The last Cappra

[TooFastTim]

Dunno whether you lot have seen this, but here's some pics of the last Cappra which never made it to production:

[Tahitian_Red]

You know Honda has owned Montesa for a long time.  With Retro so hot these days wouldn't it be great if they brought the mark back?  Maybe just to keep the two-stroke alive for awhile longer.
 


Dammit! I must have fallen asleep at my keyboard.  Did I miss anything?

[All Things 414]

The clever buggers put a left hand side VG decal on the right side! Very radical!
That's the only difference that I can see.........

[All Things 414]

It wouldn't be a production bike. It'd have to be a works 250 from about '82. Honda pretty much shut down the motocross bikes overnight when they took over and only wanted them to make trials bikes (BASTARDS!!)

[TooFastTim]

when they took over and only wanted them to make trials bikes (BASTARDS!!) [/color]

Not quite, they wanted the factory to make 125cc runabouts in Europe to avoid heavy duties. The trials bikes was an arrangment between the Permayer family and Honda. I thinh the arrangement is open ended. It suits Honda down to the ground anyway. Curiously Montesa make nothing of the present trials bikes, they only design. The frame is made by Verlichi, the wheels morad, suspension by Showa and the engine is from HRC.

It didn't make any sense for Montesa to compete with Honda in MX.

[All Things 414]

Montesa were no longer ALLOWED to compete against Honda in anything! They were Honda's foothold in Europe for business reasons, nothing else! If they didn't need Montesa the Spanish Marque would have gone down with Bultaco and Ossa (they may as well have!).I've been reading through some of Lyall O'Briens stuff and when Honda learnt that they couldn't make reasonable sales of trials bikes in Oz they basically couldn't give a rat's arse about the Australian distributor. Poor bastard couldn't even get spares for the bikes he'd sold over the previous years. There was nothing chivalrous about Honda's takeover of Montesa. Like all the big Jap companies, they only did it for the money...... Pricks:'(

[TooFastTim]

Have you seen a therapist about this  ?

I admire Hondas engineering but their business morals suck. Have you ever read why Jeremy McGrath quit Honda so suddenly?

As you said, the name lives on.

[mx250]

Have you ever read why Jeremy McGrath quit Honda so suddenly?

No!!! and....

[TooFastTim]

Shortly before the (I think '95) SX season was to kick off Honda posted McGraths new contract to him. Being a sensible fellow he forwarded it to his attorney who phoned him a flat panic and warned him not to sign it. In the small print it stated that Honda owned McGraths image. No other endorsements. Nothing. All other avenues of income would have been terminated. McGrath bounced Honda there and then. Honda however refused to release him until the 31st of December of that year drastically reducing the testing and set up time he would get for the following season. It cost him the SX championship. They did the same thing to Rossi when he left.

De Coster received a call from McGrath asking if he had a ride for him and "the man" cheerfully obliged.

[All Things 414]

Now you ARE getting personal Driver.......