When anyone uses the saying ‘it was a real roller coaster ride’ it is generally accepted whatever being referred to has wildly and rapidly changing circumstances such as the actual roller coaster from which the saying is coined. It can be used to describe someone’s personal life, a country’s political life or a company’s business life, as in this case. The German motorcycle manufacturer Maico certainly went through peaks and troughs from its inception in 1926. Things started well on the MX front for the company as it was the inaugural European 250cc class MX champion in 1957 but there followed a long dry spell until its new racers – a 250 and 360 – combined speed, power and handling which eventually led Ake Jonsson to win the AMA Supercross title by dominating the series with 11 wins out of the 12 rounds. Even better for the marque, he did it on what was essentially a production machine and offered it for sale at the end of the last round to prove a point.
There followed a roller coaster of highs and lows for the German manufacturer which sadly collapsed amid warranty claims and family infighting. But while the lows were very low with bikes not performing, or being unrideable – or worse, breaking as soon as they even saw a track – there were some superb highs when the Mega 2 490 proved to be so ‘right’ after the Mega 1 440 was so ‘wrong.’ The Mega 2 showed the factory had listened to the concerns and done something about it to
