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/126022
The baby blue cantilever Maico By Dale Brown Mike Ruby, a Sou thern California Expert motocrosser, has developed a cantilevered rear suspen• sion on his 250 Maico. Looking much like a monoshock set-up, there are instead, two Bilsteins moun ted at a 45 -degree angle underneath the scat. These modifi cations account for 8.25 inches of travel at the rear ax le. Mike was inspired by the Germ an Kramer-Maico , which featured a very simi lar set-up. On the Kr am er-Maico , the shocks were virtually parallel to the seat. Mike figured that if you brough t the bottom shock mounts closer to the swingarm pivo t point, you wo u ld get much more travel. So he drew up a design and K&G Engineering built it to his specifications. Using the Maico swingarm, the top section was built of mild steel, with the bottom shock mounts 7.75 inches from the center of the swingarm bolt. The fram e loop just underneath the tank /seat junction was guss etted and drilled to serve as the upper shock mount. In order to handle all the travel in the rear, Ruby fitted a set of Bob Ottow-modified Maico forks with air-springing and extended tubes and sliders, yielding nine inches of front travel. The seat was given extra padding by Don Memmot, who also made the seat top baby blue to match the frame and tank trim. Other lit tle good ies on the Maico include: a chain tensioner mounted just inches aft of the countershaft sprocket, Andre bars, and one of K&G's chro med expansion chambers. Development Like any ne w piece of machin ery , Ruby 's Maico went thro ugh a pe riod of development in which original ideas and equipment were changed and modified. After getting the engi ne sorted o u t it 's a four-speed 250 - Ruby took it to a CMC race at Saddleback to try it out. There he discovered that the 120-lb. springs on the Bilsteins we re much too soft. In fact going down Banzai Hill, they bottomed so sharply that they sent Mike over the bars quite abruptly. End of first test. Springs of 140-1b. wind were tried. They were better, but 150-pounders were found to work best. Another weekend test session revealed a couple of other faults. Mike's custom-fabricated air box was letting grit pass into th e en gin e. Further inspection revealed that the bottom seali ng plate under the foam element had only been tacked in three places. This was cured by welding it shut all the way around. Also the upper part of t he triangular swingarm was starting to bend. It was later replaced by thicker rectan gular tubing. Racing at Hopetown brough t out the fact that the air forks weren't working pro perl y o ver small ripple bumps. While they absorbe d the larger obstacles satisfactorily , little bumps sent t he fro nt wheel ski tt ering. Abandoning the air springing for special S&W long springs of 30·lb . rati ng hel ped . Mike uses 300cc o f 30-we ight oil in each leg. The Maico looks fast even when it's standing still. Note the air space between the tires and the fenders. The Bilste ins are in a straight line with the upper part of the swingarm and the frame junction. Rid ing impressio n », Z:;:"J 10 ..::::~ '------:....-~~~ ._ Un less yo u get a chance to ride the factory MX exotica that Roger an d Ad olph pilo t , the 'first ti me you ride a Maico like this is somewhat unsettling. Th e seat is way up there at 3 6 inches. Because I'm fairly short, kicking it over was qui te difficult. As with most Maicos, the kickstarter hangs up on the pipe. Once o nboard and underway , try a ro ugh section, an d y o u 11 be amazed. Sad dl eback's start hill may not be all t hat bad, bu t on Ru b y 's Maico, it felt like it was paved. After a few runs up an d down the hill , we p roceeded ginge rly o n to the track. Al th o ugh we were travelling somewhat slo wly , due to the pi lot's lac k of MX-pertise, the bike felt great. The braking ripples that build up before comers we nt almost unnoticed , even with the th rottle closed an~ thc brakes on. Coming out of th ose A full nine inches of travel are ' available in the front forks. co m ers , the bike tracked well. Acceleration was stead y, with no big burst of wheelspinning power , just an even buildup till it was time to shift. As far as corn eri ng the Maico, I preferred to take it way to the inside, tum the bars, then straighten up and blast out. According to Ruby, who's capable of h igher speeds than I, the Maico wiJI tum tight or on th e berm, b ut it doesn't like to be leaned over and tracked through like some kind of road racer. It slides well though. In conclusion, it 's a neat bike. If nothing else . it's guaranteed to bring a lot of attention in the pits. People ogled the critter every time we took it o u t. Another advan tage is that the shocks are inboard , out of the dust and mayhem present on a motocross course , which is much better for the seals. It is expensive, though. Mike figures that to duplicate his set-up will cost about $325. That includes the forks, swingarm and frame modifications, airbox, shocks and the other go odies me ntioned. It 's expensi ve, but th e Maico can dou ble as a competitive racer an d stat us sy mbol. Where to get the goodies K&G Engi neering, 2545 San Fernando Rd ., Los Ang les, CA. (2 13) 222-8778. Swi ngarm and frame m odi fica tions, airb ox and pipe. Do n Mem mot 's Upholstery and Top Shop, 417 S. Victory Blvd., Burbank, CA. (213 ) 846-2905. Re -padding the scat. O tto w 's Dirt Bike Werks, 15 156 Downey Ave., Paramount, CA. (2 13) 531 -8801. Fork modifications. •