If the other day we were talking about the Hercules K 125 BW, we cannot let the days go by without remembering its predecessor and the first motorcycle developed for the newly created German army. It was there in 1956 when the armed forces (Army of the Federal Republic of Germany), and initially they could only use commercial motorcycles. However, in 1959 the first model developed expressly for its use was presented, the Maico 250 B.
Maisch & Co, also known as Maico, was already a benchmark in off-road motorcycles so it was a guarantee of success. The motorcycle would be available in 1960, with the army ordering a first strip of 10,000 units. As in the case of the Hercules, the B in the name referred to the Armed forces, as a specific military version.
Was it a completely new bike built from scratch? Not much less. Maico already had a similar motorcycle in the catalog, and what he did was adapt it to meet the specific needs of the messenger service at the front, communications, quartermaster and military police. That is why they used the Maico M 250 Blizzard as their starting bike. We signed up to tell you one day about this popular model of the German brand.
Of the 10,000 units originally manufactured, about a third of them were assembled at the Zweirad-Union factory in response to political issues. Maico supplied the engine, tank, fork and wheels, which were manufactured alongside the complete bikes in Nuremberg. The rest of the elements were made locally, and the whole set was assembled.
Speaking of the engine, this was an air-cooled, single-cylinder, two-stroke unit with a displacement of 247cc (67x70mm). It was capable of developing a maximum of 14.9 hp at 5,200 rpm. With a total weight of approximately 165 kg (including a 16-liter tank), it was capable of reaching 100 km / h.
The changes of the Maico 250 B with respect to the Blizzard focused on the chassis, made with oval tubes instead of round (increases resistance), less wraparound fenders to avoid the accumulation of mud between them and the wheels, in addition to an exhaust positioned in a higher place. The rest of the elements, as far as we have been able to know, were shared: telescopic fork, double rear hydraulic shock absorber or drum brakes on both axles, on 18-inch wheels.
An important piece of information on these motorcycles designed for heavy duty services is the load capacity. In this case it could load an additional 170 kg and also had a towing capacity of an additional 115 kg. The gearbox was four-speed, with a chain final drive system.
The Maico 250 B was in production until 1969, and in service the last units were withdrawn no less than in 1983, many of them after 20 years of hard service and who knows, hundreds of different drivers who would make it a thousand and one doggies. On the Classic Trader page, where they have one for sale in original condition (from where we have taken the photos), you can admire a lot of details about it.
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