Maico: Rise and Fall of a Legend (HD)

The rise and fall of Maico
Credits
Super Hunky - Check out "What Killed Maico" articles
Randall Owen
Various websites on the internet
Music by Kevin MacLeod
******************************************************************
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[@ot3504]

I had great days as Maico's Team manager/ Maico West in Burbank, Ca 1978/1981. It was sad to see the demise we all saw coming when Maico sent over one of their Hotshot Execs to run the West Coast Operations. Tons of Fun at the Dunes w/ Danny in all his glory flying around on the Invisible Maico. Wonderful memories. Big thanks to "Super Hunky" for hanging the moniker "Maico's Bing Genius" on me in the 1981 Dirt Bike Magazine article, Maico 490 - Guaranteed Holeshot. I hadn't given it much thought until I fell onto this video today. Nice work. And NO, the USA did not try and change the Maico name and to those that like to shout Maico Breako. You obviously never had one, never rode one, wished you could afford one or don't know what a Wrench is. Cheers

[@jccook5353]

Awesome post. I remember Rick Super Hunky, Dirt Bike Magazine, and the DBMGYT (Dirt Bike Magazine Great Yellow Truck) or something like that.

[@markorkarenhanes1354]

I was 24 in 1981, and bought a brand new 490 Maico. What a blast that bike was. Insane ability to climb the scariest hills and fly down winding desert roads were the best of times. Unlike Japanese big bores, Maico made there horsepower and torque, with a long stroke and high compression. That high compression really benefited from the high octane aviation fuel I fed it. Had a nice pop and smelled good too.

[@chrismully1458]

I rode one of these big bore monsters. One of the fastest dirt bikes I threw my leg over and it handled great. Still remember grabbing a hand full of throttle and the ground just exploding underneath the rear tire. Wish I could still have that bike today.

[@timothyblanton4225]

Thanks for the story line. I raced in the early 70"s on Maico's. I started with a 250, then a 400 square barrel, then a 501 (holy crap!!!!) then the first 400 radial fin in the U.S. Love them all. Went thru more second gear sets in the 250 then you can imagine. Won a lot of races in Texas on my 400 Radial Fin. Got two years out of it racing almost every weekend and never did a thing to it other then re-mount the shocks to forward mounts (home project). Loved them all. Thanks for the memories.

[@sammlertube9785]

Please excuse my bad english, I am a german guy. The years 73-85 I lived in Ammerbuch, where Pfäffingen belongs to. We knew Maico very well, because the Maico MD50 was the fastest of the 50cc models we were allowed to drive at the age of 16 in 1973. Even in the 250cc - Class, which was very famous in Germany this time, the Maico MD250 was the lightest and the fastest of all models, compared to the Suzuki GT250, Yamaha RD250, Kawasaki KH250 or the Honda CB 250, which was the slowest. Honda was a four stroke 2cyl. model, Yamaha and Suzuki were two stroke two Cylinders, the Kawasaki was a three-cylinder 2-stroke. It was exotic and no one here bought it. Only the Kawasaki 500 Mach III was famous and it was called the widowmaker. The Maico streetbikes were one-cylinder two-strokes, the special of Maicos street bikes was the Rotary vane inlet. (Not the dirtbikes) Maico missed the development of liquid cooling and 2-Cylinder Engines. The real reason, the company went down, we knew as neighborhood insiders, was, that Otto an Wilhelm Maisch always had trouble with each other. They worked one against the other instead of working together. Depending on mass-production the Japanese Bikes were around 20 % cheaper than Maicos. The Market in Germany was a market of street bikes. Probably they would have survived, building only dirtbikes. In Pfäffingen ist still existing a small Crew of former Maico workers, who bought the parts and still can maintain old Maicos. What's sold as "Maico" later than 1995, has only the name "Maico", but not the quality and class of their bikes.

[@Drifty40]

I had a 250, 440 and 490 Maico back in the 80s, I wish today I'd kept at least one if them. Fantastic bikes !

[@Thatwackytech]

We lived and Breathed Maico, & Penton/KTM back in the early/mid `70's, we owned a bike-shop in Lincoln, NE, selling BOTH brands, being our own best customers..@ one point we owned the FIRST EVER (in the US) radial-head 125cc Maico, the FIRST EVER (imported to the US) KTM powered penton 125, we had 15 different bikes, from a 501, to a 114 cc Penton, (you could REALLY bore the HELL out of those old Sachs 100cc engines) My Dad designed a 45 degree "laid-down rear shock" setup w 9" of travel, that Adolph Weil HIMSELF took for a spin @ Carlsbad CA, & RAVED about... (He liked my Dad so much that he dug in the works van, & pulled out a set of MAGNESIUM left & right-hand clutch & point-covers to fit my 250, & GAVE them to us.... How many people do you know with a "Authorized Factory Maico Technician" certificate signed by Selvrage Nariano Himself? Well, there's MY "used to be" (& I KNOW, USED to be, & a token, will get you a bus-ride)

[@ragtie6177]

Thats an awesome story! Amazing! I have the 81 490 Mega II tha Wheelsmith Maico in Costa Mesa, California set up from the Factory for Magoo Chandler. Ive owned it since the end of 82.

[@devotidchannel]

Im 40 and my father had maicos all growing up. He raced many enduros in the 70-80's with them in Michigan (Jack Pine, Bur Oak, D14 etc).... he did very well and claimed it was the fastest scariest meanest machine he had ever battled trees with. THey are legendary to me. Thanks for your story. :)

[@scottyboy7462]

excellent story. riding all my life. never had or rode a Maico, but when i was a kid in the 70’s, they were just the coolest bikes out there. they had an undeniable mystique. thanks for sharing. Di they still manufacture them today?

[@donnyhitz]

What shop did you have? I grew up in Lincoln in the 60's and 70's (I'm still around the area). I absolutely coveted Maico's, Penton's and later on KTM's, but could only afford Hondas and Yamahas.

[@mugwump58]

@@scottyboy7462 www.maico-bikeworld.de/en/motorcycles/neumotorraeder-2013/maico-500-cross-17-detail.html

[@df9834]

Grew up with 2 of these powerful beasts. Very fast, but very high maintenance, but very happy days. So sad to see such an iconic brand suffer so much 😩

[@lpiston]

Just rolled on to this site from SoCal. I started racing a 69 Bultaco Pursang, switching to a 71 Ossa Stilletto and finally to a 73 Maico 400 Radial. Bast Brothers welding fabricated the frame to forward mounted shocks. I was one of the first Open Junior riders in my area to have that set up. Through the years I (owned) raced Maico 450, 250, back to 400 and finished with a 490. The best handling, most usable powered bikes I have ever owned. Brings tears to my eyes to see what happened to this fabulous company. Thank you for this informative video and thank you Maico for the memories.

[@designertjp-utube]

Great Maico Story! Those 2-Stroke 2-Wheeled Beasts of Cycle Prey sure looked awesome right up to the end! Back in '74 and '75, I used to watch Maico Motocross Privateer Legend Billy Payne "flat out obliterate" everyone on the the dam track! He definitely had the Maico's unique handling characteristics "dialed in" big time!

[@FailsAndFightsFNF]

Damn dude, you know everything about Maico. Love your vids by the way.

[@Maicowerk]

Thanks! Glad you enjoy them!

[@davidweimer8880]

Right out of college, in 1973, I worked for AFS Distributors in Lewistown Pa. A to dealer only distributor of motorcycle accessories. Like helmets, plugs, expansion chambers, tires, etc. But just up the road in Reedsville Pa. was Eastern Maico, the distributor of Maico parts and bikes east of the Mississippi. Always something good going on there to see. Those were the days.

[@trailblogger]

great video! it was very interesting to learn about these old german two strokes! thanks for posting.

[@roberts5482]

In the early 70's we were taking Maico front ends putting them on Suzuki TM's. We cantilevered the rear shock mounts and ran Bilstein gas shocks. The Tm's were shorted so with these changes you had a great handling bike. Ocelot engineering was the best engine builder in those days. That was the process to get your bike competitive then. After the RM's very little had to be done and most design was left to the factories. Seat cushioning and tire selection and some porting was about all you had to do when the big changes came from Japan. That is what finally got me into engineering.

[@keithhenson2684]

I had a 1979 440, that bike was a beast. 11 inches of travel that was definitely ahead of its time. That bike would move. The old Maico Breako. Wish I still had it.

[@cosmopolie]

Well done and thanks for putting this together. I want the new one. whenever.....

[@bassjumpblues3631]

And, so it goes, every Maico that my friends bought lasted a few months. Parts were hard to get taking months to deliver. Dealerships were in peril, They made more fixing than selling. Kawasaki was the big-ticket in my town but Honda made history with the Elsinor. I loved watching this!

[@scooterdriver112]

Thats great, that people like you still keep the history of MAICO alive. That were the best machines. i got a MC 250/T. this summer ill repair the motor. dont know what "Dichtungen" and "Kolben" are called in english. but those two things have to be replaced by new ones and it will work. greetings from germany, Flo

[@juerbert1]

Seals and Pistons !

[@evilelf5967]

i remember the air cooled 490 back in the day,had a go on one,what an animal that thing was,scared the crap out of me,somethings you never forget.

[@GroovyVideo2]

Great show - Thanks

[@captainnemo063]

😎☝; One of the Best Motors🏍 in the wold ...I was crazy for mico 440 Red in the 80th ...it is just 💣💣💣💘💘👍👍✌👊👊👊

[@timothyblanton4225]

I had the first Radial Head 400 in Texas... what a rocket ship. I loved that bike and could go like the wind. My wife could change out the second gear cluster in record time, and it's a good thing cause I ate a bunch of those but won plenty of moots too.

[@Maicowerk]

Timothy Blanton Good bikes for sure!

[@rhllnm]

Loved Maicos, CZs and Huskys (my favorite) racing around Houston in late 60s early 70s. When Robbie Holbert was the man. My brother raced a Sachs 125 with leading link front end. THAT was motocross baby.

[@chromezone4371]

Great video. Thanks

[@monkeyintensity]

though I have always been a Honda person , I do wish Maico was strong today , like Husky or KTM .Maico built some brilliant bikes. Sadly missed here in Australia...

[@catdaddy3302]

I had a 77 Maico 400 when I raced in the 70s. It was the best dirt bike I’ve ever been on. I ride a Triumph Tiger 800 XRX now. And there’s no comparison in torque and power in general. The Maico even rode better, smoother. I wish I still had it.

[@OtoCardona]

nice video, great job, thanks for sharing.

[@Maicowerk]

Thanks!

[@2stroke1971]

Nice vid! Thanks!

[@mrmaico]

Great video. I had a 75 250 I bought new then a 78 400 and 73 501. That 78 was the best handling bike I've ever ridden. I'd love to have an 81 490. Hell I'd love to just get a chance to ride one!

[@nedwalport4426]

I remember way back in the 1970's wishing I had a job like Super Hunky (first and finest editor of Dirt Bike magazine). I still do .....

[@craigywaigy4703]

I had a fierce 1983 Maico 490 that ate gearboxes regularly. An absolute animal of a machine when running, but often broke down! I engine swapped in a Suzuki TS250 engine to do reliable trail riding. Happy days! Keep safe and well.

[@Maicowerk]

I used to own a 74 TS250. Great engine for sure. Ya 83 had the heat treatment sabbotage. My 83 Maico 490 I put 1984 Maico gears in. Same gear ratios, just have the full treatment and they added the needle bearings to the gears. Trail ride it for many years now, never an issue at all.

[@craigywaigy4703]

@@Maicowerk yeah I had a 1974 TS250 also :) Great reliable bike - I kearned to ride on this as an 11yr old. She was a heavy bike for a youngster, but it toughenend me up. I remember arguing with some guy at a place I used to ride at, that my Maico was a 490, because he thought the "gearbox looked too small"! My decompressor was non-existent and was replaced by a plug and bump starting!! Nice work on the video, as I hadn't realised Maico had lingered on after 84, and I always blamed the unreliability on it being Italian!!!

[@buddahsmack]

Very interesting video, nice job!

[@fredd3867]

Good history lesson for the uninformed Maico public. I worked at the Suffolk, Va. distribution center when the moved down from Pa. in the late 70s. I packed and shipped the parts to all the dealers and unloaded shipping containers full of bikes.

[@khkartc]

I still remember Super Hunky’s mid-70s article in Dirt Bike magazine about the Maico 501 and everything the owner would have to do to the thing to keep it from tearing itself apart-and how unwitting buyers would end up with a pile of crap in short order because no one warned them.

[@tad3549]

Yep, remember reading Super Hunky’s work in Dirt Bike! Trip down memory lane.

[@khkartc]

@@tad3549 I even remember the title of that column (about the Maico 501): “The Happy Hooker: A Good Ride Costs Plenty.”

[@tellmesomething2go]

WoW! I remember those old Maico`s. That`s going way back, to 68. Never had one, but might have looked at one.

[@scottyboy7462]

excellent story. thanks for posting! do they still manufacture Maico’s today (2018)?

[@robrich8294]

The first 81 Maico 490 Mega 2 I bought was almost completely restored minus the rear pogo stick shocks and the guy had welded gusset plates to prevent frame cracks and just to reinforce the frame structural integrity. I was 18 yo and paid the guy in Torrington Connecticut of the US $800 US Dollars. Well he even had a Maico Race top and when I first took it for a ride went out in my back trail to get to a dirt road. About 800 feet from my parents house the rear wheel locked up and was stuck. I wasn’t even going fast and disturbed as to what happened. So I took the top end off and to my horror the circlips were installed incorrectly. The cylinder liner cracked and a chunk busted off. So that was utter disappointment. Luckily like 3 months later in the Bargain News Advertising magazine found the same exact 81 Maico 490 Mega 2. This one had stripped kickstart shaft teeth so it had to be pop started by running down and put it gear as it ran incredible!! For a measly $300 US Dollars and this bike was from the Hartford Connecticut area. I put the largest sized front sprocket you could get for it and thought it was a 17 tooth front sprocket. My brother followed me going 110 mph compared to stock front sprocket of 80 mph. I never raced it and parts were outrageous in cost. $180 for a Maui Piston. $636 for a cylinder. Those rear shocks were pogo sticks. I’m lucky I didn’t get killed with that bike. Funny thing was I saw Doug Henry and a few of his friends practicing racing in Oxford Connecticut by the Lake Zoar’s Stevenson Dam. I tried going on those whoops but it was absolutely useless with that suspension. Plus I didn’t have sand tires either. I was going to ask if Doug or his buddies wanted to take it for a ride. He had like a 90-91 YZ 125 so I they must’ve been chuckling and laughing uncontrollably. I loved the bikes controllable power band and recall the Bing trickle carburetor. Well I ended up trading the two bikes to someone in MAINE who new their value. I got involved in running a used Atv & dirt bike salvage yard back in 1995 and had no outlets for the bike and saw quick profit in trading it off.

[@user-lx5km8tl8o]

Die schönsten moto cross die jemals gebaut wurden bis zum heutigen Tag Schade um diese Marke ❤❤❤

[@WetDirtProductions]

awsome video. good job, sick bikes too 5*

[@JackF99]

Nice pix. Background "music" makes me grateful for inventor of mute.

[@piersdowell832]

Thanks, A really interesting Video, I worked for Merkle for 6 months or so early 1991. It was an abortion there really , Lorenz spent more time down the pub than running the show. However the last Pfaffingen bikes of '86 & especially '87 were really great bikes, I wish i still had the '87 250, best bike i ever owned.

[@Davewilliamson5w]

I had 4 450 Maico's in 1979. They were awesome! the weakest link for me was the front wheels exploding. We replaced them with SUN.

[@GarryThomassaltyreefers]

omg i can remember when i was a teenager these were available for very small amounts in the uk until vintage motocross came popular. awesome machines the early models were

[@tommyvasquez7949]

i remember growing up my old man had a old 490 or 500 maico the thing was a beast. way ahead of there time! they should bring maico back and put it against ktm and the others!

[@Maicowerk]

Search for "ADB A test of Time" They did pit a 1981 Maico 490 against a KTM 525 in 2003.

[@willyvlyminck201]

tommy vasquez KTM could be interested. After all they did bring Husqvarna back to top, so why not Maico?

[@dustyroads5409]

A whole lotta power, good times back in the days.

[@450hp202turbo]

@jhareng i have a maico mx 125 1968-69 mabe the only 1 in Australia .video is up !

[@gypsymanjeff2184]

If only..the $ is king...there still awesome bikes I just sold my VOR 530 EN.& still have my ATK 605..both ahead of there time bikes ..wish they had ..GO FUND ME ..back then maybe they'd still be a viable front runner...but gr8 vid s all of yours.keep them coming.brother

[@hugieflhr03]

I always thought Maico was an Italian manufacturer and to tell you the truth, I’m 53 living in NJ and I never seen a Maico in person.

[@Vintageoutboardreviver]

so based on what you have read if you could get your hands on a new/newer maico. would you get one because you like the bikes or just to have one for the collection?

[@jhareng]

Nice to see this hasnt turned in to a slanging match, we will both have our differences and share a common interest, keep up the great work. Maico did do 125's but very rare, know of two used in 1980, my mate had one and Rob Andrews who i used to beat then. Ps i have a piccy of a Maico 440 behind me on a KX250A5- No smilies

[@manos3790]

Thanx for posting this Maico chronology, I used to own a 1980 440cc in 1985 quite a feat for a 16yr old, mind you it scared the living crap outta me LOL I would totally love to own a late 80's 490cc right now! I like the modern red/black too, although I think the original red of the 80's is such a purposeful looking bike? The light blue of the 90's is not my cuppa tea though.

[@900rde]

Great Video! I'm living approx. 25km from her first factory...

[@eoinmcgowan]

very good

[@flintrock8433]

Was called the ultimate privateers bike in the 70s As one article put it, everything was quality and really didnt need after market parts. Loved watching magoo race his

[@blinko656]

My buddy and I owned a Maicos in 1969. They shipped two of them over from Germany. I think we bought them (2) for $600 each very close to that lot of negatives to the bike first all the compression was a leg breaker you had to be very, very careful. Hard to start but it was fast. Can’t remember the size engine now 600 cc maybe somebody can correct me. It had a blue tank. We took them over across the bay in California and race them. My buddy and I were outclassed by the experienced riders But on a straightaway, we kept up with everybody. I remember mixing oil with the fuel always does seem to be a pain in the butt. I drove it once from Redwood City to Sacramento to see my (120 miles) mom with an extra 5 gallon container of gas strapped to my front handlebar. I rigged a brake light on it which was basically all you needed and I had some sort of license plate. Anyway, I may have had one of the first not sure. Sold it within two years. Oh my dad made a nice plastic sign that I put in the back of my El Camino which read Maico . I was so proud of it. I was in San Francisco part doing something up there one weekend, and a gentleman walked up and said oh Maico , you have a Maico and I replied yes, I thought at least somebody recognize the name. He was referring to a sewing machine, not a motorcycle, I went oh UGG.

[@alanair7019]

Good to watch

[@mikeskidmore6754]

Looking at Maico's from a distance and in Magazines they always seemed to be the coolest most high tech dirt bikes out there.. I knew a guy who had one.. He always ripped across the School playground I was I was in 4-H softball or Rocket Foot ball practices.. A friend of mine is Buddies with the Owner of the Maico Dealer in Grand Rapids MI "Dirt Works " May be retried by now.. Alpine Ave M-37

[@easydoesitmikey]

Good job.

[@CONTACTLIGHTTOMMY]

I raced MX around Texas from the mid 70's to early 80's. Started out with a fairly tricked 73 CZ 250, and later bought a new Maico AW 250. The AW had that fork tube manufacturing defect in which the tubes were not heat treated properly, and gradually bent. Dealer replaced for free tho. The AW was good, but I never made much money with it. Needed a little more top speed. While stationed in Berlin in 1985, I came out of retirement aboard a borrowed 490. Big mistake...because even tho I was a lot stronger, I did not have the MX conditioning in my hands and arms. I styled like a superstar for about 4 laps of practice before I realized I could never hold on to that 490 for a complete moto.

[@henrymorgan3982]

Nice history lesson!

[@tonewall1]

alot more than just port timing...crank size weight ,balance..intake lengths, carb size...pipe...ignition type and weights ,advance curve (if any,..lol) and motor position even

[@tejastiger61]

Awesome Video .... Simple informative ..... BRAVO ...! Speaking from historical fact ... It is ah damn frighting experience to be passed by ah BIG Maico in tight woods or on ah fast fire road and be pelted in the face mask and chest with rocks, twigs, gravel and debris of all description .......... It was one of the few bikes you could here coming up behind you .... And you knew to get the Hell outta the way..

[@johanzander4399]

nice video good job, realy intresting two strokers are a magnificent pice of engenering iven if its old. anybody rember saab two stoke car its souds awsome reving up

[@Maicowerk]

Johan Zander Thanks, glad you like the video! Within the next year I plan to remake this video and it will be a lot longer and have more details.

[@TheOfficialKC]

How is the current engine still based on the 490 if it is water cooled? Is just the porting the same (for the 500)? You'll need all new cases and cylinder to support water cooling.

[@drumdude46]

That Item @ 1:26. Oh my God. Now 'That's'....a Work of Art. A real man's Machine. hate all the new fangled, 'mono-shock'...water cooled, slim tank, uni-cycle seat and injection molded frame bullshit. Give that early 70's Desert-MotoCross MAICO, all day!

[@madeljacky]

I had a 1982 250 Maico, gold rims, blue seat and mono shock. I remember well the kick start being on the left hand side and it was very tall for me to ride. Sold it years ago but somehow i wish i still had it.

[@Desert10075]

I had a 400 maico coffin tank model. You could pop a wheelie going down a sandune crest( the drop off). It would hold a straight line in the whoops and turn tighter with new metzler one race only tires. If the timing was off ot kicked back HARD. One time it kicked back and the kickstarter went through my motocross boot and about an inch into my leg. When I pulled my leg away muscle tissue flopped out onto my boot, it looked like sliced onion. I got stitches, tried to figure out why it happened and kept riding it, eventually I was riding it and somebody drove up to me in a 53 Willie's jeep with a 350 chevy and asked to swap straight across. I said ok but wanted to keep my bell moto 1 helmet. They wanted the helmet but the trade was made.

[@robertthomas2001]

Bought a 400 in 1974. Laid the shocks down for more rear travel. I found the bike's unusual handling characteristics difficult to to become instinctive with. Late in my first season we became one, it seemed you needed to jamb the front forks into corners with power on, that's how it worked. directly opposite of my Pursang Bultaco.

[@drumminfreak999]

Off topic but you spelt search wrong in the last slide but besides that I loved it

[@gregoryadkins2213]

Still have my 1972-Bultaco Pursang,bought brand new way back when.and my brothers 1971 Harley(in name only)Aermacchi(Baja-100)

[@ericheine2414]

You can hear them coming. They made a certain sound. Then came the Yamaha YZ. "Iron American Dream" on KZbin. A motorcycle song, about Harley Davidsons. All bikes are fun bikes.

[@Tide12NC]

My Uncle raced for Maico in the 70's. Furman Gray from Alabama.

[@Maicowerk]

@jhareng Ya, Maico 125s are extremely rare and I think they stopped making them in 1980. They also share nothing in common with the larger bikes, the engine is completely different.

[@Maicowerk]

There are a few videos of newer maicos will send the links

[@kevinbryan60]

I raced Marcos in the 70s first a 440 then a single shock 490 frightening fast

[@TheDaylll]

bought and raced a 450 (that's what Greg Smith called it at least.) with 1st moved-up shocks from Wheelsmith in Santa Ana. ($1865) Crazy torque and most fun mx-er I ever owned & I owned a few over the years back then. Saddleback, Carlsbad, Osteen's & et al. That yellow tank (fiberglass) 4-speed used to eat up that uphill start at De Anza. Needed lots of mechanical tlc though. Too much fun - full lock slides in 4th gear on high desert dry lakes too. Miss the hell out of those days for sure.

[@micksterboone4517]

Wheelsmith were the Maico experts back in the day.

[@azzionsmith7187]

Cool vid

[@Maicowerk]

Azzion smith Thanks, there will be an updated documentary in the near future.

[@pennywisetheclown2557]

Montesa, Bultaco, CZ. Monster fast engine with 3" of suspension travel, Hell yes it was fun!

[@jhareng]

I do have a piccy of my mate just after i passed him on his Maico 125 in 1980, though could have been 81? Can check.

[@coldwar8787]

The evolution of a company. Fathers build the company - Sons run company into the ground - grandson sells the company or "Fathers build the company - sons run company into the ground and go bankrupt. No one is ever going to have the same passion for a company as the people who originally build it. Shortcuts are taken, finance before quality (When quality = sales), and so forth. That being said we had a dealer nearby in the 70's that sold Maico, Can-Am, Hodaka and Casal motorcycles. (Not the Casal Mopeds but small displacement single cylinder Casal street bikes). As a teenager I was literally in love with both the Maico's and Can-Am's. Not impressed with the Hodaka's. I rode and raced a lot of different bikes as a teenager, but when I started riding Enduro I wanted a Can-Am Enduro so bad I could taste it. At one time I was riding Enduro with a Kawasaki 100 G5. I went from racing Enduro to Motocross by replacing the sprockets on the 100 G5 (62 tooth rear) and whatever it was we put on front and doing some tweaking here and there. About age 15 I move to a CR, but my tastes changed for racing and now I wanted a Maico so bad I could taste it. I used to hang out at the shop just to stare at those things. They were not only fast, they were beautiful. They looked fast sitting still. I could never afford a Can-Am or a Maico. All of my bikes were bought used except for my last MX, a CR125. After that I hit the street and never rode on dirt again. Roughly 1979-1980. But Maico and Can-Am were my dream bikes and I have been looking for one or the other 1970's model project to do a full restoration.

[@ScottRidesHonda]

+Opferman Motors Dirtbiking I wonder with all the different ownership did the quality and innovation of the bikes flex much?

[@Maicowerk]

+ScottRidesHonda Yes, it did. The most innovation I would say stopped in 1986 however, there was some afterwards. The 500 got the powervalve in 87 but it was the one that was already developed for the 250 in 86 so it was just extended to the 500. There was a lot of experiments for side-car racing in the 90s. In fact, there are dual cylinder 2 stroke prototypes. One was recently for sale in the UK. They increased the connecting rod length in 1993. They added a hydraulic clutch in 1999. The worst years are the late 1990's though, the 1998 or1999/2000 bikes had to be reworked because the factory in the netherlands was basically bankrupt and just threw bikes together. So koestler in Germany was fixing these bikes. He still produces them today as he took over production. Other than that period, the bikes were pretty good and the bikes that were reworked are good from those 2 last years. The innovation has mostly stopped though. Zabel still innovates as they took the maico engine in the 1990s and started their own innovation. Show less

[@ScottRidesHonda]

Thanks for the info!

[@MrMambott]

+ScottRidesHonda The back hubs would self destruct at 90 mph which could be a problem when flying through the desert lol

[@lomasck]

I see Maico made a 750cc single.only 3 were made.

[@griffikallend4665]

I had a go of the 95 model wat a beast awesome marshmallow suspension and smoth power easy to ride

[@Motorakid]

I agree with that the radiator shrouds are identical and stance and overall plastic is very similar.all in all a very good video though.

[@snowman1692]

cant find a video of a blue maico runnin and or being rid if anybody noes were please give me the link

[@losteroni]

In 2004 my friend bought a brand new Maico 490 enduro ( one of the blue ones ) I had no idea the history I thought they were Korean !

[@jeff40]

I don't think the Merkel or blue Maico 490 was new in 2004. The new ones in 2004 we're red,black and white. Plus the 490 became a 500 by 2004.

[@SuperKasper92]

what year is that number 37x orange maico

[@kodyman20]

got the chance to ride a maico 490 walked off and left my brother ktm 520 but landed like a sack of bricks. reminds me alot of a cr250 elsinore...... on steroids.

[@mountfields]

had a 400cc scrambler in the early 70s, used to scare the life out of us !!! wish i still had it !!!

[@MrMambott]

Best bikes ever ,, loved riding them ,, crazy days : )

[@Maicowerk]

+Steve O'Hare Glad you liked the video!

[@petergriffin4629]

I think this video is slightly too focused on MX. The reason Maico went bankrupt is simply there everyday sales. In the 50s European motorcycle brands died out due to the increasing availability of cars. Which is why Maico tried to build cars. This was a huge money dump and everything went downstairs from there on. You can't build competitive race machines if you don't have money buffer in normal sales. My granddad was a Maico works rider and became European vice champion and twice German champion on them. He was also heavily involved in their engine development and basically any development in house. Godfather was a worksrider in the 80s just before they went bankrupt. There is a rather famous picture in the German motorcycle magazine of the Maico facility when it closed. And you can see my dad and my godfather walking out of the building pact full with suspension parts and stuff like that. They were told to take everything they could before the tax people came.

[@kodyman20]

i rode a maico 490 for 2 laps over shot a 50 foot tabletop landed like a rock and swapped for about 50 feet before i ended up beside a fence radical bike though

[@exmerc58]

Us old schoolers will never forget Maco 400's . A master peace . I would love to own a square barrell just to start up . Have a 70 pursang now . Any body know what that one is ? Another master peace when Europeans ruled moto cross . Didnt take America long to figure out this thpe of racing though

[@jackjackattack9137]

Bultaco made in Spain I had a '76

[@peterbalac1915]

I had a bultaco pursuant, bloody animal all or nothing on the throttle bloody scary

[@peterbalac1915]

Pursang !

[@artmchugh5644]

Jim Pomeroy !!!! Racing those TACOs 😄😄😄😄

[@alanheath7056]

I want a motocross but want the best so lots of vintage to look at Honda ,Kawasaki ,Pursang, and list goes on

[@chuckfinley6156]

the old saying of Maico breako was said by everyone in the 70s.

[@JETZcorp]

I don't get why they got rid of the chain in '83. Granted, the 2- and 3-row chains in the old Maicos could provide a reliability issue, but in... I think it was either '80 or '81, they switched to a pair of non-connected chains, which cut wear and gave the Maico engine the reliability of gears with the power bones awarded by chains. I think it's an unbelievable testament to the Maico engineers that they got so much power from the '83 nevertheless! Very sad story, makes me want one even more!

[@65Peterle]

Nice Moped Gruß Peter

[@jhareng]

@DQE347 Must agree with you there to some extent, the Maicos probably peaked in popularity in 1980. I have piccies of 490 Yams in 1980 with 49hp quickest around at the time, elsewhere 1981. I was a 125 and 250 Expert racing in 125, 250 and 750 class nationally with KX's, all Maicos were slow and served as a battering ram in berms.

[@petergriffin4629]

Maico went bankrupt due to difficulties in the everyday sector. My granddad used to be a works rider for them.

[@DEANZO6]

Can I get one in the states?