Porting for Maico 490

[paul]

im putting a original reed cylinder on mine at present ,if i get a chance ill take some pics to show the difference in porting be tween the 2

[KTMaico]

I know they're available Kev but very expensive, i was wondering where the Poms sourced the ones they use?
Thanks mate i could use the top, i'll try and catch up soon.. maybe dirt track titles?

I have posted here before, I know the guys in the UK that are casting the new Cylinders. Both brothers are Maico 490 owners and riders, Richard is going to send me videos of their next Farleigh Castle race in about 2 weeks. They swear by them, I am not 100% convinced that the performance output is there compared to a well tuned and running Piston Port. But in saying that the other advantage is the Aluminium Liner (Better heat disperstion and tighter tolerances) and Nicrosil Coating (No Reboring and Standard Mahle Piston) are a attractive option.

I will bring the top to Nudgee this weekend.

[JohnnyO]

I believe most of the cylinders i saw in the UK were genuine Maico '82 reed cylinders. After riding both the bottom end increase and throttle response gain is impressive with the reed..

[East Coast Maico]

the UK cylinders from richard are exactly like the 82. i could not see the difference.
Kevin, not sure about the mossbarger Reed. most are using a v force. Reed bikes start so much easier then the piston port. you also need a reed pipe to make it work correctly.

[JohnnyO]

How much are the reed cylinders and can you run a Wiseco piston/rings or do you need different rings with the nikasil?

[KTMaico]

The ones that are been done in the UK are a exact copy of the original Reed Valve cylinder, the boys had the barrel laser scanned to get the exact dimensions and measurements. You should be able to use all pistons in the cylinder, but I would go back to Mahle because of the coatings and metallurgy of the pistons (expansion and tolerances considerations).

The problem I have is the cost of the cylinder, piston, reeds, cage, pipe and ancillary requirements add to a hefty amount and does the difference justify the cost? Does this madification add another 2.5-3 K to the value of the bike? eg... if a really good Maico 490 piston port in Australia is worth 12-16K is the same bike worth 15-19K with a reed valve cylinder? On the other hand the conversion maybe the best long term alternative to re-sleeving a existing cylinder on a bike that the owner has no immediate intentions of selling.
 

[JohnnyO]

The reed cylinders are good but i don't think you could justify the hefty price. Nikasil cylinders generally use different rings to a cast iron bore as far as i know.
I don't think any Maico would be worth more than $10,000 Aus in todays market, especially with how cheap they are in the UK by comparison and the ease of importing nowdays...

[Slakewell]

There was one on Marks the other day for 3k add $1200 for shipping at the most it would owe 4.5K

[paul]

There was one on Marks the other day for 3k add $1200 for shipping at the most it would owe 4.5K

then restore it ,

[paul]

sand blast
rechrome forks
bearings
paint
new rims
spokes
engine rebuild plus repair the bent fins
new pipe/muffler
new shocks
tyers .tubes
cables/ seat redone
plastics
stainless bolts
new handle bar .levers
re plateing odds and ends

cost is then ?

[Slakewell]

It wasn't that bad , was in race condition , I'm sure you could spend money on it if you wanted to but to me it looked at least 80% I was surprised by the value. 

[paul]

the add said it needed resto  /engine rebuild etc,,,,nearly bought it my self though

[KTMaico]

I know mine cost a small fortune to have everything completely re-built and all the extra's. I looked here and overseas to buy one before I found mine. I look at one I think Paul was selling through Les and that was around 10K then. I know I have gone a bit overboard on mine, but I have not spent the time and money to try and sell mine to make a profit. I just wanted the best I could get for my personal bike and I have no intentions of selling her at the moment. I have been offered a substantial amount for the bike, but I knocked it back partialy because I did not want to sell her and also I was not to sure how serious the offer was.

[KTMaico]

Just to add on the value and cost of Maico 490's. Have you seen the prices of the Maico's on Maico Only UK website!!!! and Carl tells me he does sell them at those prices, up to and above 10K GBP (pounds). Factor the exchange rate and shipping costs in.

[paul]

http://www.maicoonly.co.uk/maico-bikes.html