The legendary 1981 Maico 490 is widely considered one of the greatest motocross bikes of all time. None other than the late, great Rick “Super Hunky” Sieman, original editor of Dirt Bike magazine, penned an ode to the German fire-breather.
“It has all the subtlety of a safe falling on a cricket. All the finesse of a cannon being fired in a handball court. The bike leaves you stunned, rocked, wide-eyed, and weak-kneed. In other words, it does what every other machine has been promising, but has never delivered.” -Super Hunky
The Maico 490 boasted 53 horsepower while weighing just 235 pounds with one gallon of gas. For comparison, a new Honda CRF450R, built nearly 50 years later, makes ~55 horsepower and weighs 244 pounds wet — a nearly identical power-to-weight ratio.
Of course, the Maico came right at the end of the twin-shock era, and tires and suspension weren’t nearly what they are today. That made the 490 even more of a beast in the dirt — though it handled superbly for the era. In 2023, test rider Jody Weisel of Motocross Action magazine, who’s ridden and tested just about every dirt bike for the last 50 years, named the ’81 Maico 490 his favorite MX-er of all time… read more >
