Montesa Cota 25
CYCLE WORLD IMPRESSION
MONTESA COTA 25
A Mini-Trialer Designed For Youngsters 5 To 9.
FROM A DISTANCE you have to look twice. The proportions of the Montesa Cota 25 are so like the full-sized trialer on which it was modeled that it fools the eye, turning rocks into boulders and bushes into trees.
The bike is a mini-trialer, designed specifically for serious junior-sized trials riders 5 to 9 years old. We suppose Dad, who is pulling the purse strings, could steal it back from Junior for a blast around the parking lot. But he would soon return it. Everything on the machine is scaled for Junior’s comfort, not Dad’s.
A 48.7-cc two-stroke Single, rated to produce 1.6 bhp at 4500 rpm, powers the Cota 25. Like the big 250-cc Cota engine, the power curve is flat, to provide good pulling power at minimal engine speed.
The gearbox is not what we would call sophisticated. It has only two speeds, which is really all it needs in most observed trials situations, considering the small size and weight of bike and rider combined.
The problem is that it does not provide the conventional means of shifting gears by tapping a gear lever with the foot while declutching with a lefthand lever. Instead, the clutch is of the automatic, centrifugal type: turn the throttle grip, and the engine accelerates, spinning a set of flyweights outward to engage a friction drum, which transmits power to the back wheel through a chain.
The function of the automatic clutch is excellent, as it engages smoothly. In neophyte hands, it may be preferable to a hand clutch, as it is nearly impossible to kill the engine if the bike is being run through an extremely slow section.
But the rider cannot shift gears easily, as he must take his left hand from the handlebars in order to operate a spring clip located on the top of the transmission case. There are three notched positions: a rearward “low” gear, with a top speed of about 9 mph; neutral in the middle; and “high” gear, good for 20 mph, in the forward position. These gears may be engaged while the bike is in motion, but obviously the system is not convenient. So the rider must carefully plan his sections in advance to decide which gear he’ll use.
Fortunately, it will be low gear in most cases, as there are few situations in this class of trials riding where speeds of more than 10 mph would be necessary or desirable. The one notable exception would be a long, loose-surfaced steepening climb, which demands a high speed approach, and a deft, quick shot to a lower gear if the bike begins to bog down.
If the bike stalls in such a situation, and the young rider somehow managed to kill the engine, the gearbox has an excellent feature designed to prevent Junior and mini-Cota from rolling backwards down the hill to a collective wipeout. It cannot roll backward until the gearbox is manually shifted to neutral.
The Cota 25 also has a “clutch” lever of sorts, operated by the left hand. It doesn’t declutch, in the traditional sense, but operates a compression release which provides engine braking.
Drum brakes front and rear, operated by right-hand and right-foot levers, provide progressive, easily controlled stopping power. Both the hand lever and the rear brake lever are proportioned to the hand and foot size of a sub-teen. A man-sized Size 9 shoe, for instance, is much too large to operate the rear brake pedal comfortably.
Frame and suspension parts of the Cota are simple and well integrated, providing this machine with many of the desirable characteristics of the fullsized Cota. The frame is based on a single large-diameter spine tube. There is no cradle for the engine, which is slung from the spine and further secured by bolts at the swinging arm assembly. The rear section of the frame is also bolted to the main section.
The front forks are of simple telescopic design. While they offer adequate travel, there is no damping action either on compression or rebound. Both the forks and the rear shock absorbers seem too stiff for a rider in the age category for which the machine is intended.
While it is debatable whether a subteen really needs trick stuff like rebound damping, or just-so spring rates, one must consider the fact that the buyer will be paying a premium price for what is supposed to be a specialty machine. Thus we feel the lack of these two features is a failing.
However, the above disadvantage may be more than compensated for by the correctness of the Cota 25’s geometry, weight bias, and rider position. Jumping the front wheel over obstacles is easy, as the front end is quite light. Steering is quick and responsive, so the bike may be turned sharply and precisely. The handlebar position and the narrow profile of the machine make feet-on-the-pegs riding at crawling speeds an easy affair for the young rider. The handlebars may not be adjusted backward, which may place the smallest youngsters in too far forward a lean, even when they adopt the standing position which is the sine qua non of trials competition.
As a whole, the Cota 25 is for daddies with money to burn and for very deft, mechanically minded kiddies. Others would best opt for a more conventional, generalized mini-cycle, and adapt it to trials riding.
