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/126043
MONTESA COlA 348 ... Luwitt! Two neat items: A strong, tucked-in forged alloy brake pedal and strange-shaped-but· super-trick footpegs are virtually impossible .t o snag in a section. The new airbox design makes changing the filter an easier task than on earlier models. Thehubs are made of strong Dural aluminum with chrome plated drums. '. By Lane Campbe ll I'm in love. If Th e Wife and T ever split the blanket, a Montesa Cota 348 may be named in the suit as co rr esp onden t. Or something like that. , To begin with , it's one of the prettiest; best-detailed trials bikes ever offered for sale. You look at it , and outside of the unique plastic chain shields , you 'd swear there's nothing on it that you 've not seen on other bikes. How it is put together is everything. Like the unitized tank-seat-bodypiece (with Rastus' signature engraved on the side in gold) that's secured from the rear by two elastic bands, rests on rubber and swings up from its front pivot for servicing, no tools required. Or the robust alloy loop front fender brace that doubles as fork brace as well. Or the extra head bracing (like you've seen on Bultacos) to spread engine vibrations and torque loads better through the frame. The Telesco shocks are ,semi-laydowns; the Montesa-monogrammed forks are like works of art rather than mechanisms. The rear brake pull is a stout bare cable rather than a rod, making it invulnerable to snags, bends or cracking fractures. So we queued up with the rest and got our tum on it. Remember how older Montesas used to have so much flywheel effect you'd tum the throttle and wait for something to happen? The 348's a whole different trip. It is super quick. It has the sheer grunt of a "350" Ossa or Bul, but the quick reflexes of throttle steering and brake that I've come to associate with, say, a TY 175 Yamaha. How something this torquey manages to be 'this quick without blowing all traction away in wheel slippage is miraculous. Uh, the front end does have to be consciously held down, at times. For the res t, it is so quick, so precise when you do something with the controls (or your body weight) and so neutral when you do nothing, it's like another body app en dag e. It's just the most beautiful, splendiferous, neato and damned desirable trials motorcycle that henceforward, I'm going to have to disqualify myself from comment. . To learn more , you're just going to have to go out and fmd your own. the 350'5 effective torque but liked to shut off quicker. The 250 was our personal favorite, a , compromise with more power than the 125 and less brute force than the 350. A better rider, we suspect, would find the 350 to be a more useful tool. Detail-wise, the bikes all featured tucked-in forged alloy brake pedals that were mounted inside the frame for clearance and protection. Another excellent detail, one that shows how Bulto's personal touch works better than the engineered mass-produced method was the trick footpegs. They are shaped so that they'll fold rather thari . snag even if the obstacle they encounter is vertical. The smooth rounded front edge is the secret, and we can testify from our own less -than -graceful evaluation methods that they work extremely well., Only someone who has experienced the frustration of a snagged footpeg while riding clean through a section could have designed them. "We don't guarantee you'll win, but we do guarantee that we won't hold yo u back," was the way one Bul dealer summed it all up . After experiencing the - object of "Bulto's passion," we can't help but agree. What more could you ask 'for from,any product? I • 25