50 years of Montesa in the UK

For those of my generation who were reading the motorcycle press in the mid-Seventies, Montesa meant ‘Sandiford’ in Lancashire. The premises of JAS were the mecca for all things Montesa and Sandiford’s name was on the tanks of a considerable number of motorcycles at the sharp end of the entry. In my home centre – the North Eastern – there were a number of riders who had received help from Sandifords through our local dealer in those days, which was Quinn’s in Gateshead. Even I had pushed a shilling or two towards Quinns and come out with a smart 238cc Cota.

Why 238? In fact why not a 348 which was out at the time? Well, the French Government had decided in their wisdom to penalise motorcycles of over 240cc by charging them a higher rate of tax. Why? No idea, but one can surmise it was an attempt to make life difficult for foreign manufacturers, which it probably did