Maico on the Comeback

BUT WILL THEY BE ACCEPTED? Ever since the nightmare of infighting of the Maisch family in Germany, the fortunes of the famed Maico motorcycle have been up and down, with the emphasis on down. Various groups – including the brothers who destroyed the marque – have tried to bring the Big Flying M back to a position of importance, but the efforts have been feeble and ill-guided, in general. First it was M-Star, which was nothing but the older models renamed, and brought into the country by Ted Lapadaikis at Hercules Distributing. This lasted about two years and went nowhere. Then the name flitted around from place to place, with all of the bikes being the old iron with new stickers. Meanwhile, the rest of the dirt bike world was in the process of making quantum leaps. A few die-hard fans bought the bikes, and realized they were nothing but re-hashed stuff . The new concern that will be offering the Maico name to the world is located in Holland. You got it; Maico is now being made in the Netherlands. Seems strange, does it not? Much of the information we received is directly from Maico Motorcycles N.V. Schoudermantel 37, 3981 AE Bunnik, The Netherlands. The international phone number is: 31 30 659 44 44 and the FAX is 31 30 659 44 43. The email address is maico@nedernet.nl Now you know how to contact them. But will you want to? Hmmm. Let’s study some of the information sent to us:

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• Maico will have two new models: a 250 and a 500, and both will be offered in both enduro and motocross versions.

• The factory has a new plan which provides not only for the development and production of a range of cross-country motorcycles, but also for a complete range of scooters in 50cc, 100 and 125 cc versions. In Europe, scooters are still very popular.

• At present, Maico already has a substantial number of orders for the 250 and 500 cc models from all over the world, and this is why they expect to produce no less than 3,000 motocross and enduro motorcycles, plus a further 4,000 scooters for starters. In the 1999 season, 4,000 motorcycles will leave Bunnik and a total of 10,000 scooters and light motorbikes will be manufactured at Maico's completely new assembly plant.

• Work has been going on feverishly at the new Maico factory during the past few months on the dirt bikes. Although the new machines are basically broadly similar to the previous Maicos, in fact every part has been developed new and from scratch. Maico's engineers are trying hard to build the best motocross bike from a position of maximum power, while retaining light weight and good handling.

• If the numbers are to be believed, the new two-stroke 500 cc engine is the most powerful water cooled two-stroke in its class and puts out 67 horsepower at 6,500 rpm. The torque is also claimed to be higher and is also spread more evenly over a wider range. To achieve this, nearly every engine component has been updated. Thanks to the enlarged inlet manifold, the refined inlet flow conditions and the electronic ignition, the new Maico motorcycle is now among the most powerful and efficient 500 cc machines available, according to the development engineers.

• The frame has been designed by Maico's engineers - themselves all motorcycle racing enthusiasts - using advanced computer programs and based on years of competitive experience. The result is a very rigid frame, they say, enabling the Maicos to remain controllable even under very arduous conditions. The front fork and swinging arm are also new and more robust. The spring preload and two-way damping can be accurately adjusted both front and rear.

• The swinging arm is completely new and has exceptionally high rigidity: in fact the (torsion) rigidity is now four times as strong as the old design. In spite of all this extra rigidity, Maico has also succeeded in reducing the weight of the machine. The combination of a very rigid frame, suspension, re-engineered swinging arm and steering head bearing should give excellent handling traits.

• Details include ground and nickel-plated brake discs in the rear wheel, very wear-resistant and silent running gears, and all aluminum parts are ceramic-coated. Many parts have been cut in house via modern CNC machining, which should assure consistency in quality that previous Maicos never had.

• Some high quality parts are supplied by big names. Among them are Brembo, Domino, Regina, PBR, Metzeler, Goodridge, Marzocchi, Mikuni, Technosel and Magura.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS MAICO 500 500 Cross and 500 Enduro

• Engine … 2 strokes, 1 cylinder
• Cooling …Water
• Exhaust … HGS
• Bore/Stroke … 86.5 x 85mm
• Displacement … 499 cc
• Engine Power … 67 hp at 6500 rpm
• Carburetor … Mikuni TM 38
• Transmission … 5 Speed
• Ignition … PVL for MX - SEM for enduro
• Frame … Chromoly
• Front suspension … Marzocchi Magnum 50
• Front wheel travel … 305 mm
• Rear suspension … Twin link
• Rear wheel travel … 320 mm
• Rear Brake … Brembo, 220 mm Disc/single, floating piston
• Front Brake … Brembo, 260 mm Disc/double floating piston
• Tank capacity … 9.5 liter
• Wheelbase … 1480 mm
• Ground clearance … 388 mm
• Seat height … 960 mm
• Weight … 100 kg/MX - 111 kg Enduro

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS MAICO 250 250 Cross and 250 Enduro

• Engine … 2 strokes, 1 cylinder
• Cooling … Water
• Exhaust … HGS
• Bore/Stroke … 67 x 70mm
• Displacement … 250 cc
• Engine Power … 53 hp
• Carburetor … Mikuni TM 38
• Transmission … 5 Speed
• Ignition …PVL/MX model - SEM Enduro model
• Frame … Chromoly
• Front suspension … Marzocchi Magnum 50
• Front wheel travel … 305 mm
• Rear suspension … Twin link
• Rear wheel travel … 320 mm
• Rear Brake …Brembo , 220 mm Disc/single floating piston
• Front Brake … Brembo, 260 mm Disc/double floating piston
• Tank capacity … 9.5 liter
• Wheelbase … 1480 mm
• Ground clearance … 388 mm
• Seat height … 960 mm
• Weight … 97 kg MX model - 109 kg Enduro model