The above is on Sky Documentaries at 9pm The story of Ernst Degner and his defection to the west with all of MZ's 2 stroke secrets which were given to Suzuki It is a good watch
Although I don't have Sky so couldn't watch the documentary, this has been a useful eye-opener, simply by some follow-up on the web, e.g.: https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2012/december/de1712-the-ernst-degner-story/ Bearing in mind that Suzuki were already successful at selling motorcycles before Degner defected and joined them, I guess it would only have been a matter of time before improvements in 2-stroke technology became more generally available, and it's an indictment of Communism that MZ were never really able to compete in the commercial world globally; I can remember their offerings in the 1970s - strange 2-stroke singles, well constructed from good quality materials, but outclassed by Japanese designs, including Honda 4-strokes of course.
