1. 1981 Maico 490 Mega 2
The 1981 Maico 490 Mega 2 may be the most legendary long-travel motocross machine in history. Never mind that Maico, like Bultaco, never won an FIM World Motocross Championship. The German machines were the gold standard in handling, power delivery and, unfortunately, fragility. But if you ever got the chance to swing a leg over a Maico Mega, then you know what few people do, that its power and handling are every bit as good today as they were when it debuted in 1980. We would even argue that the Mega 2 handles as well as or better than many modern motocross machines. Sadly, the Mega 2 was followed up by Maico’s first single-shock motocrosse model in 1982, the Alpha One, which suffered from linkage design flaws and failed with such monotony that it sent Maico into a death spiral toward bankruptcy. Parts are still available, so if we owned this bike, we would race it, fix it, race it again, fix it again and keep going until we couldn’t race anymore. Then we’d restore it. We’ve seen clean examples of the Mega 2 listed on Craigslist for nearly 10 grand. As far as we’re concerned, they’re worth whatever the market will bear, though we’ve been warned not to spend more than $8500.
Our Max Bid: We may need to borrow some money
The Mecum Antique and Classic Motorcycle Auction returns to Las Vegas, January 25-28. Here’s a dirty dozen for which we’d definitely raise our paddle.
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