Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/807546
34 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com The Revival of the Maico 660 By Toby Opferman This story begins with an accidental purchase on German ebay. That is where I found what was listed as a 685 Maico cylinder, complete with head and pis- ton. I figured I could buy it as a spare as I already owned a Maico 685. How often do you actually see 685 cylinders on ebay anyway? However I did notice something odd about the cylinder. You see the word "MAICO" was molded on the side. This isn't how the Maico 685s are made. They are engraved with "HEWA POWER," in reference to the late Hermann Walgenbach, the famous two-stroke tuner who developed the power plant. Despite this is- sue, I was curi- ous about it and bought the Maico. Soon af- ter, I received the following email: "Hello my English is not good wuld you buy the gaerbox?? with crankshaft??". After some back and forth, I received pic- tures of the bottom end. It looked rough and was definitely an older model. The clutch was a pull cable and not hydraulic, which has been on all Maicos since 1999. The engine cases were powder-coated blue and the clutch side case was missing. The clutch bolts were rusted and, overall, the engine looked like it had been sitting a long time. So I bought it. I received the engine a month later and that 's when the next mystery revealed itself. The piston was engraved "97.98" — essentially, 98mm. This wasn't a true 685 since those have a 100mm piston and, with the same stroke, this meant the engine was slightly smaller. I soon found out that it was actually a very rare Maico 660 side car en- gine; only 10 or so made each year for three years in the early 1990s. They were sold only as bare engines that you would put into your own custom sidecar chas- sis. The engine now graduated from "spare parts" to my next project. I started to make the list of the parts I would need. The piston was practically brand new but I decided to replace the rings. I knew I would need to replace all the seals, gas- kets and the bearings. Luckily the bearings are standard and I could order them from any bear- ing supply. The clutch gear was rusted and the basket grooved pretty bad so, if possible, it was best to replace it as well. These side car engines are geared very high in first and second for racing, which makes it dif- ficult to trail ride without a dinner plate-sized rear sprocket. If possible, it would be best to