stefanop

My nearly unmolested, largely original Cota 247 ..... Cheers Stefano P.S. where do I find a seat in a better condition than this one? It has 2 small(ish) holes on its right side.

Hello and sorry to ask another question, but does anyone know how many genuine Malcolm Rathmell 348s were really made? How can you tell if its a genuine MRR and not a normal 348 with signature applied later? as I'm buying a bike that is claimed to be a genuine (circa 1976) MRR, it would also be useful to know their chassis numbers. Thanks for your help, Stefano

Hello and thank you for your answers, all of them very helpful for a Montesa 'old newbie' like myself. Dave, your Mk4b is beautiful! Regarding the black engine,TopCat very correctly observed that it could be a 248 bottom case and 247 top end, but I am editing my answer as I found (call me slow, but I noticed it only this afternoon, as the bike is 30 miles away from my home and checking is not easy....) that the engine and chassis numbers match, so the engine and chassis were born together and put together at the time of the first assembly of the bike. It is also clear that this is a true 247, as its chassis/engine numbers are 21M2**** while the Montesa: VIVA book by mr Herreros show that the 248 had numbers beginning fron 21M51***. It would be useful to know if anyone has a Montesa chassis numbers list so to check when this unusual late-series 247 was produced. Sorry for the editing, but I thought that it was not correct to keep here some wrong remarks that I made before I found the reality of the matching-numbers chassis. All the best Stefano

Thanks for your answers. I hope that these pictures are a bit better, sadly the bike has been taken apart by now so an overall pic is not possible.... But your help/ideas will be very much welcum. Thank you! Stefano

Bologna....tu? Stefano

Dear friends, I have just bought a classic Cota 247 that has been badly 'reworked' by its previous owners. Never mind, it has its papers and a registration number, a rare thing in Italy where most classic trial bikes have been taken off the road to avoid paying taxes and thus cannot be re-registered (Crazy, uh?) I've asked the guys who restore my classic cars to take it apart to restore it, but I'm not sure if this engine has to be black...The bike is a 1980 (?) Cota 247, the engine number is 21M2*** but I never saw any 247 of those years with a black engine; my other Cota has its engine in its usual polished metal finish. Is it possible that the 'black' engine has been repainted? I know that 348s were black but I haven't found any black 247 engine yet..... Also, any idea of where I could find spares for my 247s would be very welcome. Thanks a lot! All the best, Stefano Pasini www.stefanopasini.it

Hello everybody, congratulations for the excellent site and Forum, I have Always been a trials admirer and a Montesa enthusiast, but after burglars broke in my country house and stole my 1973 Cota 247 I forgot about it for a while. I have now bought two 247s and am beginning the restoration of the first one.... http://www.stefanopasini.it/Montesa_Cota_247.htm ..with not much hope of ever using either, as my job as an ophthalmogist and other stuff keeps me fairly busy! All the best Stefano Pasini www.stefanopasini.it