old bones Posted May 11, 2013 Report Share Posted May 11, 2013 Hi, I hope some of you more knowledgable guys will be able to help with a couple of probs with my 80's cota 200 (29M).I want to sort these out before I get too far with the restoration. Firstly the forks seem to be a bit reluctant to spring back and seem to stick a bit after they compress.Any Ideas?? The 200 I had back when it was new had the chain tubes , I cant remember if it had a chain tensioner. But this one seems to have a tensioner from a bracket welded to the swing arm which would get in the way of fitting chain tubes also there is an alloy dagger fin which again is on a bracket on the swing arm to help protect the chain and sprocket from contact with rocks, Would this be correct or has someone fitted a different swing arm ?? the welding on the two brackets looks to be factory and not a bodge. Any help would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted May 11, 2013 Report Share Posted May 11, 2013 The forks on mine are very soft. Are you sure they are sticking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulc76 Posted May 11, 2013 Report Share Posted May 11, 2013 Hi as far as i know all cota 200s had the chain tubes with the tensioner being mounted on an extended nut on one of the crankcase bolts just below the rear sprocket so i would say yours has had some mod done to it.The sticking forks problem is almost certanly down to the aluminium pistons on the damper rods the cast ally seems to expand as it gets old the fix is the give then a light sand with emery cloth until you get a nice sliding fit or have some new ones turned also make sure you replace the circlips that hold the damper pistons in place as the groove is very shallow it is also important to make sure the circlips go in the correct way up (rounded edge of circlip facing the piston) to prevent them from coming off hope this helps Regards Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zerorev3rev4 Posted May 11, 2013 Report Share Posted May 11, 2013 Hi as far as i know all cota 200s had the chain tubes with the tensioner being mounted on an extended nut on one of the crankcase bolts just below the rear sprocket so i would say yours has had some mod done to it.The sticking forks problem is almost certanly down to the aluminium pistons on the damper rods the cast ally seems to expand as it gets old the fix is the give then a light sand with emery cloth until you get a nice sliding fit or have some new ones turned also make sure you replace the circlips that hold the damper pistons in place as the groove is very shallow it is also important to make sure the circlips go in the correct way up (rounded edge of circlip facing the piston) to prevent them from coming off hope this helps Regards Paul he means under front sprocket but they suffer from poor tension been so far from rear sprocket ,chain can derail easily this causes bolt to bend and cracks the casing so you are better off with one on the swing arm ,they did not have a rear sprocket guard but again this could be usefull ,, is the swing arm steel or alloy ? a pic of swing arm and tensioner would be handy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2stroke4stroke Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 Hi as far as i know all cota 200s had the chain tubes with the tensioner being mounted on an extended nut on one of the crankcase bolts just below the rear sprocket so i would say yours has had some mod done to it.The sticking forks problem is almost certanly down to the aluminium pistons on the damper rods the cast ally seems to expand as it gets old the fix is the give then a light sand with emery cloth until you get a nice sliding fit or have some new ones turned also make sure you replace the circlips that hold the damper pistons in place as the groove is very shallow it is also important to make sure the circlips go in the correct way up (rounded edge of circlip facing the piston) to prevent them from coming off hope this helps Regards Paul This sounds like good stuff and it would probably be worth having a look inside the forks in any case but try the simple things first - are the forks straight? Slacken off the bolts in the yokes and give things a twist about then tighten up again when all is straight. Slacken off the wheel spindle and pump the forks to align them before retightening the clamp at the bottom of the slider. if you ride the bike with the legs "drawn together" at the bottom then the sliders can crack across the thin bit at the Montesa "M" logo if you hit a bump at speed. Don't ask me how i know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old bones Posted May 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 (edited) Hi everyone, many thanks for the swift replies, to answer lineaway, yes the forks did stick down and would only return if you gave them a tug, but ....all sems OK now after a few tweeks as suggested by 2stroke4stroke. I did tap the spindle with a rubber mallet just to make sure it was seated retightened all the bolts and all seems well so thank you for the tips that saved me a fork strip which doesnt really need to be done as they are almost perfect anyway. As for the other issues I take on board what you say regarding the chain jumping off but would like to return if possible back to original, I didnt have the problem on my other 200 when riding it many years ago so may take the risk and as you can see there isnt a chain guard of any sort so I would have to make one to fit which might not look the part, what do you think? Hopefully there will be a picture of the swing arm and the bits I'm asking about. The swing arm is steel , and I cant see any obviouse place for the original chain tensioner , no long bolt or holes in the frame or engine plates , could you be a bit more specific with the position of it?? Again many thanks Edited May 12, 2013 by old bones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zerorev3rev4 Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 the tensioner mounts to a longer crankcase bolt just under front sprocket ( this was possibly optional on the early 200,s ) it is possible it has been done away with or never had ,the tensioner fitted looks spot on ,personally i would just fit the top tube to keep chain clean and look more origanal but it depends what you want to use it for origanal would be ok for light off road and road use other wise its looking good for real off road use Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old bones Posted May 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 Thanks everyone for your advice, I'll probably leave things as they are for now and possibly fit the top chain tube as suggested by zerorev3rev4 as I will be using the mont later in the year in local trials. The trials here seem to be lots of rocks and long sections with very little mud as I was used to with the Bath Club. So perhaps the mods will be better for this type of terrain. Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 Actually the bike looks great. You`ve had the 520 conversion, as the bike had a 428 originally. The chain tubes would make it look more original, but it was quite a clutter of things with the mount coming off the rear axle. Nice handling bikes, have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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