I've owned, I think 9 Maicos in my 50 years, the last 2 Merkle produced 320 and 500s. I would have liked more, and deeply regret selling my 490 / 500s
I love Maicos, but don't eulogize them to the extent that some do. Great bikes, that have some how managed to be still produced.
What I, and I think, a fair few people are getting a bit tired of is the regular announcements by Maico International, without any real, tangible proof of the great leaps forward they are announcing / claiming. It so reminiscent of the old Italian ' new model' announcements of the 70s and 80s, it's not funny. Mind you , TM revisited this with their announcing their 2t EFI bikes last year, with no subsequent showing of them, or further news.......
2010s, I see a 86 Maico, updated, with beautiful alloy swingarm, nice alloy tank (but why the hell isn't it slammed down to the cases , to give a real benefit?) and some updates . Great stuff, and I'm sure a great bike, that I'd like to have. But not a innovative motorcycle.
I REALLY do hope we see these new (all new?) Maicos, with their super secret shock, super secret FI, with all the changes / new bits designed etc by some F1 / FI genius.
Some have raised the point of how marketing / sales / promotion has changed so much with the internet etc. I see that sort of leakage / teasing of news all the time, but eventually, you have to show people what you are touting / boasting about.
Please, it's about time we were actually shown some of these new Maico 2011s, and the coming innovations. I doubt it would lead to Maico International being gazumped by someone else, stealing their ideas etc.
I guess I sound negative here, but I really want the new Maicos of Maico International to succeed - the sooner they show what they have coming, the sooner they have a chance of people saying, "I've got to have that bike". A modern 380cc 2t is what I WILL spend money on, and I'd much prefer to spend it on a Maico than Any other brand!