Just back from Eastern Germany. (1 Viewer)

[Stealaway]

Mostly to see the old DDR motorcycles that never came to the UK. They had massive factories and huge production numbers. We also found the Wartburg factory museum in Eisenach - remember them 2 stroke cars? You had to wait 18 years for one! Now building Opel for GM. The best visit was to Schoss Augustusburg near Chemnitz, spectacular house along with a spectacular motor museum.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustusburg_Hunting_Lodge

On the way to an Aire for the night in Belgium we came across this on the sky line - What the bloody hell is that??

The aire was at the side of a canal with an ancient canal barge lift.

The steps up to it were a challenge for the wife, particularly coming down.

We went looking for the huge building the following morning and found it was a new barge lift. It replaced four others and a lock. Instead of taking 300 ton barges this one takes 1300 ton boats. Immense and very impressive, it makes the Falkirk boat lift look a bit weedy.

 

[Hagstrom]

Never got to Eisenach but really enjoyed Erfurt, just to the east.

 

[weekenders]

We saw the same boat lifts, there is an aire next to the old one, and at night it is lit up in different colours. We also climbed up all those steps and walked along the canal, you eventually come to the new boat lift, it's is an amazing sight with all the boats going through

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[Lenny HB]

We have done quite a bit of Eastern Germany love it, language can be a bit of a problem as their second language is Russian.
I was working for a company a few years ago we did some business with a German company and I was talking to the owner on the phone and he said I'm in East Germany at the moment, I said do you still call it East Germany the reply was a very loud "MOST DEFINITELY"

 

[vwalan]

We have done quite a bit of Eastern Germany love it, language can be a bit of a problem as their second language is Russian.
I was working for a company a few years ago we did some business with a German company and I was talking to the owner on the phone and he said I'm in East Germany at the moment, I said do you still call it East Germany the reply was a very loud "MOST DEFINITELY"

very interesting that wartburg museum in eisenach . helped them restore a early one for a few days back in 99. had a tour of museum then the workshops . saw someone struggle putting on a wing of a 353 i think it was . ended up helping then going out to pub with them and reyrning for a few days it was fun.
i knew the last cars had used the vw engines . but didnt know untill there about that being where the first bmw cars were made . austin 7 dixies under licence in 1927 .
real good museum . they also had fords and alsorts they built there .
shame all thats left of the real factory is the entrance arch and some of the walls .

 

[Lenny HB]

The Audi & Travant museum is also well worth a visit can't remember the town it is in.

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[Stealaway]

We have done quite a bit of Eastern Germany love it, language can be a bit of a problem as their second language is Russian.
I was working for a company a few years ago we did some business with a German company and I was talking to the owner on the phone and he said I'm in East Germany at the moment, I said do you still call it East Germany the reply was a very loud "MOST DEFINITELY"

I had a chat with a lady school teacher who grew up in the DDR and I asked her about the changes she must have seen after re-unification. Surprisingly she said 'yes, good and bad' It seems life was so much simpler when it was a communist country and some how you felt more secure, she misses that. I think the people became institutionalised, much like our prisoners seem to become.

 

[Baldeagle7470]

Lovely pics and write up.
I have just bought a 1969 MZ es250Trophy in good condition.
It was a bike I had when I got my first mortgage and needed cheap ride to work transport,was so good I then bought a super five,the newer model.
Unbreakable if looked after and cheap to run.
Not seen it yet and I' m sure a bit of rose tinted specs but looking forward to tinkering over the winter.

 

[vwalan]

we were on our way to visit friends we had met in morocco. they lived in radebeaul, between dresden and miessen. they also thought life was good years before went diving all over the place but couldnt come west. they werent short of anything . but they never had tv,s or bananas. mind they had new cars etc . but eastern ones . we went up the border through cottobus and into poland . again fantastic . certainly much better than i expected .

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[vwalan]

Lovely pics and write up.
I have just bought a 1969 MZ es250Trophy in good condition.
It was a bike I had when I got my first mortgage and needed cheap ride to work transport,was so good I then bought a super five,the newer model.
Unbreakable if looked after and cheap to run.
Not seen it yet and I' m sure a bit of rose tinted specs but looking forward to tinkering over the winter.

i had a cz175 for years another unbreakable bike . had a jawa 350 as well for awhile with a sidecar. they certainly knew how to build good m,bikes .

 

[Baldeagle7470]

I despatch rode a CZ 175 with the kickstart doubling as gear lever after started,is my memory right?
Couldn't break the bloody thing!Did manage to break two front brake cables which was pretty scary.
Still make the Jawa with sidecar,think Watsonian now.
Underrated stuff mate.

 

[vwalan]

my m,b

I despatch rode a CZ 175 with the kickstart doubling as gear lever after started,is my memory right?
Couldn't break the bloody thing!Did manage to break two front brake cables which was pretty scary.
Still make the Jawa with sidecar,think Watsonian now.
Underrated stuff mate.

my m,bike boots still have a metal plate i put on the left boot . as you say the kick start ended up on the left.
i found my cz175 used to go through accelerator cables . but to alter the twist grip etc would cost more than about 6 years of cables , it used a cable every 6 months . might even still have one in my garage . kept them waiting for it to break.
it was ok though you could put your left arm down and get throttle pulling on the oil feed cable . enough to get home .
and yes you pressed the gear change in and it turned around to be the kick start.
i also had a cz enduro .road bike with a radial head . very fast but i only wanted the bike to go to work it was far too noisey so i sold it .

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[Stealaway]

its a pity it wont have this engine. Prototype rotary engine model.

 

[Stealaway]

Lovely pics and write up.
I have just bought a 1969 MZ es250Trophy in good condition.
It was a bike I had when I got my first mortgage and needed cheap ride to work transport,was so good I then bought a super five,the newer model.
Unbreakable if looked after and cheap to run.
Not seen it yet and I' m sure a bit of rose tinted specs but looking forward to tinkering over the winter.

I had one of those and converted it for racing. It went like stink when I'd finished tuning it.

 

[PhilG]

we were in Erfurt 2 weeks ago, love the pics of the old racebikes, we go to the Intermot show in Saarbrucken most years and there are some lovely old race bikes, we also race in St Wendel , which is an old road circuit from the 50's and 60's .. and we in Mettet in Belgium last weekend, which is also a classic old circuit

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[vwalan]

i remeber i think it was dkw having a rotary at the london racing and sporting show in 1974.
might get back over there one summer so much to see might not live long enough.
i,m sure we were lied to though about life over there by uk press and govt.
i liked the east much better than western germany . much more interesting buildings factories and the people so friendly .

 

[Stealaway]

We found a street circuit I had never heard of in Suhl, Schleiz-Dreieck. It looks beautiful - and fast.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleizer_Dreieck

Broken Link Removed

 

[PhilG]

I think i saw sidecar racing from there on YouTube, but a great find, love these places.

We did the Norisring, and Nordschleife this year trip , and Avus last year , should look for more, they are out there .

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[Baldeagle7470]

its a pity it wont have this engine. Prototype rotary engine model.

View attachment 129053

never seen that rotary before,know NSU where the users of a rotary in a lovely looking car called the RO 80 or something like and most owners changed it for a Ford V4 engine!!
colour of that ES is the same as mine,will post pics when I get it in a couple of weeks,thanks for pic.

 

[PhilG]

NSU did make the RO80 , it was a very futuristic car for its time . My dad worked for an NSU dealer, and i got to ride in a few of them, but they were very unreliable , and as you say , most ended up with a V4 in them.

 

[cruiser]

I had a mz 150. Great little bike. Got me to work for a couple of years. Untill a front wheel blowout stuck me down a very deep ditch. Sold it for spares.

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[Baldeagle7470]

I had one of those and converted it for racing. It went like stink when I'd finished tuning it.

You can tune mine if you like!!