Road Test: 2005 MZ 1000S

The MZ1000S, with its liquid-cooled, 998cc parallel-Twin engine, is a completely new bike, as well as being MZ's first large-capacity machine. Peering in behind the fairing at the 40-degree inclined Twin, I can't help thinking it looks like an over-bored Yamaha TDM 850 engine, a bike that's been around in Europe for a good number of years now. It is said to produce 118 horsepower at 9000 rpm, with maximum torque occurring two thousand rpm earlier. And, while I don't have a direct translation from the German literature, it sure feels like it is going to be a pretty healthy number.