2004 MZ 1000S Photo Gallery

2004 MZ 1000S

The MZ was styled by designer Peter Kaufmann, who you might remember as the man behind the carlike BMW C1 scooter-with-a-roof. It's distinctive if a bit bulky.

The MZ has its wheels spaced 56.3 inches apart, a relatively long wheelbase for a sportbike. Combined with a fairly typical 24.5-degree rake and 98mm of trail, the MZ isn't super quick to turn but provides a stable platform at speed.

The MZ 1000S uses a fully adjustable 43mm Marzocchi inverted fork for front-end control. The nose of this bike won't be mistaken in someone's mirrors for anything else on the road.

Angular bodywork that wouldn't look out of place on a Triumph Daytona 600 is wrapped around a tubular chrome-moly steel frame, adding up to a claimed dry weight of 462 pounds.

Our man Sir Neale warmed up to the new MZ after his experience riding it at Virginia International Raceway. How do you think this new German sportbike will do in America?

The stacked headlights give the 1000S a very distinct look.

The mirrors vibrate pretty bad at freeway speeds but who needs them anyways right?

Initially we thought the bike was going to be physically smaller and to be honest felt it looked a little dated.