maico 490 over rated

[090]

Have you been staining timber or something Brendan? I think you have been inhaling the fumes!

[evo550]

Nothing like the smell of freshly cut C.C.A. timber in the morning Brad

[TonyB]

Slapshot don't i cause enough shit without you stirring it up? you know the kraut lovers hate it when we pit their groovinmaachinens against the YZ's. I think you like shakin the hornets nest more than me ...
Brad yes you would be fast on one too. i recon a good test would be to get Brad or someone with good experience on the same track and alternate bikes and time them (once the bikes have been setup correctly for them to see what the differences are, I recon the difference would not be worth the extra $4000 buying price... But it is exotic and thats what atracts people. I still miss mine but my IZ is still beeaautiful

[vandy010]

ok fella's!
i'm going to offer to settle this once and for all.
give me a Maico 490,
and give me a YZ465
same track, same day, and i'll give all you open class guru's my honest, unbiased opinion after 5 laps on each bike.

[mainline]

official vmx factory test pilot Vandy

[holeshot buddy]

hey vandy have you ever ridden anything that big before

[Husky500evo]

       I would really like to see VMX magazine do an open evo shootout like they did with the evo 250's in issue number 31 . I enjoyed reading that article , but was disappointed that the two bikes that could have possibly challenged the '81 Maico ,( being the '83 CR250 Husky & Can Am MX6 ) , were not present in the test . I suppose that you can only get what is available at the time though . I know that VMX is not a magazine that is supposed to do bike tests , as all of this would have been done before back in the day . But the evo class is a bit  out of the ordinary because you are comparing bikes from different years in a lot of cases . This type of shootout would probably not have been done before . I would also suggest that the test riders used to evaluate the bikes be former legends & maybe a current A grade young gun for a modern perspective . The bikes would also have to be good examples of the model , well set up for racing  & should be allowed to have modern updated parts that are easily available & legal for the class .     
     Maybe I am just dreaming , but I would love to see the likes of Glen Bell , Steve Gall , Anthony Gunter , Geoff Ballard ( & maybe even Graham Noyce & Neil Hudson , as I hear rumours that they may be potential visitors to CD6 ) give their opinions & comparisons on the likes of the '81 Maico 490 , YZ465H , '83/4 CR500 Husky , '82 CR430 Husky , KTM 495 , Can Am 400 MX6 , RM400T  & Montesa 414 on a good big-bore track like Conondale . I am sure that the owners of these bikes would let them be ridden , knowing they were in safe , experienced hands .
        But to answer Holeshot Buddy's original post , why not just ask someone like Andrew Bailey , who was a top A grader , state champion & Mister Motocross series rider back in the day on YZ465s . He now rides an '81 Maico 490 , I am told . I think that he would be a good judge of both bikes . As to E74s post , I think that titles don't count for much at all when comparing makes of bikes . Because Roger DeCoster won 3 consecutive 500cc  world titles from '71 to '73 for Suzuki , didn't mean that the TM400 Suzuki was any good  . Also the '81 Honda CR450 was a heap of shit , even after Honda won 3 titles in a row from '79 in the 500 class .   

[vandy010]

have i ever ridden anything that big before he asks...
why of course i have holeshot
rode a 465h back in the day, a kx50083 back in the day, and a... well, um? i? hmmm,
does my RT1 in this day count?
well ok, so these days i prefer the might of my little 125a model but i'm good to go i tell ya!
and if we use moto GP as an example, the 125 riders usually make the best open class pilots right!

[holeshot buddy]

trouble with andrew is he gets his bikes given to him now (maico 490)
i would prefer someone like glen bell to give an unbiased opinion
its a good idea mark but it will probably never happen


hey vandy when i rode wombats 125 they said hold it flat on the start line
and dump clutch
yeah that would work good on a 500

and i like your choice of past 500s

[Husky500evo]

         I usually agree with most things that Big K has to say , but in this case I think that he is off the mark . l would have to say that I am a huge Husky fan , as my forum name would obviously suggest , but there is no way that I would say that a Husky is a better all-round bike in the evo class than an '81 Maico 490 . I have owned & raced Husky 390s , 430s & 500s ( & still do ) , as well as '81 Maicos . On some tracks , especially if they are fast , sandy & rough , the Husky may have an advantage due to it's better stability , reed valve cylinder &  rear suspension , but generally the Maico is a better bike as it turns better , feels lighter , is more neutral in the air when flying off jumps & has better forks . I also don't understand all this talk about the Maico being hard to start , as my 490s start more easily than any other open class bike that I have ever owned . They have a decompression lever & if you use it & prime the Bing carb till fuel runs out the overflow tubes , it will normally start within 1 to 2 kicks every time . On the other hand , I have had trouble in the past with my Huskys breaking kickstart pawls & have seen YZ465s kick back & break the right hand side crankcase . The Husky also gives very few revolutions of the motor with each stroke of the kickstarter , so if you have a weak spark they are very hard to start ( especially the 500 ) .
             I am happy that the Yamaha guys think that the YZ465H is a better bike , as they are really handicapping themselves by riding one & I need all the help that I can get as I am not that good of a rider  . The best thing about the Yamaha is the forks & front brake , as they are the benchmark for the evo class . Husky forks are crap & always have been . They work ok in sand & that is about it . I have ridden an  '84 500 Maico & although it had more power , I still preferred the '81 490 as a package .
             As far as people saying that this subject has been flogged to death , I would rather read about it any day rather than poxy 100cc ag bikes & TS Suzukis ( or politics , religion & guns for that matter ) , as this forum is called OZVMX & not OZVCC ( OZ vintage chook chasers ) . The 500cc class was always the premier class in motocross & should have stayed that way .

[Nathan S]

I haven't ridden a 490, but I'm sure they're over-rated.
Really, given the hype around them, they'd have to be better than economics, religion, sex and every other bike ever built, all rolled into one.

Which bikes win races?
Can't recall the last time I saw a 490 Maico win a race, but I've seen plenty of Evo Hondas, Huskys and Yamahas win races... If the Maico can live up to 10% of the hype, then we'd still be seeing plenty of them on the podium.
At the end of the day, a good race bike needs to be affordable, reliable and fast, not just fast.

[Tahitian_Red]

Here in the U.S. (Underworld of Satan) the fastest bikes are the '84 YZ250 and the '83 CR250.  If it's only big-bores on the track it always seems to come down to the '81 Maico 490's and the '83 CR480's.

The fastest riders can win on any well setup bike.  They flow with the bike and impose their will on it when needed.  So, all the little things that bother us mortals on certain models do not seem to affect them. 

[YZ250H]

So Rusty,

Regarding the photo above did you :
(a) Mean to do that 
(b) Shit yourself and have to DNF with embarrassment 
(c) Pull the clutch in, take a breath, and the let the barstard out again 

I should have made it a poll, but I was too lazy 

[Husky500evo]

         Nathan , if you can't recall the last time you saw an '81 Maico 490 win a race , then you need to get out more  . The current National open evo champion ( & pre '85 open as well ) rides a Maico 490 . Every race meeting that I go to , that has a big bore evolution class , always has at least a couple of Maico 490s running up at the pointy end of the field . You mention evo Hondas , but if we are talking open evo class , then the only legal Hondas are XL500 powered or Mugen 360s & you won't see many of them on the podium ( in my part of the country anyway ) . 

[mxmaniac]

Hey Nathan, if ya want a good look at the arse end of an overated Maico 490 from start gate to chequers.. come to victoria for a Maico lesson and bring ya anti roost ned kelly suit..