Your Collection: 1974 Maico
Sunday, April 3, 2011 | 6:25 AM
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PrintThis weeks collection comes from Bob Bellicitti.
"Hello,
I saw your article at racerxonline.com about readers collections. Here are a couple of pics of my collection. My first vintage bike, after a brief 23 years away from motorcycles, was this 1974 Maico 250. I began racing it in AHRMA events about four years ago and was fortunate enough to win both my classes, 250 Sportsman and 50+ Intermediate, in the Northwest Region in 2009.
The following year I was moved up to the expert 
class where I realized that riding the 50+ Expert class on a 250 was not going to work out. So, my search began for "the big brother", a 1974 Maico 400. It turned out my "big brother" had a this bike that the original owner didn't want anything to do with it any longer. So my brother gave the bike to me in April of this year, see the diamond in the rough picture below.
After many months of countless hours in the 
garage, the machine shop etc. I completed my rebuild of "the big brother" and rode it in the AHRMA National at Hollister Hills in California in October of 2010. Here is the bike in its completed state prior to its maiden voyage. Here is a picture after the last moto at the AHRMA National at Hollister i.e. "the maiden voyage."
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Sweet Maicos! Great choice. Nothing turned like a Maico!
ya the good old 70s I got to race a 125 rotary valve Maico but I could go faster on my YZ 125. The 400 maico though may have been one of the best bikes ever made though. Back in that day though the Maico forks were amazing.
I just LOVE these "Your Collection" pictures; they bring back so many great childhood memories!
I'd love to see some pics of my (and MANY MX riders) very 1st dirt bike, a (the last year of gray gas tanks) mid-1970's Honda XR 75!
As a kid I rode that bike 24/7 on our family's MX track located on 15-acres in Middleburg, VA and through the cornfields, hills and back roads of the Virginia country-side! Man, I could ride and ride for hours and be miles and miles away from home, it was an exhilarating feeling of independence, freedom, exploration and self discovery that helped shape the person I am today. Unfortunately, and sadly, the world has changed and we can no longer give our kids this much freedom and independence; I can’t imagine giving my kids “the long leash” that my parents gave me.
I just found this pic via Google! AWESOME!
http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/802847/
Moose - the '75 XR-75 was my first race bike. A few years later I had the privilege of racing my big brother's Maico MC400 in open expert along with my 100 & 125. Those were the days - I remember being so thrashed on Monday but I had a big grin on my face all week and couldn't wait for the next weekend. That Maico was soooo much fun to ride.
Nice Bikes! I remember pushing my dad on his Maico to get the beast started back when he raced the vintage class with the 40plus guys in Hollister. I knew I recognized the photo of the pit area as the Upper Ranch!
Great bikes Bob.. Glad to hear that you had fun at the AHRMA National at Hollister Hills, this past October, because I was part of the promoting group: SCRU. We have promoted this event for the last 20yrs. It is allot of work, but always get allot of compliments from the riders, and then it's all worth it.
Guys,
Thanks for the compliments. I never got to ride a Maico back in their day, not sure why either at this point. I bought the first one, the 250, without riding it. From the first time on the track with it I kept saying, "OMG, this thing is unreal. It handles like nothing I'd ever ridden". Now with the 400 I can't believe how linear the power band is.
BTW, every year I can't wait to ride the Hollister National, great track and very well run, thanks to the efforts of SCRU! Keep it up guys!
If you ride vintage MX you have to go to that race, period.
B