MZ return with revolutionary new engine

This sounds very interesting...

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/New-bikes/2012/October/oct1912-mz-is-back

Valves controlled by a stepper motor!

30% more MPG.

Definitely more technical than the MZ 250 stroker I used to have.

If priced like the 2 strokes I bought in the 70's and 80's----$600 solo/$1000 side car out fit and easy to fix and cheap parts=wonderful. Complicated and expensive=no thanks. They were cheap and fun transportation and easy to work on.

I too have owned a couple of MZ's: a 250 ETZ with 'Superelastik' side car (hydraulic drumbrake on the third wheel, activated by 'pedal-under-pedal' right foot) and a 1970's ex-DDR 250 TS.

These old two-strokes weren't the greenest of motors, but were virtually bullet-proof and very easy to maintain/repair, thanks to it's simplicity.

I hope the software on this new 4-stroker will be better than the o.s. of a 'well known brand', that requires rebooting every couple of hours...

Wow thanks for that RArch,
Not many people these days know of this range of historical bikes. I love mu MuZ 660.

As people have said reliability of the electronics are a major factor, but good for them for taking their R&D to the production line.

On side note, I got the opportunity a while back to ask an engineer about Formula 1 engines in relation to hearing on TV about a car loosing air pressure and coming to a stop. I asked what was this air pressure used for. It seems its not air but nitrogen which is used to close the values rather than springs as it cannot shut the values fast enough at high RPM.

Makes you wonder if this electrickety is a spin off...

Stopping valve springs from bouncing was the idea behind the Desmodromic system. Not Ducati -as many think- came up with this sollution: it is much older than that.

The Mercedes-Benz W196 Formula One racing car of 1954-55 already had this kind of valve train, and in the early 1930's, Italian motorbike manucfacturer Azzariti produced a number of twins with a kind of desmo-drive.

I.m.h.o. motor racing is the best development domain for 'new' techniques. I sincerely hope MZ will test the electronic valve-system thoroughly before starting the mass-production of the engines.

ride by wires sounds good, but in the uk, winters can be harsh on electrics, as Ive seen on a couple of friends aprilia mana's (electrical connections corroding). Ive had lots of old MZ 2-strokes, they were built to last and they did, I hope this new one is of the same standard, if so MZ might just have a winner here.