History of Maico's

[Bioflex]

I have done quite a bit of research over the last few months to find as much info as I can on the progression of Maico's over the last 40 years, primarily between 1969 - 1985 when the brand was still strong.

Though there are masses of sites with info, so much of it seems cut and pasted from the same source and there is very little info which focusses on the changes from one model to the next which is frustrating for an enthusiast who wants to understand the details.

Given we have some experts on here, does anyone care to put something like this together?
I could make a start but the gaps will be like Swiss cheese.

Things like when the square bore was introduced (67 or 69?)
In 1974 the engine had some obvious external changes and then again the magnum was introduced in what I think was 78 which ran to until it got water cooling I believe.
Obviously 81 was the first year of the 490, I can't quite get my head around what happened between that point and 1970 when the 501 was available but 440 seemed like the largest sign apart from a few rare 501's.


Chassis wise, 1974 then 1976 saw major travel changes which looks as if it didn't see any major refinements until 82 when the mono shock was introduced. No doubt quite a bit happened between those points though, particularly the front ends where travel changed and fork legs got thicker.

Visual changes are mostly obvious, but as some model pictures are hard to come by, even this isn't as simple as it sounds.

I realise something like this could take a long time to put together but if anyone has the time and knowledge to do it, it would definitely be appreciated.

[JETZcorp]

Well, I don't have quite the time or knowledge to write a complete history tonight... or... this morning, but here's some things just based on your post.

First, the Magnum thing.  The all-new Magnum engine debuted for the 1978 model-year as a 250, 400, and 440.  That continued unchanged (I think) through 1980.  In 1981, the 440 was replaced with the 490 (a simple bore job (so to speak)) and there may have been some other tweaks.  I know the early Magnum engines used a three-row primary chain (except the 250 which used a two-row) but then in 1981 that was changed to two completely independent chains on all models.  I'm not sure of what other changes may have been made, that's just one I've heard about and can recognize from the exploded-view diagrams on Opferman's site.  After 1982, another all-new engine was introduced in 1983, although the bore x stroke remained unchanged and remained so all the way until the blue Maicos, I think.  This new engine used a geared primary drive, a more conventional clutch, and only two shafts in the transmission rather than three like the Magnum engine had.  It also introduced a reed-valve for the first time on a big-bore Maico (reeds hit the 250 in '81) and was of course also the last model-year before the bankruptcy of 1983.

As for chassis development, I'm not a big expert on the pre-76 models, but I've seen enough of the rest to be pretty solid on them.  1976 was the first year for the fancy-looking "cantilever" frame, which was carried over to the 1977 model.  The Magnums had a very similar frame that looks absolutely identical, but I've heard that the dimensions on this frame were changed a bit from the previous 76-77 model, which would make sense given how radically different the engine's dimensions and center-of-gravity had become.  Suspension travel was 10" front and back on 78 and 79 Magnums.  In 1980, an all-new frame was developed that gave over 12" of travel front and back, without pushing the seat height into the clouds.  This, however, created an awkward riding position that felt like one was in the middle of a banana, so in 1981 they slightly decreased suspension travel (measure that one with a microscope) while tweaking the frame to bring the seat up a bit, so the distance between seat- and bar-height wasn't so crazy.  1982 brought yet another new frame to make way for the new monoshock design.  Then in 1983, even THAT was thrown entirely out the window for the new 1983 frame which was again quite different (first non-double-downtube frame from Maico in as long as I can think back, splitting from a single tube into a double in the style of modern frames).

[SachsGS]

The problem with attempting to decipher all the changes to Maico motorcycles during the Maisch years is that the changes weren't limited to model year runs but rather,occurred all year long,the most famous being the 1974.5 models which set the industry on it's head.Knowledge gleaned from racing was immediately incorporated into motorcycles on the assembly line.As such,there is an immense amount of information to chronicle (I wouldn't pretend to know even part of it) and would make a good university level engineering thesis.

I believe the end came about in 1986,the last year of Maisch ownership before Lorenze Merkle AG took over the helm.The 1986 models were,in typical Maico fashion,ahead of their time and even now I would love to own a 1986 GME 500.

[opfermanmotors]

I have a 1986 Maico 500, almost done being rebuilt. 


Maico: Rise and Fall of a Legend (HD)

[Bioflex]

Thanks Guys.