Back in the day we had some great tracks to ride. That is, before suburbia encroached. In the spring and fall we could jam at "56", the Gun Club or "Sweden", but when it got hot and dry, there was only one place to be - at the beach!At the shore of the Great Salt Lake we had an awesome track with lots of turns, some small bumps and jumps, and tacky conditions even in the middle of the summer.
The 1978 Maico was a very solid bike, the source of it's great manners was a cromoly frame and swingarm, and stout 35mm forks. The shocks that came stock on that bike were just OK (Corte Cossa remote reservoir shocks) but it was the geometry and construction of the chassis that made that bike great.
Also the rocket motor. I had my cylinder ported, and with the stock Bing carb, that bike was fast. The explosive powerband combined with the ability to "speed shift" was a Maico bonus. This was a banner year for Maico, and watching their "factory" pro racers ride production bikes was amazing. Steve Stackable, Gaylon Mosier, Danny "Magoo" Chandler, Carlos Serrano, and the Europeans like Hans Maisch, Adolf Weil and Herbert Schmitz all rode the same basic bikes we did, albeit a lot faster. We emulated them in every way we could, all in pursuit of the motocross dream.
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In the mid '70s to early '80s, we had similar places to ride - even in populated New Jersey (my home state). Multiple practice MX tracks, linked together by miles of wooded trails, powerlines and rail road tracks.
None of it technically legal, though no one cared. An incredible playground that no longer exists. We were damn lucky.
That era of Maico was awesome. I had riding friends with similar 250s, 400s, and 450s.
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