In 1990 (soon after the fall of the Berlin wall), MZ was privatized. The new owners realized that they needed a four-stroke motor if they were going to sell bikes in Europe and the US, so they called up Rotax and got themselves a 494cc single. Then, they designed a family of bikes around it, like the Silver Star retro standard and the Saxon dual-sport. The Saxon was available in two flavors, a Country and a Tour. The Country had spoked wheels, and a front fairing that was integrated into a bigger gas tank. The Tour…well, you’re looking at one.
The Rotax single produced 34 horsepower that went through a 5-speed transmission and were transferred to the rear wheel with an enclosed chain drive. Starting was done with a kicker or a magic button, and dry weight was just 335 pounds. Unfortunately, they were a solid 20% more expensive than competitors like the KLR650, and it’s not like MZ had an extensive dealer network. They sold poorly, and are hard to find nowadays.
This example has just under 20,000 miles, very few of which were put on by the seller. He recently acquired it at the Vintage Motorcycle Days and after having ridden it a few times he’s realized he wants something bigger. This bike is equipped with luggage (the side bags are removable, the top apparently is fixed), heated grips, a tank bag, LED turn signals and tail light, Hagon rear suspension, and a Tarozzi fork brace. The seller has plenty of spare and a decent amount of maintenance has been done recently as well. These don’t come up often, so if you’re interested you can find this Saxon Tour for sale here on ADVRider (registration required) in Western New York for $2,000.