Montesa Texas

The promise of Pere… Based around the Montesa Cota 4Ride, Pere Ferrer, a former employee and engineer of the Spanish motorcycle manufacturer has developed a transformation kit to give birth to this ‘Cafe-Racer’ based Montesa Texas 2019 model. This creation is unique, as you will see, and a celebration for the Montesa dealer in Barcelona,

Impala, which boasts 60 years of loyalty to the brand which was born from that promise of Pere…

John Hulme: “If I am totally honest, I have a little soft spot for the Montesa Cota 4Ride Model. It opened the door to my friendship with Joan Comas. Yes, the very man from the classic Costa Brava Two Day Trial and, yes, unknown to me at the time, Pere Ferrer. I attended the press launch of the 4Ride model back in February 2016 in Spain and, through this event, I was put in touch with Joan, a recommendation from Pere. As they say, the rest is history”.

It is to Pere Ferrer that we owe the origin of the concept of the Montesa Cota 4Ride. This was one of the last official projects he worked on during his long career at Montesa which begins in…1974!

Pere is now 63 but he continues to create for his youngest child. When this chief engineer retired in May 2018, he had a promise to keep. The one made to his friend, the one who’s twelve years old and one year younger than when he tried his first motorcycle all those years ago. A year later the friend received a copy of a 2019 Texas which had been revised, corrected and brought back to life by Pere, based around the Montesa Cota 4Ride model.

Full circle

The Texas was an Enduro model marketed between 1966 and 1971 by Montesa, mainly sold on the American market. A scrambler, desert-racing type of machine produced for the growing American off-road market.

Why did he choose this model? Pere explains it in two ways. The first is technical, as the 4Ride had a riding position and a template close to the Texas. The second is more sentimental, which is that many fans of Montesa purchased this model in the USA to bring it back to Spain, and so to revive it in Barcelona was a return to the symbolic beginning.

Available in both 175cc and 250cc, the air-cooled, single-cylinder two-stroke machine, the Texas model, was more popular as a 250 and sold under the name Texas Scorpion 250. They produced 2,410 units, against 186 for the smaller engined model. An Enduro model based on the Impala had the yellow fuel tank similar to the Montesa Texas.

A friend of Pere owned one and his brother put him in contact with a boilermaker in the Pyrenees who then made a mould to make a tank shell to fix on that of the 4Ride. The tubular back frame loop was from another a friend of Pere who ordered him one to let him look at it. As he admits, this project was a creation born of passion, and which was brought to life thanks to its circle of very competent friends. The painting of the fuel tank cover was carried out by a supplier recommended by S3 Parts, with whom Pere had worked for a long time. Over a period of time the ‘New’ Texas was born with an exemplary finish which endorsed the quality of the Montesa. Very soon, Pere was asked for replicas…

Available at Impala, Barcelona

The creator has never considered turning the project into a business but he is quite happy to give the contacts and any references to the creation to the Impala dealership, also proud to be associated with Honda since 1959. Pere makes only one stipulation as he hands over his work, that the motorcycle conversion is made in the spirit of the era of the original machine. It must look period and professional and not like a vulgar conversion. The transformation must follow the lines of the Cota 4RT and 4Ride in order to qualify for the homologation rules and of course to take any worries away from the customers. Pere has a compiled a document that is heavy, thirty pieces – excluding hardware – and all referenced according to the Honda model. No areas affecting safety and security, such as the brakes or the main chassis, have been touched. Five machines have already been produced.

Three hours are needed to assemble the kit which can also accommodate an optional extra: a double silencer, an exhaust arrangement very in-keeping with the vintage style and elegance that the model portrays. An additional fuel tank and an electric starter are being developed with the after-market

supplier S3 for the Montesa 4RT and 4Ride. This kit can complete the transformation to make the four-stroke engine and its 260cc more civilized. Does Pere already have any other projects in mind? We will have to wait and see!

The French Montesa importer, Adrien Prato, has already ordered one and is waiting patiently for delivery. I wonder when we will see one in the UK? Looking at these pictures and after reading the article we don’t think it will be very long. www.motosimpala.com

We would once again like to thank our French counterparts at Trial Magazine France for supporting us with this excellent article.

Legends: ‘Texas age 1’ Marketed between 1966 and 1971 mainly in the US, the Texas 175 and especially the 250 have hardly been seen in Europe.

DNA Trial: This is the four-stroke engine block of the 260 4RT that powers the machine into the Texas retro model. The short gear selector option is a reminder of the original system but is transformed with the fitting of the S3 parts to make for more comfort and easier gear selection.

Made in BCN: The lacquered tank is actually a shell that mounts over the aluminium fuel tank of the 4RT. It’s ‘Made in Barcelona’ with Montesa pride!

Cover: In brushed aluminium the side plates are covered with stickers here at the prototype stage, which hides the plastic box from the 4Ride.

Options: Here is a Texas-based 4Ride, recognizable by its black frame. The double exhaust is a proposed option and an electric starter from S3 Parts is also available.

Scrambler: It will be possible to see the ‘Classic’ in the Texas, but its philosophy is above all of a ‘scrambler’ where urban use becomes possible.

Rodeo: The ‘Texas’ is not made for the rodeo. The lack of original electric starter makes it difficult for the little cowboys to start but the S3 option does exist.

Civilized: The digital instrumentation of the 4Ride meets the standards of approval; the Texas is not a ‘Bitza’ but a ‘Street Legal’ motorcycle.

Metzeler Enduro 2: Pere has chosen a Metzeler Enduro 2 rear tyre. The silencer and its contents are of 4RT origin.

Prototype: These are the first phases of development with the new back loop, and the accessory exhaust, all on a 4RT base. The resulting noise and looks from the twin outlet silencer will leave you speechless!

Storage: Aluminium side plates hide the storage compartment found on the 4Ride.

Lighthouse: The mounting of the ‘Lighthouse’ is very fitting with the ‘Texas’ theme of the cool, retro aesthetics.

Press: On the far right of the picture, kneeling, is Pere Ferrer. John Hulme is fourth from the right on the press launch of the Montesa Cota 4Ride in February 2016 in Spain.