Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

competJtlOn use. When the shifting mechanism was worn out, everything else was too! However', new ;beefed up' shifting mechanism is a part of the newer Sachs engines and should give even better service. Another new feature is a six speed transmission. This is quite helpful as there was a fairly sizable "space" between 1st ...,d 2nd on the older models which was bothersome in some situations. The ratios are now spaced more evenly, which is particularly helpful in getting up hills. The Motoplat solid state ignition has replaced the earlier Bosch points and coil system. The Monark uses ligh ter weigh t Ceriani forks with better dampening characteristics than the older-s Ie Pen tons. This change makes the Monark a much better handler in the deser.t where one can keep the front end up while skipping over whoop-de-doos. It's becoming increasingly important for an enduro motorcycle to be licensable and the Monark is. It has a headlight, hom, battery and all the other stuff necessary to get by the CHI'. Its exhaust note is fairly quiet. The only serious omission in this regard is a spark arrestor which is now required equipment in many enduros in this country. The headlight is a sealed beam unit and quite a good one. High beam is fairly narrow and very brigh 1. Low beam is wide, flat and also very brigh t. For those of you addicted to nigh t enduros, th is is a real blessing as the low beam is quite effective in dust. A VDO speedometer is standard equipment on the Enduro model Monark, but its effectiveness is somewhat limited for enduro work by the fact that it is driven from the countershaft sprocket. On hard surfaces the rear wheel tracks, while on soft surfaces it spins, sometimes gaining only one wheel length for every two revolutions. Thus, you must be continually making judgments and trying to correct for speedo error. 1 was aware of two design flaws in the Monark. The first is the air cleaner. On the positive side, the air cleaner is very well sealed and the air is drawn in from 'way up under the tank. It should be possible to run the Monark in water up to the gas tank level without drowning. On the negative side, the element is a bit small and there is no dead air chamber. But the most annoying thing is that servicing the air cleaner is a major chore. You practically have to disassemble the bike to get at it. See the accompany photo. The second design flaw is the rear brake actuating assembly, which is cable operated. Apart from the reliability problems inheren t in this design (cable breakage and sticking) the unit is not very sensitive. It tends to be either (ton" or "off" with nothing in between. A minor point is that there is no tool box nor any provision for carrying tools. 1 was able to test this bike under what I consider to be ideal conditions: riding it in an enduro. My very first ride on the bike started on the starting line of the Prospector's Moonshine Enduro and I headed off across rough desert in the middle of the nigh t at competitive speed. I had no problems whatever adjusting to the bike; I was immediately at home on it. That should tell you something about this machine. The bike is extremely comfortable. Everything is in the right spot, at least for me. For fast riding, it's very deflnitely a stand-up bike, but when you're standing it's as close to being a part of you as any bike I've ever ridden. The steering is as accurate as that of a trials machine and putting the Monark where you want it is more a matter of will than muscle. Throwing it into comers is abou t as great an experience as you could want and your tendency is to want to zap every bike that you see on a tum; the rougher the turn the better. Make no mistake, it is a racing bike and you have to ride it all the time when you're going fast. You can't sit· down on it and expect it to run over everything and keep going in a straight line like a desert sled. But if you really enjoy . the sensation of riding a .motorcycle and exercising fme control, this bike should make you ecstatic. The engine is a bit pipier than the older model "A's" but not even close to being objectionable. The bike that I had would bog a bit at lower rpm's, but I believe that was just a tuning problem rather than a characteristic of the new design. The six speed transmission makes it so easy to keep the engine in the power band that any bogging was more an annoyance than a problem, anyway. The engine absolutely would 110..1 !-9¥i uPthfv~n ~}1pn Jl;Jut ot~Ipr tel! mffi~,~ jiJie ~~~s,)~.t 0!llJ"Ple. a N' ... N ::> « ~ w Z W ...J (.J ~ Robie Clausen tries out his new Monark, even decided to let Ron S. ride it in an enduro. bike fmished my 90 mile test ride with absolutely no problems of any sort. It ·was a thoroughly enjoyable ride that made me wish the bike were mine to keep. 1 started off wi th a comparison of the earlier model Penton and the Monark. It's time to return to that comparison. The earlier Pen ton had very similar geometry (maybe a mite less trail) and shared the Monark's beautiful handling characteristics, but it had one fatal flaw: I t broke frames. While the Monark frame looks similar with respect to the geometry and the swingarm looks identical, a closer inspection reveals some reassuring differences, notably at the swingarm pivot. Where the Penton swing arm pivot was simply, welded to the tube running up to top shock mounting, the Monark pivot poin t is very well triangulated and should be much stronger. From the pivot point the frame members run both forward . up to the gas tank, and backwards to the shock mounts. The tubing diameter also appears to be slightly larger. While the Monarks have no history in this area as yet, I would be willing to bet that there will be frame breakage problems. The Monark is fairly expensive at about $995, but if you want a 125 for serious enduros or long enjoyable hours of fast cow trailing, there are few bikes that I would recommend more. "0 Manufaetuer's Specifications- MCB 125 Enduro, model No. 9011 5 Frame: Double loop cradle Suspension, front: Ceriani telescopic fork, motocross type Suspension, rear: Steady mounted swing arm with Girling hydraulic shock absorbers Wheels: Akront Dural Tyre, front: 3.00x21 in. Metzeler Tyre, rear: 3.50x18 in. Metzeler Mudguards: Stainless steel Brakes, front/rear: 5·1/8 in., drum fJ 140 mm (5'/:z in.) front and rear Brake swept area/hub front and rear: 76 cm2 (11,8 sq. in.) Fuel capacity: 2 US gals. Engine: Sachs single cylinder 2-stroke Bore "hj stroke: 54x54 mm (2,09x2,09 in.) Piston displacement: 123cc, 7,6 cu. in. Compression ratio: 10,8:1 BHP: 21 Ignition timing: 3-3,5 mm before top dead center Spark plug: Bosch W 260 T 1 Ignition: Motoplat solid state ignition Carburetion: 27 mm Bing concentric Air filtration: Shrouded paper filter. Air intake well protected from water Gear box: 6 speed Clutch: Multi.

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