I rode a friend's 348 Cota in an event this past weekend. The last time I rode a 325 Sherpa T was probably about 1976 when I sold my 1974 bike.

Keeping in mind that I'm trying to remember back 30 years, it seems like the Cota didn't have as much flywheel mass as the Bultaco. IIRC the Bultaco would plonk along at dead slow in second gear with no problems as the heavy flywheels would keep it going without a lot of attention from me. The Cota seemed happier in first gear at those kind of speeds.

If anyone has experience with both bikes I'd be interested to hear what they think about which one had the heavier flywheels.

cheers,

Michael

I changed from a 325 Sherpa to a 310 Cota when they came out in 1977 and my experience then would confirm your opinion. In particular the Cota has a much smaller flywheel on the primary drive side of the motor than the double flywheel arrangement on the Bult. Must admit that I much preferred the pulling power of the Sherpa as I was regularly using low revs and 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears in sections, whereas the Cota needed to be revved more. I liked the more nimble handling of the lighter Mont though. Now those were the days..............

Cheers,

Dave

Hi Michael

Yes I have ridden both a M92 and a Cota 348 in standard trim recently. I would have said that the 348 responded to throttle input faster than the Sherpa, and the Sherpa had a slightly higher resistance to stalling at extremely low RPM.

Are you sure the 348 you rode still had the clutch side flywheel in place? They are easy to remove and some people prefer the bike without it.

David

Hello Dave and David,

Yes, Jim's Cota does have the primary flywheel weight installed. AFAIK it is on the stock gearing too, as was my (Model 124?) 325 Bultaco.

It would be handy to have motors available to tear down and measure.

cheers,

Michael

Edited July 31, 200818 yr by MichaelMoore