Years ago I bought a 76 Maico MC400 (still have the bike) from a friend of a friend. I still remember driving down the guy's driveway and seeing it leaning against his house. My jaw dropped, the bike was completely original, unmolested and in good condition. I quickly resumed my "poker face", we negotiated a price ($300), I loaded up the Maischco and settled into a 4 hour drive back home.
The bike had spark and good compression so I quickly checked the airbox. Nope, no furry little guys with big ears in there. I'm not sure what made me check that beautiful, undented, downswept exhaust pipe but I did. The exhaust was full of seeds, over a 5 gallon bucket full to be exact. I can just imagine how long it took a mouse to fill that pipe up, a few seeds at a time.
Some of the 1976 Maico's had plastic tanks but mine is identical to the 250 (an aluminum tank).
When I bought my present home in the country the previous owner had had an old 1950 Chevy pickup stored in the back yard. Judging by the pine needles heaped up on the thing I guessed that truck hadn't moved in at least 10 years.You can imagine my surprise when the owner threw some gas and a battery in the truck, fired it up and drove away!
