maico 490 over rated

[MX125B]

Were Maico's good? I remember being at Jilliby for the International in 1977,  a relatively unknown Neil Hudson came out and demolished everyone present, including Gally, Gunter, Gaston Rahier , he rode rings around them. I think Maico's problem was money, they could not afford the best riders.
Don't forget if you wanted to win in those days ( GP's) you had to pass Decoster and Mikkola etc. That's like trying to get past Bubba and RC today

[Maico31]

Nathan come to Qld mate and bring your choice of evo open class bike and you'll soon find out if a 490 Maico is over rated.

[mxmaniac]

 mmmmmm..... gold!

[holeshot buddy]

actually yz250h in that photo at conondale i holeshoted and won the race
even beat a 490 maico notice the finger on the clutch pure skill

this overated post is great working well
i will say one thing that i have already said
most 490 maico riders are good riders always at the pointy end  :'(
my point is they could be there on another evo open class bike as well
so to say they won this and that means jack shit when you are talking about the bike
i know qld and vic have good maico riders
its like any bike put a good rider on it and it will look great


it ran last time i started it

[ted]

At my club we have a guy on a 81 yz 250 H that beats a guy on a 81 yz 250 H in EVO 250 class... same result in post classic 125

But in EVO open the winner of EVO 250 and 125 ( on his 250 ) always gets beaten by the other guy when he rides his 81 MAICO 490

Results speak louder than words

But then again how much further would he win by if he rode my YZ 465....haha

[YZ250H]

Rusty I knew it was answer (a) - you meant to do that.
I just wanted to make sure 

[Nathan S]

I didn't actually mean to upset you, ladies!

Can't actually recall seeing one at a race meet, or even ridden by anyone good (except Ballard), so it doesn't matter how fast/slow/over-rated/under-rated they are: If they aint gettin' used, then they're over-rated...
To bastardise the old saying: To finish first, first you must enter the bloody event.

Maybe NSW is just allergic to 'em?

[Maico31]

You can't have been to many race meetings. Roy Gay was winning on a 490 for most of the previous 10 years. You should venture out more often.

[firko]

And if Roy wasn't winning, Andrew Olfield was, also 490 mounted. Both riders dominated on Maicos for at least 10 years.
Sorry Nathan but it's a fact.
By the way, did any body else see Roy on 'A Current Affair' the other night? Seems he got ripped off in some scam.

[holeshot buddy]

yeah i saw him on a current affair, there is
only 1 roy gay cant remember what it was about
maybe he sold a dodgy bike

must admit he was quick on the 490 though :'(

[Nathan S]

OK, so two bikes that haven't been raced at a vintage meet in at least three years, and one of those was ridden by a bloke that everyone knows was/is an exceptional rider and would have been quick on a PW80...

Still reckon they can't be that amazing, otherwise at least some of the NSW blokes who are taking their racing seriously would be riding 'em.

The question was whether they were "over-rated". Not even I'm silly enough to try to claim that they're a crappy bike or anything... The mythical status needed to be based in reality, for sure.
But if you believe half of what's been said about them, then a 490 would be able to take a gumby like me to national champion speed in half a lap. 

Crap bike: Nope.
Good bike: Yep.
Over-rated: Must be.

[firko]

Nathan...At Classic Dirt 6, you're cordially invited to ride my '81 490 and '83 500. I don't actually own either of these bikes any more but both current owners have given the idea the green light. Only after riding them will you be experienced enough to comment that they are over rated. Until then, I feel you're being guided by your natural resistance to hype and not by your own 'seat of the pants' experience. If you want, you're also welcome to ride my 350 squarie and see why RT1 Yamahas don't cut it in pre 70.

[Nathan S]

Um, OK - that'd be awesome! Thanks! 

A big part of my thinking involves the 125 Elsinore: They're widely accpeted as being THE ONLY serious contender among the pre-75 125s, and they're still everywhere (despite being nearly a decade older).
Sighting a big Maico, in contrast, is a rare event.

And I know the obvious counter argument: "But a lot more people bought CR125s in 1974 than Maico 490s in 1981".
Which is pretty much exactly what I'm saying.

[ted]

Hey Mark if i bag a 490 can i ride them 2 also...haha

[Wombat]

Sighting a big Maico, in contrast, is a rare event.

Yeah, but not in Qld Nathan; we got shitloads!
One of my first impressions upon discovering VMX was "where did all these Maicos come from?"
We've discussed this elsewhere - back in the day they were a pretty rare beast (at least in SE Qld).
I was amazed at the numbers.