1981 Maico 490 vs. 2009 Honda CRF450 – Separated at Birth?

By JohnNicholas • on February 24, 2010

As we know the beloved 4 stroke while touted as modern tech is really obsolete tech resurrected by a faulty rule book. Here is an image that shows how old “new” chassis design really is.

How different are these two machines that were built 28 years apart?? The thing is it’s not as much as you might think. Sure there have been improvements in suspension, brakes and other things, but in the numbers that really count, these two diverse machines share more in common then at first meets the eye.

When you take perfect side view pics of both, overlay them and erase parts of each photo you see the actual differences. These machines share the same wheelbase which makes this easy.

Maico - CRF 450 photo.... I wonder who "copied" whom?

The really scary thing is that the seat height is nearly the same, but the engine of the CRF 450 is mounted higher in the frame! Shocking.

Photo and story idea by Brian Fedigan - http://www.mxrestoration.com

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Comments

By Paul on February 25th, 2010 at 7:14 am

I did this comparison back in 1989 with my then new CR250 Honda. Except I did it with a measuring tape. The biggest difference in the Maico and the CR was footpeg placement. On the track the Maico was far more stable with the ability to change lines while in the corner that I could not do with the Honda. Although, the 89 CR I had was a more stable handler than the 06 450CRF I tried. No wonder I couldn’t get my buddy off my 81 490 when he tried it out. He said that Maico was the best handling bike he ever rode, a month later he sold his 450 CRF.
Paul

By Sachsgs250 on February 25th, 2010 at 12:08 pm

As an owner of 81 and 83 Maico 250′s and 490′s I personally feel the 1983 Maico is a very much underated motorcycle.I discovered the 1983 Maicos in the 1990′s and actually preferred their handling characteristics to what I was racing at the time.To complicate things further,a friend of mine who raced (and sold)Maico for three decades said that the 1982′s,though overweight,were the best handling of the bunch.As for the CRF450,it is descended from the Decoster Honda’s that were themselves based on Maico designs.

By irace2tmotos on February 26th, 2010 at 11:36 am

So, I guess the next logical step is to go out to the shop and cobble a Maico engine in a CRF frame, since thew real archaic piece is the 4 stroke engine!

Hum?

By MrMaico490 on February 26th, 2010 at 12:08 pm

I don’t think there is an implication that a new CR could benefit from a Maico engine. However such a combination would be illegal according to the sanctioning body. It’s the sillyness of the rule that drives this website and it’s opinions. I do look at the CRF engine with true admiration to be fair. No one would have thought it possible 10-15 years ago to see the power output they produce.

By JohnNicholas on February 26th, 2010 at 12:59 pm

It is true that the four-strokes have improved much more than many people thought possible. In some ways they are amazing.

My problem has to do with Pro Motocross and the handi-cap that the four-strokes require in order to be competitive.

Were it not for rules that allowed a double displacement advantage for the four-stroke, they would not be a viable option in motocross today.

By Sachsgs250 on February 26th, 2010 at 5:18 pm

Back in the 70′s Yoshimura Honda XL250s were producing power outputs that approached what 250Fs are making now.Two strokes produce two power impulses per unit time versus the four stroke’s one impulse,which is why the four strokes are being spun twice as fast to generate similar outputs.Add to that valve train induced parisitic losses and weight considerations and you have a modern generation of offroad racing fourstrokes that are very expensive to maintain.Two strokes,cc for cc,still produce superior performance at a fraction of the cost.

By Brad on February 20th, 2011 at 8:29 pm

How about this one? Put a 4 stroke in a Maico! So whats your real point you do not like 4 stroke’s and or newer bikes?
So this mx restoration guy appear’s a few years ago and starts sending email’s basically saying how the AHRMA
rules are a joke.I have done a lot of checking of AHRMA results and have not seen this guy on any race result’s.
Do you race/ride or just like complaining? Do you have or have had a 2009 450? If not you need to ride one and
do some lap time’s then do some lap time’s on the Maico to see what the real difference is. Oh and if you have
raced and did a real comparison I do apologize.

By Mike on June 18th, 2011 at 7:57 am

Who is this clown? So I checked out his website and he lives in Western NY and so do I. I race every weekend and hit up the vintage races and also have both 2 and 4 strokes and I have never seen this guy at any races.So why dont you bring out your Maico and see what it can do?