U.S. Importer of MZ

[Bertram]

Members: Does anyone know, who was the U.S. importer of the Rotax and Yamaha engined MZ's during the 90s and early 2000's? The reason I am asking this, is if they are still in business. They may possibly have records of the bikes they imported into the U.S. during this time frame. I am having difficulty registering/licensing my 94 Silver Star in California. Due to the issue that California DMV, says their is no record of the VIN in their data base. CHP who does VIN verification, says I have to contact U.S. Customs for a VIN check. Customs says they do not have a data base that goes that far back, go figure. I purchased the bike in Minnesota where it was legally registered and licensed for a number of years. I have contacted Minnesota DMV, and they are going to try and help me by tracing the ownership/registration chain in their state. My guess is that if the State of Minnesota allowed it to be registered, there has to be a record of importation. Even if it was brought into their state, by a private party. Any help or guidance, would be appreciated.

Cheers Bertram 1994 Silver Star Classic

[DAVID THOMPSON]

government doing what it does best making every one mad at it

ask https://ronwoodracing.com/

if they have a contact at dmv

there are several hundred ATK bikes in CA running this motor

and someone probably has one like yours with plates

my DMV here in WV has the same problem no one knows whats going on

dave

as for the factory thats all gone

[95SaxonTour]

I believe the U.S. distributor was American Jawa, from what I've read.

Ryan

[DAVID THOMPSON]

American Jawa

lots of luck on them they have not been in USA for years

[droy]

They were originally Long Island, NY based and had Jawa sidecars before picking up the MuZ brand in 1994. By 1997/98 they had moved to Deland, FL and changed the name.

Doug in NJ

[Bertram]

Members: Since my post to this forum last time, I have been able to resolve my VIN/Importation issue on my bike. DMV, CHP and U.S. Customs are of no help. What I did find, is the NHTSA (http://www.nhtsa.gov) web site has a FAQ link. Thru this link I was able to make phone contact and email an agent. This gentleman took my query and found out what the cause of the problem was. In fact he enlightened me on various aspects of importation by manufactures to the U.S. Unfortunately a vehicle 20 plus years old will end up in their archives and not in their data base. Lucky for me the agent figured the numbers sequence is not what it should be. Apparently during the bikes change of ownership over the years, a digit on the VIN was incorrectly entered. Even with this mistake the bike was allowed to be registered twice in Minnesota. The Federal Vehicle Safety Stamp (FVSS), which is applied by the manufacture; and is located on the fork stem of a motorcycle that is going to be imported into the U.S. Shows the first three letters as identifying the manufacture. On mine the first digit was a number instead of a letter, ergo the problem. Since the VIN is correct on the stamp, though it was hard to differentiate the letter S from the number 5. This simple mistake caused my grief. With the stamp showing what is the correct VIN. I am now able to have the correct VIN amended and verified by both CA. DMV and CHP. Two lessons learned from this episode: Check title agains FVSS, and that there are still competent and helpful people working in government.

Cheers Bertram

[DAVID THOMPSON]

and that there are still competent and helpful people working in government.

please do not disclose his name

he will be fired before the week is out..

do keep good notes on this ..some one in the future will need his assistance
but do keep this private so he is still working where he is needed again
dave