I just found an old magazine article that I printed off of the net sometime around 2000 entitled "MAICO LIVES".I'm pretty sure it was out of Dirt Bike magazine but it was basically a test ride of the ATK-700 Intimidator & ironically Frank White the main man @ ATK was one of the two test riders.
Towards the end of the article entitled "What A Great Airplane Motor" the other test rider(not Frank) said "It was like nothing I had ever ridden.It's kind of hard to describe,but just imagine having all kinds of power without any RPM.The motor would pull hard but when you opened the throttle for a big hill it would'nt necessarily do anything different.It would just keep droning along at the same RPM regardless of throttle position,engine load,uphill or downhill.In order to accelerate you would just upshift.Downshifts were strictly optional.
"The 680 motor is actually kind of mild" said Frank.It's very easy to ride,but it does'nt rev much.The 500 has less torque but it revs.The 620 does both.It's a brute.That's the one to have if you want to go racing.The most impressive part about the ATK/Maico was how civil it was.There was very little vibration.not much engine noise,the clutch had an easy pull and the shifting was fine. The article goes on to say that Maico had all the stuff figured out in the"80's".Especially on the Open bikes.
After reading that old article again just the other night,I thought to myself, "Damn,it sounds to me like ATK's version of the Big Bore Maico's are a far cry from the new versions from Maico International and they even sound weak compared to the all German Maico's that were still being made at the same time that ATK's version of the Big Bore beasts were! All I can say is I hope when Maico International's Maico's get here in the U.S.A. that I can afford to buy one before I get to old and to sick to take a few 100 blasts on one.....
