OzVMX Forum
Marque Remarks => Yamaha => Topic started by: Fenno on February 13, 2008, 08:01:11 pm
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looks like I will have a chance to buy a YZ 465 not exactly sure what year but I know the guy and its had a full rebuild (he is a mechanic)
it was ridden a few times and then flipped so it needs a rear guard.
not sure what condition its in but the owner is fussy (mechanically anyway)
So I know its hard to determine a price, but what do they range from?
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rough ones start at about $1500 good race ready bikes up to $4000 and garage queens up to $7000 :o
not quite your maico 490 prices but i think better value for money ;)
after all they do turn better ;D
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Yeah they turn good fuel into carbon monoxide for little return :D Is that what you mean middy?
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yeah brad you wouldnt know you havent owned one (yet) i reckon if you rode a good one you would sell you maygo 490 ;D and change your evil ways 8)
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Ha ha! The Maygo still managed to stay in front of your water bottle, even with the rear brake on due to a loose (im going to fire that mechanic) rear wheel nut(and a loose nut behind the bars) 8)
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excuse excuses you were holding me up i had to force myself from running into you :o
specially when the maico started too fall too bits ;D
anyway we are off track buy the yz they are good reliable easy starting ;D
and not too bad for parts rear mudguards still available from yamaha (good price)
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I thought that they mite of been cheaper than the honda's but sounds like they around the same price.
I know this is the yamaha page but has anyone got a preference between honda and yamaha big bores.
Hey Brad you got a nice collection of bikes have you got a 465 or 490
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You can't go wrong with a yz465, parts are easy to get and for the money,, way more thrill than a maico breako. Yz's are bullet proof and they go like the wind ( or is that hurricane). Just ask Bob Hannah, and Rex Staten and and and... ;D ;D
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Hi mate. No big bore Yammies grace my shed. I gotta 490 but its the other other red ::)
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The only good thing about a YZ465 is that Bob Hannah once rode for Yamaha. The YZ doesn't compare in suspension and handling to the Maico.. And yes i have owned both bikes. Parts availability for a Maico these days is second to none.. better than it was 25 years ago. Do you really think Bob Hannah and Rocket Rex rode production bikes...
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yamaha 18 world titles 21 ama titles 8)
maico???????????
you tell me ::)
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Come on Rusty, we both know that Maico couldn't afford to pay riders anywhere near what the Japanese factories paid them. They had Noyce and Hudson and others who got paid big bucks to change to Japanese Works bikes and went on to win world titles. Also i think that if everyone had to ride production bikes back then the score would be different. A factory Maico was basically a production bike. It's interesting that if you look on Terry Goods mxworksbike site that there are no Maico's or Husky's etc. because their factory bikes weren't very trick at all.
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At the end of the day I believe that what ever you ride in VMX is all good. The Maico could be called the "dreamers" bike, as, 'in the day' allot of guys wanted them but couldn't afford them, but now these guys are more financial and have bought their 'dream' bike. Yes the Maico is a nice looking well proportioned/balanced bike and because in our part of the world(southern hemisphere) there weren't many to see racing so the Maico seemed to grow a certain mystique or glamour about its reputation as the best ever MXer ever built. The question of its reliability seems to be lost or forgotten by the owners of the bikes today, but as they say, "I own a Maico 490", which is nice if thats what you want, so maybe the reliability problem isnt so important these days as it would have been back in the day when the bikes were raced, remembering that most VMXers dont race every weekend and practise thoughout the week as you would have had to do back in the day. For the cost of a new Maico 490 the average motocrosser could have bought a new Yamaha and raced every weekend for the most of the season with only having to change the oil and air-filters. Parts for the Yamaha were readily available through the local dealers so you were always ready to go.
Why there is this 'thing' about Maico's, I'm not sure, but even at vmx meetings today, and with more Maicos out on the track racing than ever before, I would have thought that because they are that good they would win allot more, but go figure, its still the japanese bikes crossing the line in front of them. So at the end of the day, does anyone really care that much that, "they dont ride a Maico".
But, yes they are nice looking bikes.
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SO IF WE ARE TALIKING NOW DJ THEN THIS MUST COUNT MAICO IS CURRENT TWIN SHOCK WORLD CHAMP IM LED TO BELIEVE
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAICO-490-MEGA-2-1981-CURRENT-WORLD-CHAMPIONS-BIKE_W0QQitemZ300199077139QQihZ020QQcategoryZ36796QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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Hey trick lookin bike even for a maicobreako but did you notice some knob has put the kickstarter on the wrong side . just out of interest where were the world vmx titles held last ?.
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The thing that annoys me a bit is the general assumption that Maicos have some sort of reliability problem. That assumption is usually sprouted by folks who have neither owned or ridden a Maico (of any size or era). You rarely if ever, hear Maico owners complaining about their bikes reliability. Why? Because breakages just don't often happen. The Maico Breako bullshit grew from a tongue in cheek article in Dirt Bike magazine back in 1972 that has over the years become legend. In truth, Maicos are no less reliable than a Yamaha, Husky or my uncles Camry.
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http://www.tmxnews.co.uk/content_database/noyce_takes_a_bite/index
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Sorry to disagree with you Firko but in the day the 'Maico Breako' taunt was well earned, at least in my eyes.
I use to have a MX riding buddy I went to the racers with - I was up close and personally involved (pushing, dodging flying spanners and consoling). Bruce had no end of trouble starting the thing and getting it to run clean.
Bruce was a fitter and turner and, although young, no mug idiot when it came to turning a spanner. The bike was bought new, about start of 74, and Bruce lived at Putney and use to call into Gladesville nearly every afternoon. If anything Bruce use to baby the thing.
And looking around the pits he wasn't alone. I can't remember the sponsored riders having similar probs so it may have been reliability of the clubman racer. But compare that to the Japanese MX'er and at least in contrast the Maico was unreliable (at least, less reliable).
I knew the Maico Breako taunt well before an ADB (can't even remember seeing such an article). If there wasn't a basis for the taunt then it would never have got 'traction'.
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Everything counts to you obviously Paul. But maybe you should have directed your posting to Holeshot Buddy since it was he who stated the results, not me. All I pointed out was that more Maicos are out racing now but jap bikes still seem to get there share of wins. But I would 'never ever' say that one particular bike is dominate over another(unless just joking or doing a wind-up) because I have seen it to many times where it isnt the bike but the rider who wins races, weather he is on a Maico, Honda, CZ or postie bike. I wasnt so much as having a dig at Maicos, but more in the stigma that they are legends even before they get to the race track.
So has Holeshot buddy got it wrong.... ;)
Should he have said... Yamaha 18 world titles, 21 AMA titles
Maico 1 VMX world title
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dont worry dj i like em all , there s lots off us older fellars coulndnt have these toys when we were young so it good to be able to do this vmx thing either race ,ride ,restore or collect
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It was Dirt Bike magazine Graeme, not ADB. ADB wasn't around in 1972. I guess reliability is down to personal experience. Sure I had my little problems with Maicos but it was just about always down to my bad maintenance. They were and still are just like my ex wife, high maintenance. My point is that as far as major disasters happening within the workings of a Maico, you never hear of a blown gearbox or a tossed rod or anything major. In the 38 years I've owned my 350 it's only on its second piston and second big end. The engine hasn't been apart since 1991 and it still runs like a Swiss watch.
I usually stay out of these "my bike is better than your bike" discussions because everyone has their own inbuilt bias and all of the "discussion" in the world won't change anyones opinion. I can only speak from my own experience of owning one bike for 38 years as well as owning and racing at least another 20 Maicos since 1970. Everybody has a right to their own opinion but I do arc up when I hear that tired old "Maico Breako" dirge.
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Speaking of taunts, the Yamaha YZ's had a few as well, and probably for good reason. The old 'yamahop' comes to mind and in '85 the YZ125 had a 'brake activating suspenion system' called "B.A.S.S" the motor was one of the worse ever made by yamaha so the 'fish' jokes were plentiful. The 'boost bottle' sometimes would get a name change as well to 'baby bottle' but hey, isnt it all in jest?? ;D
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Hmmm, choose your words carefully Brenden.
Firko, I have owned/raced a few evo/pre 85 490 maico's and I would agree that the motors don't deserve the breako tag but..... the overall finish of the bike leaves alot to be desired compared to a Yamaha.
Here is a list of things that happened to an "84 500 I bought new from geoff udy's ,
Exhaust melting fuel tank (twice), decomp handle bar mount pressed tin breaking straight away, fuel tap leaks from new, air cleaner mounting bracket breaking destroyed engine, rear chain adjuster weld breaking chain derailed into engine cases, bent shock, fork seals leak from new don't get me started on the rear brake lever or the rear brake backing plate, cables made of dental floss.
These things just don't happen to a jap bike of the same era.
Yamahas are like whores you just ride 'em then just lean them up against the shed till you want to use them again, Maico's are like the woman of your dreams you have to caress and pamper her every hour of every day, then and only then will she give you the "ride" you've dreamed of. Just so you know I've never been with a hooker, so I'm just guessing on that bit.
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Evo...My '84 500 was remarkably trouble free except for the pipe melting the tank. That was indeed a dumb design fault but it's easily fixed. The only other problems I ever had with it was the Ohlins shock running out of dampening when the bike was 20 years old and cracking the crankcase when I lost a chain due to me not fitting the circlip properly when I was distracted while fitting the chain. It broke and jammed between the swingarm and the engine at full noise in third gear. My fault, not the bike. I do however agree with your take on Yamahas. They're amazingly reliable and beautifully finished.
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One thing that really annoyed me with my 490 maico was the blubbering if the throttle was cracked open at lower revs, I would have to quickly down shift to get the carb to suck the mess clean again and she'd take again, but it was annoying, other than that mine did'nt give many problems other than the normal lack of attention to detail, My mates Yamaha IT490 and YZ465 on the other hand were severely neglected and looked like shit as a result but when we went riding they'd fire up religiously and he'd give me a good run for my money. I still think Maico's look great and are like exotics and should cost more to buy than a Yamaha but as I have said in other threads the media hype and spouting from the opinionated magazine people who were utterly believed in anything they said caused a frenzy and the frenzy has reached what i recon are silly proportions, charging $10K-$12k for a Maico is strange,,
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Tony it sounds like your Maico was running too rich, may have had worn needle and needle jet, common problem with bing carby's. Mine runs pretty clean if i crack the throttle open at lower revs. If people are willing to pay $10k-$12k for a 490 Maico then that's what the price becomes, if no one paid that much then the seller would be forced to drop the price to make a sale. I was at DDR motorcycles in Brisbane last saturday and there was a guy picking up an unrestored '78 390 Husky that he just paid $8k for..I was stunned! He could've bought 2 for that money and had cash left over.
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i have always wanted o a maico 490 and there arnt to many for sale in australia ive only seen 3 in the lastyear or so and there is another one for sale at the moment but thats another story . who know what they will cost in 10 years if you can find one at all
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I really got into the Maicos when a buddy's dad -who was a really keen tuner on Jap mxers straightened me out. I was complaining about waiting on the line for another two racers to push their Maicos...anyway bib Bob looked right at me and said-they wouldn't be like that if you or I owned it. Of course, I had to bump mine off ( to find the intermitent air leak was torn intake boot.LOL). I have learned more, and love the simplicity, as for fit and finish, well I do the finish part to my own standards anyway.
Most reliable bike was 74 250 KTM-a tank, never broke anything on it-owned in my 20s when manitenence was something done 20 min before race. ;D
I think 10-12 k for a 490 will keep many from racing them. :'( :'(
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As Maico31 said, the value of the bike is what the buyer is prepared to pay. I just bought an engine from the USA ,on Ebay, and was prepared to pay double of what it cost me if the Seller negotiated a price then and there. But he said no, "I want the bidding to run it,s course, as many people have been waiting for this engine to show up". In the last 30 seconds of bidding I threw in $700 Aus. , and could,nt believe it when I got it for $290 U.S. Anyway his loss is my gain. If you think the price of a Maico is overvalued now ,just wait for a few more years . The cost of these European VMX bikes is like real estate prices,they only go up.
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Lyle2212, I recon the prices are getting pushed up by people who have a lot of money and just must have ( at any cost) what most think is the best, sound familiar??
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It has taken me a while to read this thread , as I only visit the Yamaha camp every now & then to make sure that they are not spreading any mistruths :D. The bit about Yamaha winning so many World titles & AMA titles ,blah,blah,blah keeps coming up to give a reason for why the 465 is supposed to be so good . If you use this kind of logic , because Roger Decoster won the World 500 MX titles in ''71, '72 & '73 for Suzuki , then the Suzuki TM400 Cyclone would have to have been the best open class bike around in 1974 . Because Graham Noyce won the 500 title in '79 & Malherbe in '80 on Hondas , then the '81 Honda CR450 would have to have been the hot ticket in 1981 . Both of these bikes would be in the list of the ten worst MX bikes ever made for anyone who has any knowledge of motocross history .As for Holeshot Buddy making irrational comments like my 465 turns better than a 490 Maico :D ( which goes against worldwide opinion in the vmx community & the civilized world ;D ) , I can only put this down to a severe taunting he recieved from Brad 090 in another thread where it was suggested that he should change his name to Midpack Buddy :o causing him to lose the plot.
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gee im sorry :'( lucky i didnt mention how bad huskys were
or i would be in more trouble ::)
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sshhh I think he's gone......... Husky's are crap Husky's are crap Husky's are crap..
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Your 465 probably would turn better than a Husky if it didn't have that patented Yamahammer pogostick rear suspension kicking you in the arse everytime you hit braking bumps leading into a corner ;D .
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you must have been following me then ;D
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For a husky wood chopper kind guy you seem to hang around a lot in the Yammy camp??
All you have to do is ask and I'm sure we'll let you have a ride on one, honest. ;)
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I have ridden enough of them to leave me physically & mentally scarred for life :D. I still have nightmares , but fortunately I have moved on to more quality machinery ;). I have also followed Rusty around a bit & on rare occasions managed to pass him without being swatted by his Yamaha's back wheel ;D .