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''For the manga series, see Maico 2010.'' Maicowerk A.G. was a West German motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in 1926 by Ulrich Maistch as Maistch & Co, the company originally manufactured 98 and 123 cc Ilo two-stroke engines. After World War II, they began producing their own unit construction two-stroke engines, selling complete motorcycles. Maico () made a brief foray into the automobile business with their own line of microcars in the late 1950s. Maico have also made Go kart engines.〔Title: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Motorcycles, Editor: Erwin Tragatsch, Publisher: New Burlington Books, Copyright: 1979 Quarto Publishing, Edition: 1988 Revised, Page 198, ISBN 0-906286-07-7〕 The road motorcycles were named after winds... 'Blizzard' 'Typhoon' etc., but the company was better known for its purpose-built Motocross and Enduro machines, and for its 'Maicoletta' motor scooter, both of which sold in higher numbers than the road motorcycles. ==Maico racing motorcycles== 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 Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki, Maico riders such as Adolf Weil, Åke Jonsson and Willy Bauer proved to be a serious challenge to the Japanese factories and produced numerous top three finishes in the Motocross World Championships. The firm also experienced some success in Grand Prix road racing competitions with rider Börje Jansson winning three 125cc Grand Prix races between 1972 and 1973.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Börje Jansson career statistics )〕 American publication ''Motocross Action'' called the 1981 Maico Mega 2 - 490cc the greatest open-class motocross bike of all time. The 1974.5 400cc and 440cc GP, 1978/79 250cc Magnum and 1981 490cc models along with any year 501cc motocross bike are some of the most sought-after vintage MX and twin-shock motorcycles to this day. One of the visual modernizations of the Maico off-road motorcycles was the move from a "coffin" style tank in 1974 to a "teardrop" style tank in 1978/79 on bikes like the 250 Magnum. The bikes later moved to plastic tanks in 1980 with the Mega 490.〔VMX Magazine: Issue 14(1981 490cc review); Issue 15(1974 440cc review); Issue 19 (1981 250cc review)〕 One of the largest contributions to the world of motocross suspension technology came in the 1974 season when the Wheelsmith Motorcycles team in the USA and the Gunther Schier teams in Europe forward-mounted the rear shocks on the Maico factory-backed motorcycles, immediately increasing the travel and ability to trump 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. 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) up through 1986. Subsequent manufacturers have purchased the brand name and applied it to their own limited production motorcycles. Modern open-class dirt-bikes are still being produced under the Maico brandname〔(Maico UK Home. )〕 The ATK Intimidator dirt-bike (reportedly the most powerful production 2 stroke motorcycle available aside from Maico's own motorcycles) features a Maico motor.〔(Starring The 700cc Intimidator - Wild New Machines From ATK! - Dirtbike at Off-Road.com )〕 After the company went out of business in 1986, its assets were taken over by a Dutch company, but to this day retains a strong cult following. Many riders (restore vintage Maicos ) for display or to take back to the track. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Maico」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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