Maico 250 Spider

Quick Revving, Powerful, And Magic in the Turns.

MAICO 250 SPIDER

CYCLE WORLD TEST

Nearly everyone has read about Maico's legendary cornering expertise; even a klutz can corner fast riding a Maico, any Maico. Anyone who had ridden a Maico knows the legend, like most legends, is somewhat exag gerated. Still, it's hard to forget your first ride on a Maico. They have a stability through corners no other brand seems able to equal. Sliding through slippery, off-camber turns is child's play. Sure you can fall, but it’s less likely on a Maico. They are more forgiving and surefooted than any dirt bike made. And, despite many major frame design changes the past several years, Maico has retained that special feel in corners.

But just as Maico has managed to retain its virtues, so until recently have the engineers lagged in curing weak spots. Maicos corner, sure. But the old cry of Maico Breako has been with us

since the rivals went to bullet-proof gear primary while Maicos used primary chains that always snapped if you didn’t change the oil after every ride and sometimes snapped even if you did. At the same time Maico stayed with piston ports while other factories refined the reed valve.

Things change. Last year the Maico 250 got a reed valve, which helped some but because the engine was slow to pick up revs and thus lost ground on starts and coming out of turns, the bike wasn’t as popular as the handling should have made it.

That’s all over now. The *83 Maico 250 (and 490) motocrossers have gear primary drive, reed valves, and conventional, okay Japanese style, clutches.

The new motocrosser is called the Spider, for no apparent reason except maybe to let the public know this is a different machine from the previous model.

The change in primary brings some other benefits. The engine cases are new; naturally, and they are tiny. The unpainted, rough cast magnesium center cases and clutch cover give a works bike look. Cylinder and head don’t resemble previous Maicos at all. The unpainted fins on the head are tall, and vertical, rather than radial. Cylinder fins are wide at the top, then quickly taper to almost nothing.

Bore and stroke are 67 x 70mm, unchanged. Lighter flywheels let the engine rev quickly.

Now. A chain primary turns the transmission gears the same direction the crank turns. A gear primary reverses the direction. Maico’s conversion from chain to gear thus meant new transmission gears, shift forks, and shift drum. But where the old gearbox had three shafts between input and output, the new one only needs two1. The engine still spins the same direction, so does the front sprocket and the new cases are shorter.

Plus, Maico engineers have always said the secret to that legendary handling and turning and balance is that they know where to put the weight. With the shorter engine they can continue to put the engine/gearbox where they want, which explains why the Maico Spider is all new and at the same time feels and handles like a Maico.

Almost the only thing that hasn’t been changed is the leftside kick lever. The pedal itself and the starter gears—which work on the primary—are new, with the gears and lever at the top rear of the clutch cover, much like the system used on the Yamaha YZ250.

There are three engine mounts, two between the front of the cases and the downtubes, one at the swing arm pivot. There are steel bushings in the cases, so the bolts won’t elongate the holes in the magnesium.

Earlier Maicos used tubular head stays between the cylinder head and the frame backbone. They have been known to break, so the Spider has stays cut from aluminum plate. They won’t break.

Carb is a 38-mm Bing, with choke lever, feeding premix through a six-petal fiber reed assembly.

Maico’s name for this year’s single rear shock is, oddly enough, Dual Control. The name is derived from the new linkage, which has a lever on the bottom of the shock body, working a second (get it? Dual Control.) lever mounted on the front of the swing arm. The purpose here is to reduce the progression of the rising rate suspension. Last year’s bikes had so much progression that the loads were too much for the shock shaft. While they were at it, the engineers installed grease fittings for the linkage.

The swing arm is still chrome-moly steel but of a lighter gauge than before. The swing arm pivot gets tapered roller bearings and the rear axle is adjusted by banjo-type bolts. There’s a one-piece plastic chain guide under the front of the rear sprocket. (There should also be a guide at the front sprocket, but we’ll get to that.) The new suspension gives 12.8 in. of wheel travel.

The Ohlins shock has an external adjustment for rebound damping and internal adjustment for compression damping. The body is threaded to allow a broad range of spring preload settings, and it has a remote reservoir, which mounts on the left side of the front downtube and connects to the shock by rather a long hose, thoughtfully wrapped in a protective spring.

The suspension has been modified so much that the frame has been changed in just about all dimensions. The frame has a large single front downtube that splits into two smaller tubes above the exhaust pipe. These tubes run below the cases then roll up behind the engine and join the two backbone tubes, which are Maico’s over-and-under design with gussets between them. There are also gussets for heavily stressed areas like where the rear shock linkage feeds loads into the frame, and at the steering head. Some weight has been saved by using smaller tubes for the rear of the frame, where they carry the seat, number plates, etc.

Maico’s own leading axle forks have 42mm stanchion tubes and 12.2 in. of wheel travel. They are unchanged for the new year except for progressively wound springs. Tuning is limited to oil level, oil viscosity and air pressure. There are stops on the lower set of forged aluminum triple clamps. (Earlier Maicos let the stanchion tubes bump into the frame.)

Hubs get only minor machining changes while the Nordisk rims are alloy and have nice, deep centers for added strength and easier tire changing. The 250 motocross model will come with Pirelli Sand Cross tires instead of Metzelers. Brakes at both ends are still single leading shoe and the rear, which had a full-floating backing plate last year, returns to anchoring the brake on the swing arm.

Plastic fenders and tank are unchanged. The side numberplates are new and rectangular. The plastic airbox has holes drilled high on each side so air can enter easily. A large foam filter is held in place with a wire clip. The filter faces the left side of the bike, which allows it to be larger and easier to service.

A red safety seat tops the new Maico. It’s very thick and raises the seat to almost 39 in. Maico spokesmen say only the first 75 bikes in the U.S. will be equipped with this seat. The rest will be fitted with a much thinner seat to reduce the seat height.

Magura throttle and hand levers are standard. The levers are hard to reach if you don’t have large hands but they are very durable. The throttle is a straight-pull type. Cables are quality items that won’t need replacement. The chain is a gold side plate Regina. The aluminum silencer can be repacked by removing a steel circlip at its rear.

Starting the new 250 Maico is effortless. The left-side kick lever can be worked with your right foot while standing next to the bike. The lever engages at a height most riders can reach without standing on a milk crate and the internal gearing turns the engine several times with an easy kick. The choke lever is convenient to reach and use when the engine is cold. One kick will usually bring the engine to life whether hot or cold. Engine response is excellent. Any twist on the throttle results in an instant blat from the pipe. There’s no stumble or hesitation. One knows right away this engine isn’t like any previous 250 Maico. Clutch pull is light and the clutch action is positive without being grabby. First gear will move the bike smartly away from a standstill but there is little need for it from a starting gate, second will get the bike out of the gate quicker. It’ll even pull second gear starts on loamy ground without bogging. This engine makes a lot of power. Shifting is smooth and positive, with no missed shifts or excessive lever throw. Gear ratios are perfectly spaced and the engine never bogs or hesitates as the next gear is selected. Top speed in 5th may not be enough with stock secondary gearing if the bike is raced on tracks with long starting straights. But dropping the rear sprocket two teeth or raising the front a tooth will cure that. We went up one tooth on the countershaft sprocket for fast Southern California tracks. The engine pulled the taller gearing as well as the lower.

The 250 Spider’s engine is truly competitive. It’ll stay with other ’83 250s in the straights and out of the corners. No need to hit the clutch exiting turns (normal practice on 250 racers) and the bike will jump into the broad powerband and leap from the corner before most riders can touch the clutch lever. The engine is that responsive.

The first corner gives the rider that wonderful impossible-tomake-a-mistake feeling. Any line is the hot line on one of these. Go through the bike leaned way over, or in a more vertical attitude, it doesn’t care. Move around on the seat if you wish, but it’s not necessary. You can be lazy and just sit in one place. The bike will handle well either way. Your style doesn’t have to be modified to be comfortable on a Maico. Don’t worry about that killer off-camber turn either. The front wheel of the 250 Spider will seem glued to the ground. It never skates or does other nasty things to scare the rider.

Balance is excellent over jumps and fall-aways. The bike stays straight and true. It doesn’t dive or try to loop, it just stays neutral. Landings aren’t taken as well. The rear shock doesn’t have externally adjustable compression damping and can’t be easily tuned for severe track conditions. The rear is a little harsh through small bumps and it bottoms hard after landing from tall jumps. It’s fine for the speed of a novice and most intermediates, but our pro riders complained. It doesn’t kick or side hop but it does bottom badly. Our hardest-riding pro adjusted the spring preload to the maximum and still had problems bottoming. An external compression adjustment knob would cure the problem. The forks are also a little harsh on smaller bumps. Large bumps and gulleys are taken in good form but the rider feels the smaller ones.

Not all Maico brakes are alike. Some of them work well, some don’t. Our 250 Spider had brakes that worked well. Both were strong and progressive. The front won’t stop with the double-leading shoe jobs, but will satisfy all but the hardest riding pro. The rear brake had a good feel at the lever and stopped well. The rear tire doesn’t chatter when braking hard into a rippled turn but the front does. The fork’s lack of compliance to small bumps is the cause. Lots of break-in miles are required before they start absorbing the smaller bumps. If the Spider had adjustable compression damping on the forks, the rider could adjust them to track conditions.

The Spider is generally pleasant to ride. It’s narrow in the middle and easy to move about on. All of the controls are properly placed and work smoothly, and the pipe doesn’t hit or burn the rider. The tires are great if your area has sand or loamy ground and they work okay on hard ground.

After some break-in miles we entered the Spider in the annual Bosch Spark Plug race in Phoenix, Arizona. The track has more than 20 jumps and fall-away ledges per lap. It’s notorious for breaking front wheels on MX bikes. The ground is rough and many jumps are placed close together. It’s the type of course where the rider has to land on the approach of the next jump often. Front wheels slapped down against ramps or into hard ground for turns right after a jump take a terrible beating.

Our 250 proved it had competitive power by exiting the start turn in 10th place (out of a 35 bike pro line-up). The rough track took its toll right away. The Spider threw its chain on the second lap, after landing from a triple jump. The rider replaced it and continued, a bit farther back in the pack. After it came off again, he stopped to have a mechanic tighten the adjustment. It finished that moto with no further trouble.

Between motos the chain was tightened, eliminating all slack with the swing arm axles and countershaft in line, the tightest place in the chain’s arc. The only other thing needing attention was the front wheel: all of the spokes were ready to fall out. Maicos have needed larger front spokes for too long. The new rim was still straight and true even though the bike had been ridden several laps with the front end feeling loose. The rear spokes had loosened slightly, to be expected on such a brutal course.

Next moto the bike got into the first turn about tenth again. Not bad. Six laps into the race, the front wheel again started feeling as if the spokes were all broken or extremely loose. The rider slowed down but it was too late, the front hub had broken and he had to call it a day. A large chunk of the brake-side spoke flange had pulled from the hub and a spoke was carrying it as the wheel turned. Doing 5 mph in the pits the chunk suddenly caught on the forks and the rider did a Laugh-In, slowmotion endo. Inspection showed the hub was badly cracked through its mid-section. It looked as if a stick of dynamite had gone off in it.

Maico sent out a new front wheel with the same size spokes. We kept our breaker-pro off the bike and had to tighten the spokes often but had no more failures.

In effect the Spider gave us two problems. The derailed chain could be dealt with in the field, by adjusting to the tight side of normal. The swing arm and frame don’t flex, so our guess is that when the chain gets the slightest bit loose it whips and jumps off the front sprocket. A more permanent solution would be a roller atop the front of the swing arm, just behind the top of the front sprocket.

MAICO 250 SPIDER

$2630

The front hub is more serious. True, the track where ours surrendered is a brutal track; smashed front wheels there are common as the reasons for coming in last. But. Other bikes, for instance Honda and Suzuki, race the same track and their front hubs don’t break. Our hub could have been a faulty casting. Our rider could be, okay, he is hard on equipment. Or it could be that Maico’s spokes are too small, that they loosen and flex and the flex fatigued the hub before its time.

Still, if the Spider was ours we’d keep a close eye on the spokes and the hub, or we’d install larger spokes before racing the bike, or maybe we’d avoid the whole thing and switch to a Honda or Suzuki front wheel.

Despite the problems,we liked the Spider 250. A rider who’s hard on equipment will have to do some extra work, especially with the front wheel and the chain. In return he’ll get a light, powerful, good-looking motocrosser that lives up to its reputation.

Best of all, he’ll feel invincible.