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/126344
maka45D (Continu ed /T om pag e 27) eu HOWEVER, HIS GRAN Iw-mileege. classic. lmola 11 cams. Never raced. One owner. From country's best Ducat i home. 55700 . 21J.884.8548 aft.. 6 p.m . Motorcycle trailers 2. 3. 4 rail. Big wheels , springs and shock s. $275 .00 t o $295 .00. 12131 6JO.3799 a 12131 861 -m1. CTFNI Hank Scott's Champion KTM Short tracker , fast time at both 78 ST Nationals, $2.000 . Also. H-D XR. complata with lawwill krt 471 llawwill!rama. enginel. $6.000 . 12131 886-1ns. 1 Husky short t rac k er 77, 250, 6 speed CR, Boss frame, 38 Mi k., W illiam s 1979 Road Race Calendar At last B calendar feeturing exclusively road racing photographs. 1' '' .17'' , spiral bound and printed on heevy paper stock. The calendar includes such stars as Wald Cham pion Ken ny Rober1s. 8erry Sheena. Skip Akaland, Pat Hen nen, and Mike Baldwin. Only $3 plus 7Se postage and handlin g. Send check Of money to : Road Rae. Calendar. 23 Stone Stree t. Walpole. MA 02081 .1471 RICKMAN eRICKMAN eRICKMANI 46 WE have ALL 125 Zundapp and 250 Mont... POfl$. plu. _Iy Mk III end Mk.IV Matisse items. Giant inven tory. Jack Byers. Target Products. 2724 W. Main. . Alhambra. CA 911101 . 12131 284-3238 CTFNI New & used parts Must sell 10 veers accumulation of new and used parts; bks. shocks. tanks. wh ..... eng ..... cytindBr$. Many CRl25 new parts, write Ot phone for List-Franks Racing Products. 1~ Sky Park. Irvine . CA 927 14; Phone day ; 17141546-3484; nit• • 17141831-3541 1 471 Norton Triumph owners/dealers We repair str ipped ports, threeds. Competition Cycle Center. 2629 W. Nattonal Ave., Milwaukee. W I 53204 . 1 414167 2-4010 . ITFNI . pipe, D.T. lis, very sana and competi tive ,' fresh. $1500 .00 firm, Leave message . 1 151 672.()144 . 1471 4 Ducati parts & engines 76 Kawasaki KZ 900 1 714199 2'()165 . 1471 Hook.". heeder, 16" reer wh eel , excellent condition. Must sell. (7141737-49431471 78 5OOE. 250 Hon Soth C&J frameS. fully buih 511 CC kit. 541 CC barrel pial. ca m. available front & rear disc on both, D.T.lls,' Moving, must sell. Ducati 25Occ, 350cc & 450cc engines. 1 Desma . See & make offer . Parts galore. 'M aico 400 Magnum 17 inch rear wh eel, $1,350. "78 KX 125 with Fox Sbcx , $850 . 7 8 KX 250 with Fo. Shox, $850 . PIl. 12061 734471 3241. ask ta Mike. 1 $2.500 & $1.500 O.BO. 1 5071863-5855 1471 '78 W et bi k e Speedway Extravaganza 1811.121314494057. 1 471 2 JAWA 4 vatveI, extra pertI. enough tOf tull aeuon. 1 JAWA 2 veIve. 4 _ . 1 <:onvelOion. all in Immaculat. condition. Priced to sell. Call Mika Best IlO5l251 -5738 CZ Specialist 1471 Like new , extras, 81595.00 w ith beach buddy. Mu st Service parts new and used, fast UPS. Suzuki ot Pomona 17141623-4431. 1491 factory porting , the engine is very manageable and hardly a rocketship when compared to the other factory works bikes. The fact that the 400cc Maico engine is even slower gives a good insight into why all th e top riders selec t the 450cc engine for the Open class. But even the 450cc engine is limited somewhat by its narrow powerband. All the other competitive Open class works bikes have extremely wide rpm ranges and broader powerbands that can kick on command with a jerk of the throttle. They can have such ex cellent powerbands because they use reed va lve ind uct ion. allowing the porting to be tuned for higher mid -range torque. but their additional dis placement allows the power range to overlap below and above mid-range as well . Without a reed valve , Maico can on ly choose to tune their 450 for a pa rticular rpm range, like 2,000 to 5.000 . rpm . If they tried to raise the upper limit by the necessary 2.000 rpm to match the other factory bikes. then the engine wouldn't run cleanly at all at lower rpm's, In the case of an Open bike , it is better to sa crifice top-end power rather than low-end power. But when you 're dealing with an Open class bike and can have the best of both worlds with the use of cylinder reed indu ction, it seems strange not to put it to use . Along with the int rod uction of a reed valve cylinder , a lot of Maico owners would like to see the introduction of a rubber carburetor mount to the cylinder that doesn't let the carburetor fall off. I can't believe that after so many yea rs Maico has still yet to correct this problem that calls for rubber bands, sp ri ngs . and safety wire to finish a ra ce . Unbelievable, particularly when Hans Maisch has to make the same modifications to his own factory bike! And while I'm being picky, I might as well get down to the same major sore spot that has trademarked Maicos for years , and Darrell's factory 450 was not exception. The bikes are crudely built, using the most basic engineering in design and exe cution in parts possib le. You just ca n't expect to raceaa new box -stock Maieo and have it hold together for long. Everything will fall off of it , spokes will break. and fenders will buckle. A Husky like Chuck Sun's which we looked at in the beginning of this series was nearly in showroom condition . whereas any Maico seems to need a week of major preparation if. it is expected to su rvive its first weekend at a pro ra ce . The 450 cc Mai co was also a ra ttletrap. It sho ok and vibra ted like. it was ready to fall apart. The factory must not even come close to balancing th e crankshaft assem b ly, and you' d swea r the engine was loose enough to fall out of th e fram e. In fa ct , it's ea sy to find a lot of faults with the Maico. It 's not a high-speed bik e. It 's not a bermer, because its front -end handling characteristics' try to make the bike stay upright and climb its way up out of berms. But what it does do well is handle on rough tracks as good or better than any other factory works bike . And that low reving engine can claw and climb its wa y up . over, and around the worst terrain . It 's a European motocross bike in the truest sense of the word . And because it does what it was designed to do . when attended to with a lot of personal preparation and maintenance, the Mai co 450 like Darrell Shulte's will remain the top choice among the professional rid ers who can a ppreciate its strong points and learn to compensate for its weaknesses . That's why Maico can still sell every one they bu ild, •