DT May 2018

Japanese companies started learning how
to produce competitive big bikes, Maico
responded with the phenomenal 1981 490
featured here.
A brute of a bike, it had a staggering
spread of power and all the legendary Maico
handling habits, in spite of wimpy shocks.
People bought the bike in droves, and even
willingly paid the extra money for decent
aftermarket shocks.
The bike was so good, that every
Japanese factory bought several 490’s and
tore them apart down to the last nut and
bolt to study them. It took another three
years before Japan figured out how to
successfully copy the power-band of the
490 Maico ... and the copies were just that,
pale copies.
With this kind of brilliance, one might
think that success was assured at the Maico
factory, but, there were inner forces at work
to undermine all the good times…
Family feuds, poor manufacture and
budget cuts literally killed the brand.
In 1983, Maico came out with even
more outrageous power. It was so good, so
flexible, so usable, that to this very day, it’s
held up as a standard for modern MX bikes
to shoot for. I distinctly recall the press day
preview of the ‘83 490 and the introduction
of the Sand Spider models.
It was at Indian Dunes, and the gathered
magazine types and selected dealers who
got to ride the bike for a few laps came back
slack-jawed and shaking. The bike was
a pure brute, but a controllable one. After
riding the bike, I was equally impressed,
but concerned at the same time. The rear
suspension was horribly off, so much so,
that the bike sagged in the rear and the
shock did little more than move up and
down, seemingly at random.
When I expressed my concerns to the
Maico people, they shrugged and said this
was simply a prototype, and that all the
settings were off. The production bikes,
we were assured, would be correct in all
respects.
THE NIGHTMARE OF ‘83
People bought the new Maicos in droves,
based mostly on enthusiastic magazine test
reports. Few of the magazines knew that the
distributors gave the press carefully prepped
bikes, with most of the flaws removed…
But when the average rider/racer out
there bought the bike, the fan started getting
pelted with dung. Shocks broke on almost
every 1982 bike sold. In 1983, transmissions
started shredding gears like popcorn, and
even bizarre things like rear hubs exploded.
Dealers started getting bombarded with
complaints from irritated customers, and
even lawsuits from injured customers. When
a person buys a bike, he doesn’t expect the
rear end to collapse from a broken shock
when landing from a normal jump. And
he certainly wouldn’t expect a rear hub to
explode when braking at the end of a highspeed
straight-a-way!
By the end of 1983, Maico had a stake
driven into its heart. In spite of heroic
attempts by the U.S. Maico distributor to
warranty all the claims, the harm was done.
By 1984, Maico was in bankruptcy. From
that point forward, no matter who tried to
salvage the marque (M-Star being the first
futile effort), it was all over. Maico, as we
knew it, was dust…
THIS BIKE:
This is the mighty 1982 Maico 490. A
customer of Marks found the bike complete,
but it was seized and in a fairly sad
condition. In his usual fashion, Mark rubbed
his hands in glee, this is not your usual run
of the mill rebuild. This is something really
unique.
All in all, the project took around nine
months of TLC.
Chassis:
The bike was stripped to the frame which
was sent in for powdercoating. Some of
the parts were scrap – plastics, fuel tank,
spokes…
All of the electrical components and
wiring were still perfect – and the bike still
had spark, so that was a luck.
“The bike was so good, that every
Japanese factory bought several
490’s and tore them apart down
to the last nut and bolt to study
them. It took another three years
before Japan figured out how to
successfully copy the power-band
of the 490 Maico ... and the copies
were just that, pale copies.”
46 DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE MAY 2018
8_Greeting poster_KTM Factory Racing Team_Rev1.13_A2.pdf 1 2017/12/12 9:47:13