history
Izh motorcycles is a subsidiary of the Izhevsk Mechanical Works corporation, a Russian company which also produces weapons (cannons, semi-automatic weapons and missiles) and cars. The first IZh motorcycle came out in 1928 and it was called IZh 1, being equipped with a 1200cc engine designed by engineer Pyotr Vladimirovich Mokharov.
This first model had an output of 24 horsepower which was pretty impressive for that time. This first model was followed by other improved motorcycles such as the IZh 2, the IZh 3, the IZh 4 and other five models which participated in the All-Union Motorcycle Race. After the competition was ended, the Russian manufacturer decided to improve the IZh 4 model and prepare it for mass production. However, all the plans were then abandoned because the corporation had other plans and motorcycle manufacturing was not considered a priority.
During the 1930s, the Russian manufacturer didn't produce any street models but it continued experimenting with prototypes until 1940 when they finally decided to roll out the IZh 9 model as the company's first mass produced bike. Production began in 1946 and in 1948 they came out with the IZh-350 C model which had a front telescopic fork and 14hp.
In 1950, the Russian IZh engineers finished the development of the IZh-50 sport motorcycle but one year later the IZh-49 was officially launched. During the 50s, IZh continued producing bikes, the most notable being the IZh 54 and the IZh 54A.
In 1958, IZh started to work on the IZh-Jupiter model, a motorcycle which was later shown (1957) in Brussels at the World's fair. The Jupiter entered mass production in 1961, being equipped with an engine able to produce 19 horsepower.
This particular model registered a pretty impressive success so the Russian manufacturer produced the second model in the series called IZh-Jupiter 2.
The company started making more complex bikes in the 80s so, in order to reach this goal, they they acquired a new factory. The first model to be manufactured in this new production facility was the Izh-Jupiter 4, a motorcycle which was followed by IZh-Planeta-4 one year later in 1982. The 5th model in the Jupiter range came in 1985 but this motorcycle had some new features, such as a “Standby” button, seen on most motorcycles produced these days.
expand
