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In the late 60's and early 70's both Bultaco and Maico were hugely popular brands. Maico's hey day continued into the early 80's Both brands were well thought of and fast on the race track. It just occurred to me, that neither brand ever won a world championship. Seems odd given the presence and popularity of each.
I have nothing else to add.
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I still think your Yamataco in your Avi looks awesome.
I'm working on a Maico/Magoo tribute bike, myself.
I ripped a start from Egypt and I was happy about that.
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After reviewing the list of top 3 for each class through the years, it appears neither brand (Bultaco especially - shocking they never even got a top 3!) really invested in championship contending riders (edit: likely an inaccurate statement, but perhaps not totally inaccurate??).. seems most Maico riders were German, like the brand itself (though it seems this was common for that time period?) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motocross_World_Championship
Surely Bultaco had greater success in ISDT events, yes???
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Location: Mendon, NY USA
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Tis true, but I believe they both came close several times. And both had road race efforts, how did they fare in that arena? Bultaco has some world trials championships, a few of the Scottish and some six-day accolades. And the Astro's made the podium quite a few times.
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Maico’s Ake Jonsson had the talent. He was a loose spark plug away from beating Roger D for a 500 world championship.
“Anything that gets your blood pumping is probably worth doing”
Hunter S Thompson
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Didn't Gary Bailey win on a Bultaco?
I ripped a start from Egypt and I was happy about that.
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Location: Claremont, NC USA
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Location: Mendon, NY USA
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"Bultaco came to Bailey with a proposal he couldn't refuse in 1971. And though he hated to leave Greeves and the relationships he had built there, the Bultaco offer was too good to ignore. With Bultaco, Bailey earned an Inter-AMA win in 1971 in Orlando, Florida, and two AMA 250cc motocross national victories (Washington, Indiana, and Talladega, Alabama) in 1972. Bailey was one of the early supercross riders, finishing fourth in the series in 1974. These accomplishments came at a time when his racing days were winding down. By the early 1970s Bailey was already focusing most of his attention on his schools."TeamGreen wrote:
Didn't Gary Bailey win on a Bultaco?
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Location: Planet, VT USA
Both brands won GP races, national championships but from my feeble research, no MX world champs. Yes Bultaco had a lot of success in Trials. Better than Motocross.
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Location: Chicago, IL USA
Maico had two huge high-profile series victories when Ake Jonsson and Adolph Weil won the United States Trans-AMA titles in 1972 and 1973. Best publicity you could get in the US at that time I bet.
Also, Bultaco had Jim Pomeroy, who along with Husky’s Brad Lackey was the biggest US star and got tons and tons of Moto press.
Crazy that Puch won a 250 world title as late as 1975!
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Kaaden'sTheory wrote:
Maico’s Ake Jonsson had the talent. He was a loose spark plug away from beating Roger D for a 500 world championship.
Willi Bauers Maico broke down in the last lap of the 1973 season He lost the title to Decoster by just 2 points Spark plug failure ? 5 year later he was paralyzed at the British GP at Kilmartin Scotland
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The title Ake lost due to the plug unthreading was 71. Last GP of the year in Holland. He came in with a slim lead and lost his plug in the first moto. Won the second moto but it was too little too late.
I didn’t know about Willi Bauer getting paralyzed though, that’s a damn shame. He was part of that great Maico wrecking crew along with Ake, Weil, Wolsink that used to come to the US and kick butt during the Trans Am’s. Those guys sold a ton of Maicos!
“Anything that gets your blood pumping is probably worth doing”
Hunter S Thompson
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TeamGreen wrote:
I still think your Yamataco in your Avi looks awesome.
I'm working on a Maico/Magoo tribute bike, myself.
I remember Magoo and his Maico taking Hannah way out of his comfort zone at Saddleback. At Carlsbad Raceway he had this crazy outside line he'd jump sideways into the graded embanment and land pinned sending dirt 20'. When Wardy tried it he almost ate the fence.
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TeamGreen wrote:
I still think your Yamataco in your Avi looks awesome.
I'm working on a Maico/Magoo tribute bike, myself.wavslide1 wrote:
I remember Magoo and his Maico taking Hannah way out of his comfort zone at Saddleback. At Carlsbad Raceway he had this crazy outside line he'd jump sideways into the graded embanment and land pinned sending dirt 20'. When Wardy tried it he almost ate the fence.
Classic times. No-one Banzai'd like Danny!
I ripped a start from Egypt and I was happy about that.
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Before the 250cc class became a World Championship Series it was a European 250cc Championship Series known as the Coup d' Europe. The 1957 Coup d' Europe was won by German rider Fritz Betzelbacher on a Maico. The Coup d' Europe continued through 1961. In the late 1950's the Coup d' Europe was a coveted title in the then moto-cross world. Then in 1962 the 250cc class was given full World Championship status.
Coup d' Europe Champions
1957, Fritz Betzelbacher, Germany, (Maico)
1958, Jaromir Cizek, Czechoslovakia, (Jawa)
1959, Rolf Tibblin, Sweden, (Husqvarna)
1960, Dave Bickers, England, (Greeves)
1961, Dave Bickers, England, (Greeves)
“Adhering to 1970’s Standards of Political Correctness”
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kkawboy14 wrote:
Did they ever purchase the big name guys?
It was said they were always skint. Brad Lackey said he would have won the world title sooner if he was on a Maico He was over in Scotland last summer as somehow a club managed to persuade Scotlands largest land owner to let them run a meeting on his front garden at his castle He has got a large garden! Brad was doing a Q and A session in the beer tent and I wish I had asked him about saying that about Maico years a go Never thought about it at the time Brad said that night that he wanted $1million to defend his title in 1983 Suzuki offered $750 000 and he turned it down and retired So with the money involved you can see why Maico could never afford one of the very top riders
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Now your talking !
Bultaco won many World Trials Championships and couple of 50cc Road racing ( wasn't their motor if iirc )
Think Bimbo finished Top 5 as did Harry Everts couple times
Still kind of shocked no one has rebadged bike as a 'Taco. Think I remember seeing a TM done up as a Bul
There's a really cool '77 370 'Sang on evilbay right now...KLP swingarm, Maico forks to look like Simons....btw the '77 was last good Bul IMO. I have supposedly a Zahrt/Eierstedt factory Bul from '77....love that thing...much better than my '78 or '79s were
still waiting on my '80 Bul to come in, U-boot sank the ship was what i heard :-)
Kevin Windham @kdub_14
Not 1factory racer hasnt been told that if ucan help teammate out, then do it 4 championship. Few r in a position like MM25 #partofthesport
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Kenny Zarht holeshot the Daytona SX in 1977 and led a bunch of laps I think. Finally got reeled in by Ellis and winner Hannah. I wish there were more pictures of the hot rod 250 Pursang he raced.
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Stoneface wrote:
Kenny Zarht holeshot the Daytona SX in 1977 and led a bunch of laps I think. Finally got reeled in by Ellis and winner Hannah. I wish there were more pictures of the hot rod 250 Pursang he raced.
Kenny was fast and smooth. I saw him crash right in front of me at deanza when we were racing there, and somehow his elbow got caught in the rear sprocket and his bike was still running and it gnarled his elbow really bad, so they took him away to the hospital.
Another tidbit of trivia is that I worked for norm reeves honda in the mid 70's and they sponsored jeff jennings and gave him a 125 bultaco to race and he raced it at the la coliseum in the special class they had at that time. a guy named gary fishburn ported the bejesus out of the cylinder and added ports everywhere he could. it looked like swiss cheese after he was done. they tried a tillotson carb on it and i helped them try to jet it in the parking lot of their paramount store and test rode it there, but the carb didn't work well so they went with a conventional type one.
there are more photos of him in the link below and an interview with fasthouse.
https://www.google.com/search?q=kenny+zahrt+death&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwik-JLI5tXfAhUlFjQIHQLxCKoQ_AUIDygC&biw=1366&bih=654
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