fox889

Decals came from Spain off fleabay, pretty pleased with the quality at the time I must say.

yep, painted it myself. I’m no painter but it came out pretty good considering the state it was in. long story short, rub down tank-high build primer x 3 coats-wet sand 1200 grit-white primer x 3 coats (unless your high build was white anyway, mine was grey)-stopper putty if you’ve got any pin holes or imperfections-as many coats of gloss white (or whatever colour you’re using) as you can (I used Autotek gloss white large tin 1k)-wet sand 2000 grit-medium compound-light compound-final polish. as I said, I’m no painter but have done several bike tanks with half decent results, so if you need a heads up, just ping a message over & I’ll do my best to answer it.

If I knew what I was doing on the ipad, they would be in order & not looking so random. I don't know what I'm doing so they are! 🤪

Just thought I’d put a few pics up of the 349 White Wonder if anyone is interested? They're not in order, which is down to operator error!😃 but it gives an idea of “before & after”.

'81 mk3 White Wonder 349 tank cover just had a coat of gloss white, needs a wet sand to get rid of a few nibs then a good polish. Question is, which decals do I use? InMotion have the 'Montesa & Cota 349' set, Anglia Vinyl Art have the 'Montesa world trials champion & Cota 349' set classed as a ULF Karlsson replica set. Most of the photo's I've seen of the 349 have the 'world trials champion' below 'Montesa'. Is one set special to one particular model? I've got this far, so I would like to have the correct decals on when the tank is ready. As usual, your thoughts are very much appreciated.

Getting there!

I think you could be right, I/we keep forgetting this is a 40 year old bike, a lot can happen in 40 years!😃

Thanks for your reply feetupfun Unfortunately, or fortunately, the previous owner had been 'in' the bike before I bought it, story goes, he'd bought four bikes to make some money from & this was one. Things like headstock bearings were removed [well, the upper was] everything on the bike is/was loose. He'd obviously looked at the bike & made a list of spares he needed....then sold the bike. The bike came with a bag of goodies including new brake shoes front & rear, headstock bearings, domino throttle cable, air cleaner, brake/clutch levers, fork seals [forks are away being refurbed] and...........two silver/chrome tyre lever looking things with holes at each end! It took me a while looking at various photos to realise these objects were in fact............ engine/frame braces!

There’s not a scrap of red anywhere to be seen, so it makes me think it was never a red framed bike even from new. The sump guard has definitely got bits of chrome (why would you chrome all/part of the sump guard?) and there are a sliver or two of chrome on the frame and/or swinging arm. I suppose in the early days it could have been stripped & painted silver/chrome, whatever they’ve done they did a good job of removing any previous paint. I did think along the lines of Sammy Miller but I’m not up to speed on what he did & didn’t do on these twin shocks. It’s being powder coated red (RAL 3020) this week hopefully so should look a tad better than it does now. Thanks for your reply.

I’ve reinforced the front/inner of the tank cover with 5 layers of fibreglass, this a) makes the area rock hard and b) lessens the gap slightly between the tank & the frame. I think you’re spot on, that years of tightening the holding nut’n’bolt caused the initial damage. My aim is to bridge the gap further with a few pieces of old inner tube, it’ll be hidden from view & just the merest amount of nipping up will suffice!

Continuing on the 349 ‘81 thread (white wonder I’ve been advised) here’s one for the aficionado’s out there who know more about these the than I do (which to be honest isn’t difficult😜). the frame is stripped & now at the powdercoaters waiting for a little tlc. Although she’s been clearly neglected the latter part of her life, there seems no lasting damage on the frame nor the swinging arm. I did notice there’s no evidence that she’s ever been painted, the frame & swinging arm are simply pure surface rust.......but.......there’s a hint of either silver paint & definitely a hint of chrome, albeit just a morsel here & there. so, ‘those who know more than me’ is there any significance of a silver or a chrome frame? would be very interested to receive your views. this is what a glass of wine & an eBay account gets you......

While it’s still in primer I’ve started to reinforce the void with fibreglass then fill with filler & if I’m careful I should be able to drill a hole 😳

Thanks very much for the info, much appreciated.

349 ‘81 bought as a heap & someone had already been digging around & started to remove certain pieces into a box, hence I’m unsure of where things go & how! This model has an alloy tank with a fibreglass cover that simply straddles the alloy tank........silly question time, how does the alloy tank remain fixed? The tank straddles the main crossbar of the frame & the tank cover sits on top of the tank......is that enough to secure the tank? There are no fittings on the alloy tank so I guess it just sits there? Obviously the tank will have bits of an old inner tube where it meets the frame [about to be powder coated] rather than scratch the new paint & probably the same between the tank & the cover. Confused.......? Me?.......probably! again, appreciate any thoughts you may have.

I wish I had proof read my original thread, yes it’s an ‘81 as I checked the engine & frame numbers to make sure. I’ve also got an ‘84 242 & that’s where my typo was......operator error as they say.😳 ok, what do I do now then? I can fibreglass over the void, play about with filler & try & make good, then carefully drill a hole? I was convinced it was a standard fitment because of the curves at the top & made sense that something as simple as a cover would simply sit over the alloy tank & loop over a fixing at the headstock area? Looking on the ‘net I couldn’t find anything similar so I had my doubts! the tank is still in primer so any other remedial work can still be done. thanks for your reply.

In the process of painting my '84 349 tank cover, look carefully at the front where it secures to the frame. On all the photo's I've looked at, the tanks/covers are held in with a bolt that goes through the tank itself, on mine, it looks like the tank simply 'hooks' over mounting lugs. It's a fibreglass tank cover that sits over an alloy tank. I did think has someone broken the front of the tank & merely 'chopped' it about, but the curves on the top right of the photo look standard. Any thoughts much appreciated.

Appreciate your response, I had got Transoil on my list funnily enough & that maybe what I go for. The bike is new to me as well, very well looked after but I like to start with a clean slate & put my own oil(s) in. I’ll look into Facebook thanks Nigel.

'84 242 with 304 clutch & gearbox, oil looks nice & red but the time will come when I need to change it.....so....what's the consensus of opinion? ATF [Motul ATF V1] ATF in general [any favourites?] 10w30 light gear oil [again, any favourites?] ELF HTX 740 Mineral.......semi-synthetic..........fully synthetic? Appreciate any thoughts & views on this.