Celebrating their 70th anniversary, Montesa shows the new 4RIDE model, a bike that hopes to reach a much wider audience, thanks to its friendly nature and street-legal character.
In fact, one of the biggest drawbacks of truly cool off-road motorcycles is the fact that only a few of them are street-legal. This, in turn, means that a rider should first find a way to haul the bike to the destination area and then back home, when off-road fun is on the day's menu.
Montesa 4RIDE solves this problem, as riding it on public roads is legal, and the bike is equipped with all the necessary amenities, such as headlight and tail lights, plus turn signals.
At the heart of the Montesa 4RIDE, we will find the 258.9 cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine, mated to a 5-speed transmission. As the 4RIDE is also intended to be ridden on public roads, Montesa revised the transmission gearing, making the gear longer and thus providing the rider with a more fluid experience on the tarmac, before and after the off-road fun.
"Remarkable ease of use, lightness and versatility."
The words above is how Montesa describes the 4RIDE. No detailed tech specs have surfaced so far, but one doesn't necessarily need them to figure out that the bike is exceedingly light and nimble.
The wide bars and generous ground clearance add to the overall terrainability of the 4RIDE, and make it suitable for both seasoned riders and beginners, males or ladies, adults and children/teens.
Longer forks bring longer travel and the entire suspension is multi-adjustable, increasing traction and comfort on any type of surface.
4RIDE also boasts a bigger tank that can now hold 4.4 liters (1.15 US gal) of fuel and about which Montesa says it should last for 120 km (74.5 miles). In case your playground is far from home, refueling constantly should get you to your destination without troubles. Additionally, a larger fuel canister can be carried by your fellows riding bigger bikes, or stashed in a potential "support car."
Even without them, the 4RIDE comes with a nice underseat compartment that can store gloves, a jacket shell or a small fuel container to act as a range booster. The Montesa 4RIDE will be available from February 2016, with a price estimated at around €7,500 ($8,050).
Google News