mudyman Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Hi Guys can any one help with the wheelbase of a 1980 349 (I) it´s longer than a 348 or the 349 from 1981 (I have all bikes mentioned and have compared the length). The result is that the 1980 bike was about 3 cm longer but the swinging arm is the same with all bikes so it must be the yokes or the steering head angle. The 1980 bike is a lot worse in sections than the earlier and later models so if its the yokes I could do a change. I can remember the 1980 bike being unpopular because of the handling when it came out. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattylad Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 I was really happy when my 349 was stolen, got a TY mono as a replacement. I remember it was long so very long! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc2 Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 If you look thro the specs in the articles here http://motosclasicas.org/montesa/pagines/revistas_trial.htm you'll see it listed as a massive 1350mm. (The 248 of the same year was the same!) Little wonder they were said to turn like a supertanker. I'm lead to believe the extra length over the 348 & later 349s was (mostly) in the swingarm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonhazza Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 Looking at these pictures I would say its in the swing arm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helm Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 hi have both a 348 and a first model 349(red tank)which is 1979 the forks on the 349 are longer Iuse the 348 forks in it and it is mutch better I have seen fotos in the bernie book of vesty on the 349 in 1979 and he has the forks legs as high in the yokes as possiable shortening the Wheel base also i dont like the air caps and soft springs on the 349 ,again if the springs and caps (with a large spacer) from the 348 and droping the yokes to shorten the fork improves it again, any difference between the swinging arms is marginal and there is plenty of space to elongate the axle slot and shorten the Wheel base cheers helm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonhazza Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 hi have both a 348 and a first model 349(red tank)which is 1979 the forks on the 349 are longer Iuse the 348 forks in it and it is mutch better I have seen fotos in the bernie book of vesty on the 349 in 1979 and he has the forks legs as high in the yokes as possiable shortening the Wheel base also i dont like the air caps and soft springs on the 349 ,again if the springs and caps (with a large spacer) from the 348 and droping the yokes to shorten the fork improves it again, any difference between the swinging arms is marginal and there is plenty of space to elongate the axle slot and shorten the Wheel base cheers helm I had the 1979 349 and the 1983 also, I modified my air forks after I ended up up with a mouthful of fork oil when the valve exploded on a drop off, I used a couple of car valve springs to stiffen the std springs and modified the caps by removing the valve and using a bolt and a couple of washers with a small hole drilled into them 1 on to of the cap and 1 below, this allowed the forks to breathe but still hold some pressure, I was probably lucky but they worked very well. I have an article about Vesty's Montesa year and it talks about the factory bikes being much modified from standard in the frame forks and yokes to make them slimmer and to improve the steering the bike he won the SSDT on had slim yokes like the white model. Steve, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudyman Posted May 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 SORRY about being so late with my reply !! I will have a good look at the forks (length etc.) and compare them with some from a 1976 348 + my 1978 348 a my white wonder 349 from 1981. The swinging arms ar all about the same but I will be having a closer look again as the one in the picture looks longer (possibly someone has been at this before). I had a 348 from almost new in 1977 (it had only done the one scottish 6 day´s for one of Bob Gollners boys) later i changed this for a 1977 Cota 348 from Sandifords and both were good if you like big plonkers as I do and always did. After a short time on a 78 Beamish Suzi 250 I had a 1981 349 white wonder from new and this was a big improvement to the Beamish (if you like big bore bikes). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudyman Posted May 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2015 Hi all, done some measuring again. The forks on the 348 are bout 2,5 cm shorter as on the 349´s. The rear shock mounting on the swingingarm is 2,5 cm further forward (swinging arm length is almost unchanged). all other measurments are the same between the 348 and 349 except that the 349 wheelbase from 1980 was about 3 cm longer than the 348 or a 349 from 1981 and later. As all other bits measure the same between 1980 and 1981 it must be the yokes or more probably the angle of the headstock. I could think it was something to do with the 1980 mod. being the SSDT replica made for longer distance riding as was the seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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