Interesting link

[Recovered]

I had to think long and hard before I posted this link. I find it interesting. Some of you will probably be offended. I can't help that.

Just for the record, I don't know this guy.

If you don't like Maico's (or European bikes), don't open the link. Same thing if you are tired of hearing about this stuff. Just pass on to something else.

For the rest of you...........ENJOY!

PS. Make sure you read the whole thing, including the comments.

http://twostrokemotocross.com/2008/12/1981-maico-490-george-marshall/

[2smoker]

The problem with Maico is.. When they gonna go bankrupt again? They changed ownership more often than my underwear! LOL

[JETZcorp]

If only that big industrial sabotage thing hadn't happened, they'd still be in bidness in their original form today, I suspect.  They went from being #1 in 1981 to being broke in 1983.  I would love nothing more than to see some big-time pro take to the track with a 490, all tricked out with the custom shit he's gotta have.  Brakes, suspension, porting, etc.  Dial 'er in for, say, James Stewart and show the world how it's done.  I'd bet any money that he'd have that thing sideways in the air within half an hour of getting on it.

[Recovered]

The problem with Maico is.. When they gonna go bankrupt again? They changed ownership more often than my underwear! LOL

I don't know exactly how many owner changes they had. I will know for sure tomorrow. I remember Original Maico, then the guy who made the frame in Holland and called them M-Stars (great bikes as I know the history of several M-Star 500's...some were even air cooled!!!!!) and now Koestler owns them. Made in Germany. I hope you change your underwear more than that, because that covers THREE changes since the 1950's.

[JETZcorp]

I think there was more than that.  Not 100% solid, but I recall they had different owners during the blue Maico days.  I guess I'll have to wait for the Complete Madscientist Maico Ownership Report (CMSMOR).

[2smoker]

Here is a good video about the history of Maico...

Maico: Rise and Fall of a Legend (HD)


Hope they come with a radical bike in 2010... EFI, New Frame...Buying a Maico is like going to the Casino.. They need a racing team, contingency support, magazine coverages, more dealerships support..I don't see it happening really soon.

[JETZcorp]

That guy makes consistently great videos.  And, interestingly, he lives within 15 miles of me.

[JohnN]

Very well done video..... nice find 2 smoker!

Here are the links to the Super Hunky article entitled "What killed Maico"

Part 1
http://dirtbike.off-road.com/dirtbike/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=304294

Part 2
http://dirtbike.off-road.com/dirtbike/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=264374

[Recovered]

I think there was more than that.  Not 100% solid, but I recall they had different owners during the blue Maico days.  I guess I'll have to wait for the Complete Madscientist Maico Ownership Report (CMSMOR).

Hold your water and I'll double check. I was going from MEMORY. Which has been know to kick me in the jimmy once in a while.

[Recovered]

Ok, I checked with my almost unimpeachable Maico history source (since he is still a dealer, was the #1 Maico dealer in the US a couple of times, and has serial #1 and matching chassis #1 of a blue 500 Maico from 1991 I think, plus he officially imported the very last Bultaco to the US) and he said I was wrong. Go figure Madscientist was WRONG. I know, I know, hard to believe, but it's true. In 1983, after filing for bankruptcy, some cousins leveraged away the company from the daughters who were running part of the company. That got you M-Star. That went along until a guy whose name I have forgotten took over the company, in 88 or 89ish. Remember, this isn't a historical document, just a rough overview. That guy, whose name I can't remember, sold the company in 97-98-99ish. That's when the chassis were made in Holland. Koestler (current owner) bought the company in 2000 and has owned it since.

That's the best I've got but I will read the super hunky article again. Read it a while back but I don't rememeber like I did decades ago.

[Recovered]

Just watched the video and it's very good. But there are some question I have. The only pieces that are shared with the early 490's are the piston, wrist pin, wrist pin bearing and connecting rod. The reeds are the same as well. The crank halves are 490, but the crank pin hole is drilled further outboard to increase the displacement.

The cases are not the same. In fact, there have been updates in the cases since 1999.

And I was told the take over was cousins, not brothers. I could be wrong on that.

[2smoker]

Mad, Be prepares! you are the next one taking over Ma"y"co! Pretty soon the Factory gonna move to Selah, Washington! LOL

[Recovered]

Mad, Be prepares! you are the next one taking over Ma"y"co! Pretty soon the Factory gonna move to Selah, Washington! LOL

I wouldn't do it. Way too many brains to un-wash out there. Sorry.

[JETZcorp]

I say we move the factory to Maupin, OR.  There's two dudes who ride out there who are die-hard Maico fanatics.  One of them owns five Maicos, and the other is on here constantly and won't shut up about them.

As for the engine changes, you can see that there's a huge family resemblance from the 1983 cases.  It was the first year they used a geared primary, conventional clutch, reed valves, and two-shaft transmission on their big-bore model, and that basic formula was frozen.  By contrast, in the ten years before that, you can watch the cases change three times as they went from the weird "bubble" cases, to the cases used on the AW models (pretty similar engine inside) and then again to the hugely different Magnum engine.  In '83 they made another big change, then went bankrupt and only minor changes have been made in the 26 years hence.  But hell, even the Magnum cases (those used on the first and greatest 490) make CR500 cases look like a battleship in size.