1977 Montesa Cota 348 Malcolm Rathmell Special
ONE CAREFUL COLLECTOR OWNER - STILL ON MSO &
BILL OF SALE
UNRESTORED & UNDER 860 ORIGINAL MILES ON THE ODOMETER
Purchased new by my father in April of 1977
from the Benelli and Montesa dealer in Pennsylvania, this Cota 348 has just
859 easy trail miles from brand new, largely put on prior to 1982.
Some of the mileage was put on riding from the
house to Allamuchy Mountain in New Jersey (about 5 miles each way); Dad
was an automobile dealer and managed to 'borrow' a dealer tag from someone
so he never had to register the bike. As such, it is still on its Manufacturer's
Statement of Origin and Bill of Sale. More on this later.
About the time my parents divorced, the Montesa
and a Maico 440GS (that we have already sold) went into climate controlled
storage. Apart from a couple times when my father thought they would be
fun to drag out and at least get running again, they would not see the light
of day again until late last year, when he moved everything to the Richmond,
VA area.
At my recommendation (I have been a local to
Richmond for some time) all three of his motorcycles went to Eppa Wimbish,
Richmond's premier unusual motorcycle guru, to be professionally woken up.
Since all the bikes were properly put away, a simple draining of the gas
and minor maintenance put this Montesa right back in perfect working order.
If someone possesses the knee to kick-start it, it starts on the first kick.
As a matter of fact, it was kick-started yesterday, Saturday the 14th of
February. (I am ashamed to say that a recent event that had me clambering
in and out of a pickup truck makes my knee hurt, so if you want to come
by for a look, bring your knee.)
You will notice that the carburettor is as clean
as the rest of the bike. Nothing has been detailed other than a few smears
of Nevr-dull on some of the brightwork to make sure that there is no deep
pitting. Everything is cleaning up nicely with very little effort. I will
include a fresh can of this fabulous wadding polish to the Buy it Now purchaser
so that he or she may finish the process or point anyone else in the direction
of their nearest Ace Hardware store.
Actual miles. Sorry about the flash glare.
You may have noticed the mismatched grips. There
were a pair of Renthal Trials grips on this bike until the throttle side
perished, it crumbled into little bits. Since we had the original grips,
I fitted one to the throttle. Here is the other original gum rubber Montesa
grip, I didn't have the heart to cut the other Renthal off in case someone
ever found another one NOS or new.
Here is the closeup of one of the two original
Renthal decals on the accessory lightweight trials bar.
Dad also added a W.E.S. exhaust. The original
Montesa muffler, handlebar, a spare pair of fenders, chain guides and about
$1,000 in new old stock parts is in the spares package - we'll get to that.
The bike wears its original Pirelli Mototrial
tires. A spare set comes with the bike. The crap on the rim in this picture
is from the gaiter on the brake cable having melted for some reason onto
the rim. A complete set of new cables if not a few extras on top of that
conveys with the bike.
The camera made these decals look funny. They
do not.
A partial list would be hard to make let alone
a full one. All the manila envelopes are new old stock parts from Cosmopolitan
Motors (the Montesa importer in the 1970s), purchased by my father as spares.
The cables and extra accessory switch setup is new old stock. The original
seat and muffler are here, a spare set of chain guides, fenders, the original
bar and so much more. He even found the flywheel removal tool required to
set the points during his recent move. This is a literal treasure trove.
Here beginneth the documentation section. This
owner's manual is clean and crisp. My father made a few pages of notes on
separate pieces of paper I did not photograph, but they are in there.
This bike is still on M.S.O. - and sold new
all by itself in 1977 dollars for $1,350, never mind all the extras.
If you really have to have a Virginia title,
you may for the additional post-sale cost of my father's fees at the DMV
but you will lose the MSO if not the Bill of Sale as well in the process
since they will be taken by DMV. That's the law in Virginia. I recommend
you accept a Bill of Sale from my father and keep this incredible documentation.
The reverse side of the MSO.
Here are the legally-required 1977 New Jersey
vehicle registration application and sales tax documents. Good for a chuckle.
why is my father selling?
Simply put, this bike should have been sold
a long time ago. He now has no room for it in his new house and does not
forsee using it again now that he is in his 60s. We found a new home for
the Maico and we may even sell his 14,000 original miles Pearlescent White
1991 BMW K100RS if he decides against keeping it.
I was thinking on my way home from Eppa's last
night that I should just buy it from my father and trailer it to AACA Concours
events - it would be a great entry in the Motorcycle Class. I
can probably get the lucky purchaser an invitation to the Hilton Head Concours
d'Elegance in November, 2009 with this bike as well. I would be VERY surprised
if there are any similar survivors like this example anywhere. But I have
too many toys as it is, so here we go.
TO THE BUY-IT-NOW PURCHASER - I WILL INCLUDE
THE 1970s-era NEW JERSEY DEALER TAG AND DELIVERY WITHIN A 200 MILE RADIUS
OF RICHMOND, VA - THIS INCLUDES THE PORTS OF BALTIMORE AND NORFOLK FOR INTERNATIONAL
PURCHASERS.
INTERNATIONAL PURCHASERS MUST HOWEVER PAY ON
THE SAME SCHEDULE AS ANYONE ELSE AND MAKE ALL CUSTOMS BROKERING AND OTHER
PORT ARRANGEMENTS THEMSELVES, 100%, I AM MERELY THE DELIVERY DRIVER TO YOUR
AGENTS AT THE DOCK, NOT AN EXPERT CRATER OF VINTAGE MOTORCYCLES OR CUSTOMS
LITIGATION EXPERT EITHER.
PAYMENT AND SHIPPING
Payment must be received within SEVEN WORKING
DAYS of auction close.
NO EXCEPTIONS UNLESS CLEARED
WITH ME IN ADVANCE of your bid.
Accepted forms of payment do NOT include Paypal,
this is a motor vehicle.
Wire transfer, cash in US Dollars on pickup
or delivery and/or cleared certified cheques are acceptable forms of payment.
Shipping must occur by me, you or your agent
no later than FOURTEEN WORKING DAYS following auction close. NO EXCEPTIONS
as above unless cleared with me in
advance. If I am to deliver the bike to you, I would really like to be paid
before I load the trailer and head out.
bid with confidence - see my feedback
thanks for looking
questions - comments - concerns - e-mail
me