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Well it has been a long time! The bike was left outside during that horrible rain we had the last couple months and the engine filled with water :-( so yesterday I took the air filter and pipe off, water came out took the drain screw out on the carb, water came out removed the exhaust manifold... water came out :-( I gently turned it over by hand and it felt free and smootb! Removed thr spark plug and turned the bike upside down... gotntly turned it over by hand until no more water came out. Left it to dry out for a couple hours and put it back together, put some fuel in and the third kick she fired up :-) Thank god for that! Not ran it very long, started it a couple times a d starts and ticks over nice so think I got away with it. it is going back in the garage tonight!!

And the end result was...

Hi guys. Long time no update. long story short the bike had been left outside during all the really bad rain we have had! I had a bad feeling the engine had water in so removed the air filter housing and pipe, water came out. removed the drain screw on the carb and water came out. removed the enhaust manifold on the engine and water came out. I have slowly turned it over with my hand with all these items above left unscrewed and water came out... now no water is really coming out when I turn over. I have tipped the bike on its front about 30 degrees and no more water camr out. when I turn it over I get a bit of a gargaling water sound from the carb area. I have looked on the net and most say do what I have done and then start the engine and it will burn off the little bit left? Obviously I am not doing that until I hace taken you guys advice.... any help? Gutted is an understatement!! But my own silly fault fot leaving it out. I did have something over the air filter but I didnt notice when it came off :-( From a bad owner. Mark

I wet and dried the rear fender Before Untitled by Mark Boon, on Flickr After wet and dry Untitled by Mark Boon, on Flickr After metal polished and finished Untitled by Mark Boon, on Flickr I then put the two mud gaurds back on the bike Untitled by Mark Boon, on Flickr Untitled by Mark Boon, on Flickr Untitled by Mark Boon, on Flickr Untitled by Mark Boon, on Flickr Untitled by Mark Boon, on Flickr Untitled by Mark Boon, on Flickr Untitled by Mark Boon, on Flickr I also sorted the rear brake out. Just needed the changes mentioned above. Thanks for your help on that one. I kicked the old girl into life, started first kick! Had a little drive up the garden and the front brake is ever so slightly sticking on but think using the bike will resolve this. I also fitted the foot pedal. She is ready now for the tank cover and to be used and tested. I might have to remove the exhaust manifold and repaint with heat resistant satin black Thanks Mark

Guys, I think you have it spot on. I know my mistake.. or at least I think I do. Will confirm when I see it on the bike. Fingers crossed that is a nice simple fix. I am tempted to try get the bike out this weekend and give it a run, see what is what. Not got the tank cover back yet so waiting for that to finish things off. Just need to fit the right hand side foot rest and we should be away.. o yeah and a seat, hurts sat on the frame

Correct, it is. I like the air filter on the Ulf bike but would take some of the originality away from the other bike if I start chopping and changing bits. Are the Ulf Karson bikes worth anymore or less than a standard 247? thanks Mark

Cheers mate. I have tried adjusting like you mention but moving the splin to the next notch means it is miles away from the cable I will double check it to make sure it was not me having a bad day. I have started the bike a couple times now and she runs great. Smoke is clearing a bit and tickover is great. Also she seems to prime the carb better so might of had some dirt in there or something. It is raining alot this end so not much will be done to the bike until that passes

Another update... I had a price to get the exhaust header chromed and to be honest, need to get some other bits sorted at a later date so opted to paint it satin black, fit and use the bike for testing purpose. I will remove all the chrome parts another time and get them all looking new again. So now the bike has been sat for a couple weeks I wanted to try get it back together and running again. We got the rear tyre sorted on the old girl so fitted that back up and adjusted. I also tapped up the engine so I could spray the top half black Tyre fitted Montesa Cota Restoration by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota Restoration by Mark Boon, on Flickr Before Montesa Cota 247 Restoration by Mark Boon, on Flickr After Montesa Cota 247 Restoration by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration by Mark Boon, on Flickr After this I fitted the exhaust back on Montesa Cota Restoration by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota Restoration by Mark Boon, on Flickr Other things I have done is cleaned the tank and tap filter out. Sprayed the screw and bolt ends etc, Fitted the air filter After putting the tank back on and checking everything I primed the carb and gave it a couple kicks. She fired straight into life as she did before. Took a video again, still missing the rear exhaust hose so getting exhaust gases leaking but that will be resolved soon enough. I even took it for a little ride up the garden and out the front of our house. Showed my dad and put her back. Just got to clean up a few bits now like the rear fender, get them fitted and she will be out for a test. I have noticed one thing not working and that is the rear brake. I fitted it as it came off, it is not pulling the brake enough to engage the pads. I have checked and adjusted as much as I can... Looking for ideas on this? I compared the pad thickness to new and they have well over half left...? This is the video of her running again Also found the place my dad used to go on these bikes Montesa Cota 247 Restoration by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration by Mark Boon, on Flickr Hope you like. Any comments welcome

I would say the other bike is a bit past it. That one needs a full restore as the frame is covered in surface rust. I think with a bit of love though the other bike will run and ride. We did have the kick set to that position but the mechanic changed it for ease of kicking it over. Seems to work fine at the moment but we have not riden the bike yet so could be in the way. Once we have that first ride under our belt we should be able to iron out all these little things. The mudgaurds is another thing on my mind, we have the plastic covers for the old bike so might put them on while we test etc to keep the metal ones for best. Hd my daughters 2nd birthday yesterday so not looked at the bike since the weekend. Will get back to it when I can Had a price to chrome the manifold of £45 plus VAT and postage both ways. So got to be looking at £80. Not sure if I am going to do this, thinking about sanding down and spraying black the same as the exhaust? Anyone got some thoughts on this? Thanks Mark

I have some of that paint but it looks bad I put a couple coats on the exhaust and then went over with the satin, see how that fairs. If it needs sanding down again and going over I will sort that. I am purely using the autosol, a couple cloths and my hands. Have not been able to feel my fingers for a few days now but I am sure its worth it. I had a little go at the engine covers last night. Not the best due to little chips in the metal etc but certainly looks better than it did. Still waiting on the rear tyre

Next was the front wheel Started like this Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr During the clean Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr After Same photo as above but you can see the difference Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Next was the manifold pipe, thought I best start on this seems as the rest of the exaust is complete Started like this Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr After a good amount of time rubbing down. I wanted to get it back to factory finish but no chance of that happening. Looking fo ideas on this please? the rest of the exhaust is satin black Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr I also cleaned up the jubalee clips on the airbox hose and the hose itself Looks like this now Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Ready to go back on the bike. I have the fuel tank back now and waiting on the rear tyre to be changed. Once the tyre is complete the bike will go back together and be tested

I cleaned the rear brake cover Started like this Montesa Cota 247 Restoration Wheel polish by Mark Boon, on Flickr Finished like this Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Next was the front forks Started like this Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr And ended up like this Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr I have removed this part one at a time and spraying black again to clean it up. Montesa Cota 247 Restoration metal work by Mark Boon, on Flickr

Last night I started on cleaning up the rear wheel ready for the tyre change. It started like this Montesa Cota 247 Restoration Wheel polish by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration Wheel polish by Mark Boon, on Flickr And finished something like this Montesa Cota 247 Restoration Wheel polish by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration Wheel polish by Mark Boon, on Flickr Next up was testing the theory if coke really does remove grim. So I removed the rear brake lever and sanded down one side, not the best but gives you an idea. I left the oherside as it was. I also removed various screws and bolts that was on show and gave them the same treatment. The part I sanded down Montesa Cota 247 Restoration Wheel polish by Mark Boon, on Flickr And the non sanded down side Montesa Cota 247 Restoration Wheel polish by Mark Boon, on Flickr Lets see if it can really break through heavey grim or just cleanup an already fairly clean surface Montesa Cota 247 Restoration Wheel polish by Mark Boon, on Flickr I have wet and dried the rear brake cover but did not get any photos after. I still have plenty of work to do on the spokes on the rear of the bike but I cleaned a coulple down last night and they came back shiney so should look alot better once complete. The rear wheel is having the tyre replaced this weekend with a bit of luck. Only one place in my town changes bike tyres apparently! Seems odd to me considering we have a number of bike dealers. If anyone is looking for parts, we do have a spare bike which I think will be going. It is not in the best of condition but all parts with a bit of elbo grease will clean up. It is a Ulf Karsen 247 Rep. I am going to take a night off from the bike, wish I could say I was doing something nice but fixing the toilet is not. Might have another go Sunday Thanks for reading, all comments good or bad welcome Mark

Hi Guys and girls, I want to remove the rear shocks from the above bike. Do I need spring compression claimps or is the spring compressed within the shock? Can I remove the shock and spring in one go just by unbolting the shock? Thanks Mark

I got home to find the exhaust rubber tube waiting for me so put that on, had to put a bit of washing up liqued around to get it on but fitted well. I put the exhaust rougthly in place to get an idea As you can see, it was dark by the time I got around to that! Spent most of my evening under a Mercedes Sprinter Montesa Cota 247 trial exhaust fit by Mark Boon, on Flickr And one of the whole exhaist loosely fitted backup just to see what it looks like. Also found a simular rubber hose for the other exhaust section Montesa Cota 247 trial exhaust fit by Mark Boon, on Flickr

After sanding down the air filter box first time round and it looking like this Montesa Cota 247 Restore 2 by Mark Boon, on Flickr I was not happy with the finish.. So sanded it down again to bare metal, that was fun Montesa Cota 247 Restoration Paintwork by Mark Boon, on Flickr I then got the wet and dry out and thought I would try for the standard look Montesa Cota 247 Restoration Paintwork by Mark Boon, on Flickr I was not happy with that so reverted back to idea number 1, titanium silver it was Montesa Cota 247 Restoration Paintwork by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration Paintwork by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restoration Paintwork by Mark Boon, on Flickr I am happy with this, would of prefered OE is possible but unless I buy a new item I really could not see it happening. The tank cover has been collected and in the process of being repaired and painted. £120 at mates rates so happy enough with that. That should come back like new. Just trying to track down some tank decals, possibly a new seat or a trim and plenty of metal polishing to keep me going. The tank itself had to go with the cover to the bodyshop due to clearence concerns after repairs etc. The list of things I would like to get sorted cosmetics. New decals all over New hand grips Re-chrome the kickstart/pedals/rear brake lever/gear changer Connect up a kill switch - ideas needed? change the back wheel clean the tank out clean the tank filter change the fuel pipe from the tank to carb Clean, clean clean... What can I put nuts and bolts in to clean them up? trying to remove rust from visiable bolts... any ideas on this? was thinking vinger or coke? Thanks Mark

Have you checked the points? ours had no spark at all, after a quick clean of the points (which was done through the inspection hole) she fired first kick after 5 years of not running

Hi Charlie, I dont think the wheel is buckled, just not put on straight. I need to get the rear wheel off her though so not going to waste time straightening until the new wheel/tyre is back on the old girl. It does have a second spark plug hole with a bolt in. Once the fuel gets to the carb she fires really well and on the first kick. Ticks over pretty well too which is nice. Bit smokey but looking around on YouTube at others they all seem to smoke a bit. I am trying to find somewhere local to take the bike once we have the bits sorted to start testing, see what else needs adjusting or work once she has been used for a long period. Anyone know of somewhere local to Yeovil Somerset? I managed to get a coat of paint on the air filter box last night and another coat on the exhaust, no photos of this yet.

Cheers Dave, We have a few bits we need to sort before we ride, rear tyre being flat is one and needs changing, have one on the spare bike but not sure I want the hassle of removing the chain etc The wheel that is currently fitted on the back is not on straight either so that will need sorting when that comes off. Also got to clean the tank out and the filter, change the fuel hose and hope nothing else comes up. Front brake works fine but not driven to test the rear, seems to feel OK. It went up a couple gears and the clutch works fine on her. I also have to rig up a stop button of some kind.. did these come out of the factory with a stop button? if so any photos of the location and what it looks like? thanks Mark

While I was and still am waiting for this paint to go off I got the Autosol metal polish out. I started on the mudguards This is the bit I was not happy with, but.... Not much I can do about it unless I buy new items... which is very tempting if they can still be had. Can anyone tell me if the metal items I have are original items? did they come with the metal ones or plastic? So this is a before shot, as you can see the metal is putted and really dull Montesa Cota 247 Restore 2 by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restore 2 by Mark Boon, on Flickr This is the stuff I am using, a good friend uses this on exhausts and its cracking stuff Montesa Cota 247 Restore 2 by Mark Boon, on Flickr And this is a kind of before and after shot Montesa Cota 247 Restore 2 by Mark Boon, on Flickr As you can see, still plenty of room for improvement Montesa Cota 247 Restore 2 by Mark Boon, on Flickr And after some elbow grease they ended up like this... well the front does.. Not started the back yet Montesa Cota 247 Restore 2 by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restore 2 by Mark Boon, on Flickr Pretty tired by this point but couldn't resist seeing what the engine cover would come up like so started on this Before Montesa Cota 247 Restore 2 by Mark Boon, on Flickr After Montesa Cota 247 Restore 2 by Mark Boon, on Flickr Seems to be working on the engine covers but loads of little nicks and marks in the metal which is annoying.. I must remind myself this is a trials bike and not a show car haha. So I am just waiting for the exhaust to go off, will put another coat on that and will put the first coat on the air filter. Not sure if the titanium silver will be any good but I guess I can always sanded it back down and spray again. I have ordered the first part for the bike as well, and thanks to Gary (Above) for pointing it out. We are missing the rubber sleeve that goes over the join on the exhaust, this was causing the smoke to come out by your leg I also have a friend coming around today to look over the fibre glass tank cover, he is going to repair and spray for me so it should look like new again. I will also like new decals if possible? anyone know where I can get these from? Thanks for reading, sorry about all the pics but I like detail Cheers Mark

I forgot to say, the mechanic just adjusted the points and it kicked straight into life. 5 years this bike sat, very impressed. So a few pics after it was sprayed down Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr Now was the time to start stripping it down until it looked like this Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr Now I was going to strip this right down and get the frame blasted and sprayed.... but it looks pretty good, so now thinking of just doing a light resto on the bike and get all the metal/chrome looking a bit better. I took a few photos of small detail on the bike Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr I also found the frame number.... which matches the engine Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr One of the things that was highlighted by the mechanic was the pipe from the tank to the carb was too small, the fuel takes an age to prime the carb. So I will remove the fuel line from the spare bike and change it over This is the problem hose Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr Also noticed this on the bike Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr Up until 6 months ago I was Head IT Engineer for a company that supported Talon. There office is around 10 minutes from my front door, that could come in hand at some point. So the first thing I wanted to tidy up which has bugged me since day one was the air filter box It did look like this Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr I sanded it down with wet and dry and currently sat on the table waiting to dry before I spray it. I am going to spray this Titanium Silver..... purely because I have some of this paint in the shed from our BMW. I will update once I have sprayed this item, it will take a good few coats though Montesa Cota 247 Restore 2 by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restore 2 by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restore 2 by Mark Boon, on Flickr Next up was the exhaust, years of riding has took it's tole so off that came, sanded down and sprayed Sanded down Montesa Cota 247 Restore 2 by Mark Boon, on Flickr A couple coats of matt black high temp paint Montesa Cota 247 Restore 2 by Mark Boon, on Flickr I was not happy with this, held it up to the bike and it looked rubbish against the shiny black frame. So out came my trusty can of Satin Black, after a good coat of this (it is still very wet) I think it looks a lot better than it did... although still not happy. Untitled by Mark Boon, on Flickr Untitled by Mark Boon, on Flickr

Right, nice little update. As some will know, I put the bike in with a mechanic I know, we left it that he would take it apart, see what is needed and give me a call to discuss. I dropped it off Friday around 4.30 and was not expecting anything until the tail end of next week. 10.30 Saturday morning I get a call from the mechanic saying it was ready for collection... Shocked was a understatement. So managed to grab the work van and collect the bike, £35 lighter she started first time! He found a few little things that need to be addressed but overall very good. So in the van it went and back home. I was going to give this to my dad straight away but had an afternoon of Karting and just didn't have time so put it in my back garden and went karting. Later that evening I wheeled the bike over to my dads without him noticing and kicked her into life! His face said it all So after a good chin wag and some ideas we are putting our heads together and starting to tidy the bike up. So today I got the bike back at mine (I live across the road), removed the fibre glass petrol tank cover and sprayed the bike down with WD40, I let this sink in while I was getting the pressure washer ready Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr Montesa Cota 247 Restore by Mark Boon, on Flickr

Hi Gary, That part does not look like anything we have.... is this why it is leaking? Is it right for the bike to smoke like this? Are the shocks original?

Well guys, this is the old girl running. My dad was over the moon which was nice. This has highlighted the exhaust manifold needs some work... any ideas? One happy montesa helper haha

Hi guys, Thank you for the info. I love stuff like this. I will research the rep bike and see what they are all about. I had a call today and the bike is up and running. Points just needed some attention. Not bad for a 1970s bike that has sat for 5 years. I will get a update once I get on the computer. Thanks guys Mark