Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128227
.... MZ's Ramasamv lIasuthewan which at the time we need to make a decision about which one to go for, we can take a look at the marketplace and see what would work best for us. I have to say that the leading contender at the moment is what we call a "reise-enduro" in Germany - a dual-purpose tourer like the Aprilia .caponord or BMW R1150GS, which would also tie 'In well with MZ's glorious sportirtg off-road enduro _history. Does MZ plan to offer an aftermarket range of tuning parts and accessories for the '10005, similar to Triumph or Ducati's Performance catalogue? Yes, that is definitely planned, but only once we have the bike into production and meeting . our targets for it. First things first. HOW about your 125cc four-stroke range, . .. which took a while to get going while you struggled with your supply chain but now appears . to be very successful? ln fact, this project began because we were asked' to develop such an engine by an Asian customer, who then defaulted on the deal after making the first _progress payment. We decided to continue with development and to adopt it as an MZ project, because we identified the 125cc four-stroke model sector as the single biggest potential market in the world today, with the demise of the twostroke in the face of emissions controls. We therefore set out to build the most modern 125cc fourvalve four-stroke available anywhere in the world, and the market tells us we have done this - we have gained market share from zero to the point we are third in Germany after Honda and Yamaha in the lightweight motorcycle sector, totaling over 30,000 bikes in annual sales, and now that we are satisfied with the quality of the product, we are starting to sell it outside our home market. Perhaps this is an indication that we can achieve what we set out to do, to establish MZ as a company with strong fourstroke R&D credentials, which can also successfully manufacture a leading-edge product in its chosen segment, to high levels of quality and customer satisfaction but at a competitive price. End of commercial! OK, but didn't you also develop the RT125 with the potential to be increased in capacity for emerging markets where this was appropriate? Yes, but within Europe there's no market for anything bigger than 125cc, so there's no justification for the investment needed to upgrade the engine until we have a specific request by a future partner to do this. We have the capability to increase the engine up to 180cc, but only when asked to do so by someone who will pay the bills! However, we're talking to more than one manufacturer about transplanting the RT125 MZ motor into their existing 125cc two-stroke models, which are about to be legislated out of existence for emissions reasons (reliably understood to include MV Agusta expect to see the Cagiva Mito and Planet 125 models, as well as a new downsized version of the Tam-' burini-designed F4S, all powered by MZ's four'stroke engines in the future - AC). But the biggest potential in Malaysia and other Asian markets is for an underbone application for the four-stroke engine to replace the two-stroke motors currently being used in mopeds. We've already commenced development of such an engine, with a steeply inclined cylinder to allow it to be fitted in such bikes, but still with a four-valve cylinder head. Looking at the USA, it seems you entered the American market a little prematurely, before you had the product range to suit U.S. tastes. A Q A Q On the contrary! To a large extent, we were anyt~ing market leaders in developing the scooter market in the Sunbelt states, where we had 20-percent market share until recently, when this came under increasing pressure from Taiwanese and Chinese else. Later on, maybe, it might be a different story-, ' and I certainly have no objection to using thir~ party engines from an established supplier to help. us develop a top-level product in a market sector manufacturers, and the RT125 has also carved a small but useful market in the USA. But establishing that plays to MZ's heritag.e. But not right now. our own company in America seven years ago was crucial to one of Hong Leong's established credos, which is to control your own marketing and distribution, rather than rely on a local importer who not only takes an extra profit margin, but whom you also have ultimately no direct control over. With the intention that the USA will become one of our cr.ucial markets in the future, we therefore invested in establishing our own company there, headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, and began to build up our own good-quality dealer network in the USA in anticipation of the arrival of the 1000S family. That was always our reason for going into America ours"elves, and now it's about to start paying off. With the growth of the Supermoto class in America, does MZ plan to capitalize on its growing involvement in this category in Germany? Q We're already running a very successful Young, sters Cup series in Germany for 12- to 16-yearolds, using a special version of the SM125, which will also be a support class to the World Supermoto GP being held at the Sachsenring in August. It's a successful way to introduce young riders to competition as well as to develop brand awareness, so we are already thinking of extending this to other countries and the USA is one of these, as well as the UK and also the other German-speaking countries. But you don't have a full-size Supermoto model for them to graduate to. Is it true that Q Why did you go 500cc Grand Prix racing with the Swissauto-pawered four-cylinder MuZ 500, with all the costs that ,entailed, and whateve'r happened to the famous pneumatic-valve 17,000 rpm V 4 MotoGP project being' developed for you by Mauro Forghieri's Opal E(lgineering house in" Modena, that Ralf Waldmann was supposed to be racing last season?! Surely for a company of MZ's size and with your resources, this was a dream too far? A ln the case of the 500cc GP project, I would say that this was actually a pretty cost-effec- tive way of creating br<'\nd awareness in a short time, by raising ttie flag in a very' high-profile sporting sector, especially as more than 50 percent of MZ's cost was covered by sponsorship and we had other partners in the project, which reduced our financial exposu~e. It did its job. In the case of the., MotoGP project, I think this was definitely prematurely anneunced, and expectations raised before everything was in place. However, I must underline that development has been continuing quietly though I suppose that by revealing this, it's not so quiet anymore! - and we already have some extremely significant sponsors who join us in taking a longer view of the project, which will allow us to run the Grand Prix operation as a completely separate structure from MZ's motorcycle operation. But I'm aware that the premature announcement of this whole project eroded much of the credibility we had you have a Yamaha YZ450-engined prototype already in existence, to counter that lack? Sorry, I can't comment on that! Let's just say that our R&D engineers have dirt bike racing in their blood, and what they do in their spare time is up to them. Look, you know as well as anyone that single most important project is bringing the MZ 1000S to market and making it a success. That's all that counts right now - and the fact that everyone from outside the company who has ridden the they've built a prototype with the Yamaha engine and are racing it rather successfully - but right now bike to date, including yourself, has given it a decisive thumbs-up only makes me all the more deter- l'm concentrating 100 percent on the 1000S and mined to focus on doing that. C n can't take my eye off the ball to think of eVIl's built up with the MuZ 500, and I can only say that, as of now, it's right on the back burner, because our eN