Maico was founded in 1926 assembling 2 stroke motors. The company began to manufacture engines after WWII.
Maico (Named "Maicowerk A.G.") was started in the 1926 by two brothers (Otto & Wilhelm Maisch) who operated the factory until 1983. After WWII Otto gained 60% control of the factory while Wilhelm maintained 40% because of a law and Wilhelm being a member of the National-Socialist Party.
Maico race bikes were very popular in the 70s and to this day are some of the most sought after classic dirt bikes. Recently on Ebay a Maico motor that needed rebuild sold for $3800!
Unfortunately, Maico was the subject of an internal take over and went bankrupt in 1983. The details can be found in the reference section below. Maico has been revivied a number of times since then and Maicos are currently in production again in Germany.
The 1981 Maico 490 is classified as the best open class dirt bike of all time.
Otto Maisch
Wilhelm Maisch's sons had acquired the factory in 1983/1984. The following Maico History excerpt was written by Randall Owen:
Wilhelm Maisch
"Wilhelm Maisch family built the 1984 to 1986 models under the M Star Label. Purchased by Merkle who made Maico's from 1987 to 1994, then sold to Rodem and moved to the Netherlands for the 1995 production. Midway through the next year, they became Maico Motorcycles N.V., N.V. standing for Limited Liability Company, and still under Rodem control. Bankrupt again in 1998, the biggest shareholder, Brouwer,
took everything and continued the Maico production. There were color changes, Yellow to red to blue and now red and black. Despite the bankruptcy, buying and selling of the Maico Manufacturing mutable times, one thing remained constant, Maico keep up with the times.
From air cooled to water cooled, Maico forks to Upside Down White Power Forks to standard Marzocchi Forks, no brakes to disk brakes, primary chain to geared primary, life and innovations moved on and so did Maico."
Since March 2001 Axel Kostler has owned and operated Maico from Germany. 2011 Maico models are available from his website:
British made Maico International has been advancing Maico further and is pending release of 2011 bikes: