At that time in Phoenix we raced Beginner, Novice, Amateur, and Expert. I raced Novice class. Something bad happened the first 3 races I owned the bike. First week, someone hit me in a corner, in practice, and bent my shift lever and caused it to get jammed/stick on my side case. I did not find out until the first lap of the race. Raced most of the race with only 3 gears most of the time I was stuck in 1st or 2nd. To prevent my shifter from getting stuck on my side case, I installed a different shift lever that was designed to stay far from my side case.
The second week someone hit me from behind, in practice and broke my rear brake rod off at the wing nut. I found a guy from Tucson that was racing Expert on his 83 Maico 250 and he let me borrow his brake rod.
The 3rd week, I got T-Boned in a corner, in practice. This time the new shift lever I installed, that was designed to stay far from my side case, broke off taking the shift shaft with it. I ran around the pits and found my buddy Luke and asked him if I could borrow his 1982 Maico 250, he raced Beginner class. I told him I was in 1st or 2nd place in the summer series by 4 points and just wanted to finish the race and I would not wreck his bike. He agreed to let me race his bike. I jumped on his bike, not knowing the condition he kept it in. I had 2 laps left in my practice period. The first lap that bike bounced me all over the track. The last lap of practice I hit the tabletop jump jus after the tower at Canyon Raceway and the bike kicked totally sideways in the air. As it snapped sideways my left leg got pinned between the handlebars and the gas tank. When I hit the ground my left femur broke. I spent the next 12 in the hospital, using crutches and learning how to walk again. The only good thing about this part of the story is 1 year later when I could ride again, my 83 250 was only 3 weeks old. I did not race anymore after the wreck. I rode the hell out of that 1983 250 out in the desert for the next 13 years. I got 13 good years out of the stock piston and rings before it finally blew up.
Here is the story about my 78, 79, 81, 82 Maico 250. One day after riding the power line over to the Verde River, we stopped at our usual Circle K for a beer. A guy walked up and told us he had a Maico, he didn’t know what, he took apart and could not get back together. We gave him our phone number and offered to help our Maico brother get his bike back together.
About a year later we get this call from our Maico brother telling us he did not want the bike anymore and we could come and get it. We went and picked it up. The bike was a 1978 Maico 250. The engine was in a milk crate. The plastic and tank was in a box. The wheels and handlebars were still on the bike. We took it home and stripped it down so we could store it up in the rafters of my shed and put the crate and box of part on the shelf. This all happened in about 1996.
In 1997 I found 2 things via the World Wide Web. 1st thing was Maico USA and Maico still made motorcycles. I ordered and received a 1996 Maico 500. The second thing I found was Eric Cook of Maicos Only.
Between 1983 and 1999 my partner and I bought every Maico running or not, we could find. We had accumulated quite a herd, my original 1981 250, 1980 440, 1981 490, my 1983 250, my 1996 500 (all bikes were running at one time) several rolling chassis and tons of old engines and wheels. Oh, remember that 1982 250 that broke my leg? We bought that to. The engine blew up on Luke and he sold it to us cheap. We had the engine rebuilt and stored it a shelf.
In 1996 my 83 250’s piston finally broke. It joined the 1978 on the shelves and in the rafters. In 1999 I took all the parts of the 1978 250 to Maicos Only and asked Eric to build the bike for my now X-wife. I also took the engine from my 83 250 and asked him to build it. Over the next year or so the bill got pretty big and some of the stuff for the 78 was just junk. I told Eric about the 82 engine I had, he said he could put it in the 78. I asked him if he would take my 1981 250 and all my Maico parts and frames in trade to offset the labor, he agreed. As it turns out Eric took the 82 motor apart to inspect it before he put it in the 78 frame. He found the top end was done all wrong. Eric took the top end from my 81 250 and put it on the 82 250 bottom. Took the front forks and triple trees from my 81 250, and put them on the 78 frame. He put 79 plastic on the 78 frame. The moral to the story is Eric took all my stuff and created a 1978, 79, 81, 82 Maico 250. The bike looks good and runs great.
Getting back to the 83 250, after seeing what Eric did with my 1978, I could not put the 1983 engine back into the old weathered frame. I asked Eric to restore my 83 frame and put a disc brake on it so it would stop. Eric went above and beyond with my restore. He fabricated the disc brake, fabricated a removable sub-frame, and ported the hell out of the engine. It runs strong and has taken a few hole shots in the past 3 months.
I started racing again in November 2006 in Victorville, CA, Maicos Only sponsored race. I raced one of the AVDRA races, in December, where Dave Boydstun made me race Modern Class because of my disc brake. I took 2 hole shots against mostly newer bikes. Raced my 1996 500 in the Hangover GP with my sons. My son Lee rode the 78, 79, 81, 82 250, and my other son rode his 2007 YZ450F. We took 4th in our class. I removed the disc brake and put the front tire and brake system from my 1980 440 on and now race my 83 250 legally in Post Vintage 40+ Int class (I am 46). I took 7th at the nationals this past weekend ( 2.4.07) .
