Invincible
Toni Bou has just won his 27th trials world championship. Yep, you read it right, 27. And this is the weapon he used to smite all-comers
For the last 13 years, Toni Bou, 33, has won every single indoor and outdoor world trials championship. When he took the latest indoor one just before the Covid-19 shutdown, that brought his total tally to 27 world titles. The Spaniard is without question the greatest trials rider the planet has ever seen.
His weapon of choice for every world title has been a Montesa Cota 4RT. It’s a four-valve single made by Honda (who own Montesa) and is based on the production 4RT, the latest of which you can buy for £5999. In some ways Toni’s bike is remarkably similar to the production machine you or I could go out and buy – the frame, swingarm and geometry are identical, for example. But in other ways, not so much. Toni’s HRC chief mechanic Joaquim Torres explains.
‘The engine is by far the most special element in Toni’s bike and was developed and built by HRC in Japan (production Montesas are built in Spain). Capacity is increased to over 300cc (from 258cc), and the throttle body and exhaust system are bigger too. The exhaust is all titanium. Ignition is twin spark, with two ignition coils connected to the two spark plugs, one in the centre of the combustion chamber and a second at one side. The ECU is completely adjustable and the rider has three different maps available via a switch on the handlebar.
The crankcase is magnesium to save weight and the gearbox is four gears not five to save space and weight.’
The suspension is different too, says Joaquim:
‘Forks and shock are factory Showa, with more adjustment available for different conditions. For example, if temperatures are very high or very low, the suspension is adjusted to get the correct rider feeling. There is no big difference between Toni’s set-up compared with other riders – like them he is always looking for everything to be as firm as possible, but with enough control. Brakes are by Braktec – 185mm front disc with 4-piston caliper and 150mm rear with 2-piston caliper.’
‘As firm as possible, but with enough control’