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/141048
fl o ating around. Unfortunately some of th at beauti ful powerband mi ght go away, too. Maybe the trick is t o make full use o f th e man y oth e r capab ili ties '. offered y o u. A h o t sh ot SoCal m oto crosser said, " I'd buy o n e (for the h andling) and no t worry much ab o u t th e p owe r." FEATURES T he gas t ank lo oks roughl y th e sam e as o n p revious Mon tesas b ut has re turn ed to the re d co lo r scheme. It holds 1.7 ga llons and uses t hose ga llo ns in a mi serl y fa shio n. T he ca p is reall y nea t. It ' s a slip fi t, wi th d oubl e Ovrin gs that ho ld it in an d seal. The n ex t su per to uc h is th e pe tco ck s , which are co mp le tely di ffe ren t fro m an y th in g else. T hey a re a rubbe r ca ps ule wit h a ball th at moves to o ne o f three p'o s i t i o n s by s q ueez i ng . i t . 1 t incorporates a reserve (unusu al for a m o to cro sser) and is very sim p le to opera te . Wh en we first go t the bike everyone tho ugh t ' th ey we re silly, bu t min d s changed. They shoul d become u niversa l ite ms, bu t a re Mo n tesa-proprietary, The sea t is an immense-lookin g a ffair wh ich m el ts rig ht in to the tank , no fro n t. No one can stretch o u t so fa r th at th ey co uld go off the b ack , not even l on g. le gged Vehkonen. Padding is ade q uate and the width right for a medium-to-large p erson . In th e C ommonly R eplaceable , Acce ssories Department, th e Montesa lo oks lik e so meon e al ready go t to it . It co m es with true unbreakable black plastic fenders ; Montesa-issue hand' grips ( w h ic h resemble Dohertys); so m e Magura-like levers ; nicel y shaped bars (b u t a bit heavy ); ex cell ent footpegs; Akron t rims , and a standard Filtron air , fil ter in a comp ac t pl astic still air box under the seat. T he o n ly thing that migh t need replacing are th e sb o cks . T h ey are new design Telescos, N o one co uld reall y lodge b it te r com plain ts about th em (occasional stories about bottoming them over 4 0 ft. jumps, c tc.} , but the damping actio n didn 't seem quite up to so m e accessory sh oc ks. They see m ed just a bit sp ringy (spongy) and did b o t t om o ccasionally . T he hubs a re three-quarter width, beau tif ully fin ish ed, very light, and very efficient. The fro n t brake was ex cellent. At re st, it fel t spongy but in use it had great feel and just the righ t amount o f p ower. . The rear w as n ice when it worked right. First com p lain t : th e pedal was a bit too close to the en gin e making it easy to mi ss it entirely in a panic. This could be cu red quickly with a cro wb a r. Second : th e linkage at the pi vot poin t packed wit h mud prohibiting the brake fro m re turnin g. This would require sligh tly more hassle t o remedy. • All spokes ar e laced in a cross-fo u r pattern and none came lo o se during days of te sting. The tires are a new design Pirelli Moto cr o ss and work substanitally better than previous Pirelli MX rubber . The lu g design is GP -level , as it sho uld be. In o rder to ge t a be tter idea o f wha t 's go ing o n with all th ese bits and pie ces, tak e it fo r a ride.. Si nce th e kickstarte r is ove r on th e righ t, th ro w a leg o ver an d get si tuated . Firs t im p ression . Boy, is Ve h kone n ta ll! If yo u're u nder 5 '1 0", it's tippy toes tim e. O .K ., reach on each side an d squeeze the lit tle b alls to the m id d le . Mu ch m o re fu n than turning a tap. On the left side of the carb is t he tickler ; j us t push on it so me. Now fo ld o ut the kic ks tar te r, It 's a bit inconven ien t to reach, but it wi ll never reach out and grab your leg when rid ing . Ki cke ty-zip . It probab ly lit 'righ t off, but if it didn ' t , it will n ot take m o re th an tw o ad ditio nal p rods. Ka -zing! S ure is a Mon tesa, as the motor ratt les away ben eath yo u. Lo ok over there; the guys in th at van aren't even looklng, O ne o f the m says , "Sou nds like another Penton. " That's right , iCs rea! quiet. T he muffle r is neatl y an d secu re ly m ounted an d W Ill soon have spark arrest o r w ritt en on it, too. , Let's say w e just started it up o u t on th e st arting area of th e m oto cross tr ack : Give he r a few momen ts to w arm up , th e n pull in the clut ch and d ab d own for firs t. A short th row with n o cl u n k and there's no doubt th at it 's in gear. Wick it up a few times. R evs go up an d down very rapidly . It eve n so un ds a little like a road racer. One of th e times the revs are up , just drop the d u tc h . The Pirelli digs right in and the righ t hand has to keep the throttle twisted o r things might b og. Don't w orry , th ough, no une xpected wheeli es are in sto re , The time soon co mes for secon d gear and th e sh ift is execu ted sans c1u tch easily and p o sitively. A little dirt fli es. On through the gears spacing see ms just right. T he re alw ays see ms to be a gear for th e occasio n. Bending aro u nd a tree, a rut ap pears and it 's up o n th e p egs. T h e fr on t forks take the j o lt smoothl y and th e rear kic ks a little. But it ki cks straigh t up and all the tim e direc ti onal con trols is e xact. Migh t as well stay up th e re as a co up le o f whoop-de-do cs are co m ing . Gas it so m e. Wow! Up o n th e p owerband it really je ts. In fac t a bit too mu ch for thi s up c omin g whoop-de-doc, Hmm, we' re a bit sid ew ay s and d amn, here co mes th e next o ne. The rear hits side ways w ithout preparation (but co nsi de ra b le apprehension) . It just k icks right b ack in place and th e VR250 is tracking st raigh t again . Wow, do es it track . ..... M . !l, Q. M .... en M ..: ::;; . ~ w Z W -J U >- U SPECI FIC ATIONS Engine _ Bore/ st ro ke " Single cy linde r two stroke , 8 p or ts 70/6 4 D i splac e~ en t . . : 246.3cc Co m p ressio n rano .... .. . . . . . . .. ....... . .. . . ... .. . . •.. ... .. 12 : I Horsep ower (max) 22 .4 @ 8,5 0 0 rpms (Pa traco dyno ) Ignition Moto p la t electronic Carbure.ti~n 34m m Bing (wi th FiI tron) 5-speeds T ra ns mission Ov erall length 8 4 in ch es Wh eel b ase 5 6 in ch es Seat h eight 34Y, inc hes Wei gh t (we t) 2 18 pounds Fue l Capaci ty " 1. 7 gal (.2 reserv e) Tires 3.0 0 x 2 1 and 4.5 0x 18 Price : . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . $ i ,2 0 0 N ow, swee p i ng a ro u n d t h is righ t-hander up a gear. Li ttle ruts sho uld wreck havo c with stability , b ut on the Mon te sa y ou just gas it on each one, us in g them lik e tin y little b erms. F or so me reason. you can pu t the rear w heel righ t there it steers so well . Now, wash bo ar d. Bump , bump , blurr, j olt. T hi n k I'm goi n ' straigh t. Ye p, I'm j ust go ing st raigh t an d true. S ure is b ump y, tho ug h . When the wash board smoo ths out, a b ig berm ap pe a rs wi th _' a nin et y d e gre e righ t-hander . D rop it o ver fa r to th e righ t, n o w gas it. Bo om - into the berm and just rocket off. Wow. I've never done it like tha t b efo re. Never had such a head of ste am to co n te nd with in this righ t-hand swee pe r, either. Just kee p the feet up and roll it o n slowly. Just slidi ng a little an d sweep ing on out. Hot , d o g, fifth gear! And...T he Jum p. He y, th e fron t en d didn 't come up. (You didn 't t ell it to o , dum by!) Who ee , Son ny, n ow you're in a peck a 'trouble, Comi n' d own on th e fro nt wheel an d crossed up. Endoesville. Bump, c ru nc h - , the for ks b ottom. Amazing. It's st raightening o u t . The rear lands lo cked an d k icks b ack. No t one wigg le and I'm go ing st raight aga in. I don't b eli eve it . Brak e now, ov e r the cob by st uff. On the p egs it fe els j us t fin e . Wh at the heck, gas it . Look o ut , sp eed wa y ; here I co me . Jazz , j azz, slide. Mud h ol e , sho ul dn't be (Cont in ued on page 5) ~ _--.'W l: '. ...... '" l ,,' .. . hkenen likes It - "", ......." -#< ' -- "'lo' .... ..The Montesa was docile unless you really let loos e. Then it scoo ted. . . .. " ....