MONTESA/HONDA

The rumour mill had started that was associating the Spanish Montesa with Japanese manufacturer Honda. The rumours became reality when in mid-1982 Honda announced it would be buying into the Montesa concern with the Spanish government’s approval. With the Montesa brand struggling with sales of its trials models some of the old stock of Cota 123, 200 and 349 machines were re-badged and sold as Montesa/Honda trials machines. Honda was prepared to stockpile trials machines and to sell them off at a loss in an effort to reach Europe’s more profitable moped market and to bypass restrictive import tariffs.

In the summer of 1985 a massive reorganisation took place and a new infrastructure was put in place to secure the company’s future, financed by monies from Honda. Never one to miss a business opportunity, Jim Sandiford Motorcycles purchased many of these machines and released them onto the UK market as a way of getting more riders into trials as the machines’ prices were very attractive.

1985: With the Montesa brand struggling with sales of its trials models some of the old stock of Cota 123, 200 and 349 machines were re-badged and sold as Montesa/Honda trials machines, seen here with Jim Sandiford.