martin belair

Great Photos Craig! Thanks for posting them . Best of luck to Pat. We are all proud of him. Martin

Neil, if you come by the Montesa pits at the TTC WR we'll have a beer and laugh about it. Martin

Steve, you can reach me at: martin@usmontesa.com Martin

Hi Darrell, sorry to come down so hard on you. It is not your fault. The situation lends itself to speculation. I have always had a huge dislike for the rumor mill. It seems so pointless. I get asked about Montesa all the time. I don't know what will happen. They will let us know when they decide. Right now it makes little business sense. If the USD had stayed strong we would not be in this situation. Either way, I hope to see you at the World Round at TTC. Come by the Montesa pits and we will have a beer. Martin

Sorry Neil, you info is incorrect ....again. Sales were strong right to the end.

Darrell, your first paragraph is 100% non-sense. The is not an ounce of fact in it. The speculations about Montesa and Honda in paragraph two are products of your or someone elses fertile imagination. Sorry. Here are the facts. The Montesa situation in the US is being re-evaluated at the moment. THAT IS ALL. Nothing has been decided. There are no sinister plots or boogie men hiding in the shadows. It is human nature to find RUMOR more interesting than truth. What is true are your comments about the failure of putting Japanese trials bikes into US dealerships in the 70's. The problem there was that they made too many bikes. Many of the Japanese companies made 10,000 units !!! These Spainish companies that dominated the US market at the time were only selling a few thousand bikes total at the time. Yamaha tried it again in the mid-80's with the TY mono and made each dealer take 2 bikes. The dealers had no idea what to do with them and they sat for a while and finally were sold at cost just to get them off the floor. Just so you know my info comes from people who were employees of Honda and Yamaha at the time. On another subject I would like to thank Ishy for raising the subject and begining a dialog and Andy for allowing it to continue. I have read all the comments with interest and some make vaild point while others are just dreaming. As an importer I always insited that my dealers sell at MSRP. If anyone discounted too much, they would get a call from me. You can ask any of my dealers. I also protected my dealers territories. If someone got an inquiry out of area they would quote retail and send them to their nearest dealer. So, mister Barcota, please don't tar us with that brush. There are huge differences in business practices among the Importers. But, this is the real world and importers are free to run their business as they please. The main problem here is the weak US Dollar. For some, (the quality bikes) this has destroyed their margin. To try and keep a reasonable margin would price the bike out of reach and sales would end. Try and keep the price competitive and you make ZERO. It is as simple as that. Others have such a large margin built in that they can absorb more of the losses from to the poor exchange rate. This is a factor of build cost. Not all bikes cost the same to build, but they sell for near the same. If you look at the business/history of trials you will see that there are ups and downs. I feel that the important thing is to keep riding and keep the sport that we all love going. The US Dollar will come back some day....... maybe. Martin

Dennis and I have worked together the since 2005 to bring in the Montesa until the factory suspended imports to the US last year. It was a collaborative effort. Please read my post carefully. I make no claim to being the current importer. If I gave that impression I apologize. At the moment there is no US importer. The last thing we need is someone making bogus claims to being the importer. I stiil maintain a close relationship with Montesa as I always have. I am only offering what I know to fellow trials riders who are looking for info about the current Montesa situation. Martin Belair

I would suggest that before anyone tries to ship a bike into the USA from abroad that they do their homework. There are many federal laws and agencies to contend with. I would hate to see someone have their bike seized by US customs.

Thanks for your interest in Montesa, Bob. It is a fantastic bike. Sorry that they are not available. It is no secret that the US Trials market has shrunk dramatically. The weak US Dollar has put bike prices up high. The US market situation is being re-evaluated at the Factory/Importer level. We will see what happens for 09. Martin Belair

Sorry Neil, your info is incorrect. All the left over 06 or 07's have been sold. Martin Belair US Montesa

Hi Damon, it's so good to hear from you. Re-connecting with old friends is one of my favorite things. Those were some great times working with your Dad at Viva Distributing in the 70's. Long time ago. It was one of my first real jobs and I learned so much from Art about how to deal with people honestly and directly and have fun doing it. For those of you who don't know, Damon's Dad was Art Barda. AMA Nationally ranked dirt tracker #96 back in the glory day of AMA dirt track, he then went on to be Team Manager for Yamaha, Kenny Roberts' boss. Later Art became US National sales manager for Montesa. Art was a real character. He was so much fun. I could not have asked for a beter mentor. His values, sense of humor and intolerance for BS are still with me. Art passed away last January 23. CycleNews/Art Barda passes Damon, glad that you are back riding, we will go riding soon. Art would like that. Martin PS Andy, I am here. Always will be. See you in Sequatiche?

US Montesa will continue as importer for the the Montesa 4RT. We have decided to carry on. Prices of the 2008 models will be announced soon. Lewisport USA will handle the parts. More info to follow. Martin Belair US Montesa

Yes, John his name is Bill. Great guy. I was a lad when I used to go get my spares from Derek when he was the parts manager at Montesa Motors in Los Angeles. Do you ever see him? If so please say hello for me.I have attached a photo of the American Montesa Tean 1973. Cheers, Martin

Big John, a friend of mine that was a key member of the Yamaha trials effort in the 70's was kind enough to share his experiences with this special carb. In his words: " It is NOT a fuel injection, as fuel and air is mixed in a throttle body the same as is a conventional carburetor. There is no fuel pump and no electrics involved. Here is a brief overview of the unit. This had a pulse line going to the crankcase and used crankcase pressure to regulate fuel volume. (larger throttle openings resulting in higher crankcase pressure and smaller openings less pressure) There was a slide and needle in the throttle body as in a conventional carb. it was not a pumper carb as used on chain saws etc., there was no diaphragm." I always enjoy your posts John, I hope you enjoy this one. Martin

Jack, I think the rider is a fellow named D. Randy Riggs. He was an associate editor at Cycle World magazine back in the 70's and a trials enthusiast. He now writes books about cars. The terrain is So Cal. The bike, boots and hair are pure 70's. Viva la 4RT Martin

Odus is smiling, Dennis looks beat and Kary is asleep. Congrats to all three for finishing the world's toughest trial. Thanks for the great SSDT pics Andy. I enjoyed it all. Cheers, Martin

Thanks Andy. I just got off the phone with Dennis. The boys are verytired/ jet lagged but happy to be there. They are watching the pre-65 and enjoying the old bikes. Dennis says it is raining very very hard. Martin

Yes, there are lots of us here that would love some help in keeping tabs on our boys at the SSDT. Dennis #106, Odus #107 and Kary is #108. Kary thinks it is called the SFDT (Scottish Four Day Trial) !!! Good luck to all the riders in the SSDT. Martin

We are all alive John, thanks for asking. We got home late last night. We are all a bit banged up but grateful to have survived. Thanks to all who have expressed their concern. There seem to be alot of different stories as to what happened. Everyone that calls has heard a different version. I don't know how this happens. For the record. a semi-truck going north lost control and smashed through the concrete center divider and came across the southbound lanes and hit us with his truck and the concrete dividers. It all happened in the blink of an eye. We are lucky to be alive. The seat belts saved our lives. Buckle up boys. Martin

Beautiful work Dave. Loved the video. I wish I could have been there. Art was an amazing man. He deserves this tribute. Martin

Mr Muffin, another thing to remember is not to kick the bike too hard, the starter only needs to be pushed through. Also, remember to keep the throttle shut when starting cold. Try holding the front brake on to prevent your hand from rolling. Martin

It may be that you have the idle turned down too far. The bike must idle at 1800 rpmin order to charge the capacitor and make it re-start. Please contact your dealer and ask for his help. Martin

Well said Spud

The following is a joint Press Release from Martin Belair and Chris Florin. US Montesa announces that Chris Florin will not be a part of its' national team for 2005. According to US Montesa owner Martin Belair " Chris was in the option year of his contract and was free to negotiate with other brands. He is a top rider and I am sure that there were many people interested in his services, we unfortunately were unable to come to terms. Chris has been riding the new Cota 4RT and I know that he liked it very much, I wish that we could have somehow made it happen. Chris has been a Montesa Team rider since 1997. He has done a great job for us over the years and his departure will leave a great void. We will miss Chris and we wish him good luck on his new team". Martin Belair To all my friends and fans that have followed me, provided encouragement, and remained true throughout the years, I would like you to know that I am leaving the Montesa team but it is on a positive note because Montesa is what got me where I am today. For this, I will always be grateful to Martin Belair, who has been my sponsor, my coach, my minder, and my friend since I started seriously competing at Nationals in the High School Class in 1997. We have covered a lot of territory together and I will always cherish those memories. Recently, I helped Martin do a press release and a test of the new 2005 four-stroke at the Trials Training Center. The bike looks sleek and rode very impressively. I was also privileged to ride the Cota 4RT in two trials, one at the STRA event in Georgia and the other at an FTA round in Florida. Both days were awesome rides for me and the bike performed really well. Even though my contract with US Montesa has come to an end, please understand that it does not affect the friendship between me and Martin, or any other Montesa riders. But, I have a new sponsor now and I am anxiously looking forward to the start of the new season. Since the rumor appears to already be out, I would just like to confirm that you will see me aboard the 2005 Pro, as I am now riding for Gas Gas USA and Dale Malasek. I look forward to seeing you soon and I wish you the best. Chris Florin

We used to dream of sleeping in dip in the road filled with oily water. Mill owner used to use our foreheads to grind the flour before we crawled home on gravel road to sleep in tin can at side of road.