Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

I Maico's radicaUy new" s" " i i • The more things change, the more they stay the same ~ O"l By Jim Gianats is ,......, The new 5-speed 250cc GP Maico IS a little hard to explain. From its shoulderless Akront alloy rims on up, almost the whole bike has been changed. This isn't easy for a sma ll facto ry like Maico, to bring out a completely new design, w he n t heir past pattern of continous detail Improvements would see m a less, ex pensive an d easier ro ute to foll ow . Though the whole b ike is new , have no fear. It's still a Maico under the skin, bearing all th e trai ts t hereof, b ut now with o ut m a n y of its past faults . Estab lished Maico freaks will definitely rejoice as they rush o ut to b uy the new 250cc GP (or 400cc GP l, and riders of other brands will now give it serious thought. The reas on being t hat this is a Maico you can live with . Nothing has to be replaced before you ride it for the first time . Nothing is left to break, crack , fall off or leak . It's a Maico that yo u can spend more time riding, and winning on. He re's why . . . .AlI that easily breakable fiberglass has been rep laced b y thick, fle xible PVC type plastic fo r the 2 .1 ga llon fuel tank, fenders , air box, and re movable side n um b er p ane ls. There 's a new frame that has been designed b e tter to take the st ress o f long travel suspension and do away with past c r ac k i n g p'r ob Ie m s. Eve n the top cy lind er head stay is a new tube type de sign to replace the stamped st ee l one that usually broke. The old tube foot - III III I- - Cll III o I- o =~--="":"~",- ---,,,,,:_...:...=:;:,,,::=,,,:,:;==::,,,,,:,,,,,,~~_..J The new Maico sports a redesigned down p ipe that' s stron ge r, light er and has a better silencer. The standard Metzeler knobbies need not be changed. Specificat ions Maico MC 250 GP Engine type . •. . . .•.. ..•• • •.• . .•......... .• ,. Two-stroke, piston port Displacement ... . ... . .. . . . . . . •. , •.. . .• •..... .• . . .. . . ....... 247cc Bore stroke . . . .•. .. .•. ..•. ... . .•.. .. .. . . . . . ... . . . . . .. .67 x 70mm Compression ratio .• ••. •.. ..••• .. ... . . ... .. . . . . . . . . ..... ..... 12 :1 Carburetor: , •. . , Bing 36 Center Float Horsepower ..• . . . . .. .. . , , ... ...••• .... , , . , ... .. . .. .. .•.. 36 /7800 Clutch ' Multiplate wet Primary Drive •. ... ........ . . . .. .. ...... . . .. ..• , Duplex ch ain Transmission .... , . .. . . , • . • . • . . . ... . . . . . . . . . .. . . 5·Speed heavy duty Air filtration .. ....• , . • . • . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... • .. . , Twin Air foam Ignition : . •. .. •. . ... .. ..•. . . .... ... Flywheel mag neto Frame •. , .... . • •• . • .. , Double loop, chrome m o ly steel Suspension .. • . .. . .. ... ...... .• • ... •• . . Front·Telescopic fo rk travel 8" rear- Swingarm, forward mounted shocks 7.5" Brakes . . • • . • •. . . . .... . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . Con ica l drum , alumi n um Vtlheels ..... . ..... . .. . . .. .. . . . • . .. .. . . , ••..• .. . ...• . . . . .. Akront Tires (front/rear) .. .. . , . .. . . . • • ....... .. .. . .. . . .. 3.00x21"/4.50x18" Fuel capacity . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. .. • . . . . .. . . • •. ..• . . . . . . . .. . 2. 1 gallons Whee lbase . .. .. . .. . . .. . . . . . . .. . .. . . .. • • •. . . . . . . • . .. . . . . . . . ..56" 8 .5 " Ground clearance Seat he ight ... .•.. . . . . . .. • . • . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . ... • . . . .. .. .34" Weight •.. . • . . • . .... '. . . . .• . . .• . •. •.•. • . . . • . . . . .. .. ...•. . 220 Ibs. 36 pegs are gone, replaced b y spring loaded cas t steel un its that aren't perfect, but do give a much b etter grip. The downp ipe is stronger. wth a re inforcement guard welded on the bottom , but it's also lighter than the o ld pipe and has a super quie t built-in silenc er that won't bust off. Those a r c most of the new improvements that make the :\IC 250 GP a lot easier to live with : now here's what makes it a better motocros s bike. The engine has newly designed cen ter Cases to house the new 5·speed gearbox with its heftier cogs. The b ig bore Maicos still keep the old 4 ·speed . but the 250cc model has long needed that extra shift. The engine itsel f is claimed to now be putting out 36 horsepower, b ut Maico d oe sn ' t say if t hat reading is made at the rear wheel or the wrist pin . . . WhIle the. new enginergearbox co~bo make the bike go fast, t.he latest COnical allo~ b rak e h ub s make It stop fast, and ~hat s equally Im p o rt an t. The rear br~ke IS .one of the best on any motoer?ss bike with a st~ong , but very progressl~e feel. It was difficult to get a good Idea of how the front brake worked because the old style ~agu~a brake lever o n th e handlebar IS di fficult to reach and awkward to use. A ch ange .to the new style Magura po~er levers WIll be, one of the few ch an K';s, .~ any, tha.t yo u II want to ~ ake to th. s b.'ke. We did have to d o a httle fine tunlOg . to the alloy rear brake pedal to get It to. sn ake arOl~ d the foot peg properly without hanging up on the peg mount . The front fo rks are th e very latest works design with eight inch es o f tr avel. They work beautifully and contribute greatly to the bike 's ex cellent handling. Because the fork -tubes are in line with the steering head, steering remains sup er quick, while the offset front axle allows the front end of the bike to sit low even though it has long travel. The result is a bike that literally snaps its way through tight turns so quickly tha t it takes a little getting used to. The fact that it works so well is proven by the use of a similar design on the latest factory works Suz ukis and Kawasakis , Care must b e taken in fast track sections, like down hill off cambers, where it's easy to overs t eer an d was h out t he fro nt end . The bike h andles so we ll on the front end th o ugh , and the Metzelers keep diggi ng for traction, that the bike is easily brought back under control without any fear that you'll loose it. These new int ernal spring forks work well with a good 20 weight fork oil, and detail improvements incl ud e tapered roller be arings in the steering head. It seems stran ge that Maico would go to all the trouble of building a new frame and keep the old sty le forward mounted shock layout, when' they 've been using a cantilever rear suspension on their work~ bikes for over a y.ear now. At 7.5 in ch es, the production bikes probably don't have much less travel than the can tilever works bikes, but a cantilever sys tem does seem to work better at fast speeds . If Maico begins to use th is forward mounted frame on their end uro bikes , then we 'll know why they kept with it rather than build a cantilever frame just for their mo t o cro ss bikes . Actually, there's not hing w ro ng with the forward mounted rear suspension that a good set of gas shocks co uldn't cure. Two years ago the standard Konis were t he best shocks yo u could p ut on a bike. but the se days, the better suspension systems become. the more it 's realized h ow much further they ne ed to be improved . The spring rate and th e dampening of the st oc k Konis were set up prop erly, but the rear suspension reac ted harshly to bumps, usually skipping over them rather than soak ing them up , and on the big ones would kick the bike up into so me real ly hairy fro nt wheel stan ds. The Maico 's inher ent handling qualities showed th rough it all and kept the bike tracking strai gh t an d true despite the Konis' har sh charac te ris tic s. A go od set of gas shocks , a number of which are now on the market, will probably be the only maj or ch an ge a Pro rider will need to make to the b ik e . As far as local racing. an d longevity , th e stoc k Kon is would probably be adequat e. The 250cc GP Maico which Cycle News used for this test. was loaned to us b y J & R Cy cle Specialties in Pensacola, Florid a, The bike was set up by Tom there, who did an excellent job. First kick starts even when cold were normal. The infamous M aico clutch even performed faultlessly th roughout the tes t witho ut d rag or slip . The cl u tc h was used fo r Kent Howerton type tactics in second and third gears where th e engine rp m is kep t up and the clutch slipped to get good drives out of tight turns and off of berms . T he 5 -speed gearbox really got a workout, an d never missed a shift. The bike felt faste r than th e old machines if A new air box with Twin Air f ilter fits neatly down in the new frame. The Maico fork design has been copied by other factory t e am s. J: a.

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