Monty '76 172 tell me about it!

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Jools
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Monty '76 172 tell me about it!

Postby Jools » Fri Dec 11, 2015 7:58 pm

What are they like? I'm looking for a usable twinshock, something light, with decent handling, adequate power, and parts not too hard to get. How would a mid seventies Monty 172 measure up?



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Re: Monty '76 172 tell me about it!

Postby David Lahey » Fri Dec 11, 2015 10:08 pm

Yes they are light
The ergonomics suit a riders of smaller stature and light to medium weight
Power is what you would expect from an air-cooled 1970s 157cc two stroke
Handling is fine for people who are the right size
There must be a reason why you are asking about the 172 but didn't mention other lightweight twinshocks that were/are more popular.
A friend of mine loves riding his Cota 172, but it is because it is the actual bike he rode when we were young, rather than for more practical reasons


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Jools
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Re: Monty '76 172 tell me about it!

Postby Jools » Sat Dec 12, 2015 9:58 am

Yes David, there was one on Gumtree but it's sold now. Why that bike? -Stuffed back, so something light and easy to kick over would be good. (I have too many projects, so I probably shouldn't get another wreck)! A TY175 is another option. Maybe good that I missed the Monty after reading about their kickstart mechanism woes.



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Re: Monty '76 172 tell me about it!

Postby David Lahey » Sat Dec 12, 2015 10:42 am

don't be fooled by the size of a motor for how hard it is to kick over. Some bikes have kickstarting arrangements that make them way harder to kickstart than others of the same size motor. In my experience, the 172 is one that needs to be kicked over quite fast to start up, and you have to get your knee forwards a fair way and push rearwards.
Being old and unfit, ease of kickstarting is important to me and find that with one of my bikes (Cota 348), the starting of the motor multiple times through a trial is the thing that tires me out the most.
A standard TY175 is one of the lightest handling and lowest-effort kickstarting 1970s trials bikes around. They are slightly heavier than the Cota 172 on the scales, but feel lighter to ride. The direction of effort for a TY175 kickstart is downwards.


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Re: Monty '76 172 tell me about it!

Postby Kombivan » Tue Dec 15, 2015 11:48 pm

The ty175 is also a nice bike to ride.




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