Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Montesa Cota 314R adj ustab le- powerb and feature wasn't eno ugh to bring the factory an y am ount of success at th e World Cha m pio nsh ip le ve l. Fa cto ry rid er Am o s Bilbao mounted aboard a one-o ff version of the Cota - failed to tum in any top finis hes a n d s aw hi s Wo rl d Cha m pio ns h ip Series ranking slip d rastically. While som e expected the '95 version of the Cota to be rad ically di fferent - like the wo rks bike Bilbao piloted in '94 - the n ewest Sp anish fJap an ese o ffe ri ng is ins tead a highly refined ve rsion of its pred ecessor. Is tha t enoug h to bring the Cota up to par with it s co m petit io n? Read on... THINGS , THEY ARE AC HANGIN' Tho ugh th e HRC low er end of th e engi ne is basically the same, the entire to p en d wa s red esi gn ed wi th h igher comp ressi on in mind. The new pis ton, rings and cyli nder are also cla ime d to produce less mechani cal noise. According to Mon tesa co- impor te r M artin Belair, an "automotive-style" piston ring is used. The power out pu t of the engine can be changed by installing one of tw o microchips in the COl digital igni tion box . The "hot" chip produces a faster, harder-hitting type of power, while the "coo l" chi p gives the bike a smoother, easier-to-ride persona lity. Changing the bike 's powerband is as easy as removin g the gas tank and plu ggi ng in the different chip. ' The cl u t ch a lso un d er w ent a few minor changes. The fiber an d aluminum pla tes are made of new materials tha t are claime d to last lon ger and p rovide be tte r action . Complimenting the new pl at es is an alum inum clut ch rod , replacing last year' s steel piece. Th ou gh the Verlicci -bu ilt d ouble beam alu mi nu m ch assis rema ins geometri cally unchanged , this yea r's fram e is st ro nger, thanks to a differ ent heattre atm ent proc e s s . Th e . fr ont fr a me stru ts have also been beefed up, and the foo tpeg mounting brac kets h old th is yea r's pegs lOmrn lower. In th e sus p ens ion d epartment, th e inverted Paoli forks ha ve new in ternal valving, stiffer sp rings, and a trick-looking gol d ano dized fini sh on th e ou ter fork tu bes. Th e rea r Paoli 's h ock was reva lved . And of cou rse, ther e's the ali-im po rtan t bold new gra phics. This year's Cota is extremely good- looking - white fend ers and p u rp le radiator shrou ds are By Donn Maeda Photos by Joe Bonello and Maeda ake a quick look at the Montesa Co ta 314R, arid yo u might conclude that it's jus t another Eu ropean trials bike. After all, the purple and white bike is built in Spa in an d has the same basic look as the rest - why wouldn't you assume so? But take a close r look at the Cota, and certa in things will catch your eye . The HR C log o on the engine cra nkcase, m o s t ly . Yes, Virg inia, th is b ik e is a Ho nda in disguise. Well, sort of... . The Ja pa nese Ho n da fa ct ory h a s owned 80 per cen t of the Spanish Montesa factory since 1985, but it ha sn't been unti l the pa st two yea rs tha t the Asian g ia n t has s te p p e d in to as si st wi th research and development of the oldest trial s mot or cycle in production. Tec hno logy is what the Japanese are known bes t for, and the guys at HRC d id n' t d isa p p o in t. La st year, M ontes a Honda brought a bit of road ' racing technology into trials by incorporati ng a microchipa dj u stable ig n it io n in to th e '94 Cot a. Though somewhat "revolu tionary," the (Right) The 1995 Montesa Cota 314R may look unchanged,buta numt5erof refinement s make it a much improved machine . This year's bike is white and purple, with orange accen ts. compl imented b y orange a nd pu rp le "s lash" graphics. BETWEEN THE TA PES . Firing up the Cota is as easy as finding the well-h idden fuel petcock, yank in g on th e handlebar -mounted choke lever, and taking a qu ick stab a t the kickstart lever. The bike was jetted just right for ou r sea -leve l riding areas, but yo u' d b etter h ope th at th e b ike runs o kay in you r a rea as well - from the looks of it, ge tting to the carburetor to make je tti ng a d jus t me n ts w ill b e a n ightm are . In o r de r to reach the Dell'Orto mixer, thesubframe, seat an d fuel tank mu st be rem oved . Ouch. We s pen t th e maj ority of ou r tim e ab oar d the machi ne with the cool chip installed. With the tam er compone nt in pla ce, the 249cc motor produces a mellow, yet very effective spre ad of power. The gen tle nature of the engi ne gives the im pression of a lack of pow er, but when the goi ng ge ts we t an d slippery.. ther e are not ma ny bikes we'd rat her be on than a Cota with a cool chip. Tight, lows peed sections were ne goti a ted best with the cool chi p, bu t when m ore advanced obstacles - such as big steps or ledges - were attacked, we found the 110t chip more suited to the task. Plugging in the hot chip gives the bike a noticeably different personality. Power down low is a only bit more responsive, but when the revs pick up - watch out. Tho ugh the hot chip doesn' t p rod uce rip-and-sn or t power like a Gas Gas JT25O, it does liven up the Cot a's power delivery cons iderably . Ad vanced rid ers wi ll like the hot chip, with out a d oub t. Th ro tt le and clutch control are most im po rtant with the 110t chip in pla ce, and lower-di vision rid ers will probably find the bike to be a handful in this configuration. Perh aps one of th e Montes a' s best featu res is its clu tch. Whil e most of ,the com pe ting manufacturers have gone to more a d va nce d h ydrauli c uni ts, th e cable-actuated clutch on the Co ta is one of the best ava ilable. Feel is outstanding, and rem ain s cons isten t th rou ghout the section, no matt er ho w bad ly the clutch is abu sed. Lever pu ll is incredibly light as a matter of fac t, mu ch lighter than .many of the hydraul ic sys tems. Starting the bik e in gea r is not a probl em . Of the re finem ents, the most noti ceable is the reloca tion of the footpegs. It ma y be hard to believe, bu t lOm m can make a worl d of d ifference. In compa riso n to a new Cota, last yea r's bike feels

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