Old Bike Australasia: 1956 Maico M250S Blizzard.
Return to Bike News

Old Bike Australasia: 1956 Maico M250S Blizzard.

4.9K Views
By OldBike - 11 March 2015

Once the Depression was past, the 1930s were good times for motorcycle manufacturers, particularly in Germany where the big three: BMW, Zundapp and DKW, poured out a wide variety of machines that bristled with innovative features. Two young brothers, Wilhelm and Otto Maisch, eyed the booming scene with enthusiasm, and decided there was room for yet another brand. Thus Maico, an abbreviation of Maich Company (which was founded by Ulrich Maisch in Poltingen, near Stuttgart in 1926), was formed and began modest production in Wurtemburg in 1934, making their own frames and cycle parts with 98 cc Ilo and 125 cc Sachs engines. Successful as these two models quickly became, other factors, notably the intensified war effort, intervened to thwart Maico’s motorcycle plans, and production was switched to the manufacture of aircraft components. This required a move to larger premises in Pfäffingen-Tübingen, near Stuttgart where virtually the entire output went to the Luftwaffe, but the end of the war also signalled the end of the line for Maico’s aircraft business.

The brothers now had a large factory (which had miraculously avoided much of the allied bombing), complete with tooling on their hands, so they did they only practical thing and returned to their roots; making motorcycles. This time they decided to build complete machines; their first power plant being a 150 cc two-stroke twin-port single which powered the Maico M150 of 1947. There was nothing particularly ground-breaking about the M150, which bore a passing resemblance to the DKW RT125, but it was a solid, reliable machine with brisk performance that set the company on the road to prosperity.

The M150 was soon upgraded to a full 250 cc and marketed as the M250, and to grab a share of the emerging scooter market, the company produced the Maico Mobil, followed by the Maicoletta in 1955. By normal scooter standards the electric-start Maicoletta was massive, with a steel body enveloping the rear section and the 250 cc engine that was soon punched out to 277 cc. Fourteen-inch wheels with full-sized drum brakes added to the bulky look, but even with 146 kg to haul, the Maicoletta was a spirited performer.

The M250, called the Blizzard from 1955, was soon joined by the company’s most radical creation, the Typhun, which first appeared as a 350 cc twin and soon became a 400. The Typhun owed little to its siblings, being virtually all-new, from the rear swinging arm suspension that bolted to the unit gearbox to the enclosed leading link forks, with the power and transmission unit used as a stressed member of the chassis. The Typhun, however is another story, and the company’s fortunes continued to rely upon sales of the comparatively conventional M175 ad M250, not just from civilians but from the German Federal Forces, which accounted for over 10,000 units.

In the late ‘fifties the factory began to suffer a number of setbacks, some to do with industrial strife and others of its own making, such as an abortive venture into car manufacturing. But to hark back a little, by 1956 Maico had established a solid range of road bikes that included 175, 200 and 250 cc road bikes, a 250 Enduro and Scrambler, the Blizzard 250 and Typhun 400 road bikes, and the Maicoletta scooter. The Whizzer Corporation in Michigan was appointed US distributor, while several models in the range were imported to Australia by Markwell Brothers in Brisbane and Milledge Brothers in Melbourne.

The M250 Blizzard, which formed the basis for the Enduro and Scrambler models as well, was a robust single-port two-stroke single pumping out an honest 18.2 hp, with a four-speed gearbox. The frame was comprised of both tubular and pressed steel sections, brazed and welded together, with conventional swinging arm suspension at the rear and BMW-style leading link suspension at the front controlled by spring/hydraulic units. A fully-enclosed rear chaincase kept things clean, and a neat aluminium shroud also enclosed the carburettor.

Despite the marketing efforts and the racing successes, Maico had its problems, and the company was drastically trimmed in the early 1960s, thereafter concentrating on off-road bikes almost exclusively. Sadly, the company collapsed in 1983, although the name and manufacturing rights were sold and have had several owners since. Maico is still being manufactured in Holland and the replicas of the 1980-81 model 250 and 490 motocross bikes are in high demand for classic motocross around the world.

Out of obscurity

Around 35 years ago, a locally-delivered 250 Maico Blizzard was pushed under a house in Brisbane and forgotten. It had covered just 23,000 miles from when it was sold new in February 1956, presumably by Markwells in Brisbane.

From a design aspect, the bike is an interesting farrago of components. On one hand, the engine, although of conventional two-stroke piston-port specification, is a very good performer, as evidenced by the success of the bike in off-road trim. A Bing 26 mm carburettor (with what Maico call a starting device – a choke slide) is fitted, along with a small wet-element air filter, but it is secreted away behind and very a neat shroud constructed from cast alloy in two halves and crewed together. It’s complex, but it keeps the carburettor, with its inherent petrol-oil diet and associated goop, out of sight, providing a clean exterior, at least in theory. The four-speed gearbox and multi-plate clutch both run in an oil-bath, with a 3/8” x 3/8” 54-link primary chain. A neat touch is a gear-position indicator that exits on the top of the gearbox casing and is connected via a Bowden cable to the speedo, which incorporates a tumbler with a different coloured display for each gear.

But the powerplant is burdened by an incredibly heavy suit of clothes; both mudguards are massive in size and construction, and the frame itself is no lightweight. The twin toolboxes, also in heavy gauge steel, look capable of holding a complete set of clothes and enough spares to rebuild the bike. The seat is similarly huge and would not be out of place on a bike three times the capacity; indeed it bears more than a passing resemblance to BMW seats of the period – must be a German thing. Up front is a set of leading-link forks that could take on the roughest terrain, and with the Blizzard in motocross trim, did. The trade-off (over the use of a conventional telescopic fork) of course is more weight, lots more. Front-end movement is controlled by a pair of Hemscheidt spring/damper units which are also significantly different from British-style components in that there are no collets to secure the springs and covers. The top, chromed-plated cover screws onto the top alloy forging, and when removed, exposes a soft pin that can be driven out to allow the unit to be dismantled, while the bottom section containing the damper body and bottom mount is a single casting. Unusual, but stylish and effective.

At the opposite end of the scale are the wheels, which are incredibly light. Maico’s own hubs are used, virtually identical front and back; the rear hub with a cush-drive with seven rubber segments. The brake drums measure 160 mm diameter with 30 mm wide shoes. The hubs are laced to German Altenburger alloy rims that are a really unusual design with flat sides. It strikes to me that Maico, in its 1950s form, was very skilled in pattern making and aluminium-alloy casting. As well as the hubs and their robust (especially the rear) backing plates, such ornate castings are also to be found on the rear mudguard brackets and especially the top steering crown, which is a work of art. The cables pass through slots in the crown, which is capped by an ornate steering damper knob, also cast alloy, with the Maico badge inset.

Whereas British bikes of the time, especially the two-stroke lightweights, shared many proprietary items, the Maico is almost entirely bespoke. Certainly, there are the expected sourced items such as Magura controls, including the ornate twistgrip that invisibly pulls the throttle through the inside of the right handlebar. The handlebars are split in two; each half clamped into the top steering crown. The speedo is a complex little gadget that incorporates the gear selection indicator.

Two stroke singles are fairly rare these days, apart from the Bultaco Metralla, so the little Maico is a real head-turner wherever it appears.

 

Protect your Maico. Call Shannons Insurance on 13 46 46 to get a quote today.