it for a few years until I took it off his hands. I had dreamed about owning a Super Elastic outfit. Unfortunately after two years of coming fourth place against a BMW R1100GS, IWL Troll1 and a 1996 Kanuni I sold it having only taken the rear shocks off and put them back on again (they are worn). Mark took the bike off my hand and a mutual friend Robin from Wales took home the Super Elastic Chair. This bike has probably not run in at least 4 years, has worn rear shocks and still has outfit fittings.

On Three Wheels

Mark has had many motorcycles with sidecars but this BMW R75/6 is the only one in this collection. He had a love/hate relationship with it. He loved motorcycle combinations but this one let him down a few times. Often he would leave it for a few months after it let him down and then eventually come back to it. Recently it has been re-wired. He took it out for a spin afterwards but it still wasn't right, it probably needs carbs balancing.

The front end was rebuilt with sidecar forks. The chair is Russian.

It's not weird, its not old, but it is Italian !

Mark showed an uncharacteristic lack of Luddite tendencies when he purchased this new Guzzi 750 18 months ago. I will update with the exact model when I get it, unless someone beats me to it. He used this mostly for the round Britain rally to cover great distances in a day. He did over 6000 miles and never had a bad word for it.

Currently there is a broken left hand indicator stalk. Mark was in a hurry to go some where and he could not find his disc lock keys. While cutting off the lock he stood up and broke the stalk. Below is a picture of the clocks to verify mileage.

The MZ Trail bike project.

This is another MZ TS 150. It already was a bit of a customised trail bike. Over the last 18 months with the aid of myself and other it has had an engine replacement, wirng loom replacement, a 21 inch front wheel and a few new consumables. It has been running but unfortunately I have not had a go myself. It does look fun. The raised up exhaust came with the bike. Someone may know what it is from.

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The Mythical ES250/half

Mark always claimed that this one is an MZ ES250/half. It is actually designated as a Stroke Zero. It was manutactured in 1962 during the cutover between the Stroke Zero and the Stroke One and therefore to use up spares MZ put on parts from the older model. Thus a Stroke Half. That at least is the story told by Mark. I have done no research so feel free to comment.

It is a complete bike but rough round the edges for anyone who wants to take it on. It is not registered in this. Country and I do not know it is a runner.

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What is in the garage in Gomersal?

This weekend Anne came over and gave me the keys to Mark's lock up in Gomersal. It was a Mystery what was in there. As mentioned before on paper we have 37 motorcycles but we can only count between 24-30 physical machines depending upon who you talk to. Kevin Moore and myself had identified the lock type and had spoken to the Landlord just before Christmas and found that Anne was in possession of the key. This Sunday I arranged with Yvonne to have a peek and see what the size of the task to clear it out would be. below is what we saw.

Phew a sigh of relief. One partially built MZ TS 4 speed, 2 MZ frames, a frame which may be Russian, a selection of IWL Berlin bits, random bits and a load of wheels and tyres. A Van full then. That's easy.

Mark's dependable hack

It is not the first of the bikes we have sorted and so isn't in chronological order. It is however his old faithful commuter bike and the last one he rode before heading off to Bristol by car. It is a MZ TS 150 (SET 572S) from the 1970's. He was really chuffed with how reliable it was and how well it performed. It is comparable in performance with my tired ETZ 251 Kanuni which is over 15 years younger but perhaps 40k miles older. 

The 150 stood at Yorkshire Water offices for a couple of months and was blown over in the wind. Yvonne Oades and Dave Ramsden rescued it from there. It is now got a home with them so it is the first of the collection to go. This was picture was taken in their garage come workshop.

If anyone can post any more stories about this bike then please do so. I only vaguely remember that he bought it off a chap who was of large build and Mark felt it had had a hard life previously.

Sorting out what is in or out of the collection

To date I have a spreasdsheet on Google Documents that contains 37 motorcycles. I am sure the collection is not 37 motorcycles as I know at least 2 on this list have been sold. The list is derived from the paperwork Mark held and the motorcycles we have observed. In some cases the bikes have not yet been registered for this country and therefore there is no log book. Below is a selection of motorcycles that greets you as you enter the cellar.

The other room to the front of the house contains 2 more motorcycles and then wall to wall parts from MZ's to Panthers.

Why do a blog anyway?

I never thought I would do a blog. Never saw the point and I have a job where I write far too many emails than is healthy. In November 2010 I lost a dear friend Mark Dicker. He had a blog that encompassed his love of weird motorcycles, trains and travelling. This blog is a kind of extension to that blog (URL below).

• http://weirdoldbikes.blogspot.com 

Mark had a large number of motorcycles mostly from the Motoradewerke Zchapau (MZ) manufacturer. I, with a number of his friends are breaking up the unique collection to assist his family in closing his estate. This is a record of that collection and the joruney of its disposal.

Will anyone get anything out of this? For those with a passion for old East European bikes, then yes. They are still exotic in this country though less so due to the efforts of Mark and others that shared with him the almost addictive collecting of these vehicles.