W
hen motocross'
dinosaurs roamed
the Earth, the Maico
brand was like the Tyran
-
nosaurus Rex, a behemoth
whose thunderous gallop
cast fear into the hearts of
the competition. The German
machines were beautiful,
well-crafted motorcycles and
their unique features, like their
sculpted, coffin-style aluminum
fuel tanks and leading-axle front
forks, helped them to stand out
among the rest of the plant-eat-
ing two-wheeled moto-sapiens.
The list of riders who com-
peted on them might as well just
be a list of some of the greatest
motocross riders of all time. In
Grands Prix competition, Ake
Jonsson, Adolf Weil, Gerrit Wol-
sink, Graham Noyce, Willy Bauer
and Neil Hudson all won major
races riding Maicos.
Thus, it may be hard to believe
that, when it is time to play
motocross trivia and the ques-
tion is: "Name a major MX brand
that has never won a World
Motocross Championship," the
correct response is "Maico."
Bultaco, Montesa and AJS
would also be the right answers,
but those are Archives' features
for another day! But, Maico!?
The aforementioned list of
European riders did help Maico
to nab their only U.S. Champion
-
ships, with both of those coming
in the early 1970s. The Trans-
AMA Series was won by Ake
Jonsson in dominating fashion
in 1972, and when Jonsson was
lured away to Yamaha the fol
-
lowing season, his former team-
mate Adolf Weil kept the Trans-
AMA title in-house for 1973.
Throughout the 1970s, how-
ever, the AMA's coveted 125,
250 and 500cc crowns belonged
mostly to Japanese manufac
-
turers. There was one title for
Can-Am, and a couple of others
were snagged by Husqvarna,
CNIIARCHIVES
P140
BY KENT TAYLOR
THE MOTORCYCLE
BRAND
THAT
COULD
BUT DIDN'T
Denny Swartz and
Steve Stackable gave
Maico a couple of
AMA National MX
race wins, but never
an outdoor AMA MX
Championship or
World Championship.
Stackable did,
however, win the
short-lived 500cc
Supercross title in
1975 on a Maico.
