MZ/MuZ Riders

I was the first person in NA America to purchase one. I used to work for a dealer in South Florida when I purchased mine in 2005. It was a great bike. Handled exceptionally and did a lot of things well. I paid $9700 out the door. I work for a Triumph dealer now and put it up for sale and afterwards discovered that despite being a really pretty bike and drawing a lot of attention once a customer did a little research he would discover that MZ in the United States ****ed a lot of people over. It was a hard sale here to say the least despite the good looks and performance due to negative feedback and bad marketing/exposure. For someone like me who works hard for his money I found it hard to swap it out when I decided for a new ride (Daytona 675). I sold it this week for $4,500. I immediately gave the money to my store towards the 675 and now I have to save a few k for the better bike in terms of resale value and pure race performance and the bike I always wanted. I am into pure sport though and at the time didn't realize that because I am only 5'8" that the seat was rather tall and wide. Handling was excellent though and I have nothing to say bad about the performance of the bike but the support was disgusting and I because I can only afford one bike at a time I would never buy a bike from a fledgling company in the States like MZ EVER AGAIN. May not be the same in Europe but in the States it was my hard earned money down the drain should I need a diagnostic tool I was not prepared to shell out thousands for. I had a warranty issue with a coil that I had to pay for despite my bike being under warranty. If I would have bought a CBR I would be in much better shape with resale. I have bodywork and brand new parts for sale cheap if anyone is interested including the nylon saddlebag kit brand new never used, the tail bag never used, an air filter (brand new), 3 oil filters, a clutch lever (brand new), right side body panel in the box never used, front fairing with a few very small imperfections on the corners, and other shit. E-mail me at michael@pure-triumph.com if you are interested. I also have spark plugs. I need money towards my 675 so before I e-bay it I'll offer it to you guys for the support. Also my bike is black if you are interested in the bodywork.

$4500?!!! I think you gave it away, rather than sold it! Hell, that's track day bike money there...that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!! How nice that that's the only way these thing will sell, new or used!! Looks like I'll have to make plans for a bigger casket 'cause I'll be taking mine with me when the time comes for my "eternal dirt nap"....that or I'll just run it into the ground to extract my money's worth from it.......at least I'll have fun doing that!!

Thats a shocking drop in value dude! MZ certainly have a lot to answer for, just wish i had the money to buy the bloody company and put it on the map. Its the same over here in the UK, its a dodgy brand to deal with and the drop in value off the forecourt is astonishing. The 1000's have really great reviews and the product could be developed to such great heights but it seems the brand just keeps being thrown from one deep end to another. Why on earth they don't listen to the dealers and the customers is way beyond all of us. Talking to them is as useful as a glass hammer and it just frustrates you more and more. Where MZ is going to end up in the near future is a little concerning to say the least. Someone needs to listen, perhaps we should all voice our concerns via a poll or something? Then again, maybe not, they won't listen anyhow.

LWS66 wrote::( $4500?!!! I think you gave it away, rather than sold it! Hell, that's track day bike money there...that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!! How nice that that's the only way these thing will sell, new or used!! Looks like I'll have to make plans for a bigger casket 'cause I'll be taking mine with me when the time comes for my "eternal dirt nap"....that or I'll just run it into the ground to extract my money's worth from it.......at least I'll have fun doing that!!

I certainly agree with you LSW I did give it away. My friend who works with me but at a Triumph shop raced one in the WERA endurance series and came in third place. He knows the bike very well and was going to buy it from me at $4000. But the regular guy off the street after a little research on the company (not the bike) will become discouraged to throw thousands down on and it becomes a difficult sale. Mine didn't sit on the showroom floor but for 2 months before I sold it at such a low price but I don't have patience and the 675 smiles at me every morning. I didn;t get any other serious offers though before someone was willing to give me cash for it. I prolly could have sold it for more but I didn't want to wait. Another issue is that I work for Triumph dealer and like to ride the brand of dealer I work for (parts, info, service tools, etc). Also my MZ1000S was my first streetibike. I had a 1989 CR125 when I was 16, 1991 CR125 when I was 18, 1998 CR250 when I was in my early twenties, and a 2002 CRF450 when I was in my late 20s but the MZ was my first road bike. I think it may have saved my life the way I approached road riding compared with track MX riding. The handling and power translation was incredible. I never crashed it but I did fall over a few times when I first got it pulling it into my living room, and stops with uneven pavement (cause I am 5'8"). It barely gets damaged. The bike is a tank. I could only liken it to a Chevy truck the way it is built and is a very comfortable compromise towards the sport end of sport touring. Here lies the problem with me. It took me years to save for my first road bike. I busted my ass with intentions of buying a CBR600RR (I know blasphemy to MZ forum). Living paycheck to paycheck and only being able to afford one bike at any given time in my life I had to recoup my spendings before a problem occured. No problems occured fortunately while in my possession but if Regal MZ/BSA closed down or went out of business I would have a really sweet looking exotic bike I can't ride in my garage cause I would not know where to get parts. Dibbs go out to those guys ESPECIALLY Phil Albutt!! That guy rules. That guy became my saviour in a time of DESPERATE NEED! But I can't afford to save for a new bike unless I got something for my MZ. The difference though is since I work for Triumph dealer I can get a 2007 Daytona 675 for a really low price from MSRP. I was told I was getting a MZ 1000S for cost. I paid $9700 and got a $1000 rebate so I actually paid $8700. With the good deal I can get on the Triumph it will take me several months to get the new bike but I am happy about it despite the $$$ loss and besides the selling of the bike all but one ride in my 8500 miles on it were pure joy.

I can't blame you one bit. Some can "tolerate" the extra baggage that goes with owning any rare obscure machine (I also own a Laverda!) and some might prefer to get on to riding with no worries. I know that if I ever "had" to sell it (no, not that!) I would have to dump it also, but it is a great bike and the more I ride it the more satisfaction I get from it. When I was in the market I was looking at a Sprint ST and a leftover Aprilia Falco as well as the MZ, and I'm still happy with my choice...it is the better bike. I'd say the biggest let down is that there's no shared enthusiasm here for the bikes. I've read that there's about 15 sold so far? I think I've heard from maybe 2-3 and that's it....and even they have dropped off the radar screen. The German forum is the complete opposite, and other than trying to figure out the crappy translations, provides that greatly missing connection with other 1000 enthusiasts, it at least makes owning one that little bit more enjoyable. I have givin thought to buying a used one for track days, and at the price you sold it for, compared to SV's and what the other prefered track bikes go for, makes it one hell of a great candidate. Anyway, it's still nice to roll up at a stop and have people come check it out and make comments about never having seen one in the flesh! I have some confidence in telling them to get a good look because they likely will never see another one again!

If I could afford more than one bike I would have definitely kept the bike and never sold it. On I-95 (the main road down here) when I tucked down and blasted it as fast as I could it was sheer awesomeness. I really liked the stable ride it offered and I can not describe how great the bike handled. Also after 8300 miles the sprocket and chain looked brand new still. My tachometer read an idle of over 1500 when I sold it and after my friend (who works as a European bike mechanic) said it was idling normally. What does your idle read on your tachometer? The main problem for me that made it easier for me to part with it was after riding a couple of Triumph demo bikes...namely the Speed-Triple...it really exaggerated how much I liked having both my feet touching the ground flat. I bought some thick soled Icon riding boots to get about an extra half inch of height but the wide seat made the tallness more pronounced for me. The Sprint ST is the same for me...a bit too tall. I mean it wasn't that bad when I was riding but a tad uncomfortable at stops. For a taller guy/gal this would not be an issue. I do like the styling of the new Sprint ST but I would take the MZ over that bike because I like the way it looks better. Another thing I liked about the MZ was that on long rides, even when the bike's digital temperature bar was full, the heat of the bike did not make my legs sweat. I have ridden many Triumphs so far and nearly all of them got really hot in shorter and longer rides. As for the vibration...I recently rode a 1999 Daytona 595 that only had like 2000 miles on it and the ride was A LOT more rough then the MZ. I know the bikes aren't really comparable but still that bike vibrated more than mine and the suspension wasn't nearly as forgiving. It made my MZ feel like a Cadillac after that ride. My MZ shaked some screws loose from the vibration but one thing can be said...this bike can hit the ground at get up smiling. If I could afford to do track days I think the MZ1000S would be an excellent choice. Way more so than an SV. For $4500 I would have loved to use it as a track bike. $4500 is nothing compared to what the bike was worth to me but unless I sold it for something I could easily sell down the road I would never be able to afford a new bike because I been having problems saving money lately with all my bills and saving $8-$10k would take years. Since I got a job working at a dealer I am going to use this opportunity to save a couple of thousand off a 2007. I sell parts and service and my bosses are giving me a good deal so I can have more experience with their bike and make me a more educated employee when talking about Triumph bikes to customers.

I agree with you LSW66 about the extra baggage associated with obscurity. I got looks everywhere I went on the MZ. People would just come up to me and say what the HELL is that!?! I got compliments about the bike A LOT. People would say what is that? I would say it's an MZ - and they would say who makes it? HAHA!!!

I love to ride. I like to ride A LOT too. I need my bike to be a hammer. A tool. Something I could put many miles on without worrying about possible problems. The MZ (other than one coil issue which was my fault from overwashing) had no problems that kept me off the road. However I am thinking long term here and maybe just being paranoid for no reason. Nonetheless I work parts so I can get good deals on parts and afford to put mega-miles on the bike from the dealer I work at. I order them myself and make sure I am stocked up on anything I will need. Any recalls or bulletins come straight to me. Cost on parts is a big PLUS. Makes losing money seem like less of a big deal when you add that up. Plus service manuals, diagnostic tools, and a two-year warranty I can use also makes the road ahead a bit more lit up. Matter of fact I am having riding withdrawal already and I just sold my bike last week!?! Also going to have to be without a bike for months which sucks.