92000 125 Classic racer all Year´s Original
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Maico (Pfaffingen, Germany, 1926-1983)
The MAICO (Maisch brothers) motorcycle production began in 1926. Some light bikes with ILO engines were built before the second world war.
After the war, the business boomed after the introduction of the first self designed engine, a 123cc onecylinder twostroker. Mass production of the M 125 started in 1948. One year later the M 150, a bored-up 125, was added to the production line. These models were updated with a new rear suspension in 1951 (M 126 and M 151).
The M 175 (1951-1953) was a strong and light bike and very successful at races.
The 1953 FANAL was the first Maico with a fourspeed gearbox. The new M 200 was available in 1953; it had a 197cc onecylinder engine with 11 HP.
1954 was the year of many new models: the M 175 S, the M 175 T, the PASSAT 175, the M 200 S and the M 200 T were introduced that year.
The exciting MAICO TAIFUN had a sleek design with large sheetmetal panels. It was available with a 348cc 19HP two cylinder two-stroker from 1953-1956 and with a 395cc 22.5HP engine from 1954 to 1956.
The sporty BLIZZARD was built from 1955 to 1964 with a single cylinder 247cc 14HP twostroke engine.
Scooters like the weird and fat MAICOMOBIL and the fast MAICOLETTA were built in the fifties
Maico supplied the German army with 247cc all-terrain bikes, the M 250 B (B=Bundeswehr) in the sixties.
The Maico all-terrain bikes of the seventies were very successful at races. For the street, they built the MD 50, the MD 125 and the MD 250, all with a special intake (Drehschieber = turning disk with hole for better timing of fresh air/gas mixture). The last versions of the MD 250 were water-cooled (MD 250 WK).
Unfortunately, Maico went out of business in 1983.
Maicowerk A.G. was founded in 1926, originally assembling 98 and 123 cc Ilo two stroke motors. After World War II the West German motorcycle manufacturer began producing its own unit construction two stroke engines, selling engines and complete motorcycles. Maico (pronounced MY-co, similar to "Kaiser") made a brief foray into the automobile business with their own line of microcars in the late 1950s. Maico have also made Go kart engines.
The road motorcycles were named after winds... 'Blizzard' 'Typhoon' etc., but the company was better known for its purpose-built Motocross and Enduro machines, and for its 'Maicoletta' motor scooter, both of which sold in higher numbers than the road motorcycles.
Maico motocross (MC) and enduro (GS) racing models proved very successful in both European and American competition throughout the 1970s. While lacking the financial capital and big money race-team backing like that of the Japanese factories of Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki, Maico riders such as Adolf Weil, Åke Jonsson and Willy Bauer proved to be a serious challenge to the Japanese factories and produced numerous top three finishes in both World and US Championship motocross competitions. U.S. publication Motocross Action called the 1981 Maico Mega 490 the greatest open-class motocross bike of all time. The 1974.5 400cc and 440cc GP, and 1981 490cc models along with any year 501cc motocross bike are some of the most sought-after vintage MX and twin-shock motorcycles to this day.
Maicowerk AG filed for bankruptcy in 1983 but continued to produce small numbers of motocross and enduro models (re-badged as M-Stars in the United States due to legal issues) up through 1986. Subsequent manufacturers have purchased the brand name and applied it to their own limited production motorcycles. Modern open-class dirt-bikes are still being produced under the Maico brandname. The ATK Intimidator dirt-bike (reportedly the most powerful production 2 stroke motorcycle available aside from Maico's own bikes) features a Maico motor.
One of the largest contributions to the world of motocross suspension technology came in the 1974 season when the Wheelsmith Motorcycles team in the USA and the Gunther Schier teams in Europe forward-mounted the rear shocks on the Maico works bikes, immediately increasing the travel and ability to trump the competition. This initiated a frantic effort on the part of factory teams and privateers alike; chopping up their frames in a desperate attempt to remain competitive.
The Maicowerk AG company went out of business in the 1980s and its assets were taken over by a Dutch company.
The Maicoletta motor scooter of the 1950s was one of the largest motor scooters produced by any manufacturer until the modern era. The engine was a single cylinder 247cc piston port 2-stroke (an export version featuring a 277cc engine was also produced for use with a sidecar), with four foot-operated gears, enclosed chain drive, centrifugal fan cooling and electric start. This was fitted to a tubular frame built on motorcycle principles with long travel telescopic forks and 14-inch wheels. The Maicoletta had a top speed of greater than 70 mph, comparable with most 250cc motorcycles of the time. In the 1950s most scooters such as Vespa, Lambretta, were 125cc to 200cc with 8-10 inch wheels and a top speed of 55 to 60 mph, so the expensive but fast and comfortable Maicoletta developed a following amongst scooter club enthusiasts.
By modern standards the brakes (drum front and rear) leave something to be desired, but compared to those of other scooters from the period, the brakes are not inferior.
Pendulum starter An unusual Bosch 6v 'pendulum' electric starter system was fitted, which was quite advanced for the 1950s, and about which there are a number of common misconceptions. When activated, instead of rotating the crankshaft the starter used the generator coils on the shaft to rock it back and forth under the control of cams on the crankshaft. These cams closed contacts in the generator to trigger a reversing switch in the Control box that changed the crankshaft direction at the end of each swing. This gives the impression of the crankshaft continually bouncing back and forwards against compression, when operated. A separate set of ignition points fired the spark plug in the forward direction only, and when this fires the mixture in the cylinder the engine starts to rotate normally, the starter is released and the normal ignition system takes over. The advantage of this system is that the starter does not have to force the crankshaft to turn over against compression, so less power is required from the 6volt system. Its disadvantage is the unusual number of contacts, which can be difficult to adjust. The reversing switch contacts tend to wear out with extended use and can be very difficult to get repaired, hence the scooter's reputation for requiring roll starts later in life.
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