Montesa Impala Sport 250
STANDARDS, IN THE ABSOLUTE SENSE, don’t change. Fast is fast; handling is handling; it stops well or it doesn’t. What does change is the average rider’s ability to recognize and make use of these standards. What also changes is technology’s ability to stay abreast of public sophistication; and the former is usually a good indicator of the latter. Our case in point is the latest street machine in the Montesa line, the Impala Sport 250, for it is a sign of the times.
And what are these times? Well, witness the advent of the Sunday-go-a-thrashing, no frills, play-racing crowd. Raised on a diet of Dick Mann and Mike Flailwood, they may be seen — alone or in twos and threes — out in the hinterlands of paved civilization (but never more than a few hundred miles from home), breaking imaginary records on their favorite stretch of curving road and refining their “style” for a race they’ll never enter. For them, the concept of touring is different: rather than the easy, contemplative lumber of a softly sprung big twin, happiness is a fast, agile ride on a lightweight that takes a bit of skill to keep up “on the pipe.”
Conceived with the aforementioned activity in mind, the Sport 250 is the logical step up from Montesa’s first successful attempt at a road-going lightweight, the Impala 175, which we tested last year. It is very similar in styling and layout to the 175, and in spite of a 1.3-inch increase in wheelbase, more displacement and slightly larger gas tank, the new Impala has picked up only a few more pounds in curb weight.
CYCLE WORLD ROAD TEST
Although the 250 is a Spartan mount, in the sense of being uncluttered with no more controls and fittings than absolutely necessary, it must rate as one of the most smartly styled machines ever to have hit these shores. The simple and straightforward appearance tells the story: Montesa is a simple and straightforward motorcycle.
The frame is of the continuous single loop variety, with a large downtube running underneath the engine, and forward again to the steering head. A hefty double gusset in the form of steel plate bent in a tall “U” braces the steering head junction. The rear frame structure consists of lighter tubing angling back to carry the tops of the rear suspension unit. The swing arm is joined to the frame in similar fashion — by a bolt running through steel tabs, which are welded to each side of the subframe. The pivot bolt looks a bit on the small side, particularly for a 250cc machine with as much potential as this one. However, the Sport 250 has none of the handling faults that would show up if things were really awry.
The front telescopic forks are of Montesa’s own manufacture, rather than being bought from Telesco as are the forks fitted to the dirt machines. The road forks are strictly for that purpose having modest travel and giving excellent damping. Rigidity and strength is added to the assembly by the use of two U-shaped braces of ample size; these are attractively tapered, drilled and chromeplated in an excellent example of how good design highlights a functional item.
Add a well-chosen fork angle and a pair of full-sized 19-inch wheels front and back (!) and you have a nice handling, stable feeling street machine. The seven-inch double leading shoe front brake and the seven-inch rear brake are the same size as on the 175. They were more than enough on the 175 and are quite ample for the 250. The all-important front brake is effectively cooled by a large air scoop cast into the backing plate with an exhaust hole at the rear to allow flow through the brake.
Perusal of the engine department reveals characteristics very similar to Montesa’s 250cc Scrambler. The bore and stroke are the same, as well as the carburetion, a 30mm Amal of Spanish make, the cap which has been thoughtfully encased in a thin, form-fitting shroud of rubber, which serves the double purpose of keeping dirt out and the carburetor’s innards in. Compression ratio is a relatively mild 10.5:1; we say mild, because the storming Impala 175 had 12:1 in the normal version and 14:1 in the Super Sport version. As the porting is quite generous on the Sport 250, the machine has all the makings of a production road racer in sheep’s clothing. One thing to make the tinkerers quite happy is that the cylinder sleeve is removable, which makes port alteration a cinch. The engine vibrates a bit at high rpm, but this seems to be a common characteristic in the two-strokes made in Spain.
In the miles put in by staff members on road and race track, the Sport 250 revealed itself as an excellent example of a “fun machine,’’ which is to the world of street motorcycling what the lightweight, snappy handling sports car is to the four-wheeled world. In addition, Montesa is
Strong-Hearted Weekender.
MONTESA IMPALA SPORT 250
comfortable to ride, as the makers have provided a soft, wide-profile seat and a set of handlebars, which, while being “Western” in style, do not come out so wide that one is gathering a constant harvest of wind, nor do they rise so high that one finds oneself zooming down the road in a backwards leaning position at any speeds over 70 mph. We found the muffler hair-raising for rides within quieter areas of the township. Montesa Motors, distributors of the Impala, tell us that subsequent shipments of this machine will have more effective silencing. As communities throughout the United States are beginning to equip themselves with electronic equipment to nab violators of ordinances against increasing existing sound levels by 100 percent, more and more motorcycle makers will have to concern themselves with this department.
Our only other complaint would be about the passenger footpegs, which are non-folding and therefore could be an annoyance when riding solo. The pegs for the rider are well-placed and rigidly mounted.
There are several other points about the machine that are worth mentioning, for they greatly enhance its appearance or function. For one thing, ignition is by magneto, which means, among other things, that the rider who uses his machine only occasionally doesn’t have to worry about battery water level or boiling under extended charge conditions. For starting, one doesn’t even have to bother turning a key, as ignition is “on” all the time; to stop the engine, one has only to touch the kill button at thumb’s reach until revs drop to zero. At the same time, a lock imbedded in the steering head will discourage bandidos from rustling the rider’s mount when he’s stopped at the local watering hole.
The Impala is also blessed with heavy-duty clutch and brake cables, which are covered by big outer sheathes; one just knows they’ll last. The rear brake is actuated by rod, at the end of which is a big adjusting thumb screw; this means that the rider may bring up the pedal without the use of wrenches.
Finally, the attractive plastic fairing behind the engine also serves as a tool compartment, and one finds a set of same included therein.
While the welded parts of the bike are not the neatest looking we’ve ever seen, it’s evident that they haven’t skimped on the bead. In addition, the overall finish is beautiful. Our test machine came in a black and gold combination with red pinstriping. There are two other combinations available.
As the Impala is such a stormer, particularly with a rider of small stature aboard, its purchase price will make it very attractive to the fast touring weekend rider. ■
MONTESA IMPALA
SPORT 250
$665
