Maico 500

Once CZ had made believers out of everyone, other companies quickly flooded the market with svelte 2-stroke scramblers. I was particularly impressed by the Maicos, mainly on the strength of one lightning-fast rider by the name of Bailey. The guy was simply unstoppable!

Years later, my brother-in-law, Calvin, owned a series of Maicos, so I finally got a little personal experience with the marque. While the Japanese had taken over the mantle by that time, those late-seventies Maicos were seriously fast dirt bikes! The thing I remember most about them was that, unlike a Jap motocrosser, you could not putt around on a Maico. You had to ride them flat-out, or they'd load up and stumble. It was probably that aspect that handicapped them in relation to the Hondas and Yamahas of the time. Few riders had the cajones to exploit their all-or-nothing power. But get one on the pipe, and Whoa Nelly!