1970's Montessa Honda Trials Bike
Discussion
Hi all.
Thought I'd post a few pics of my trials bike that I inherited recently from my late grandfather. Its a 1970's (not sure exactly on the year) MH200 2 stroke trials bike.
My grandfather actually only owned it for the last couple of years as it belonged to his neighbour. His son bought it new but then moved away shortly after with work and never really came back for it! Its literally sat in the garage for decades.
The bike came into the family as a reward for my grandad for quitting smoking. He'd always liked the old trials bike his neighbour had so after a phone call asking if he still had it we went round to have a look.
It was crammed in the corner of the dilapidated garage, which didnt sound promising, but after pulling numerous sheets and covers off it - we were pleasantly surprised. Under a light coating of dust lay very shiny gloss red paint and no rust. That along with lots of shiny chrome that was still mostly in good nick.
So we wheeled it out into sunlight for the first time this century on its flat, but original Pirelli's and had a proper look at it. Everything was original, from the tyres and handlebar grips to the original sprockets that have the Montessa logo on it. The main thing though was that when I put some pressure on the kick starter I managed to move piston without much hassle. Although for a 2 stroke it feels like it has a lot of compression, certainly more than my 125 crosser did.
My Grandad bought it so we took it out to my house and gave it a good clean, lubed all the moving bits, changed the spark plug and oil, put fresh fuel in it, checked fresh fuel didnt leak out any perished pipes and fitted new grips as the originals had perished and were hanging off.
At this point I'd like to have said it fired up first time but we really struggled to get it going, even when we did it wouldnt run when off the choke. At first we thought it was drawing in too much air as the rubber between the carb and block was cracked. But sealing that up didnt help and the carb looked fine (to us anyway).We ended up sending it off to an engine specialist who tracked it down to a problem with the jets. I cant remember specially what it was but I know they were at least clean!
After all that, it ran great!
The engine is very different to the usual high revving power valve 2 strokes I'm used to with lots of low down torque and a low rev limit. The clutch is pretty heavy compared to the hydraulic of the KTM's and isnt very progressive. The brakes are horrific.
But anyway apologies for the huge story, heres the pics:
When we first got it.
after a clean
Thought I'd post a few pics of my trials bike that I inherited recently from my late grandfather. Its a 1970's (not sure exactly on the year) MH200 2 stroke trials bike.
My grandfather actually only owned it for the last couple of years as it belonged to his neighbour. His son bought it new but then moved away shortly after with work and never really came back for it! Its literally sat in the garage for decades.
The bike came into the family as a reward for my grandad for quitting smoking. He'd always liked the old trials bike his neighbour had so after a phone call asking if he still had it we went round to have a look.
It was crammed in the corner of the dilapidated garage, which didnt sound promising, but after pulling numerous sheets and covers off it - we were pleasantly surprised. Under a light coating of dust lay very shiny gloss red paint and no rust. That along with lots of shiny chrome that was still mostly in good nick.
So we wheeled it out into sunlight for the first time this century on its flat, but original Pirelli's and had a proper look at it. Everything was original, from the tyres and handlebar grips to the original sprockets that have the Montessa logo on it. The main thing though was that when I put some pressure on the kick starter I managed to move piston without much hassle. Although for a 2 stroke it feels like it has a lot of compression, certainly more than my 125 crosser did.
My Grandad bought it so we took it out to my house and gave it a good clean, lubed all the moving bits, changed the spark plug and oil, put fresh fuel in it, checked fresh fuel didnt leak out any perished pipes and fitted new grips as the originals had perished and were hanging off.
At this point I'd like to have said it fired up first time but we really struggled to get it going, even when we did it wouldnt run when off the choke. At first we thought it was drawing in too much air as the rubber between the carb and block was cracked. But sealing that up didnt help and the carb looked fine (to us anyway).We ended up sending it off to an engine specialist who tracked it down to a problem with the jets. I cant remember specially what it was but I know they were at least clean!
After all that, it ran great!
The engine is very different to the usual high revving power valve 2 strokes I'm used to with lots of low down torque and a low rev limit. The clutch is pretty heavy compared to the hydraulic of the KTM's and isnt very progressive. The brakes are horrific.
But anyway apologies for the huge story, heres the pics:
When we first got it.
after a clean
LeMomo said:
That is really nice, I have a soft spot for classic twin-shock trials bikes.
Would you ever think of entering a classic trial on it?
I would actually. What clubs do them? I don't have the motocross bike any more and have been really enjoying pottering about on the trials. Amazing how much fun you can have at low speeds. Would you ever think of entering a classic trial on it?
Went out on the bike today, managed to get it probably the dirtiest its ever been. I'm a member of a motorcycle club that runs enduro, motocross and hare and hound events. We were down at the track clearing up after the last event of the winter series. So today was spent going round the wooded part of the hare and hounds course and picking up arrows and tape.
Th track was heavily waterlogged but the bike was fantastic at picking and choosing lines around all the puddles and ruts.
I only had the iphone with me today and taking pictures with wet and muddy gloves isn't easy, so some of the pics aren't particularly fantastic!
When we bought the bike we also got the period helmet too!
Th track was heavily waterlogged but the bike was fantastic at picking and choosing lines around all the puddles and ruts.
I only had the iphone with me today and taking pictures with wet and muddy gloves isn't easy, so some of the pics aren't particularly fantastic!
When we bought the bike we also got the period helmet too!
Had the bike out again (it doesn't get out too much lol). The motorcycle club my father helps run is setting up a Hare and hounds event next month in the Scottish Borders so we were out scouting about for new lines and started dropping off posts to start marking out the track.
I always enjoy the first day of set up as the majority of the day is spent just playing about and having a laugh. The land we are using has a great mixture of terrain ranging from; fast open moorland, massive hills, dense forest and an old sand quarry!
The open moorland was (unsurprisingly) not particularly fun on the trials bike due to it being fast and open and it having rubbish suspension. It did however show the the rest of the guys - who were all on enduro/ motocross bikes - a thing or two when we attempted to ride straight up one of the hills to see if it would be possible to include it in the track. I stuck it in third gear, pointed it to the sky and went straight up, with no drama. At one point it was so steep my whole upper body was leaning over the bars trying to keep the front wheel down!
The day didn't go entirely smoothly though as the speedo cable guide broke. As with any offroad bike though I fixed everything with duct tape and cable ties. I was tempted to just cut it off, but then managed to find a replacement nut and I'll get my old man to weld up the other end. It's probably best to keep it as original as possible anyway.
In a futile attempt to keep up with 250 motocross bikes I rode the bike harder and faster than I probably should have over the rough ground and bottomed out the suspension pretty hard a few times. This combined with its age, probably culminated in what I think is a burst seal on the front forks. I'll have to take a closer look and see if it can be fixed.
Anyone know if they still do replacement parts for these kind of bikes?
Also had a shot on my fathers KTM 200 EXC, crazy how much more powerful a bike with a similar capacity can be. Forgot how quick they were and couldn't stop grinning every time a pinned the throttle. Great fun!
Anyway, pictures!
[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/N4PFATyT[/url]
After giving it a clean I noticed the rear brake light mount was getting worse. It was all cracked and perished when we first got it and with me riding it again, has probably exacerbated the situation. So I decided to take it all off as I'd rather still have it in one piece in the garage than broken off on a hill somewhere. It think it cleans up the lines of the bike anyway.
I always enjoy the first day of set up as the majority of the day is spent just playing about and having a laugh. The land we are using has a great mixture of terrain ranging from; fast open moorland, massive hills, dense forest and an old sand quarry!
The open moorland was (unsurprisingly) not particularly fun on the trials bike due to it being fast and open and it having rubbish suspension. It did however show the the rest of the guys - who were all on enduro/ motocross bikes - a thing or two when we attempted to ride straight up one of the hills to see if it would be possible to include it in the track. I stuck it in third gear, pointed it to the sky and went straight up, with no drama. At one point it was so steep my whole upper body was leaning over the bars trying to keep the front wheel down!
The day didn't go entirely smoothly though as the speedo cable guide broke. As with any offroad bike though I fixed everything with duct tape and cable ties. I was tempted to just cut it off, but then managed to find a replacement nut and I'll get my old man to weld up the other end. It's probably best to keep it as original as possible anyway.
In a futile attempt to keep up with 250 motocross bikes I rode the bike harder and faster than I probably should have over the rough ground and bottomed out the suspension pretty hard a few times. This combined with its age, probably culminated in what I think is a burst seal on the front forks. I'll have to take a closer look and see if it can be fixed.
Anyone know if they still do replacement parts for these kind of bikes?
Also had a shot on my fathers KTM 200 EXC, crazy how much more powerful a bike with a similar capacity can be. Forgot how quick they were and couldn't stop grinning every time a pinned the throttle. Great fun!
Anyway, pictures!
[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/N4PFATyT[/url]After giving it a clean I noticed the rear brake light mount was getting worse. It was all cracked and perished when we first got it and with me riding it again, has probably exacerbated the situation. So I decided to take it all off as I'd rather still have it in one piece in the garage than broken off on a hill somewhere. It think it cleans up the lines of the bike anyway.
HAB said:
Sorry about resurrecting this thread, but if the OP is still around, I'm wondering if you could tell me the engine number?
I've just bought an MH200 and I want to check as I think it has a Cota 200 engine fitted. Same bike, but the Cota 200 was before the Honda takeover. It's 80's by the way - 83/84.
Lovely bike by the way, I've got a bit of an old trials bike fetish, especially this era!
I'm still alive! Yeah this era of bike look great. Unfortunately I'm away at uni so can't check the bike atm. With regards to the age, I was only going by what people have told me. Do you have/ know where I could find information about the bike as I haven't been that successful. I don't have a manual for it either so every little helps.I've just bought an MH200 and I want to check as I think it has a Cota 200 engine fitted. Same bike, but the Cota 200 was before the Honda takeover. It's 80's by the way - 83/84.
Lovely bike by the way, I've got a bit of an old trials bike fetish, especially this era!
For anyone else interested, I'll be digging the bike out of the corner of the garage when I'm off uni in June. The fork seals are still leaking so will have a go at fixing that. I'll change the spark plug and gearbox oil too. Other than that, it still runs great!
Thread resurrection/ update.
Not had much to report with the old Montesa as it has spent most of its time sat in the garage under a mountain of old bed sheets. It got the odd potter around garden probably every couple of months, this is where things started to wrong. After having a play on it, we stuck it away only to discover the next time when it was brought it out, it's seized?! Has anyone heard of a bike running fine then seizing when cold?
The bike never really got ridden hard, the only thing I can think of is that the old two stroke mix has gone off resulting in inadequate lubrication.
The bike is currently sat with the head off and piston bathed in diesel. The bore looks pretty good apart from one small score, I'll try and get a better pic at some point.
The exhaust was starting to get some surface rust on it so good time to get that sorted.
Not had much to report with the old Montesa as it has spent most of its time sat in the garage under a mountain of old bed sheets. It got the odd potter around garden probably every couple of months, this is where things started to wrong. After having a play on it, we stuck it away only to discover the next time when it was brought it out, it's seized?! Has anyone heard of a bike running fine then seizing when cold?
The bike never really got ridden hard, the only thing I can think of is that the old two stroke mix has gone off resulting in inadequate lubrication.
The bike is currently sat with the head off and piston bathed in diesel. The bore looks pretty good apart from one small score, I'll try and get a better pic at some point.
The exhaust was starting to get some surface rust on it so good time to get that sorted.
Edited by Gilhooligan on Sunday 8th January 17:26
gareth_r said:
MONTESA!! It's written on the bloody tank! 
I am not a 2-stroke fan by any means, but I always quite fancied one of their late '60s/early '70s Impala 250 road bikes (or a Bultaco Metralla or OSSA Sport). Must be pretty rare now, though, and rather crude next to their Japanese competition.
Lol. We've had the bike about 5 years and never noticed the spelling I am not a 2-stroke fan by any means, but I always quite fancied one of their late '60s/early '70s Impala 250 road bikes (or a Bultaco Metralla or OSSA Sport). Must be pretty rare now, though, and rather crude next to their Japanese competition.
Thread resurrection time.
After soaking in diesel the engine unsiezed and has been totally fine, amazingly. I even competed in a couple of trials events in the twinshock class - great fun! However the bike IMO is too nice to potentially wreck when competing. Modern bikes are just way more competent and fun to ride so I’m selling it.
If anyone is interested, drop me a PM.
After soaking in diesel the engine unsiezed and has been totally fine, amazingly. I even competed in a couple of trials events in the twinshock class - great fun! However the bike IMO is too nice to potentially wreck when competing. Modern bikes are just way more competent and fun to ride so I’m selling it.
If anyone is interested, drop me a PM.
Forgot about this thread. To give an update, I ended up selling the Montesa to my Dad’s mate who is currently sourcing original parts for it, including new decals for the tank. (I believe the tank needs some sort of coating applied to it as modern petrol additives are causing the tank to go porous.) This was causing the original decals to ‘bubble’. The plan is to take the bike to bike shows etc after the restoration.
Will try and get some photos showing any progress.
Will try and get some photos showing any progress.
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