A continuation in our investigation of 125 Maicos; the first part of the series you can find here. Preparation: Getting Ready to Ride The 125 Maico was a dichotomy. On one hand, it used a superb, unbreakable, fine handling frame. It had excellent suspension. It was light, and the engine produced the most horsepower […]
While it could be argued from several standpoints, we can say with reasonable evidence that Maico produced the first two-stroke, purpose-built dirt bikes to reach North America. They didn’t come in great quantities at first, may have had lights installed, and didn’t (at least in the mid-1950s) resemble our modern idea of an off-road motorcycle, […]
MOTORCYCLE PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION And so, given our discussion of the motor vehicle as both historical/industrial artifact and art object (our last article: Preservation and Restoration), what should we do with that old motorcycle in our possession? Preserve it for posterity, or restore it as art? In earlier times, contemplating simpler (non-industrial) objects, […]
Part 1: The Success Years: Ake Jonsson “Watch Ake slice inside his line and pass him, seemingly with no effort. What makes a man ride like this?”[1] “I think Ake was probably the best motocross rider, ever.”[2] The Vintage Motor Company is proud to release part 1 of a 2 piece series […]
(From the Beginning to the 1970s) The cubist, brightly-colored motorcycles that fascinated American racers originated in a small automobile repair shop in post-World War I Germany. Maico (“Maisch & Company”) was formed in Poltringen, an industrial town in the southwest corner of Germany. The year was 1926—the same year the reparations-wracked and starving country was […]
The Maico – The People and the Culture As the premier tool used by the most dedicated racers of the time, I see the Maico motorcycle as an excellent touchstone for this little-studied American group. By analyzing the motorcycle as material culture and studying the relationship between this machine and the people who interacted with […]
By David Russell Introduction Most Americans would profess to some basic knowledge of the culture and history of motorcycling in this country. Some among them have likely encountered Hunter S. Thompson’s Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga , and may have at least attempted to absorb Robert M. Persig’s Zen and the Art […]