1976 Maico 250AW

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Maico Motorcycles was established by the Maisch brothers in 1926 in Germany. But is was after World War 2 that production became serious as sales boomed. The Maicowerk AG company closed in the 1983. A Dutch company took control of the assets. There is a small amount of Maicos being produced in Holland.

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Maïco 400

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This Maico 400 MC epitomizes the early 1970’s motocross machine that became a permanent part of Maico lore and still represents the classic style…

The condition of this machine is highly original and, for the most part, un-restored, with some possible restoration performed to minor parts, including the exhaust. The frame number and the engine numbers are factory correct and original. It is 400 cc engine. The gearbox is also original to the machine. This Maico is completely original and has never been apart, has a fantastic patina to it that can’t be replicated, and is a true historical document that should be preserved for the future.

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1973 Maico 400

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By Tom White via : www.motocrossactionmag.com


German Wilhelm Maisch started making motorcycles in 1935 under the name Maico. Unfortunately, the company was soon swept into World War II and began building aircraft parts for Hitler's Luftwaffe. After the war, under terms of the surrender, Nazi party members were barred from majority ownership of German companies. To get past this law, Wilhelm, a party member, enlisted his brother Otto, who hadn't become a Nazi, to take over majority ownership of Maico.


By 1973, the Maico 400 and 440 models were the top choice of Open class riders in America. As showcased by Trans-AMA Champion Adolf Weil, the big Maicos had razor-sharp handling, linear powerbands, plentiful power, torquey response and excellent forks. This combination made them especially hard to beat at hard-packed tracks like Saddleback Park.


Unfortunately, Maico also earned a reputation for poor reliability. The chants of “Maico Breako” were often used to describe the German motorcycles. Fortunately, performance shops like Wheelsmith Engineering (Greg Smith and Sam Wheeler) in Santa Ana, California, were able to make modifications to improve the big Maico's reliability. Interestingly, the Maico 125 and 250 were never popular, though both were good-handling motorcycles. The price was probably the biggest problem, though not as much for the Open class riders, who were generally older.


In 1982, Maico followed the industry trend and introduced a new single-shock design. Unfortunately, the questionable Corte Cossa shocks broke, often within the first couple of laps. The resulting financial bind (and Maisch family feuding) resulted in Maico going into receivership and a series of failed revival plans. It is still in business in England today.




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Ake Jonsson's 1972 Maico's

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Via the Great website : www.vintageworksbikes.com

Featured here are Ake Jonsson’s 1972 Trans AMA Maico and his 1972 GP
Maico. Both bikes in Sweden.

Ake Jonsson began his career in Sweden riding for the Husqvarna Factory
Team. Back in those days, there were no Husqvarna dealers so riders
sponsored by Husqvarna dealt directly with the factory. Getting factory support
proved difficult for Ake, being over shadowed by World Champion’s Bengt
Aberg and Torsten Hallman. After finishing third in the 1968 500cc World
Championship, Ake was hired by the Maico Factory Team.


1970 was a tough year for Ake and Maico. Despite the seemingly constant
mechanical problems, Ake managed to once again finish third in the 500cc
World Championship. Going into the final World Championship race in 1971,
Ake had a slight lead over Suzuki’s Roger DeCoster. While leading the race,
Ake suffered mechanical issues with his Maico and ultimately lost the title to
DeCoster. Ake went on to dominate in the 1972 Trans-AMA held in the United
States, winning nine straight races and the title!


Ake moved to Team Yamaha in 1973. Mechanical issues kept him from
repeating his performance of 1972. He retired from motocross a few years later.


Ake remains in Sweden today and recently retired from running his very
successful Yamaha dealership.




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Vintage Maico

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Maicowerk A.G. began 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 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.

Picture courtesy of : rageracing.com

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.

Picture courtesy of : virginiabritishmotorcycleclub

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.

Picture courtesy of : kramer-sportsmotorcycles

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[2]. 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.



Also check out this excellent website : http://www.vintagemaicos.com/