Two Stroke Motocross

Two Stroke Motocross Forum => General Two Stroke Talk => Topic started by: wintrader on February 05, 2011, 06:45:33 AM

Title: maico 490 1981
Post by: wintrader on February 05, 2011, 06:45:33 AM

Does anybody knows how many were produced? So productionnumber of the maico 490 1981.

Title: Re: maico 490 1981
Post by: opfermanmotors on February 06, 2011, 12:55:50 AM

There were more 1981 Maico 490s produced in 1981 than the total motorcycles produced by Honda that year.

Title: Re: maico 490 1981
Post by: MXLord327 on February 06, 2011, 11:44:39 AM

Is that really true?  I know every 1981 CR was a total POS and the '81 Maico 490 was one for the ages - I wouldn't be surprised if Maico's sales were higher, but higher production numbers would shock the shit out of me......

Title: Re: maico 490 1981
Post by: SachsGS on February 06, 2011, 03:37:17 PM

Around 1979 /1980 Maico was selling more 400's in the U.K. then was Honda it's entire offroad lineup.

Title: Re: maico 490 1981
Post by: JETZcorp on February 06, 2011, 10:13:57 PM

But the Maicos were hand-built the ye olde fashion way so they were still a low-budget operation in spite of the massive sales.

Title: Re: maico 490 1981
Post by: ford832 on February 08, 2011, 05:33:56 PM

If you bought one,they probably kicked in another half dozen or so for parts-that would explain the elevated production numbers :)

Title: Re: maico 490 1981
Post by: JETZcorp on February 09, 2011, 12:30:24 AM

Only the early ones, by the time the '81 models rolled around, you could quite comfortably rely on a Maico, because the main points of weakness (down-pipe, fiberglass fenders, weak rims) had been pretty well ironed out.  They only got unreliable again when the internal sabotage deal hit for '82 and '83.  There were a few things Maico did that kept them lasting, too.  For example, instead of using aluminum clutch plates that liked to wear down and pollute the oil and such, their clutch design was small enough that they figured it was okay to use steel, which gave you a lot more life in between clutch changes.  For the longest time, also, Maicos went without reed valves, which in the early days did have a tendency to occasionally get sucked into the engine.  By some strange alien voodoo that no one fully understands, they still managed to get a better power delivery that the competition even without the reed valves, so they figured it was okay to go without the extra moving parts until '83.

Title: Re: maico 490 1981
Post by: SachsGS on February 10, 2011, 08:44:38 AM

It's strange how all those Maico Breako's from the 70's are now among the most sought after and the most popular vintage /evo race bikes around. ;)