Maico - It's back!

[ol' boy]

May mean little to most here, unless you were into dirtbikes in the 70's and 80's

I remember when the Maico 400 was king
A big brash 400cc air cooled 2-stroke beast!



Now fetching good money in the Vinatge MX bike market!

But wait.... what..... Maico is back!!!
And, you can have a 500cc 2-stroke if you like!...... Or if you are just plain bonkers, they also offer a 685cc 2-Stroke!





I was frightened and intimated on a Honda CR500 the few times i rode one
I have no idea what a 685cc 2-Stroke would be like!
You'd certainly win the pissing contest or is that, the pissing yourself contest.

[WhiteOx]

Geez I'd forgotten about the Maico.
Who remembers the CZ 250 or the Bultaco Matador?

[ol' boy]

I just found out, the Maico 700 was around in 2015 (but the engine size was actually 685cc, as above)

There is a lot of small volume dirt bike factories starting up again lately
It is often the product of a larger company like KTM buying them out
Then the old factory sits there for a while, until a group of enthusiasts/business people re-invent it
An example is Husqvarna. Bought out by KTM, now the old Italian Husky factory is churning out SWM bikes using old Husky engines in their frame



Itajet and Jawa were cool, wonder what else gets revived

[Tactile]

Looks like a revamped version of that dog they made in the mid-90s. The German company that acted like an Italian one!

[Keith]

I remember getting a ride of a Maico 400 when I was 16. Couldn't get over the raw power when twisting that throttle. Thanks OC for bringing back a good memory.

[cmangle]

I remember a Maico dumping my ass right off in the middle of a cow pasture!

Good thing I had the sense to let go of the handlebars!

[VroomVroom]

I remember almost breaking my ankle trying to start one. wonder if they were smart enough to fit a decomp lever this time round?

[ol' boy]

I remember almost breaking my ankle trying to start one. wonder if they were smart enough to fit a decomp lever this time round?

I reckon that would make up 50% of a buyers decision not to buy one.
I remember how hard it was to start the Yamaha IT490L, especially when you were only 17

At least we had all the protective clothing sorted

[gordon_s1942]

I have wondered at times if some of these ball tearing dirt bikes were deliberately made hard to start so you spent more time trying than riding and killing yourself and that is the reason many are still here today reminiscing ?????

[lsemmens]

Mate had an old Suzuki 400 2 smoke. Would break your ankle if you didn't kick it properly. Another mate (who used to race) did some work on my DT175 which meant that, if you wanted to get above 3rd gear, don't give it much throttle or you'd find yourself sitting on you bum with a bike doing a mono down the road without you. Top speed was only about 80 Kph, but getting there was a lot of fun. My fondest memories were a Montessa Capra that another mate had. Never did get one.

[Rick]

I reckon that would make up 50% of a buyers decision not to buy one.
I remember how hard it was to start the Yamaha IT490L, especially when you were only 17

At least we had all the protective clothing sorted

Oh good grief that brought memories floating back, I had one of those IT's and my mate had the 200, fantastic engine but absolute crap electrics, they ate stator plates like they were going out of fashion, in the end I learnt how to rewind them myself saved us both a lot of money

[ol' boy]

Oh good grief that brought memories floating back, I had one of those IT's and my mate had the 200, fantastic engine but absolute crap electrics, they ate stator plates like they were going out of fashion, in the end I learnt how to rewind them myself saved us both a lot of money

The handling wasn't real good either Rick
The front end of any IT apart from the IT200 was well known to steer like an airport trolly.
It was so vague, you learnt to steer with the rear wheel, cos the front wheel was just there to stop the forks burying into the ground.