Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125890
another tooth up front or a few less in the rear. By some coinciden ce of German mathematics and American topograph y, th e UR Maico 4 00 gearing is just about perfect for the U.S. 5 00 GP co urse which h elps exp lain how Willi Bau er won there in '7 3 . The ' new Maico also enables yo u to at tack th o se bumpy uphills and the roll er coaster o f wh oo p-dee-de s you never did li ke just as q u ickly as seems int er esting to yo u a t the ti me . And when the turn co mes a t the end, as a tum almost always d oes, the 4 00 Mai co lets yo u d ecid e wh ether to get really tigh t and wast e no ti m e on the inside straigh t line, or lo op wide an d so ft , o r "Cl ass C " aro und the tu m w it h a rooste rta il th at wo ws t he kids and wastes yo ur time - if y ou 're racing. But it's your choice. You've paid your money . Now it wo n't do all th is without requ iring so me co mpromise and awareness on th e rider's part. Yo u never haue to pay attention to anyth ing the 400 Maico does. It won't h urt yo u even while its potential remains unused. If you do pay attention, you w ill soon no t ice that at speed, hitting sharp bumps, the new forks with nickel-steel tubes and dual in temal springs ar e harsher than last year's model. Th ey may still be the best on a production motorcycle - of any kin d - but th ey ar e not as best in con tr o l an d lac k of harshness as b efore. Part o f t hat st ems from th e fact th at the new rear suspensi o n and fra me ar e putti ng th e fron t di fferent dem ands o n suspension. If yo u're st ill payin g a tte ntio n to yo ur ride , yo u'll feel th e rear end kic k up as it gets unl oaded co ming o ut of co rners o r t to a less extent, ove r dropaw ay jumps. If yo u are gassing it very hard and very so on as yo u exit o r. durin g all that sho rt distance y o u sh o uld be m akin g th rough the air, yo u won 't notice it as mu ch . A t fir st it feels lik e so me bo d y has run up behind yo u and bash ed yo u in the ' back wh eel. It is no lon ger unsettling when you disc over the cure for th is fee ling: tum the righ t h and twist grip to ward yo u. Yes, yes . In acceleration mo de, really pushing and waiting un til the revs em barr ass yo u into shifting, the suspensio n goes all smooth and indomitable. Faster is almost always better on this 400 Maico . Gear ing, or cojones of the resident rider, will limit . .. but then the feeling may come as a side-effect to one of the best rear ends in MX. Progress in either end of th.e handling package tends to press the other's limits . top speed before frame or suspension start to interfere. Meanwhile, back in the pits, our hero prepares to start the 400 Maico. Our earl y production ex ample had a 36mm Bing to carburete th e 3 86ce of displacement; an y 400s y o u now purchase will h ave a 3 8m m Bing to th e cy linder. This attac hed attach m en t itself is much improved over pre vio us year 's models in that the carb do esn't fall o ff , either a t th e cy lin d er o r airbo x end. Some seri ous riders are even venturesome eno ugh t o leave o ff th e rubber band and spring carb retainers th at wer e a feature of most previous Maicos that we re raced to fi nis h. Start in g invol ves tic kling th e 36 Bing as o ne wo uld a Jikov 293 2 ca rbo (Th e 38 m m var iety is more forgiving o f th e heavy finge r, pulls as well at low end and a b it more at t op RPM but co nsumes pre-mix at an incre dible rate. A sand co urse and a heavy throttle h and migh t well ru n the stock 1.8 gallon ta nk dry in a 45-minu te moto . The 36 is mo re miserly w ith petrol .] Th en pull in on the compression release 'valve handle, twist just a tas te o f th rottle on , and come down on the kickstarter with a strong, loose-legged follow-through, just like you see the pros in the Trans-AMA do. Our personal adaptation to th is bike, which like some old British singles is a very individual motorcycle, was good. It had a reluctan ce to start when warm but otherwise responded . to our unspoken man-machine agreem ent even when o thers co uld n 't bump it alive. The Maico is a racing motorcy cle that requires yo ur involveme nt like few o th ers but if yo u are will ing an d ab le to give it, rewards yo u lik e few others do. You can win races, o r pl ace b etter than yo u ever anticipated , on a 400 "Maico even when yo u can no t d o it o n o th er makes. The time spen t with th e new 400 was lik e a n -affair with a beautiful, very sexy , but often aggra va ting wo man . It re q uires lo ts o f ca re and atten tio n , if yo u want th e relat ionship t o last , but in th ose m o ments of truth by wh ich life 's successes are measured , she delivers pleasure wo rth every mi n ute of the fuming an d frustra tion, The final sentiment, afte r three weeks when Maico m an ager C.H . Wheat as ked for h is b ik e back, was o ne o f regret : for every day we had the bike and weren't riding or racing it. The los t o .I:J .. .0 E I:J U Il.I Cl (Continued on page 46) Designed by and for people who must keep them running all season. Super-accesSible po ints stayed in tolerance over 30 racing hours. . 25 ....