The oversquare piston-port single cylinder has a bore of 72.5mm, stroke, 60mm, with a compression ratio of 10 to 1, generating some 19 horsepower at 6,500 rpm. He had a great 250 engine, seen in motocross, roadracing, enduro and trials versions, so why not turn that trials bike into a trail version for the European street crowd those countries weren’t quite as fearful of two-stroke emissions as were the Americans. These had two-up seats, lights, a horn, whatever it took to make them street-legal. In the early 1970s the Japanese OEMs began modifying some of their competitive 250 dirt models into more civilized trail bikes, or as we might say today, dual-purpose. It should be noted that trials competitions were very popular in Europe, less so in the U.S. Several years later a mildly detuned version appeared in the Cota trials bike, and in 1968 the Cota won the Spanish Trials Championship. Permanyer persisted, built larger engines, and in 1965 showed the 247cc engine (21 horsepower at 7,000 rpm) in a Scorpion motocrosser. But the partners had their differences, and in 1958 Bulto went off on his own to found the Bultaco motorcycle company. They built a factory in Barcelona and began producing Montesa motorcycles, little two-stroke singles under 125cc, and had great success. A couple of like-minded fellows, Pedro Permanyer and Francisco Bulto, met up and decided that providing their countrymen with basic transportation could be profitable. But by 1944, with the end of that conflict in sight, Spaniards started thinking about the future. With a limited domestic market, business stagnated. Spain sensibly decided to stay neutral in World War II. The Spanish Civil War ended in 1939, and then the rest of Europe spun out of control. Owner: Pete Gray, Atascadero, California.

Montesa 315 problem