MZ Shows Super Fighter
MZ Motorrad und Zweiradwerk GmbH, the Malaysian-owned brand based in Zschopau, Germany, recently gave magazine editors from around the world a chance to ride the second derivative of the company’s long-awaited MZ 1000 S, the MZ 1000 SF Super Fighter.
Powersports Business first reported on the SF when it appeared at INTERMOT, the international powersports trade fair held in Munich in September 2004. MZ held the recent press introduction in Malaga, Spain.
A “naked” bike, the 1000 SF features a two-cylinder, four-stroke motor delivering 113 hp. MZ says the SF’s software was modified, the injection map was adjusted, the exhaust system was laid out for torque, a shorter secondary transmission was installed, seat height was reduced by 15 mm, and new brake and clutch fittings are individually adjustable.
Also new was development of a wind protection system called J.A.P. (Jet Air Protect). MZ says the new system delivers the same protection as a windscreen twice its size — important for an otherwise unfaired bike.
Deliveries to German dealers started in mid March. John Stoddart, general manager of Motorrad of North America, the U.S. importer and distributor of MZ product, says the SF should arrive in the United States sometime in the summer.
“The U.S. 1000 SF will have different specs than the Euro version — we will have a higher horsepower motor and solid color on all body parts,” Stoddart told Powersports Business. He said he’s trying to have the bike retail for $9,999.
On March 10, MZ was awarded the iF Product Design Award 2005 for the 1000 SF. Granted by the International Forum Design GmbH, which included a jury of designers working for companies such as Canon, Nokia, Porsche and BMW, this was the second such design award for MZ — the company previously won a silver award for its MZ 1000 S.
Stoddart says MZ’s 348 retailers in the U.S. appear excited about the MZ 1000 S — “There has been a good sell-through” — and says he looks forward to the continued expansion of the brand’s range.
