Mods For 247 Cota

[charliechitlins]

Any good mods you folks know of for this bike?

Engine (porting)?

Carburetion (use the Amal for a papreweight?)

Swingarm length?

Neck angle?

BRAKES?

Fork valving?

Footpeg position?

[brian r]

Brakes? what are they?

[woody]

Charlie - I don't really think there were any specific mods of the kind you mention that were done to these bikes at the time. The works guys were always experimenting with stuff but those are the changes that probably found their way onto later models, but the later models were different bikes again. Settings/geometry from later bikes don't necessarily work on an older model.

Why do you want to mod it (that's a genuine question, not a 'you shouldn't do it' statement) The bike is just as competitive as the Bults and Ossas of that era. Which one you rode was personal preference as they could all win events straight from the crate. There was nothing else to touch the Spanish three really until a few years later on. If you modify it you may not be able to compete against same era bikes - don't know what your rules are. If you want to make it more competitve, you may as well go for a later twinshock like the 330 (oooh yes please) as no matter what you do to the 247 the later bikes will destroy it performance wise - unless you change it beyond all recognition.

I've been down this train of thought with my MAR. In the UK the national twinshock series is full of Fantics, TLR Hondas etc. My 74 MAR is by far the oldest bike that turns out on a regular basis. There is no pre75 class, twinshock is anything after 1965 and single route sections. If the sections get tough the MAR is outgunned. I've tried to think of ways of making it more competitive against the later bikes, but without radcally altering the chassis, re-engineering the clutch and fitting different wheels for better brakes it will never have the feel of the latest twinshocks. It just wasn't worth it and I don't have the skills anyway so I am now getting a Majesty ready for the 05 series. One day I might have another think about modernising the MAR but only because I have enough scraggy bits lying around that are in such a condition already I'm not going to ruin anything by trying. If I only had one MAR, I'd leave the mods to just personal changes like footrest position.

If I were you with that 247, I'd rebuild it like the one in the picture that HondaRS posted. That is a stunning bike. If you could find a second one however, then go for it...

[charliechitlins]

Just curious, really.

Mainly because it's in bits now, and I can't ride it, so all I can do is think about it for the time being.

I probably wouldn't cut it up.

The last old-ish bike I had was a TY350, and a few little things (reed valve, brake mods, footpeg position) made a BIG difference.

I've got a few tricks I do to drum brakes, but I want to be sure I have a spare cam before I start

I will probably end out doing a complete restoration. I think I'll buy a zinc plating kit, though. I hate sending fasteners out for plating.

[vintagecota]

Yes, the Amal is basically a paperweight. The bike will run fine with it if it's not worn out but when I switched to a Mikuni I got better low response and TWICE the riding on a tank of gas.

I'm using a VR 250 Motocrosser (Montesa) front hub for a much better brake. It's still useless when it gets wet, although when hot, I can easily do nose wheelies.

The only other thing is to get good rear shocks.

[darlo]

On my '72 cota 247 I had the left hand side flywheel machined down a fair bit to improve its response and willingness to rev. I have to keep the idle a bit higher, but the motor definately feels more peppy. I've had it like that for 4 years and wouldn't go back to my spare original.

My footpegs have a serrated flatbar welded around their perimeter and i found it made one heck of a difference to my confidence, in knowing that my feet wouldn't be slipping off for no apparent reason, due to the non-existent grip from those "goosebumps" on the original footrests.

Cheers.

[charliechitlins]

Thanks Darlo.

Can you give me an idea of how much material you removed from the flywheel?

Anybody else done this?

I've been checking out the footpegs for sure...also planning to get some extra width out of them.

I'm considering cutting them off a little outboard of where they mount and grafting some Sherco ones.

[woody]

For most club level twin-shock events a std 247 would do just fine............if you want to do more difficult events or compete against modern bikes on a twin-shock, then its probably going to be better to look for a newer machine.

like a 330 Cota if you are a Monty fan.

mmmmmmmmm.......... nice

[martin belair]

Far better to just put the bike together in standard form and merely fit a modern ignition, carb, and suspension that works.

That is good advise. Listen to the man Charlie.

[charliechitlins]

Yeah...RS and Martin...I'm with you. Thanks for the advice.

I think good sense will prevail.

Although...I'm still looking for that modern ignition (will mount a condensor up on the coil in the meantime), and the Mikuni conversions I've seen have a vulnerable-looking air cleaner clamped to them. Anybody got any tips for retaining the stock, tucked-safely-up-under-the-seat airbox?