How Suzuki stole communist technology to make their motorcycles faster

Ernst Degner died aged 51 in Tenerife ........ medication overdose ; suicide ..... lots of rumours , including involvement of the Stasi ..... officially a heart attack .......

When he defected , apparently not just parts , but a complete MZ race engine went with him in the boot of his car ........

Years later , MZ found themselves next to Suzuki in the pits of a GP ....... Kaaden said all the Suzuki service tools fitted the MZ`s perfectly ....... " Not only did Suzuki steal our technology , they also stole our blue and silver colour scheme ... " ......


That video clip describes Suzuki as being lazy ....... both in their willingness to copy , rather than innovate ...... and in their production practices .......

My personal gripe ....... Why oh why do they persist in using those rubbish cap headed allen bolts to secure the exhaust headers , which if left in place for more than a couple of years , will corrode , and crumble , leaving them un removeable ..... ( GS500 ; Bandit ..... I think I`ve spotted them on GSXR`s and the like , as well ... ) .........

Just about everyone else uses proper studs , and nuts ......... but not cheap , penny pinching Suzuki .......... absolute rubbish ( I say .... ) ....... 😒 .........
 
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Ernst Degner died aged 51 in Tenerife ........ medication overdose ; suicide ..... lots of rumours , including involvement of the Stasi ..... officially a heart attack .......

When he defected , apparently not just parts , but a complete MZ race engine went with him in the boot of his car ........

Years later , MZ found themselves next to Suzuki in the pits of a GP ....... Kaaden said all the Suzuki service tools fitted the MZ`s perfectly ....... " Not only did Suzuki steal our technology , they also stole our blue and silver colour scheme ... " ......


That video clip describes Suzuki as being lazy ....... both in their willingness to copy , rather than innovate ...... and in their production practices .......

My personal gripe ....... Why oh why do they persist in using those rubbish cap headed allen bolts to secure the exhaust headers , which if left in place for more than a couple of years , will corrode , and crumble , leaving them un removeable ..... ( GS500 ; Bandit ..... I think I`ve spotted them on GSXR`s and the like , as well ... ) .........

Just about everyone else uses proper studs , and nuts ......... but not cheap , penny pinching Suzuki .......... absolute rubbish ( I say .... ) ....... 😒 .........
Suzuki had the good sense to “ buy” the rider/design from MZ…BSA stole the Bantam🤣 I’ve just read about the the supercharged Mercedes race cars that were due to go to UK at the end of the war and they were nicked in Calais!
Apparently Honda paid Elf a lot of money for the single sided swinging arm then tried to sue Cagiva for “nicking it”
Mr Castiglioni then pointed out Elf “ nicked” it from the ‘57 Moto Guzzi Galletto..never went to court!
 
The road going MZ singles were derived from the DKW RT125 ....... as part of WW2 reparations , Harley Davidson were offered , and copied , the RT125 , as did BSA , producing it in mirror image , with the gearchange on the right , as the Bantam ....... as also did Yamaha , ( not part of wartime compensation in their case obviously ) ....... but they copied it anyway , for their first motorcycle , the YA1 , or Red Dragonfly .......

Rootes Motor Group ( Hillman ; Humber ; Sunbeam ; Singer ) were offered the VW Beetle as reparation , but turned it down ... !! .....
 
Most of the Japanese road going two stroke twins can trace their ancestry back to the German Adler.
Which proved the layout and had good performance for the day.
I think Yamaha may have had a licencing agreement with Adler but could be wrong.

All it shows is that good ideas get copied.
 
Back in my day Yamaha RD350's and 400's would do wheelies down main street up to 80mph.

Really as Cafe Enthusiasts not my kind of ride. But that Suzuki 500 Titan Twin 2 Stroke was a sweet ride for me. The Kawasaki Mach 500 Triple 2 Stroke came almost as close.

If it where not for my garage and the money I invested into that garage, I would never had the opportunity to ride the Motorcycles and Snow Machines I did. Could never afford a Maserati but my Garage was a Maserati ;o)

NOT my Garage - Sold my 70Z to a puppy and he did this:
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This was my Garage in the Paint Booth:
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625Hp 460ci Chevy BBC MK4 at 7200RPM with pump gas ;o)

Not exactly an ECO Burner but did over 22mph if you did not twitch the throttle ;o)

WARNING! My Women killed my Garage mainly because I spent too much time in the Garage - Even though it was PROFITABLE ;o(

Here's me a year later after she left me in a 2nd story 2 room apt: Gotta put my Breganzie together - I was 62 and that was 23 years ago. I'm going to be 76 in June of 2024 !
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That 70 Z was a proud every day car at one time:
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Unfortunately she was not quite as FAST as my modified 72 Dodge Challenger 340 Mag Ralley that rotted out in 2 years and constantly blew up engines and transmissions.

Not saying you could not do a wheelie with a Suzuki Titan but it was not practicable in most cases.
 
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These days it is either a matter of buying a majority of shares or simply hacking your way to another country or company's technological innovation.
 
Put it this way that modified rather heavy front end 460ci 7200rpm BBC Chevy 70 Camaro (Pumping out 625Hp) may not have been the fastest or best handling road warrior BUT is still on the road today for commoners after 54 years - Didn't rust out or blow engines or drive trains - Dodge never approached that status ;o)

Yes the Dodge 426 Hemi's are worth a HELL of LOT more for collectors simply because they broke down and rusted out before their End. Don't forget the 69 BOSS Ford Mustang 302 and 429 - Been under their hoods ;o)

Pisses them off when a well tuned every day 8000 rpm 68 Chevy 327+.030 bore (331ci) Chev SBC SHOOTS them down - Ask Bill Jenkins and myself ;o)

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Do NOT forget the AMD 330 (360) Javelin - She reigned Queen in Trans Am Racing in 71 beating Chev, Ford and Chrysler.

The early 70's AMD 390 AMX was a sweat heart. - Really whatever happened American Motors ;o(

Shit my $3,200 modified 72 Dodge Challenger 340 MAG Ralley (Although built of Tinfoil with a fantastic torsion bar front suspension) was a foot lower and wider then these modern over horse powered Technological Jelly Beans and probably more fun to drive - Could match Hemi's and 454 Chevy's in a drag race and do over 160mph on top end and get over 25mph on the HWY - Sadly she disintegrated after 3 years and 5 times across Canada with 75,000 miles on her - Had difficulty keeping the motor a tyranny together approaching 7200 rpm over any length of time - Really wish they had put a Chevy 327 and a Muncie in the Dodge Challenger ;o)

Say a Leyland 4 Spd with a Hone OD and a Salisbury Jag XKE rear end.
 
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A Layland M41 4Spd with a Hone Electric OD has the same input spine drive as a Munci M21/22 and can interchange clutch pacs. It's just a matter of modifying the Chevy 4spd Bell housing to mount a Layland Manual tyranny behind a Chevy engine - It's so obvious I'm sure someone specializes or you have access to a Welding and Machine shop.

Of course modern 6 Speed Manual Transmissions will do BETTER; BUT, do they FIT the beloved Hi-Reving Chevy SBC without extreme cost ?

I realize I'm pushing the boundaries of what this forum takes as all things Laverda is about but what the *&*% Breganzie Factory built that Motorcycle to be Modified and Raced - Really the 1st competitive Cafe Ride to be offered to the Public and I'm Old enough to know it.

Owned a lot of of Motorcycles but have to say my 70 Breganzie 750SF was a CHARM to experience about Motorcycling - She would sooner fall over just looking at her and if you didn't take care of her, she would try to kill you on a ride if you did not pamper her YET she insisted going faster.
 
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Chrisk: No Matter what my mind set was back then is i-relevant to today.

As far as I'm concerned, all Motorcycles were designed to Kill me - I'm fortunate to have survived and realized to QUIT after hitting 70. I'm now 76 and it HURTS but I'm just too old to care ;o(

Really scary when my oldest Daughter says "Hey Dad, take my Motorcycle for a ride."

Should never have had Motorcycles in my Garage ;o)
 
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Chrisk: No Matter what my mind set was back then is i-relevant to today.

As far as I'm concerned, all Motorcycles were designed to Kill me - I'm fortunate to have survived and realized to QUIT after hitting 70. I'm now 76 and it HURTS but I'm just too old to care ;o(

Really scary when a Daughter says "Hey Dad, take my Motorcycle for a ride."

I guess you knew when to hang up your leathers.

76 isn’t that old ya know, I see a few older fellas on CB125’s these day. Reckon it’d be a good option as ya muscles decline with age.
 
I’m thinking of the new Aprilia 457 twin when we get back to Europe. It should be a year or two old then and have had a Tuono model introduced. Plus a Laverda project to keep me busy.
 
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