SF Bay Area MZ riders

[Du Can]

Hey there,

I'm new to the site, but have had my yellow MZ Street Moto (std. height) for almost 2 years now. Fun, fun, fun!
I have 1 friend with an MZ that I occasionally ride with. I am looking for more MZ riding buddies in the area.
Last year, on my way up Mount Tamilpias, I saw another yellow Street Moto on its way down. I have seen exactly two other Black Panthers besides the one my friend owns. I know there is a red one storming around the area somewhere, as the dealer sold one just before I bought my yellow one, but have yet to see it. I have not seen a Skorpion in action since before I bought my Street Moto.

MZ riders of the bay area who are interested in getting together for a run on some twisty backroads some time, I'm game. Reply to this thread and we'll go from there.

[hulagun]

I'll chime in.

I live in SF, and have a 660 Black Panther as my daily ride. The DPO (dreaded previous owner) lived in Berkeley.

My friend Tony is the Parts Manager at SF MOTO (in SF natch), the Bay Area MZ dealer. Tony rides a grey 660 SM.

I have yet to meet any other MZ 660 supermotard riders, but have friends who own CCMs, XRs, and various street fighters. My MZ replaces my 1987 VFR700 "Rat Fighter" which was also all gloss black and fitted with dual Cadillac taillamps, dual loud horns, and dual submachine guns.

Since the MZ has turned out to be the perfect town bike, my all black Falco is now for sale on consignment at SF MOTO. Great bike... with 3 other bikes to play with I just never ride it anymore.

You can see mosta my bikes in the gallery section here on the MZRIDERS site. They're most of the black ones.

Anyway enuff about my obsessions... I'd be up for an MZ supermoto group ride sometime, since it'll be a small group.

[Du Can]

Howdy hulagun,

Yep, I was fortunate enough to purchase my Street Moto brand new. The dealer had it in stock for almost a year, and had ridden it twice. It had 122 Km on the odo when I packed it into the bed of my truck and took it home in Feb. 2003. It now has more than 15,000 km on it, and it seems to run better the more I ride it.
I live in Concord, by the way, but SF is only 20 minutes or so away (by motard). This fog we've been having sucks- as soon as we have a weekend of good weather, we should ride. I'll have to check the weekend forecast.
Maybe I'll get my friend with the black panther to go along too. The only problem is that he likes short rides- he says his seat hurts his ass. Sucks to be him, I guess.

D.

[tsrzad]

Hey, you guys.

I know I'm not all cool and MOTARD, but I'd love to ride with a bunch of open piped thumpers some w/e on my '95 Skorpion Sport. I live in SF, too.

Ted 415.867.4355

Have a great holiday...

PS: would it be OK if my buddies on their VFR and Speed Four come too, sometimes?

[Du Can]

Hey tsrzad,

You are more than welcome to ride with us so far as I'm concerned, along with anyone else that wants to come. MZ Sport Cups are rare, and it would be cool to see one in the mix. More is better! My buddy on his Suzuki gsxr-750 would more than likely ride along too- I'm not trying to restrict this to MZ riders, I just want to get a pack of MZs together (be it Motards or Skorpions, or whatever), I'll make sure I have a camera with me so we can get lotsa group shot pics.

It looks like it'll be foggy on Sat. clearing as the day progresses, and it is supposed to be sunny and clear on Sunday. Think you guys might like to ride on sat or sun? Let me know...

Du Can

Email: dunekahn@sbcglobal.net

[calibellus]

Add another Skorpion rider, over in Berkeley. Mine's a 2002 Tour.



We should definitely do an all MZ ride sometime! (Though you all might want to wait for me to get a little better. I suspect I'd juts slow everyone down at this point! )

[Du Can]

Hey Calibellus,

You are more than welcome to ride along any time- it's okay if you are slower, I sometimes ride with a Harley guy who has a 2003 Police Special. He is slow in the turns... I think you'd probably smoke him due to the fact that your Tour actually handles through turns instead of wallowing around them...lol! I like hanging turns, but don't mind slowing down or waiting. Usually with slower riders, we stop at every turnoff or major crossroad to wait for any stragglers. No big deal, nobody minds.

That photo looks like it was taken at the Wall (Wildcat Canyon Rd, Berkeley)- I live in Concord and regularly ride Alhambra Valley Rd (Martinez) to Bear Creek Rd., Bear Creek to Wildcat Canyon (passing the Wall on the way), Wildcat to Pinehurst Rd. (if I'm going home, the back way in through Moraga) or to Redwood Rd. (if I'm doing an extended ride) into Castro Valley. Castro Valley to Palos Verdes Rd to Palomares Rd., Palomares Rd. to Caliveras Rd. From the end of Caliveras Rd. in Milpitas, I either cut down 101 to highway 9 and ride back up the peninsula or I will do the long haul from Alum Rock over Mt. Hamilton to Mines Rd., coming home from the Livermore direction. All are good routes, except going over Mt. Hamilton and Mines Rd. can be sketchy with gravel/dirt/water on the road. It was bad yesterday through there, the bike went loose and waggy on more than a few turns.

I'm riding today, just waiting for my buddy with the gsxr750 to call me up.
If you see this soon enough and have the time, we can ride today. Email me (my address is above) and we can make arrangements, if not for today, then maybe next weekwnd or sometime soon.

D.

[Du Can]

Hey Everyone:

Anyone who is interested in an MZ group ride in the bay area, email me with your phone number (or email me and I'll email u back with my cell phone number) so we can make arrangements. It's cool if non-MZ riders want to join in. I just want to get a pack of MZ thumpers together since it would be such a rare sight around here.

Email: dunekahn@sbcglobal.net

Keep it safe, keep it rubber side down!

D.

[calibellus]

D.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'd love to ride with you sometime. Unfortunately this week is a combination of yardwork and holiday travel. Probably won't get much riding in. I did get a nice long ride in yesterday, though. That helps.

The pic was taken up on the Wall. Given where I live, it's a snap to hustle up Claremont to Grizzly/Skyline/Redwood and points east and south from there.

I understand there's an MZ shop out in Concord, R&M Enterprises. Any contact with them? I wouldn't mind having access to another shop , particularly one I don't have to cross the bay bridge for!

[Du Can]

Hey Calibellus,

Yes, R&M is where I purchased my MZ. I have gotten to know the owner, Rick, quite a little bit since I bought my bike. He can get whatever parts you may need. His shop is right off of Highway 4, Solano Avenue exit. It is on Arnold Industrial Way.

They have a 2001 or 02 Skorpion Tour (that funky copper color) brand new that he hasn't sold yet. I think he got it in the same shipment as my bike (02 Baghira Street Moto-yellow) but I'm not sure.

Unfortunately, he seems discouraged with MZ and their lack of advertising/dealer support. MZ makes a great product, but since they don't advertise over here it shall remain obscure in the states. I don't think he will be getting any more MZs in unless they are pre-paid special orders. Bummer!

D.

[calibellus]

Unfortunately, he seems discouraged with MZ and their lack of advertising/dealer support. MZ makes a great product, but since they don't advertise over here it shall remain obscure in the states. I don't think he will be getting any more MZs in unless they are pre-paid special orders. Bummer!

I can understand his issue with that. Given the dollar/euro rate, MZ is going to be expensive and niche, and they don't even have the storied past that, say, Moto Guzzi or even some of the smaller italian marks have. Combine that with a slightly oddball line (a bunch of 125s, the baggies, and the 1000 series) and it makes for a problematic situation. I've no idea what the setup is for Motorrad NA, but it wouldn't surprise me if they're something of a shoestring operation, particularly given MZ needs to concentrate on Europe, the UK, and possibly even the Far East more than in the US.

I love my Tour, and I plan to keep it for a long, long time. So far it's kept up beautifully in the group rides I've taken, and I don't feel like it's just waiting to bite me in the butt like some of the guys on supersports. I want to stick a windscreen and some touring bags on it and do longer rides, and who knows what else. But I'll keep worrying about MZ until they have a more competitive lineup (whatever that looks like). One thing I do wish would happen is that they'd leverage their success in the 125cc engine to put out a 250 or 350cc bike. There's a dearth of good 'small' bikes in the market right now, particularly ones with decent tech. I think the Ninjas have at least halfway decent tech, but really, anything 500cc and under that's not a supermoto seems to run on ancient designs.

But this would certainly work better for Europe and the Far East. For the US, I think they're in trouble until the euro/dollar balance swings back the other way. The only companies introducing under 500cc bikes into the US right now (other than scooters) are Chinese, Korean, and Taiwanese manufacturers who really can compete on price.

[hulagun]

Time to swing this thread back to Bay Area MZ riders.

I got nothing against riding with non MZ's or non SM's but honestly riding in a crowd is no fun for me. I long ago figgered out that group rides come with liabilities... bathroom breaks take 45 mins, poseurs, crashers, squids, cops, dopes who run outa gas, show up late, etc etc

Riding with 1-3 "riding buddies" is great. It means we can ride at our pace, stop when we want, leave when we want, get a table at a cafe, etc. No babysitting (usually).

I do like to BS with people about bikes so riding to a group bike gathering IS fun... like riding to Alice's, say, or The Wall, or Point Reyes Station. Why don't we pick a place, day and time soon and all just meet there?

[calibellus]

I do like to BS with people about bikes so riding to a group bike gathering IS fun... like riding to Alice's, say, or The Wall, or Point Reyes Station. Why don't we pick a place, day and time soon and all just meet there?

January 8th if the weather holds. The Wall is close and easy, but I'd sort of like to see Marin.

[hulagun]

Not to be a smartass but Jan 8 is a weekday.

If we pick a weekend more bikes will show up.

I vote for a Sunday. Anyplace is fine as long as it is not inside SF and roads there have sharp bends.

Ivan

[Du Can]

Hulagun,

I see your point about a big group ride- meeting somewhere would be great. Where do you guys want to meet? When? I'll go north to Marin...or wherever.

Still, Hulagun, I am trying to find more riding buddies. So often lately I end up riding alone. Sent u an email with my number, so if u wanna ride, call.