MZ Motorcycles and the Future.

[whysub01]

[Sourcer]

[DAVID THOMPSON]

i think it is more that they do not understand how the rest of us do business

1 when we ask a question we want a quick to the point answer

2 the bmw guy,s advertize a product all the other german brands
of bike do not seem to understand the need to make buyers want
a product or at least get them to look

my 2 mz bikes are comment 1 nice looking bike
comment 2 what brand is it
comment 3 never heard of that brand
my comment the guy has been riding 30 years
and he never heard of mz because the of no adv.....

[friendfire]

[cat]

The world is full of them.

I had one at the fence looking into my garage who asked 4 times what it was and got aggressive because he had not heard of MZ and thought I wasn't answering his question. "But what is it? What make is it!?" ..."Never heard of them!" Like he knew everything, usually, but this wasn't worth knowing because he - the expert - didn't know. ....I'll leave you to imagine what I was thinking, I don't want to get banned.

[DarthRider]

I am pretty sure I was the first person in North America to buy a 1000S. I was told this by someone at MZ NA when I used to work for a European dealership which was also a MZ dealership. I have almost 8k on mine and I had only one problem. I overwashed it once and corroded a coil and that's when I found out on here that the BSA/Regal dealer in Southhampton could get me the parts I need fairly quickly and reasonably priced too with no bullshit. I hope this will remain to be the case. Normally I could have had the coil repaired under warranty and not spent a dime but with ZERO dealers willing to learn and me not wanting them to learn on my bike anyways I had to pay for it. I was relieved to find out about that parts distributor in UK even though I live in the States. Hopefully when the motor reaches about 12k miles or so I will be able to find the parts to do the jobs I'll need to do. Kinda scary for a guy like me who busted his ass saving years and half my life savings for my MZ at the time. I love the bike. It handles awesome and I feel super confident on it. My biggest complaints about the bike so far for me is I am only about 5'8" maybe 5'9" and I tend to have to lean it slightly at stops because both my feet don't lay flat. Also the seat is kinda wide. The seat is great for it's comfort level but occasionally it feels slightly wide for me. All around the bike has been excellent. It's a very versatile bike IMO and does a lot of things really well. I come from an MX backround and had four Honda MX bikes over the years but the MZ was the first road bike I ever owned. Sometimes it feels a bit buzzy on the clip ons and I think it could use a little more power - especially down low. I have yet to remove my air box cover so I wonder if that would make a good noticeable power increase. I wouldn't mind tossing my exhaust cans in the future either. Can't afford it now but something to think about. I have a friend mechanic who raced the MZ in an endurance series in the States and he is pretty familiar with the 1000S so in that regard I am lucky. Plus I got it for cost so it wasn't too bad of a deal. Bike runs like a champ. I get that "What the Hell is that?" all the time. It's definitely a cool looking bike. Looks out of this world next to thirty Japanese bikes so I suppose you got to pay some price. I'll be the first to admit I would like to buy another bike but I don't think I would sell my MZ because of the sheer fact I enjoy riding it so much and it does so many things good. May not be the fastest or the lightest but I sure as Hell have fun riding it.

[cat]

Good write-up; I enjoyed reading it.
Have a look at Burns Stainless for megaphone mufflers, they're not expensive ...then you'd just have to get someone to make connecting pipes.

[LWS66]

Darth,

Have you made the gearing change yet? If you change to a 16/45 combo you can use the original number of links chain. The gearing change makes a huge difference especially down low, no judder or shaking. Stays in the meat of the power band when hammering thru the gears too. You can remove the airbox lid but the intake roar is (IMO) annoying. I drilled two large holes on the lid near the inlet snorkel.....and the air temp sensor is still functional. You can also cut out the filter media from the original air filter and buy some green Uni bulk filter foam to replace it for better air flow. There's plenty of exhaust options, but all over in Germany or Austria....and pricey, but well worth the cost. Will loose alot of weight and free up the exhaust flow. My bike screams with all this done.. a very different bike. [img][/img]

[LWS66]

And another shot:

[LWS66]

Airbox Lid Mod:

[DarthRider]

Thanks for the info. No I haven't changed my sprockets yet. I will take your advice though when mine get worn and go with the gearing you refer to. Always up to try something new. I don't want to remove the airbox lid so when I get some extra money I will prolly end up buying another airbox cover and drill some holes in mine - this way I will have a spare just in case I may need one. Doesn't the MZ 1000S use the same sprockets as the Honda RVT 1000? That's what someone told me but I don't know if it's true. Who makes the sprockets you use? Interesting idea also you have with the filter foam. I have a spare air filter for my bike but mine is still in good shape. I can't afford new pipes atm but that should be the first enhancement my bike gets. So far the only aftermarket parts I got on my bike is a tank pad and a KMFDM sticker hehe.

[LWS66]

The air filter mod was suggested by Ol' David Thompson....works great!!
The front sprocket is the same as a 2002-04 Honda 919 and the rear is the same as 1998-2005 Yamaha R1. The rear I have is a Krause Racing Sidewinder Tri-Metal (tool steel teeth ring fitted to an aluminum hub secured by titanium rivets) A little pricey but it is "Bling"...not that that's my thing!!! The front was from them also, standard tool steel, but I now have a front sprocket from Vortex (with lightening holes) I forgot to use Loctite on the front nut (as directed in the service manual..oops) and the bolt worked loose and the sprocket teeth wore down from wobbling. The Vortex I got from Cycle Gear which was on the shelf, they may even have R1 sprockets also, but you obviously can get any brand easily for those two bikes and very cheaply. I've got a full sprocket cross over listed in the database of the MZ 1000 yahoo group, other bike that all use the same sprockets....

[DarthRider]

That sprocket looks totally trick. So that's a carrier so you can just change the outer teeth ring? Really looks awesome. I didn't know the Fireblade uses the same front sprocket as the MZ1000S. Appreciate the information. How many miles did you put on your sprockets before you swapped them? I got almost 8k on mine and they are still fresh and don't need to be changed.

[LWS66]

The Tri-Metal comes as one piece, and is not an interchangable, though that would be a nice feature. I changed my gearing right after break-in (1000 miles or so) and am still on the original Regina chain. At about 7500 miles and still in good shape....very little adjustment needed.

If you look in an aftermarket parts catalog for front sprockets you'll see that there are really only two different sprockets used for many of the current Honda's.......and only one for the rear of the current Yamaha sportbikes. So you can actually walk into a bike shop and walk out with parts in your hand for your MZ!!

[DarthRider]

Cool. I work at a Triumph dealer selling parts so I can actually order it myself hehe when I need it. Your sprocket looks really cool. Did you notice a huge change when you swapped the sprockets?