Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Montesa Cota 314R (Above) The HRC motor Is kept cool by a KTM-manufactured radiator. (left) The PalaU forks feature a unique adjustment feature. One fo rk controls the rebound adjustments, while the ot her co ntro ls the comp ress ion adjustments. (Below) Controls on the Montesa ar.e top-notch. As for the rest of the machine, I found 26 it to be top-quality. The clutch is buttersmooth and provides a very -predictable release. Also, I was thankful that it was a manual'un it. Had it been hydraulic, there's a good chance that it would ha ve suffered the sam e fate as the fron t brake. The transmission clicked through the gea rs wi th ease, a n d had defini te engageme nt th at never left yo u st uck b e t w een gears. While fi rst th ro ugh fourth gears yield a wide variety of ways to negotiate a sec tio n, fifth and sixth allow you to rea lly get go ing when it comes time to hit the trails . As a matter of fact, I even forgot that I was aboard a trials machine as I blasted from section to section. All in all, I was very impressed wit h the Montesa Cota. Sure, it did n't transform me into a wo rld-class trialer, bu t w hat bike could? What 's important is that it seem ed to be tw o bikes in one. With the change of a micro chip, the bike can be dialed in to suit a wide variety of riders and riding styles. But what abou t Martin? Well, he was really understanding about the damage to th e bike. "That's n ot h alf bad," he said. "On e time an ed itor 's house burned down and all I got back was the frame ." .II•••••• Qurlc: Age: 20 Heigh t/weigh t 6'0" / 170 lbs. Special ty: Trials Riding ability: Expert contested last year's AMA Na tional Champ ionship Observed Tr ials Series aboard an Aprilia Climber, but Will be riding the new Mon tesa Cota in '94. , Obviously, the biggest change for '94 . is the ad dition to the HRC engine with the ad ju st able CD! electronic ignitio n system. I found the smooth chip to b e usefu l in sli p pery conditions. With th e s mooth chip insta lled, the bike fee ls much like last year's Montesa, only with a little m ore p ower on the top of th e p ow erb and. Th e hot chip, on the other hand, gives the mo torcycle more power and more torque; this chip will be useful in drier conditions where traction is abundant. I think that most advanced rid ers will like the hot chip . The engine is not as qu iet, nor as ' powerful as the new Ap rilia - which is by far the most powerful machine - but it should be on par wi th the other European offerings. The Mon tesa ha s a smoother powerband tha n the other '94 bikes I've ridden. The engine has a very electric feel. To me , th e most imp ressive part of the bike is the transmission , which is far superior to those found on other brands. When shiftin g, the re is no doubt as to what gear you are in, and there is no fear tha t the bike will slip out of gear. This is the way a transmission should feel! The gearing is very good - first gear is ju st hi gh enough to be used in some expert sections, and fourth is low enough to be useful. The new "low" fou r th gear can be used on hills and ledges with only a few bike -lengths run. Second and third gears are about the same as the other bikes, with fifth and s ixth gears perfect for those fas t loops and tigh t time limits. The controls are very precise an d the clu tch has a ligh t pull. Th e Montesa is now the only top-level trials bi ke that doesn't have a hy dra ulic clu tch . While this may seem like a weak p oint, the m anual cl u tch is a ctually one o f th e bike's stro ng points. A properly ad justed manua l clutch, in my opinion, is les s hassle than a hard-to-adjust h ydraulic un it. The Montesa's clutch is as light as a hydra ulic unit, but with a little more feel. The n ew Paoli s usp ens io n is smoo ther that last year's Marzocchi susp ension. It works v ery well on b ig ledges, and s hoo ts yo u straight up . Many of the other machines tend to kick off. The suspens ion handles "zaps" well, and is much more precise than myoid Aprilia. The Montesa does transfer the shock from rough ledges, however. The bike does rear wheel hops very well and ha s a ve ry precise feel, thanks to its shorter sus pens ion travel. Th e new frame and geometry helps on long hills, and when trying to hold a straight line. It is a bit of a disadvantage in tight sp aces, but all in all the n ew frame is an improvement. After all, hoppi ng is not as imp ortant as the ba sics, a nd this w ill cer tai n ly save everyone some po ints. Overall, the new Montesa /Honda is a very competitive, well-rounded motorcycle. It looks more like a Honda and has tha t "Honda feel." HRC engineering and quality is appa rent when you look at the machine and, so far, the bike seems to have that "Honda reliability" as well. This one's a winner. Age: 40 Height/weight: 5' 11" /' 20 lbs. 2 Specialty: Trials Riding ability: Novi ce 'I~ he '94 Montesa Co ta ma y just be the bike of the year for club level Novice an d Intermediate cla ss riders. Of top priority for any new aspiring [ordi Tarres: the smooth deli very of po wer; st ab le, easy-to-anticipate hand lin g; su pp le suspension; and ease of routine service...all while maintaining an air of trickness and slate of the art techno logy. The new Mont esa, a result of the aquisition of the Mo ntesa fac tory by Honda's H RC division, has all of the above. The engine was smoo th and very controllable, fro m idle up t o th e h igher RPMs, even with the more-radical computer chip installed on the igniti on. Only a gross error in the throttle inp ut would send the bike out of control for me. However, expert-level competitors who I sp oke to felt that the power delivery which I found so appealing was a handicap that they expe rienced. With modem day expert sec tio ns demanding much more of an ab ru p t burst of torque and gut-wrenchin g, mid-range power, th e Mon tesa ma y requir e considerable alteration in rid ing s ty le for those higher class riders. The ability to rev quickly, a nd with a more brutish powerband, ma y be the territory of the new Pantie, Beta and Aprilia machines...but if you're not quite ready to handle this quick rush of power, the Montesa ma y be the bike for you. Likewise, the suspension and handling were probabl y more suited to the club-level competitor. In stock trim, unaltered by the testers and ridden at the same settings set by importer Martin Be la ir , th e Montesa felt plush a nd springy. Again, pro-level riders w ill probably see a need to firm up the shock: and forks for a quicker, more responsive ride. Certainly, the adjustability of these units will make for satisfactory personalization from rider to rider. Rider comfort and ergonomics scored much higher on thiseffort than on past Montesa p roducts. Perhaps the union with the Japanese giant has yielded better results in the areas of quality control and personal creature comforts. The clutch had an amazingly light pull, yet never slipped or chattered, while the rest of the controls equalled it both in appearance and function. The new-wave graphics on the frame and radiator sh rou d s are a' welcome addition, in keeping with the zoot look of the new off-road offerings from the big four Japanese companies. In an alIaround sense, the new Montesa Cola has .inherited the sensibilities of its new leadership, not only in terms of performance, but in terms of style as well. All in all, the new Montesa rated very high on my satisfaction list. ..now, if I could on ly get my hands on the new Beta, the new Pantie, the new Aprilia, the new Gas-Gas ... a While Cycle News believes theforegoing test reliable, it is the opinion of the reviewers only and should not be relied upon in determining the performance or safety of the tiehiclefs). The reader should make his or her own investigation Montesa Cota 314R Specifications List Price $5495 Displacement 261.3cc Eng ine type Liquid -cooled, single-" ,(,,' r , cylinder two- stroke Bore X Stroke 71 x 66mrn ' Comp ression ratio'::1..:.:..;.: :..7.9:1 Carburetion :; 26mm Dell'Orto Ignition CDI Digital, variable advance Transmission spee ds 6 Kick Starting system Fuel capacity 806 gal. .53.4 in. Wheelbase N/ A Rakeltrail Seat he ight... 302 in . Front tire 2.75x21 Reartire 4.00x18 ; 6.8 in. Front wheel travel ;.; 6.4in.· Rear wheel travel ..:': : ;s ;;;;::: ;..L DiSC· ':Froil.t brake R~ar brake :::::::: :;..;:: : DisC '. Final drive .:'!;::::: Chain a~imed drywei8J!f.. 184.8lbs. For moreinformation contact the Tryals Shop, 6101 Ulnd '0 lAkes Blvd., Ulnd '0 lAkes, FL 34639, 813/996-3754..

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