VOLUME ISSUE JULY , P139
a full 40 pounds before the race
even began!
Outsourced components were
a mixed bag. The CN staffers
were pleased with the Betor forks
and the Filtron filter element. The
rear shocks, however, bounced
like a bad check and the damping
was equally as nefarious. But af
-
termarket shocks for MX bikes of
this era were often the next pur-
chase after the motorcycle itself,
so the Carabela didn't lose many
points here. The handlebars even
featured a loop of sorts, welded
right there below where your
hands throttled and clutched!
Why? For the tie-down straps, of
course. It may also have been
an unusual form of a crossbar.
Regardless, CN gently suggested
that these also be swapped out
for a different bend.
The bottom line for any motor
-
cycle, regardless of its weight,
wheelbase or whatever is always
about performance. Can a rider
compete on a Carabela?
California rider Scott Brown,
who raced this very same model
at famous SoCal tracks like
Indian Dunes and Escape Val
-
ley, offers a strong testimonial
for the Mexican racers. "When
Carabela entered the scene, it
was an unknown," Brown recalls.
I remember having the bike deliv
-
ered in a crate. I unboxed it and
was amazed! It was a beautiful
motorcycle—fit and finish all
looked perfect.
"What the Carabela did well,
with proper setup, was the way it
handled. It did very well against
the other makes during that
time frame. The key was setup,
as well as a disciplined mainte
-
nance focus, including piston,
rings, carb, etc. I never experi-
enced any shifting issues—the
only DNFs I experienced was my
fault—rider error!"
Carabela's presence on the na-
tional motocross scene was little
more than a cameo. In 1978, the
company sponsored Billy Grossi
for part of the season. Grossi's
race bike, however, was not a
Carabela, but rather a rebadged
Italian-made Moto Villa. After
a few good finishes and many
bad breakdowns, Carabela said
"adios" to the AMA circuit. Pro
-
duction MX machines were still
being made into the 1980s, but
very few were seen in the U.S.
Scott Brown's fondness for the
Carabela brand continues to this
day, 50 years later. "I was able
to locate and restore to original
condition a 125 Carabela," Brown
says. "Set up just as I raced it!"
The Carabela motorcycle com
-
pany still exists today, though
their machines bear a stronger
resemblance to Chinese-based
products than to the motorcycles
the company produced in the
1970s. At a time when the Euro-
peans and the Japanese were
crossing MX swords, the small
Mexican company had a faithful,
albeit tiny, following that gave
them a voice in the motocross
choir.
"We were a small group," said
Brown "but we proudly flew the
Carabela banner in a very com
-
petitive time in local motocross
racing."
CN
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Dirt Bike West-
sponsored
rider Earl Esson
(left) and Scott
Brown (right)
raced Carabelas
in SoCal, circa
1970s.
PHOTO:
SCOTT BROWN
Scott Brown found and restored
this Carabela 125, which was the
same model he raced in the '70s.
