Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126041
MontesaVAI2S Cappra - • Return ofthe European By John Huetter For the past three years, the domination of J apanese-built machinery In the 125ec. class has been nearly ' absolute. Prior to 197 3, any 125 moto was a battleground for DKW~ , Pen tons, and Bultacos, but those days seem almost like ancient history in the pell-rnell pace of racin g develop· men t. Of co urse, very few of th e curren tly do min ant Japan ese 125 s compete in st ock form. Tric k p ipe s, ports, an d re ed cages appeared ev erywhere and with that technology boom we nt a certain loss o f innocence a nd a defin ite defa ult of style. Still, th at win ning co mbi nation of m arketing and rear wheel horsepower is a hard fr ont to cr ack . The latest Ori ental offerings h ave definite goo d qualities even though we've still never run across a little Honda th at handled as well as that firs t 1973 model 125. When ' the J ap an ese bikes be gan delivering more honest repres ent at ions o f their int ent: motocrossers t ha t were ac tually up to racin g mot o cro ss, the maintenan ce requirements leap -frogged over th e p revious sta ndards o f upkeep associated with supposedly less bulletproof Eur o pean bi kes . The 12 5s from across the Atlan tic began to look be tte r in te rms of kee ping th em running fo r a season, but t hey were ab o ut one full co mp eti t ion gen erati on behind, in term s of development. No w , against all odds • . wit h an op ti m ism b orn ou t o f co n fide nc e in th eir co rp orate an d personal style, the Spanish are co m ing back strong into the 125 race - or at least. they're b ack as stro ng as they can be in this crazy . infl ated, depressed U.S . market for serious racing machinery . Mon tesa is at th e leading edge of th at entry into the 125 wars with an all-new 123cc Cappra VA motocrosser, It is, first of all , a . machine that carries a sense of style tothe rider. It is a be autifully craf ted machine whose appearance makes you like it . even without riding it. The first time it was raced, in a class-of Yamahas, Su zukis, an d Hondas, the Montesa leapt to everybo dy 's a tt en tion. Sure , th e foc us was on it because it was new but also becau se it was very different. Yo u co uld feel th at . Se c o n d of all . Montesa's of tne duplex r-e-introduction chrome-moly fra me into serious motocross ma chinery has · brought handling with it. Lots of handling, and 99 % of it is good to ex cellent. The 125 ' Montesa represents a basic concept in a very pure form : a racing machine should handle well and everything else is secondary. It is a concept that few u riders and even fewer manufacturers have real ly taken to heart. Montesa has embodied that elusive quality in their new 125 . 50 of these 125s were rele ased In the U.S. over a year ago, but they were mostly not for sale. Montesa let them' out to th e dealers ' and waited for feedbac k. There were some results from th is prototype program. The gearing was raised to better suit the speed vs. technique style of most American tracks and th e cylinder acqu ired a scavenging port at the rear to clean the charge out