Maico 450k Cr
MAICO 450K CR
On A Maico You Can Fly!
Cycle World Road Test
JUST WHAT makes a good motocrosser, anyway? Light weight is important. Like 220 lb. maxima. Got to have horsepower, too.
Lots of it. Even if it means sacrificing a wide powerband. And suspension. Plenty of travel and good damping are musts there.
Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. Everything...everything that’s not structural, must be flexo-flyer so it won’t break. That’s right. And even if it doesn’t break, it won’t look like it will.
There you have it. One paragraph describing %ths of all the motocrossers in the world...motocrossers conceived by corporate marketing men to pacifyT>oth the whims and needs of the buying public.
A lot of winners exhibit those characteristics and are produced in that manner, but not every winner. Maicos have won just about every 500 class G.P. in this country of late and they don’t have flexible anything! Their long-stroke engine does not sacrifice 1 ft.-lb. of torque! And, the bloody things are produced by one of the smallest motorcycle factories in the ,/orld!
Far out. Right? But not nearly as far out as one of their machines, the 450cc close-ratio MX. This is one superb motorcycle. It has power (over 36 bhp at the rear wheel). It has one of the widest powerbands in the industry (see the dyno chart). Handling is forgiving to the point of making riders reckless. And if that isn’t enough, consider the fact that the 450 Maico does all of this without making a good deal of noise.
Swing a leg over the Maico and get the feel of the machine. The seat is narrow enough to not interfere with the rider, but is heavily padded for maximum comfort. Bars are made by Magura and are high enough for riders of moderate height. Levers and throttle are Magura, as well. These are quality items, but the grips are too hard. Some of the grips made from surgical rubber are far superior.
Starting is easy, once you get used to the positioning of the kickstarter and resolve yourself to the fact that primary kickstarting is not present. Prime the 36mm Bing concentric (fuel will pour all over the cases), pull in the handlebar-mounted ^artial-decompression valve, and take a couple of quick jabs at die kickstart lever. It’s a good thing starting is quick, because the left mounted kickstart lever doesn’t return to its original position every time. A little attention to detail at the factory is needed in that area.
After a couple of minutes for warm-up, we eased out onto the International Course at Indian Dunes. The transmission is a four-speed and it shifts on the left, with low at the bottom of the pattern; just like the Japanese models. Clutch lever pressure is moderate, but not objectionable. It’s much better than the square barrel models of the mid-’60s.
While we were getting used to the machine, we began to notice some side effects of the 450’s quiet exhaust. You can hear the chain rattling as it passes through the guide in front of the rear sprocket, and you can hear the front fender rattle in its mount. Maicos aren’t prone to self-destructing or anything
like that, but the new ones sound like it and this requires a mental adjustment on the part of the rider.
Soon, we found ourselves pushing to the limit. With a 59-tooth rear sprocket, it’s best to start in second and then short shift into third and fourth. The engine has brutal torqqe and the bike accelerates much faster if the revs are kept down.
The first turn looms up fast. It’s a fairly wide right hander that’s banked toward the inside. Hit the brakes hard (the wheels won’t lock), grab third gear, and stuff the bike in. We found it best to lean the 450 over to an absurd degree, take a fairly tight line, then dial on the power* The rear end will slide out a bit, then the 450 will straighten up and literally explode down the short straight to a hairpin right.
Everybody sets up for the hairpin too fast so you have to really get on the brakes. Maico brakes work better when they are reasonably hot, so it’s best to ride around a bit before the start of a moto. Otherwise, at Indian Dunes, you’ll miss this turn. With the brakes warm you can make it every time, but it still doesn’t feel like it’s gonna work out. The rear brake has almost no feel at all and you really have to stomp on it. The front unit is spongy.
Since the rest of the machine feels so right, we found ourselves asking why? Believe it or not, the people at Maico have an answer. They say that when fatigue sets in, riders get sloppy. Put a sloppy rider on a machine with sensitive brakes, and repeated wheel lock up will lengthen lap times. In short, they’re happy with the stopping power, so Maico riders have to make a second mental adjustment.
Back to the hairpin. Since the 450 goes exactly where you point it, and since the bike is a predictable slider, it’s best to “Class C” it around this turn until a berm builds up. After you get the slide started, get back on the machine a bit. That’ll straighten the Maico up so you can pitch it the other way for the best turn on the course.
That best turn just happens to be a 180-degree left with a high berm on the outside. The soil is loamy, too. Perfect. Stabbing the rear brake will put the 450 into a slide. When the Maico starts to go, lean it over until it feels like the handlbar is going to stick in the ground. It won’t, but the bike will slam into the berm, track around it like a freight train, and accelerate hard down another short straight. Fantastic.
Next come the jumps. Three of them. The first two are fairly tight. The Maico lands straight, but hard. Especially at the rear. Then comes the finale...the last jump. On a 450 Maico, that’s where you can fly. Man, you can stay up in the air so long you have time to think about the landing. When that landing happens, it’s a fairly heavy proposition (the rear shocks can’t quite handle it) but the Maico stays straight.
A couple of turns later, the track deteriorates into a combination of washboard and small whoop-de-doos. Chassis wise, the 450 takes this in stride. In fact, it’s one of the only production bikes around (the CR Honda is another) that will slide sideways across chop without pitching the rider off.
Comfort in the rough is not what it could be, however. Speed must be cut as well, because the Girling units at the rear are not up to the task. Damping is fine as long as the shocks are cool, but they overheat quickly. Damping consistency is nil. Also, the 3 in. or so of travel is not enough. Not nearly enough; especially when you consider these two facts. First, the external spring front forks have 7 in. of travel. Second, C.H. Wheat at Cooper Motors has improved Maico lap times by four seconds by replacing the stock Girlings with either prototype S&Ws or modified Konis. >
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black monster a holdover from Halloween, but that really doesn’t matter. A little grey tape (to keep water out of the airbox) and some good old dirt from riding make the thing Rly enough to be proto (short for prototype), and we all ow that’s right where it’s at!
If you have the price of involvement ($1598) and are SERIOUS about racing, buy a 450 Maico CR. You won’t be disappointed. ra
PARTS PRICING
Cylinder .$225
MAICO
450K
SPECI FICATIONS List price $1598
