MZ (http://www.muz.de/) was the “other” German motorcycle manufacturer. We've all heard of BMW motorcycles, but very few will know of MZ, and now you'll probably never will.

The current owner of MZ, Hong Leong Industries (http://www.hli.com.my/), has announced that it will stop production of MZ motorcycles.

MZ was a former East-German manufacturer, and like all former East-block countries that switched to Western life-styles, invested in their manufacturer industries. MZ motorcycle were updated, rejuvenated, and a new management was set in place.

Their 1000SF Street Fighter had a good acceptance by press and public. They even had an interesting 660 Supermoto.

Hong Leong Industries bought MZ in 1996, but never managed to turn a profit. Despite interesting motorcycles, it could not compete with BMW on one side, and cheap Japanese imports on the other.

So, after seeing life in 1926 under the trademark of DKW, MZ will be buried in 2008. This for a motorcycle manufacturer that at one stage had world's largest manufacturer plant (in 1928 they produced 60,000 motorcycles). Sad.