what's so cool about a 78

[tomale]

I use to own a 78 mc5 400 that I raced for about a year and I really liked it, and if the 78 maico not been practically thrown into my lap, I probably still be racing it.. It is faster than my 78 400 maico and it corners well, it is more of what I call a point and shoot kind of bike and loves the berms. It is not a bike to putt on, the harder you push it the better it works. Lap times I would have to say are not that far off of what I can do on my maico and when it come to reliable the KTM is far better. If there is anything on the KTM that I think needs help it is the forks, they really should be better tuned, they seem to be a bit stiff in the mid stoke. and the fork tubes are 38's but it is not enough to keep it tracking as true as I think is possible. putting a set of 42's with a set of gold valves should make a big difference.. If I had a KTM that I would want to race agains a 490 maico it would be the 420, I think the 495 is just too much motor for anyone but a world champ to handle, in most cases a 400 is plenty but getting yourself out of trouble is alot easier with a bit more power and We do have a few sand tracks and Washougal with horsepower hill and everytime I head up that hill I get left behind by all of the bigger bikes.. Please feel free to chime in..

Thom Green,Still crazy after all these years!
76' 250 MC5 (orginal owner)
74'250 hare scrambler (project)
74' 1/2 440 maico
78' 440 maico
72' cr125 Husky (project)
74' TM125 suzuki
93' RMx 250 suzuki

[Britt Boyette]

Make you a smoking deal on my 76 MC5 400 project if you really want one.

Britt Boyette

76 400 MC5 (project)
77 Husky WR250
76 RM370
83 YZ250
06 KX450f flat tracker
09 Kawasaki Versys
70 Suzuki TS250
Too much of a good thing? I think NOT!

[Big Mac]

Thom - I think you're about spot on. Haven't compared the '80 or so open class Maico (need to) but the 420 motor is a great balance and better than the '78, the '79-'81 big bike frame with good Ohlins is a big improvement over the MC5's, especially for us Big&Tall guys.

Against Historic-class bikes, the MC5 400 stands out real strong, but the 420 feels like 10 HP more and runs well against the best Evo twin shock bikes, all which aren't that far off of modern bikes in feel.

In addition to larger forks, a big improvement is better front brakes. The '82 KTM 250 had 40MM Marzocchi's and double-action front brakes a la the Yamaha, but the clamps went to timken bearings so some adapting is needed.  I got a deal on an '82 set and front wheel. The 38MM clamps honed out just fine to take the 40s and it all clamped right up on my 495. The 40MMs plus the double-leading-shoe brakes make a HUGE improvement.

The next time you have the Maico out to Woodland let's connect up before practice is over. You can take some laps on the 420 or the 495 and I'll try your Maico out. [^]

[tomale]

I plan on being at woodland in Feb, and any of my bikes are fair game for you.. The 78 now has 42mm fork on them, we ended up modifying the forks to maintain the geometry, it works really well, most notably on a rutty straight away. IT just tracked so much better, actually, anything with ruts, it steers much better..
I plan on you racing it..

Thom Green,Still crazy after all these years!
76' 250 MC5 (orginal owner)
74'250 hare scrambler (project)
74' 1/2 440 maico
78' 440 maico
72' cr125 Husky (project)
74' TM125 suzuki
93' RMx 250 suzuki