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/141014
... " .. '" e, ..... '" '" . ~ s ~ w Z W ..J U >- U Own er-builder-rider Mik~ Chamberlain may be seen peeking from behind Maico logo on the 1.1 gal. Webco tank. Pipe is stock but an all-titanium unit is in the of fing. Note the d rilled fins; AND we un derstand th ere a re some t ric ky ho les INSI DE the bar rel as we ll. In ternal fork conversio n helps reduce front - _ ... ~~~~~ The madl ine grabs the ground and just won't let go until it hits a jump - then it flies. end weight. Wheelsmith pegs were selected over the Slacken. The gearshift is alumin um, as is most of the heavier pieces . HotDog! a titanium-framed Maico... By John Bethea Pho tos by Beth ea an d Paul Boudrea u Mike Chamberlain - bet yo u h aven 't seen that name in the results co lum ns for several mo nths. Why? Two reasons. First, Mike h as been p atiently wo rking at open ing up h is n ew shop in Northridge, Calif. Second, he has been pati ently awai ting the arri val of th e p arts fo r h is T itanium- fr am ed 4 00cc Maico . "Wo w! I am really stoked, " h e said Saturday at Ind ian Dunes wh ile strolling ab out watching th e Viewfinders GP bash. "Some guy, I think he works for Indian Dunes, told me that wh en I was out riding it here a few days ago , that I equ alled John DeSoto's re cord time on tlte old -course. I don't know how accurate tltat is, but I do know I was going much , much faster than I ever have before!' This is after we watched Mike's first ride on tlte new machine two weeks earlier. Even then he was happy, b ut a bit reluctant to wind her out since she had a total of 0 .0 miles on the engine. After a few tours of the Dunes course, Mike gave tlte bike up to Paul Boudreau, e-N's resident hot-crosser. "It's definitely got the bite. It just doesn't want to do anything wrong. It's rea lly easy to handle, but on th e jump s - heh , tltat's wild . It 's like an airplane . But I think my Suzuk i can take it on the straight." So we asked why. 'The gearing - it just hasn't got the pull." Saturday, Mike had a gleam in his eye . "I changed the sprocket - 13 teeth . It 's d ifferent bike. I'm gonna ride next Sunday, I don't know where, but I'm 'go nna ride." * Just a glance at the super-sane work Mike did. This small plate , steel on stocks, was make by hand from aluminum. An ounce here, and ounce there... * * Mike Chamerlain's titanium-framed Maico is the first in tlte U.S . Many alterations h ave been in corporated in tlte final setup to make it look less than a Maico . Total weight is 192 pounds, but Mike hopes to subtr act a few more ticks wh en th e fi al machine is ready n af ter a few months o f racin g. Tom Kelsey of Titaniu m Racing Products helped d esign an d manu fa cture the fra me and supplied all the titanium products. From front to rear, here's what they did to it: - Th ey rem oved th e rim lo cks and substi tuted an old 36 0 Husky fro nt h ub> for the stocker. - -Th e fork tubes were modified in ternally. - - U t ilized titanium handlebars. Experime ntal p lastic handle s may be ad d ed soon. - -Rep laced the stan da rd Maico tan k with a 1. 1 gallo n Webco tank. - -The barrel fins were drilled out for a two-pound weight reduction; - T h e cases ar e altered and stripped o f excessive weight; --Standard it ems ar e replaced with Wheelstnith pegs and a Torsten Hallman brake lever; --The fenders were replaced with Rahm Engineering's super-light, batterproof cycolac plastic, about half tlte weight; -Rear anchor arm is identical to that used by Werner ·Sch u tz when he was here in America (and stayed with Ch amberlain); and - - The swing arm is titanium. Of other items Mike is cu rrently tossing about in his head, one is a titanium expansion chamber. Also, all weighty pieces will be replaced with alutninum if possible. The 400 also has a 250 clutch sidecase, which makes it a little more narrow and lighter. Chamberlain says alt hough h is bike is the o nly o ne in th e country at this time, h is n ew sh op at 1 70 2 7 Ro scoe Blvd. , Northridge, Calif., can set otlt er machines up as well. It is rath er exp en sive (the 'fin ish ed prod u ct will be wo rth abo u t $300 0 or more) b ut will ma k e th e d ifferen ce between a first and a fo u rt h or fifth , depending upon the rider's ability.