Montesa 175 Scrambler
MONTESA 175 SCRAMBLER
CYCLE WORLD ROAD TEST
TRUE PROGRESS is something that we have always been delighted to report, and we have finished our testing of the Montesa 175 Scrambler very delighted indeed. Almost a year ago, we had our introduction to Montesa products, with the test of the Grand Sport, and while we were quite properly impressed with that earlier model, the latest Montesa is much more refined. The basic design has not been changed, but the crankshaft/transmission casing has been revised to enclose a lot of bits and pieces that were hanging out like a collection of mechanical giblets. This cleaning-up operation has been extended to other areas, too, and as a result, the Montesa has become one of the neatest, best-looking, small-displacement motorcycles that we have ever seen.
The Montesa engine is a study in proper two-stroke design. The 175 engine is a development of the 125, with the increase in displacement accomplished by an enlarging of the cylinder bore, which has brought the bore/ stroke ratio up to just over “square.” This gives relatively low piston speeds even at the high crank speed at which the engine develops maximum power. The piston is, incidentally, fitted with those excellent L-section dykes rings that were used before. That type of ring uses gas pressure in the cylinder to give a very strong sealing action, and are light enough to virtually eliminate any chance of ring flutter, which is a major cause of breakage. The engine’s crankshaft runs in roller bearings, and has full-circle flywheels with integral mainshafts. The crankpin is a press fit, and the shallow I-section connecting rod has caged roller bearings at the big end. The wristpin has a plain bronze bushing.
The cylinder and cylinder head are aluminum-alloy castings, and have ultra-deep finning to insure good cooling under the most severe conditions. Considerable care has been taken with the porting, which is substantial in area and very carefully hand-trimmed at the factory to match the manifolding, etc. No head gasket is used, the sealing face being a lapped fit, and the heavily finned cylinder head can draw some heat from the upper end of the barrel and help to cool the engine as a whole. The cylinder head is left with an as-cast bright finish, but the barrel (which has an iron liner) has been black-anodized, the dull black finish thus obtained being very effective in radiating heat. Further evidence of the maker’s concern for the engine’s cooling is also seen in the exhaust port, which is surrounded with even deeper fins than is true of the rest of the cylinder barrel, and has the pipe spigotted deeply into the port to isolate the exhaust blast from the rest of the barrel as much as possible.
Down at the lower end, the crankshaft and transmission are all enclosed in a nice, oil-tight casing, which has covers for the flywheel generator (this provides current for the external spark coil) and the primary drive and clutch. This clutch, we were told, has all-steel construction, and runs in an oil bath, so that it can be slipped ferociously without danger of damage. The transmission is of the all-indirect type, and both ratio staging and the action of the shift mechanism would be hard to improve upon. One nice touch for the competition-inclined was the completely exposed countershaft sprocket, which makes sprocket-swapping easy. There is, fortunately, no lack of sprocket options, for either the countershaft or the rear wheel.
The Montesa’s frame is not a particularly brilliant bit of design work, but drive stresses are fed back into the transmission casing adequately, and there is enough gusseting where loads are concentrated, as at the steering head, to make it strong. Whatever else may be said about the frame, it is light, and sufficient clearance has been provided above the engine to make it possible to pull the cylinder without removing the engine from the frame.
Lots of fiberglass is used: the tank and fenders are molded of that material. The rear fender has a sort of skirt that extends down between the rear frame tubes and shrouds the tire so that dirt will not be thrown up around the engine. The fiberglass work is one of the bike’s weak points, as it is not very smooth. The paint, too, is a trifle crudely applied, and while the color combination is most attractive, close inspection makes one wish that the care lavished on the mechanical elements had been extended to the paint job.
The Montesa’s running gear is definitely superior. The wheels have beautiful, ribbed light-alloy rims, and there is a lot of wheel travel provided for so small a motorcycle. At the rear, there are conventional spring/ damper units, but up front there are forks that are quite different. These forks have their damper section in the very bottom of the legs, and each extended lower section has a removable cup that holds the damper oil. This makes it very easy to change the oil to lighter or heavier grades to alter the dampening characteristics. The forks have a two-way damping action, and give just about the best ride and best control that we have ever experienced.
Our test machine was equipped with a Pirelli tire on the front and an English Avon Gripster on the rear, a very satisfactory arrangement for high speed TT and scrambles work, but standard equipment consists of an Avon on the front also, in the form of a knobby. We concur that this is a more flexible tire arrangement for all-around dirt use but the test machine had recently returned from a series of the aforementioned type of high-speed contests and Kim Kimball of Montesa Motors, U.S. Distributors, did not have time to replace the original equipment front tire. No loss was suffered.
The seating and control positioning on the Montesa were also outstanding. The seat itself is wide, and soft, and has its upper surface done in a fine-looking suede leather that was not only eye catching, but has enough inherent grip to be useful in keeping the rider firmly in the saddle. The gear-shift lever has a short, choppy action that feels like, and has the same pattern as, a Triumph. We were least enthusiastic about the brake pedal, which had a cleated upper surface to keep the rider's foot from slipping but was somewhat too small. Also, the handlebars, which were up at just about a perfect height and angle, had the control-lever mountings welded on, and while it looks clean and neat when arranged that way, a spill could bend things so badly that new bars would be required. The kick-start lever was rather oddly positioned, but we soon became accustomed to it and found that it would snap the engine over smartly enough to make starting quite easy. While on the subject of controls, it is worth mentioning that the Montesa had the smoothest and easiest clutch action of any bike we have tested. The first time you pull that lever, you will think that there has been some mistake, and that the clutch isn’t attached to the control.
The exhaust plumbing used on the Montesa Scrambler is completely unlike that used on their road or road racing bikes. It consists of a short megaphone, with a squared outer end, that curls back under the engine and terminates right under the transmission. Much, in fact, like the systems one sees on English scramblers. Obviously, it is incredibly noisy, and ear-plugs will be required equipment for riding this machine. The noise is, we might add, made somewhat more bearable by the bike’s performance. The makers are quite restrained in their power output claims, specifying 17 bhp at 7500 rpm, and considering the way Montesa goes, that is a very honest, even conservative, rating. The engine pulls strongly over a wide speed range, and will pull past its power peak to about 8000 rpm before it goes flat.
The 8000 rpm limit, with the standard gearing, holds the top speed to only 60 mph, but the machine will haul itself up to that speed with great vigor. At the drag strip, the standing-quarter was covered in an unimpressive 20.7 seconds, but that was because the bike simply ran out of revolutions about half-way down the strip. Only slightly more than 13 seconds are required to get up to the top speed of 60 mph, and that is about as fast as one can ride on a tight scrambles course anyway.
Handling is an area of great strength for the Montesa. It is set up as a good compromise between the requirements of high-speed TT racing and tight-course scrambling, and it is so light that the rider can often rescue himself from potentially sticky situations by simply putting a foot down and kicking himself and the bike back on course. Also, out in the rough, it rides as smoothly as a much heavier motorcycle and the combination of ride and ease of handling make it extremely attractive for either expert or novice. Those with short legs will appreciate the low build, and whether one rides conservatively or with considerable spirit, the Montesa will oblige. •
MONTESA
175 SCRAMBLER
SPECI FICATIONS
$695.00
PERFORMANCE
