From "riding car" to boxer engine

The automotive pioneer Gottlieb Daimler was also one of the inventors of the first motorised two-wheeler: his "riding car" of 1885 marked the start of motorcycle manufacture. The first production motorcycle was built by Hildebrand and Wolfmüller in 1894. The Saxony-based motorcycle manufacturer DKW became the world leader in 1929 when its 60,000th machine rolled off the line.
BMW also took up the innovative two-wheeler concept. In 1922, the Bavarian-based company designed its first motorbike around the newly invented boxer, or horizontally opposed engine. It was a great hit. The Munich-based manufacturer produced these machines for more than 70 years, selling around 686,000 worldwide by 1996.

Founded in Riedlingen on the Danube in 1873, NSU also enjoyed tremendous success in the field of motorcycle production and by 1955 it had become the world's biggest motorcycle manufacturer. In addition to beating all manufacturing records, NSU was also responsible for setting a number of speed records at races all over the world in the mid-1950s.

In the 1950s, the traditional DKW brand was continued in the former East German town of Zschopau under the name of MZ, short for Motorradwerke Zschopau (Zschopau motorcycle factories). The company became famous for its motorbikes and sidecars. Another milestone was the ES 150. Manufactured from 1962 onwards, it is still the most-produced German motorbike. The MZ brand continues the tradition of motorcycle manufacturing in Zschopau to this day.