You know how you find yourself on Craigslist’s motorcycle section even though you’re not actively looking for a bike? And then you find something so rare and quirky that you can’t pass it up? Then you’ll understand why I know own a MZ Mastiff.
Every once in a while I’ll pour myself a couple of fingers of Havana Club rum from my trip to Cuba and see if I can’t find a steal on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. It’s usually more window shopping than anything else, but earlier this week I spotted a MZ Mastiff – these are so rare that I couldn’t help myself. I don’t plan on keeping it for very long, but I figured I’d share my brief experience with it before I end up putting it on my auction site.
If you’re not familiar with the MZ Mastiff, it’s a street-legal supermoto based around a Yamaha XT660 engine and complemented by a WP shock, Marzocchi forks, Grimeca brakes, Excel wheels, and Acerbis bodywork.
Plus, this one’s got an aftermarket exhaust and Keihin FCR39 flat slides!
I’ve never heard of “Vampire” before, though this pipe sounds nice!
In their review, MCN summed it up with: “The MZ Mastiff is solidly-built and with looks that could launch nuclear missiles, “aggressive” just about sums up the Mastiff. However, it’s a great road bike, easy and huge fun to ride. Perfect pulling power for townies or twisties and tough enough to withstand abuse and the elements. Pleasantly unusual, too. It’s a goodie.” Here’s hoping they’re right!
At first blush, this ~8,000 mile example appears to run great but it needs new tires and a little cosmetic love – it’s missing three of four turn signals and a few bolts to mount the seat, tank covers, and front fender (which is mounted higher than it should be). But that appears to be it for now…
The day after I bought this Mastiff, I took it to lunch to meet my friend Randy. Upon learning that this is called a Mastiff, he promptly placed his gorgeous Australian Shepherd named Kassidy on it for some dog-on-sort-of-dog goodness. Awww.
The smart thing to do would have been to give it a service before riding it, but I couldn’t help myself because I was so eager to give it a shot. I instantly regretted that as the bike handled horribly because the tires are were so squared off.
As soon as I got back from lunch, I asked one of our mechanics to swap out the tires for Pirelli Diablo Rosso IIIs and flush the fluids so that it was mostly roadworthy.
Say hello to Angel!
It still needs turn signals, mirrors, and a new brake lever (it’s gone down on the right side), but I want to keep riding it while I wait for those parts to come in.
So, is there anything you want to know about a MZ Mastiff while I own it for roughly one month? I took it home tonight (it thankfully handles so much better with the new tires) and tomorrow I’m going to take it to the Rock Store for its first proper ride!