4RT, WOW :0)

[jj65]

I haven't ridden a trial bike for over 7 years, my last bike was a Scorpa SY 250 and before that, a Mont 315. I'm not a good rider, just a clubman rider who wants to enjoy riding over and above the competitive side of it. I was very lucky to be given a go, (3 go's actually) on a very well used and fetled 06 4RT, it had a 43 rear and 9 front sprocket, mitani silencer, flat tank and fat bars. WOW, it rode absolutely beautifully, nothing like I was expecting, (after reading some of the comments on the Internet), it didnt feel too heavy (I know I didn't have a lighter bike to compare, but not too heavy IMO), you could ride just off the throttle without using the clutch and gripped really well, much better than anything I remember from my last bikes. With the mitani pipe, it also sounded quieter, more of a muffled bark, much nicer than the other 4RT's I've heard.

I know there very expensive new and need a few little mods to get them how you like it, but, it's a Honda at the end of the day and that for me makes it worth the extra above the rest.

I really want one, one of my kidneys is up for sale as I type ;-) I will be selling anything that's not tied down in the house to get one, I really desperately want one :-). I was expecting something completely different, I have been reading anything and everything about them on the Internet and expeted a heavy beast that was difficult to ride. All I can say is, try a decently set up one and enjoy, I'm still grinning from ear to ear, I want one please :-) I really understand now, why some of you love these bikes so much, I've never ridden any bike that has made me feel like this before, I don't know what it is, but I really, really want one :-)

Oh yeah, one more thing, Did I say, I really liked it :-)

[godzilla]

Did you get to ride it in a section? have you had a go on a not decently setup one?

[gaffamont]

Hiya, thing is with the 4-stroke Montesa, is that it's a bit of a Marmite bike, you either love it, or hate it.

I myself, love em', bought a newish 2009 model earlier this year, part ex'd my 4-stroke 250 Beta Evo for one.

Just wish i could spend more time riding it, lol.

Although i'm still a crap rider, i enjoy riding these Mont's the most, isn't that what it's all about ???

Regards

GaffaMont

[trevbul1]

Hm. I've just left my 4RT behind in France, otherwise I might well have offered it to you!

I have had a real privilige this year; not only did my in-laws buy a holiday home with 4 acres of limestone/ oak tree hillside that they don't use for anything, but by coincidence when I advertised my Yamaha R1 for sale, I ended up part-exing it for an 07 Repsol 4RT and thus had it to ride every day this summer alongside my existing year 2000 model Beta REV 3. Not many people have that kind of luck, I reckon!

The comparison is interesting and as a result I have bought the Beta back home to trial in the greybeards class this winter. Why?

The 4RT was a novel and delightful experience and the suspension the best I have ever experienced by far. It took a few goes to remember to keep my weight a tad further forward to stop it snow-ploughing in tight turns but it was fantastic to just feed in the power and roll over just about anything like a two wheel tractor. The bike went through each section easily and didn't care a jot if I was still on it or not.....

I was surprised to find the engine braking nowhere near as pronounced as I expected, and also to discover that the two-stroke 250 feels a good bit more powerful.

However, after a long riding session I am finding the clutch a little bit on-off and tiring to slip continually, but I think the least attractive feature of the bike is the tendency to wheel-spin as you release the clutch; in practice this makes starting off on a wet incline considerably more difficult than on a two stroke, which, given our weather here in the UK is why I left it in sunny France.

You are absolutely right about Honda, they are superb, I have had several CBR road bikes and the build quality knocks spots off all the other Japanese road bikes.

I have only just signed up to this site; I will be looking at the forums to figure the best optons for my 4RT clutch problem, but please reply if you have some ideas.

Thanks for listening, nobody else in my family appreciates bikes and I have had nobody to talk to all summer - small pice to pay though!!

[jj65]

I think the mont 4RT is definitely a marmite bike, you either like it or you don't. But have the bike set up well and to your liking makes a big difference, the bike I rode (a big thanks to Rod) was set up just how I like and the bikes abillities are way beyond mine and complemented my meger riding skills. But the main thing, for me, was that I got off the bike (with a big smile) just so impressed by it's ease of use and that fantastic engine and suspension. My test ride was at seymores, just after the club trial, so I rode a few of the sections that I thought were suitable for my ability and since I havent ridden a trials bike for almost 8 years, it felt great and so easy, I really surprised myself and put this down to the bike more than myself.

I haven't ridden a badly set up mont, why would I want to, I like to have my bikes just right, so I feel comfortable, I have ridden some bikes, like at the BVM test day, that weren't to my liking purely down to the suspension and controls being wrong for me, they weren't bad bikes, I just didn't like them. Rods bike was real nice and just emphasised how nice the 4RT can be. All I can say is, any bike can feel bad, if it hasn't been set up well, but until you ride a good bike, you can't begin to appreciate it's abilities and I think a lot of the people who have ridden a 4RT and didn't like it, just didn't get it set up as good as (6 years playing with set up experience and development by all the owners etc) it could have been.

On My brief ride ( I would have ridden it all day if I could have :-) ) I was covering the clutch and occasionally using it, but quickly found this completely unessasary with the way Rod had it geared, you could just let it chug along on tick over or a little throttle. He had the dimpled clutch plates and mitani friction plates which apparently improve the action and feel, but the clutch, or should I say the torque of the motor from tick over are a little abrupt and that's why maybe the the gearing is so critical to traction, leave the clutch alone and learn to ride in a different way to a 2T, it won't suit everyone, but that's why there's so many other bikes to choose from ;-). I have been hankering after a 4T since they were launched, but was out of the ownership scene until now, I've probably come back at the right time to benefit from everyone else's experiences and set ups (thanks :-0). I won't really find out how good the 4 RT is until I get my own, but I'm really looking forward to and grateful for the chance to ride a really nice one today, ( thanks Rod) which has made my decision to buy easy, finances aside, did I say I loved it :-).

[trevbul1]

Thanks for your reply, I do agree with you; my bike came with altered gearing but I changed the sprockets back to standard as it just didn't suit me. This bike was advertised as having a Mitani clutch, but it is still grabby. I agree with your theory on leaving the clutch alone and riding it like a tractor which works and is pleasingly different from a 2T - my problems nearly always arose when I started going off-line and needed to dip the clutch while I changed direction.

You have reminded me of something - the first two weeks I had this bike (in dry weather) I was complaining I was disappointed beacuse it was too easy to ride and there was no input from me!

Good luck with finding one - I cruised E-bay for a couple of months and I have this theory that trials bikes command higher prices in November and March/April. Come May this year, had I waited I could definately have saved myself the better part of a thousand pounds provided I was prepared to travel a few miles, so be patient! I am no tech expert so though I have the programmable throttle, I will never alter it; I went for it simply to preserve the re-sale potential, but if you are on a bit more of a tight leash with the Missus I reckon a clubman should be perfectly ok with the standard bike.

Best Wishes.