Certainly competitive in pre '78 but a few things: the down pipe while making good power is vunerable, the 440 engine is a bit abrupt & vibrates, then you have the archaic Maico clutch. Hard to get right & usually either slipping or dragging. The 400 engine is a much nicer, user friendly engine IMO. Just my observations form campaigning an AW440 a while back, I much preferred my mates AW400.
K