Maico Rear Wheel Hub Brake Lining

[KTM/MAICO]

During a recent Hare Scramble my rear brake on my 83 Maico 490 stopped working and I could hear something rattling in the rear brake assembly. When I took the rear wheel off the bike and inspected the braking system I expected to find a broken spring causing the brake to malfunction and causing the rattling noise. Upon inspection I discovered that the aluminium rear brake lining attached to the hub itself came off and was loose causing all the noise. Since the lining was loose the brake didn't function.

I have contacted a couple of shops and some say to replace the entire hub assembly. Another says to screw the lining back on in a special described way. You know these hubs don't grow on trees. The rim and spokes are okay.

How was the lining held on in the first place? The hub and lining is all scratched up and I can't see where it fit together to identify how it was constructed. Anyone have any similiar problems or suggestions. Thanks, Tom

:ugg: :ugg: :ugg:

 

[maicomotoman]

This is a quote from Rick Seiman's article "What killed Maico:

The 1983 models were released to the dealers in November 1982, and initially, the dealers were ecstatic. Here's what Wheelsmith had to say: "You can tell all the workers at the factory that the new Maicos are so good, we can't believe it. Yesterday, I got to ride the new 490 for the first time. Words cannot describe the way I feel about the bikes. I sold five bikes the first day I had them in the shop. If this is any idea of things to come, this will be the best year for Maico and Wheelsmith. Again, thanks to all the workers for bringing to the USA the best bike in the world." Greg at Wheelsmith surely looked back at this statement sadly a short time later, as the grief started happening almost immediately:

About 430 rear wheel hubs that were installed on bikes, suddenly started failing. Several concerned dealers had the faulty hubs checked and found they were never heat-hardened.

Here is a link to the whole article >>>CLICK<<< I guess you're lucky the whole thing didn't explode :eek: I have an '82 wheel that I would like to sell if you're interested.(works on '83s) I bought it for my '80 maico, but can't use it because it is slightly different :ugg: