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under the control of cams on the crankshaft. These cams closed contacts in the generator to trigger a reversing switch in the "control box" that changed the crankshaft direction at the end of each swing. This gives the impression of the crankshaft continually bouncing back and forwards against compression, when operated. A separate set of ignition points fired the spark plug in the forward direction only, and when this fires the mixture in the cylinder the engine starts to rotate normally, the starter was released and the normal ignition system took over. The advantage of this system is that the starter does not have to force the crankshaft to turn over against compression, so less power is required from the six volt system. Its disadvantage is the unusual number of contacts, which can be difficult to adjust. The reversing switch contacts tend to wear out with extended use and can be very difficult to get repaired, hence the scooter's reputation for requiring roll starts later in life.
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494:, said to resemble a "two-wheeled car", was a highly enclosed two-wheel motorcycle which sold only in small numbers. It was designed to provide motorcycle handling combined with scooter convenience, a large trunk, and weather protection. It was nicknamed the "dustbin". The Mobil was produced from June 1950 through 1958 with aluminum bodywork and a tubular frame.
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foot-operated gears, enclosed chain drive, centrifugal fan cooling and electric start. This was fitted to a tubular frame built on motorcycle principles with long travel telescopic forks and 14-inch wheels. The
Maicoletta had a top speed of greater than 70 mph, comparable with most 250cc motorcycles of the time. In the 1950s most scooters such as
269:
After the company went out of business in 1986, it was sold to Lorenz Merkle who manufactured the bikes under the Maico name until the mid-1990s. The plastics for Maico went from Red to Blue during this time but this was not Merkle's doing. In 1986, when Maico sent the new bikes to the UK, Bill Brown
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An unusual Bosch six-volt "pendulum" electric starter system was fitted, which was quite advanced for the 1950s, and about which there are a number of common misconceptions. When activated, instead of rotating the crankshaft the starter used the generator coils on the shaft to rock it back and forth
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In the mid-1990s, Merkle went to sell the company, as he was not able to maintain it based on the rate of income. Several companies were looking to purchase the brand including one from
Indonesia, as well as Ronnie Smith of U.S. Maico in America. Eventually, one attempt to buy the company turned out
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No Maicos were released for the first time in 1998. The famous two-stroke tuner and sidecar engine builder
Hermann Walgenbach completely retuned the Maico and in 1999 there was a new bike released that also now included a hydraulic clutch. Brouwer decided to stop selling Maicos and Koestler in
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Maicowerk AG filed for bankruptcy in 1983, but continued to produce small numbers of motocross and enduro models (re-badged as M-Stars in the United States due to legal issues) through 1986. Subsequent manufacturers have purchased the brand name and applied it to their own limited production
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The
Maicoletta motor scooter of the 1950s was one of the largest motor scooters produced by any manufacturer until the modern era. The engine was a single cylinder 247cc piston-port two-stroke (an export version featuring a 277cc engine was also produced for use with a sidecar), with four
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Several changes to the motorcycles occurred during these years. In 1992-93, the 500 became a true 500 cc instead of a 490 when the location of the connecting rod was moved on the crank to increase the stroke and raise the ccs. The other change was a new shifting cam mechanism.
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Maico motocross (MC) and enduro (GS) racing models proved very successful in both
European and American competition throughout the 1970s. While lacking the financial capital and big money race-team backing like that of the Japanese factories of
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motorcycles, immediately increasing the travel and ability to best the competition. This initiated a frantic effort on the part of factory teams and privateers alike; chopping up their frames in a desperate attempt to remain competitive.
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One of the largest contributions to the world of motocross suspension technology came in the 1974 season when the
Wheelsmith Motorcycles team in the US and the Gunther Schier teams in Europe forward-mounted the rear shocks on the Maico
390:, were 125cc to 200cc with 8-10 inch wheels and a top speed of 55 to 60 mph, so the expensive but fast and comfortable Maicoletta developed a following amongst scooter club enthusiasts.
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Germany picked up production and still produces Maicos to this day. In 2003, he was sponsoring a supermoto team and they needed more power so he had the Maico 620 and Maico 685 built.
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to be a scam. Eventually, it went to Dutch company Rodem. Rodem was producing Maicos from 1995 through 1997 when it went bankrupt and its largest shareholder, Brouwer, took control.
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Title: The
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Motorcycles, Editor: Erwin Tragatsch, Publisher: New Burlington Books, Copyright: 1979 Quarto Publishing, Edition: 1988 Revised, Page 198,
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By modern standards the brakes (drum front and rear) leave something to be desired, but compared to those of other scooters from the period, the brakes are not inferior.
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the distributor was impressed with the bikes but disappointed that they looked the same as the previous year. So he ordered them naked and bought blue plastics for them.
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The road motorcycles were named after winds... "Blizzard", "Typhoon" etc., but the company was better known for its purpose-built
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Maico to this day retains a strong cult following. Many riders restore vintage Maicos for display or to take back to the track.
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two-stroke engines, selling complete motorcycles. Maico made a brief foray into the automobile business with their own line of
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proved to be serious challenges to the
Japanese factories and produced numerous top-three finishes in the
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motorcycles. Modern open-class dirt-bikes are still being produced under the Maico brandname. The
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called the 1981 Maico Mega 2 - 490cc the greatest open-class motocross bike of all time.
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Starring The 700cc
Intimidator - Wild New Machines From ATK! - Dirtbike at Off-Road.com
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710:"Bonhams : 1954 Maico Mobil 197cc MB200 Scooter Frame no. 301-430"
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Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1986
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Industrial
Sabotage, German Style: What Killed Maico?
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Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1926
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222:winning three 125cc Grand Prix races between
214:. The firm also experienced some success in
444:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
327:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
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668:"Cycle World Maicoletta Scooter Test 1963"
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464:Learn how and when to remove this message
347:Learn how and when to remove this message
118:) is the name of a family company in the
771:Maico 500- 1958, www.lanemotormuseum.org
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998:Motorcycle manufacturers of Germany
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547:"Börje Jansson career statistics"
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773:Retrieved 24 February 2023
686:"Scooterlounge.com - Blog"
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19:For the manga series, see
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218:competitions with rider
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244:1979 Maico 250 Magnum
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233:American publication
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738:Classic Motorcycles
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674:on 2016-03-04.
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62:Ulrich Maisch
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549:. motogp.com
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319:Please help
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262:Intimidator
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136:World War II
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67:Headquarters
492:Maico Mobil
478:Maico Mobil
406:Maico Mobil
208:Willy Bauer
204:Åke Jonsson
86:motorcycles
982:Categories
780:References
743:2015-10-16
719:2015-10-16
695:2015-10-16
653:2015-10-15
624:2017-04-19
604:2017-04-19
486:Maicomobil
361:Maicoletta
289:Maicoletta
200:Adolf Weil
163:Maicoletta
132:two-stroke
124:Pfäffingen
111:pronounced
72:Pfäffingen
21:Maico 2010
1038:Microcars
1023:Motocross
512:microcars
498:Microcars
425:does not
388:Lambretta
308:does not
264:dirt-bike
155:motocross
150:engines.
144:microcars
962:Wanderer
957:Victoria
892:Kreidler
882:Hoffmann
877:Hercules
571:Archived
196:Kawasaki
128:Tübingen
122:town of
83:Products
967:Zündapp
922:Neander
867:Express
826:marques
446:removed
431:sources
329:removed
314:sources
148:go kart
120:Swabian
77:Germany
59:Founder
49: (
41:Founded
947:Tornax
942:Simson
912:Megola
872:Hecker
553:17 May
533:
194:, and
192:Suzuki
188:Yamaha
159:enduro
937:Sachs
902:Maico
897:König
887:Horex
857:D-Rad
842:Ardie
837:Adler
518:Notes
384:Vespa
184:Honda
126:near
107:Maico
27:Maico
932:Opel
907:Mars
555:2013
531:ISBN
490:The
429:any
427:cite
312:any
310:cite
228:1973
226:and
224:1972
206:and
157:and
51:1926
44:1926
927:NSU
862:EMW
852:DKW
847:BMW
440:by
323:by
260:ATK
230:.
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