dr770 Posted May 5, 2017 Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 Hello; I have recently purchased a montesa cota mh 349. I think this is the only example in here where I live. Its funny that I bought the bike by just looking at the photos , and actually I had never seen a trials bike before :). its not something you can come by here often. The bike was brought here by a spanish family with a caravan 8 years ago and left over here when going back. well I am lucky that the bike starts and runs well, all 6 gears can be selected. is has stupid enduro mud guards and head light . Rear shocks are far gone and fork needs rebuild, kick starter is quite hard (even I am used to this with my old KTM, but this one is on the rihgt side!!!) I have searched this forum and came by decompression subject. Which mine doesnt have, can I install one? if yes where on the cylinder head? As a first time old trials bike rider, I found it very wierd to ride, it will take some time to get used to. Even the engine feels healthy with tons of compression it feels dull and I can not feel a good acceleration . is this becouse of the quite short gearing in first 3 gears? it seems to rev fine in neutral and never felt a stall condition as it keeps running in every situation but it feels like tractor engine with no significant power peak at all. İs this normal? if not what can be the causes? I have read this forum pages and I am aware of negative sides of amal carbs, but it doest feel like 4 stroking rich condition. I will have a better opinion once I install a rpm gauge I was expecting more power feeling with around 16 bhp and being just over 90 kgs. I am a good mechanic with tons of experience on cars and motorcycles. I will be glad to hear your thoughts and I am pretty sure I can practice what you can advise to make the bike run and pull better. Thanks a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collyolly Posted May 5, 2017 Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 It will feel sluggish when compared to a KTM (enduro bike, 2 stroke ? ) If it had a strong power band it would just spin up in the mud and not work as a trials bike ! If you are new to the sport can you find a club near to you and go along and see how other bikes work to compare as we cannot get a feel for it over the Internet. looks to be in tidy condition, welcome to the world of motorcycle Trails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr770 Posted May 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 3 minutes ago, collyolly said: It will feel sluggish when compared to a KTM (enduro bike, 2 stroke ? ) If it had a strong power band it would just spin up in the mud and not work as a trials bike ! If you are new to the sport can you find a club near to you and go along and see how other bikes work to compare as we cannot get a feel for it over the Internet. looks to be in tidy condition, welcome to the world of motorcycle Trails. well I would love find a club but belive me it sound funny for me:) becouse I live in Turkey and actutally this is the only trials bike i have seen in person!! there is no club or even anybody that is interested . all my biker friends make fun of me becouse I purchased this bike . My ktm is a 4 stroke 400 cc. but I am not comparing the performance with KTM. but I tried to compare the performance of the cota with Honda xl 185 4 stroke with similar power. XL felt quite better compared . I am not expecting a trials bike to be good at acceleration but technically speaking 16 BHP @5500 rpm "should" mean more than I felt when riding the bike. İn this forum some where some one had written about a Cota, was stating that cota can be started on 4th gear sitting , and after 15 feet wheelie starts without pulling bars. I can barely say this doesnt come close. I am happy that you find it tidy. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanorbust Posted May 5, 2017 Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 (edited) Check ignition timing? If it isn't spot on the bike may well be sluggish. As has been said when taking off from a standstill on a trials bike on the road you would normally zip through the first three gears almost instantaneously, unlike a road bike there is very little "range" in the low gears. Also I'd move the kickstart lever back a notch or two on its splines, it should sit closer to a 45 degree angle than it does. Edited May 5, 2017 by cleanorbust 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr770 Posted May 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 1 hour ago, cleanorbust said: Check ignition timing? If it isn't spot on the bike may well be sluggish. As has been said when taking off from a standstill on a trials bike on the road you would normally zip through the first three gears almost instantaneously, unlike a road bike there is very little "range" in the low gears. Also I'd move the kickstart lever back a notch or two on its splines, it should sit closer to a 45 degree angle than it does. I will definitely check the timing as soon as i am clear on how its done. I know the points type ignition from old cars but i think it's in the rotor which should be removed with a special tool. Thnks for the kick start fredback, may be it will be easier to start. The compression is huge when it's warm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanorbust Posted May 5, 2017 Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 (edited) Yes the points are behind the flywheel but you can adjust them through the window in the flywheel. You'll need a depth guage (preferably the dial type for accuracy) to screw into the spark plug hole to determine the point where the points should open. These are on eBay. On my Cota 247 it's 2.5mm b.t.d.c. I've got a 0.001" feeler gauge which I use to judge when the points open as I turn the flywheel but a cigarette paper will do the job. Edited May 5, 2017 by cleanorbust Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2stroke4stroke Posted May 5, 2017 Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 I recently had a shot on a very good original example of a 349 and it was flat as a flounder so I suspect yours may be as good as it is going to be. I certainly don't recall my 348 being as soft (but memory may have diminished over forty years) and some of the works boys didn't rate the 349 compared to the 348. But you seem to have what is basically a sound bike so good luck in finding an event to use it in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr770 Posted May 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 15 minutes ago, cleanorbust said: Yes the points are behind the flywheel but you can adjust them through the window in the flywheel. You'll need a depth guage (preferably the dial type for accuracy) to screw into the spark plug hole to determine the point where the points should open. These are on eBay. On my Cota 247 it's 2.5mm b.t.d.c. I've got a 0.001" feeler gauge which I use to judge when the points open as I turn the flywheel but a cigarette paper will do the job. I have downloaded what i can find, i have all the settings needed. And don't worry i have all the necessary tools. I just don't have enough time, having so many projects at the.same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr770 Posted May 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 17 minutes ago, 2stroke4stroke said: I recently had a shot on a very good original example of a 349 and it was flat as a flounder so I suspect yours may be as good as it is going to be. I certainly don't recall my 348 being as soft (but memory may have diminished over forty years) and some of the works boys didn't rate the 349 compared to the 348. But you seem to have what is basically a sound bike so good luck in finding an event to use it in. I will organise my one man event I have friends doing enduro in the woods. But i guess their routes are suitable for the montesa, may be with more trail riding but i am expecting to cope with them by playing the gearing about %20. What are your thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanorbust Posted May 5, 2017 Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 Raising the gearing might improve things for the use you want to put the bike to, but if you're putting on a bigger front sprocket (available from Inmotion Trials in the UK) you could be in for some interesting times as the sprocket is a taper fit on the shaft and is notoriously difficult to shift, especially if it's been there since it was torqued on at the factory nearly 40 years ago. A Pittman puller is your best bet for this, but for goodness sake don't be standing behind it as you wind up the tension - when it finally lets go it can fly several feet at high speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr770 Posted May 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 11 minutes ago, cleanorbust said: Raising the gearing might improve things for the use you want to put the bike to, but if you're putting on a bigger front sprocket (available from Inmotion Trials in the UK) you could be in for some interesting times as the sprocket is a taper fit on the shaft and is notoriously difficult to shift, especially if it's been there since it was torqued on at the factory nearly 40 years ago. A Pittman puller is your best bet for this, but for goodness sake don't be standing behind it as you wind up the tension - when it finally lets go it can fly several feet at high speed. I have noticed it but as i understand there is also a splined version. I haven't checked yet. Do i have a chance that it could be splined? Since it is the montesa-honda version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanorbust Posted May 5, 2017 Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 I don't think they went to splines until the model after this, which was a whole redesign. Obviously you'll be able to tell when the nut is removed By the way, the sprocket and flywheel nuts are left hand thread. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr770 Posted May 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 26 minutes ago, cleanorbust said: I don't think they went to splines until the model after this, which was a whole redesign. Obviously you'll be able to tell when the nut is removed By the way, the sprocket and flywheel nuts are left hand thread. this one is declared to fit 348/349. I will check probably tomorrow. thanks for the left tapper tip! https://www.inmotiontrials.com/product/montesa-cota-348-349-front-sprocket-spline-type/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotors7 Posted May 5, 2017 Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 42 minutes ago, dr770 said: Thnks for the kick start fredback, may be it will be easier to start. The compression is huge when it's warm. The kick start shaft has a lobe that's hidden away from view, a mistake many make is to mount the kick start too far forward. This means that by the time you get it in the position for a push, the lobe is much closer to punching a hole through your engine casing ! I did it on my first 349 and it made a helluva mess 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr770 Posted May 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 2 hours ago, cleanorbust said: Yes the points are behind the flywheel but you can adjust them through the window in the flywheel. You'll need a depth guage (preferably the dial type for accuracy) to screw into the spark plug hole to determine the point where the points should open. These are on eBay. On my Cota 247 it's 2.5mm b.t.d.c. I've got a 0.001" feeler gauge which I use to judge when the points open as I turn the flywheel but a cigarette paper will do the job. 0,4 mm points gap and 2.7 mm are both stated in the users manual. Does it mean that the points gap should be 0.4 mm @ 2.7mm BTDC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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