Montesa 360 Cappra Gp
MONTESA 360 CAPPRA GP
CYCLE WORLD ROAD TEST
CAN MONTESA make up for lost time? Only now has the Spanish factory added a 360-cc motocross model to its range of sporting and competition machinery, while other makers have gained months and years of invaluable experience racing the big two-strokes
Montesa’s belated entry in the 360 class is named the Cappra GP. It has to face the best efforts from five other factories in a highly competitive division of racing where there is no room for second rate machinery. Can it meet the challenge?
Undoubtedly, yes. The Cappra is fast, has the large gobs of mid-range power so necessary in scrambling, and good handling to transmit the power to the track. At $1140, it also is competitively priced.
The factory probably could have marketed the bike earlier, if it had wished to do so, for the Cappra has been under development for three years. It seems obvious that Montesa has withheld from selling the 360 until now, so the machine could be tested exhaustively. In addition to the official factory testing, a Cappra has been in the hands of Montesa’s U.S. distributor for a year, and the machines that will be sold in the USA will incorporate certain differences from the European specifications.
Factory riders Freddie Mayes and Roger Snoad already are gaining satisfactory results in England with their recently acquired 360s. The American version of the bikes has different sprocket sizes and internal gear ratios (to give wider overall gear ratios), an American pattern handlebar, and dark blue fiberglass components, instead of orange.
The Cappra is based on the tried and tested formula of a single cylinder two-stroke engine located in a relatively simple frame, and with the accent on light weight. The bike actually weighs 248 lb., with a half-tank of fuel. This is by no means heavy, but it is surprising that the bike is not lighter still. A brief examination shows that all it really consists of is an engine and transmission unit mounted in a frame, with a wheel at each end! There are absolutely no unnecessary frills.
Weight-saving materials have been liberally used. Fenders, seat, fuel tank, and the side panels protecting the dual air cleaners all are in fiberglass. Alloy components include the Akront rims, front fork clamp, and various engine parts. Riders report that the bike certainly felt lighter than its 248 lb.
Like the remainder of the machine, the engine is a new design and owes no allegiance to any other Montesa product. The Cappra has been designed from the outset as a 360—it is not an enlarged 250-cc bike. The power unit is very much oversquare. Claimed output of 38 bhp at 6500 rpm makes the Cappra very competitive with 360s from other factories.
Barrel, head and crankcases are of aluminum; the crank and connecting rod are steel. The centrifugally cast, shrunk-in cylinder liner is of nickel alloy. No less than four ball bearings carry the crankshaft, a caged needle roller bearing is used at the lower end of the rod, and loose needle rollers are at the little end.
Straight cut gears take the power from the engine to a sturdy all-steel clutch containing seven driver plates and eight driven plates, and the four-speed transmission.
The frame is perhaps the most sophisticated part of the Cappra. It features two toptubes running not parallel, but one above the other. The tubes are several inches apart at the steering head, but converge under the rear of the fuel tank. A single downtube is used and there is plenty of strength-giving bracing at the steering head.
The rear of the frame is made up of two V-shaped tubular sections, one on each side of the bike, with the apex of each V sweeping under an outer end of the swinging arm pivot. This area is somewhat complicated, with the V sections, bottom tube, swinging arms, two oval-section braces for the swinging arms, and mounting points for the footrests, all concentrated in one area! However, this arrangement certainly appears as if it could cope adequately with a great many bending and twisting forces.
The Cappra is available basically as a TT bike, with a 19-in. front wheel and a swept back set of handlebars. However, a 21-in. front wheel and a straighter bar may be obtained as options to convert to the motocross version. Customers also can choose among a wide range of rear sprockets, varying in size from 44 teeth to 60 teeth. The test machine had a 46-tooth rear sprocket. The standard countershaft sprocket has 11 teeth, but a 12-tooth sprocket is available. Other options are a Filtron air cleaner element in place of the dual paper elements fitted as standard, and a 3.5-gal. fuel tank, instead of the customary 2.2-gal. tank, which is adequate for most forms of competition.
Footpegs on the test machine were of cast steel, and did not fold. They were a little too wide for serious competition, but on subsequent Cappras this type of peg will be an optional extra, and the standard setup will be a pair of folding pegs. Other controls on the Cappra are well placed. The gear lever is constructed of flat stock, and bends easily, but can be straightened easily. The tubular rear brake pedal also is easily damaged, but cannot be unbent so quickly. An ample, and very comfortable seat is fitted. Montesa has engineered a very low tank position on the Cappra, and the result is that the rider finds it easy to slide forward if he has to adjust weight distribution on the machine. Another advantage of the low tank is that it helps keep the center of gravity down. There still is plenty of room to insert a wrench for the purpose of removing the spark plug.
Suspension on the Cappra is catered for by Ceriani components at the front and Telesco shock absorbers at the rear. These items have such a reputation for good handling that it is almost unnecessary to comment on the way they cope with bumps and jolts of rough terrain. Putting it briefly, they certainly lived up to their reputation. The front fork is mounted in a handsome set of fabricated triple clamps which, incidentally, are not Ceriani-made.
Ground clearance on the Cappra is a little over 8 in., and the lowest part of the machine is the bulbous exhaust pipe, which curves under the front downtube of the frame, and continues under the left side of the engine. This, of course, makes it very vulnerable to damage. It is only fair to say that during the test sessions nothing actually hit the pipe, and it seems that in most situations it will stay clear of damage.
Montesa has taken the unusual step of fitting the Cappra with a twin leading shoe front brake, which is very rare on motocross machinery. The brake certainly stops the bike without a lot of frantic squeezing on the lever, but it does mean that the rider has to use considerable discretion. The rear brake is excellent—powerful, but not grabby.
On a TT course the Cappra is a superb machine. It has plenty of horsepower, but most important, it is a slider. The swept back bars enable the rider to sit well rearward, yet he can also perch forward on the low tank when necessary. Bends can be taken in long, controllable slides. For motocross, handling is, in general, good. Steering, however, is very quick, and it will take an expert rider to keep up with the Cappra when it is pressed all the way.
The fork angle is better suited to TT racing than to scrambles. There are no other handling problems which could stop the Cappra from being in the winner’s circle.
Engine power is delivered low down in the rpm range, and makes the four-speed gearbox entirely adequate. For hard competition the best technique is to keep the engine buzzing fairly fast, for it is at the top end that most of the power is available. However, the generous spread of power means that there is always a ratio for any situation. Proof that the Cappra has allout power is available in its eighth-mile times, which are entirely in line with present 360 performances.
Major complaint with the Cappra engine was in regard to starting. It is, without doubt, one of the most evil starting machines CYCLE WORLD has tested. The rigid peg will permit only half a stroke on the folding crank and then it stops very suddenly. Unless very thick soled boots are worn, the procedure becomes quite painful after a dozen kicks, and that usually is the number required to bring the engine to life.
The Cappra is a welcome addition to the range of 360 competition machines. A rider who buys both types of available handlebar and front wheel sizes, and a good range of rear sprockets, will have a mount that will be about as versatile as a racer can be. In the right hands, the Cappra is capable of winning in the desert, in TT racing, or on a motocross circuit.
MONTESA 360
CAPPRA GP
$1140
