Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/807546
March/April 2017 35 lower first and second gear to enduro ratios to make the best use of the beast in the woods. Other miscellaneous items included a new connecting rod, reeds, ignition, and car- bure- tor, along with finding a clutch cover! I turned to Koestler KTM in Germany for these parts. Koestler has a large collec- tion of NOS parts that he purchased from Brouwer Motors BV back in 1999. He is the current builder of the new Maicos and has all the tools to create new parts. This made it quite a painless search since he had everything, in- cluding an NOS clutch cover for the engine, as well as new rings. I was even able to get enduro first and second gears to build it as a proper woods machine. This is where the fun began. I split the engine cases and removed all the old bearings and seals. The engine was caked with mud and the gears showed surface rust spots. I cleaned the cases with engine degreaser and used SOS pads to scrub the dirt from inside the cases. I took the gears apart from their shafts and soaked them in naval jelly to remove the rust. Unlike many manufacturers, Maicos do not use bushings; instead there are place needle bear- ings under their free spinning gears. There are also circlips on the shaft between all the gears to lock them in place. All of these parts were replaced along with the new enduro first and second gears. I needed a frame. I have no use for a sidecar so I intended to build it as a normal dirt bike that I could ride on the trails. This is where I decid- ed to make a sacrifice. I had two 2004 Maico 500s and chose one to become a Mai- co 660. I wanted to mimic the red and white Maico prototypes that Maico Interna- tional had famously produced, but since my engine was already blue, I decided to go with a blue and white combination. The front forks were replaced with USD Suzu- ki RM250 forks that I already had, along with the help of RB-Designs to modify the triple trees to fit. White plastics, new seat foam and blue seat cover were also fitted to the bike. The graphics were a custom design by JJW Designs and I had the suspension done at Pro Motion Suspension. The frame and hubs were powder-coated.