Issue 138 : December 2004 - January 2005
NEC Bike Show
MAIDS
MZ 100S
Stormin' the Castle
XL 1200R Sportster
Milward in Africa
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NEC Bike Show
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An M what?
The MZ100S is very much now. It is the product of a new company that has emerged from various problems that beset it when privatised after the German reunification. Let's get the two stroke references out of the way to start with. MZ were responsible for the birth of two-strokes and produced their first motorcycle with one in back in 1926 under the DKW brand name. At one time they were producing 60,000 bikes per anum making them the biggest motorcycle producer in the world. The legendary RT125 single was copied by BSA to form the Bantam, Harley copied it and Yamaha copied it, so good was it! Under the various tank badges that the company went through before finally becoming MZ they produced some of the greatest racers and off- road machines the world has ever seen. They won GP races, had the likes of Mike Hailwood riding their bikes and rode the crest of a wave. Their utilitarian bikes like the ETS, TS and ETZ 250's became cult machines as well as the commuter's favourites from the early seventies into the late eighties. Cheap to run, virtually indestructible with a loyal fan club (some of whom even raced them!) they were and are part of motorcycle folklore. Right history lesson over that was then, the four-stroke MZ100S is very much now. It is the product of a new company that has emerged from various problems that beset it after being privatised after the German reunification. While proud of their history, the new company owned by Hong Leong Industries, is looking to the future. Obviously the stringent pollution laws and noise controls make two-strokes a thing of the past. While they could have taken the easy way out and used a Yamaha motor as they do in some of their smaller bikes, they designed their own brand new powerplant to go with their brand new sports bike. A brave move by any standards and one that should be applauded, especially as this is the first time the historic company has moved into the big bike market. So the heart of the matter is a 998cc liquid-cooled parallel twin cylinder four stroke, complete with four valves per cylinder DOHC and fuel injection. The claimed power output is 117bhp with 95 Nm's of torque at 7,000rpm, not bad for a first effort to say the least.
Nissin brake callipers grip the twin 320mm rotors at the front which are balanced with a single 243mm item at the rear. More than enough to deal with 210kgs of bike plus rider in anybody's book! This is all clothed in a smart angular and very modern full fairing that comes in a black or silver option. Both thankfully are not covered in masses of acronyms or garish stickers, just a classy MZ on the sides with a small discreet badge on the 20 litre fuel tank. So from this specification you can see what they have produced in a good sports tourer well on a par with the opposition in specification and price. Well it would be were it not for the S in the bikes title, because they have billed it as a sports bike. View it against say the specification of a Honda Fireblade or a Yamaha R1 and it starts to struggle. This is a shame because this is a very good bike that just oozes quality and individual style. Sit astride the tall seat and thumb the button and let the twin rumble into life and you know it is going to be a fun ride. Like any Ducati or similar, the fact that it is not an across-the-frame four-cylinder gives the bike instant character and appeal. The rev counter stopping at 9,000 before the red-line may be stratospheric compared to say an old Triumph twin, but in today's market of large capacity sports bikes is somewhat unusual. Move off and you quickly realise the gearing needs lowering to save the transmission snatch, especially when in traffic, something the factory are already working on with some re-mapping of the engine. However, if you have the luxury of an autobahn to hand as I did during test and you can keep the speedo above the 200kph mark everything is just spot on! Likewise heading through some of the back-roads into the mountainous areas of Saxony, in the former DDR where the factory is based and you realise the handling is superbly neutral and inspires total confidence. The bike is relatively easy to change direction on and will acquit itself very well on hairpin roads, unless put up against a pure quick steering sports 600! It is in this terrain that you have to work the gearbox quite hard and constantly swap through the ratios to keep the motor on the boil to maintain a fast average pace. This also showed up a need to fine tune the suspension and take out some of the softness that provided a comfortable ride on more open going. No problems though for the brakes and tyres which just lapped up the point and squirt riding on the hillsides near the Czechoslovakian border. The fading light at the end of a day's riding posed no problem for the futuristic headlight set-up which provided more than enough candle power to maintain high average speeds. However, it was the slightly slower speeds and more relaxed riding style on the fast open country roads that made me realise that this bike was better compared to say a Honda VFR 800 rather than a Fireblade. A slightly more upright riding position, new gearing and a set of panniers and this could well be the bike to tour Europe on. After all the tank range is in excess of 225 kilometres and the comfort levels are generally good, although the pillion would probably want a grab rail. It is stylish, well finished and certainly attracts favourable comments wherever you go on it, so it would be a good 'ice-breaker' when touring. As it stands the MZ 1000S is a very good bike and will carve its own niche in the marketplace and be popular with those riders who like to be different. What they will get is a sporty bike that inspires confidence, but it will never be pushing for the podium slot. However, with a few minor tweaks, add a T to the S in its title to make it ST and it will soon be riding high in the sales war and gain mass appeal. MZ have already announced the naked SF model with a retuned motor, so it will not be difficult for them to adapt as they always have done throughout their long and illustrious history. In the meantime it is still worth checking out the 1000S as it stands because it may well be your ideal machine and you might be pleasantly surprised, because it is still a very good bike! Ian Kerr |
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Ian Kerr takes a look at MZ's new offering, forget all that went before...
This is mounted in a Chrome-moly steel bridge frame, which is supported at the front by fully adjustable 43 mm inverted forks and a braced mono-shock controlled swinging arm at the back.
The whole plot rolls along on some unique wheels that are 10% lighter than conventional 17-inch cast wheels. These are shod with 120/70 (front) and 180/55 (rear) section tyres for maximum grip.