Isdt Monark "Mint"125
ISDT MONARK "MINT"125
Cycle World Road Test
A Brief Sampling Of An All-Terrain European Adapted To The Rigors Of Nevada Desert Racing
GOOD COMPONENTS. Careful assembly. Pride. All are important in the evolution of a good enduro machine. The design experience of long time ISDT competitor Ove Lundell, though, is what makes the Monark 125 one of the best available.
Unfortunately, the best is expensive. Around $900. But there are certain compensations. Handling is one. And durability. The Monark distributor proved it to us. The bike we were given for initial testing not only finished the ’71 ISDT on the Isle of Man, but placed 3rd in class in the rugged Mint 400.
Impressed? You should be, because the engine was not overhauled between events and none of the suspension or frame components were replaced!
We received the bike just as it finished the Mint. The dust was there. The chassis and forks bore numerous deep scratches. And racers’ grey tape was everywhere.
The first item checked by the CYCLE WORLD statf was the frame. Usually a bike with that many competition miles on it will have cracks around some of the welds or perhaps a bent swinging arm or frame sub-assembly. Every weld was wiped clean of dust. There were no cracks. There were no bends in the frame tubes or swinging arm, either, proving that competition oriented buyers should not experience frame problems.
Frame design is classic double-cradle, single-toptube, but there is one innovative feature. The toptube is overly large in diameter and serves as the intake for the air cleaner. Relatively clean air is drawn into the system under the gas tank. At the rear of the toptube, a rubber hose connects to a conventional air cleaner with Filtron element, which is connected to the 27mm Bing carburetor by another flexible rubber hose. Surprisingly little dirt reaches the Filtron and that is exactly the kind of system desirable for off-road riding.
Suspension components showed some signs of wear, but nothing out of the ordinary. Oil was weeping past the fork seals, but the Ceriani units still performed faultlessly. Damping and spring rate are ideal and the fork tubes were still straight and true.
Koni shocks with 88-lb. springs were fitted at the rear. The 88-lb. springs were a little heavy for the lighter members of our staff, but are just right for an individual weighing 180 lb. or so. Again, damping is excellent.
Both the frame and suspension are complimented by the engine, a 125cc Sachs six-speed. Considering the number of miles the unit had on it, performance was remarkable. Acceleration was crisp, gear changes were precise, and throttle response was excellent. It started on the first kick, too, and that’s a nice bonus for the dead engine starts prevalent in U.S. desert racing.
Like the earlier Sachs, the six-speed is a straightforward piston-port unit. The cylinder barrel and head are alloy, and the now characteristic “sunburst” cooling fin pattern on the head provides more than adequate cooling-even on hot days. Incidentally, the cylinder bore is not chrome-plated, so porting modifications are easily carried out.
New on the six-speed is a Motoplat transistorized ignition system which eliminates sometimes bothersome contact breaker points. Other than this, and the fitting of a 1mm larger Bing carburetor, the power producing end of the engine is practically identical to the five-speeder. Bore and stroke on both is 54x54mm. Compression ratio is also identical at 10.8:1. Power output, though, is up by 3 to a claimed 21 bhp.
The beauty of this motorcycle is that it is basically stock. > And, if the factory can compete and win on stock mounts, so can everybody else. We’re not saying that the ISDT/Mint Monark wasn’t carefully prepared. It was. But preparation consisted of'routine attention to detail that is well within the capabilities of any motorcyclist.
First, the nature of American desert terrain prompted a tire change up front. In the ISDT, a stock 3.00-21-in. Metzler knobby was used. This was changed to a 3.50-19-in. Dunlop for the Mint. The combination of relatively wide tire and narrow WM1 rim provide a little extra cushion for rocks and a little extra flotation in sand, at the expense of some steering precision. The rear tire was changed as well, but only as a precaution. Like most 125s, Monarks run a 3.50-18-in. knobby on the rear. Monarks, however, come with rather wide WM3 rims in back which spread the tire casing out a little for a slight gain in flotation. As it turns out, this rim/tire combination is all the Sachs 125 can handle. A 4.00-18 knobby was tried, but this hampered performance.
Next, spokes were checked for tightness and safety wired where they cross. It’s little things like this that win races. Brake linings on the Mint bike were original, but after the event they needed to be replaced, as the bike then sported only marginal stopping ability.
After the original cables were checked for damage, spare cables were routed next to the originals. Here, Monark went all the way with a spare throttle, rear brake, clutch and front brake cable. The spare front brake cable at the hub end was taped to the fork leg. The rear brake cable was similarly fastened to the swinging arm. The rear cable is exceptionally large in diameter and is unusual in that it uses no outer casing.
Another unusual Monark feature is the method of anchoring the rear brake’s backing plate. Instead of having a conventional locating strap mounted to the swinging arm or to the rear of the frame and parallel to the swinging arm, Monark uses a slot/tab system as is common with front wheels. We did not experience any wheel-hop with the Monark Mint bike so the system apparently works.
Monarks come with dry paper air cleaner elements in Europe and on the East Coast. Most West Coast desert riders, however, prefer Filtron elements and the Mint bike was fitted with one of these reusable units. According to the distributor, West Coast production models will be similarly equipped.
On the left side of the machine, there is a hinged compartment that doubles as a number plate. For the Mint, bandages and a small first aid kit were secured in this compartment with grey tape. Also in the interest of safety, team Monark taped a road flare to the handlebar cross brace. Flares make riders a lot easier to find at night if machine failure prevents them from reaching a checkpoint or the pits.
Both the gas tank and fenders are stock components. The tank is alloy and holds a marginal 2.25 gallons of gas for desert use. Fenders are stainless steel, which doesn’t crack as easily as aluminum, and there are rubber grommets under all the mounting bolts to help prevent breakage from vibration. As on the Baja Husqvarna tested recently, the forward portion of the front fender was painted flat black to reduce glare from the headlight.
Curiously, the headlight on the Mint bike is a Japanese sealed beam unit instead of the brighter quartz variety. According to the distributor, the Japanese unit had a better light pattern and therefore did a better job of illuminating the tricky desert terrain.
The ISDT taillight was left attached for the Mint. It is of the small, European variety and does not double as a brake light, as this is not necessary in competition.
Another holdover from the ISDT is the “Six Day” muffled exhaust. It’s a rather large rectangular shaped unit with a marginal heat shield. Some asbestos is necessary to keep riders from getting burned as the exhaust pipe passes awfully close to the rider’s leg.
Just as the machine sports a couple of specialized ISDT components, some strictly desert items have also been added. The most important addition is a coal-shovel shaped skid plate to protect the engine and control pedals from rocks. The plate is one of the best we’ve seen and luckily will be available to the public as a bolt-on accessory.
Last is the seat, which is definitely of classic desert design. All it is is a production seat with modified cover containing an extra two or three inches of foam. Seats like this don’t really do much for a bike’s appearance, but in endurance runs the comfort gained is all important—all important next to winning!
Winning is what this bike is designed for. The machine feels right. The seat. The bars. The controls. Everything. Proper feel boosts rider confidence, too; confidence which increases as the speed goes up. The front wheel searches a little in rocks, but it isn’t alarming. Overall feel is neutral. In turns, the rear wheel eases out slowly and slides are easy to maintain.
Because of the larger than stock front tire and steel rim, the front end is not easy to loft. It will come up, but it takes a conscious effort and generous use of the throttle in the proper gear. ’72 models will have lighter hubs, Akront rims, and lighter Ceriani forks. These changes will lighten up the front end some, but it isn’t objectionable as is.
Racing versions are winners. Flat tires held this bike to a 3rd in class in the Mint, but the marque took 11 gold medals and 3 silvers in the ’71 ISDT. Only one bike of 15 entered failed to finish!
Like the racers, production models should be hard to beat. There is, however, one psychological drawback to owning one. If someone in the same class passes you in a race, you can’t blame it on the bike! (01
ISDT MONARK
"MINT"125
$900
