There are thousands of them rattling along East German roads - Simson mopeds from Suhl in Thuringia. The vehicles built in the GDR era with names such as Schwalbe, Star, Sperber or S50/51 have cult status, especially among young people, partly because of a special provision in the Unification Treaty: unlike other mopeds, the two-strokes were allowed to travel at 60 km/h if they were registered in the GDR. This did not apply to Simson re-imports; like other mopeds, they could only travel at 45 kilometers per hour. Thuringia's state parliament and state government now want to change this, initially in Thuringia - and possibly nationwide.
"Simson is Thuringia, Simson is freedom on two wheels, Simson is a way of life," said Minister President Mario Voigt (CDU) in an emotional and nostalgic debate in the state parliament in Erfurt. "We want to make Simson riding affordable and legally compliant." Re-imports would increase supply and curb black market prices, said Voigt.
