The Other Sporty Spanish Street Bike

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The first time I saw this remarkably original 1966 Montesa Impala Sports, I was intrigued by its simplicity of purpose and sporting style. That part of me that binds all of us together as ‘vintage motorcycle enthusiasts’, asserted itself. “What a uniquely lovely little motorcycle”! I hope with this short article and photos that I can share my and inspire your sentiments similarly.

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I first saw 3M4783 around 1981 in the garage of an acquaintance, soon to be friend, soon to be mentor. If the auction number card that I received in the file that came with the motorcycle is to be believed, he had purchased this example at the Fensler-Shaulis Antique Motorcycle Auction held in Las Vegas, Nevada on 13 May, 1979. The mostly mechanical project that arrived back in Spring Valley, CA was an incorrect, non-running 250cc Impala Sport with the original 175cc engine included but damaged. Like most of the Spanish 2-strokes of the era, the 175cc and 250cc Impala engines share a common crankshaft and engine case assembly size, this one with a 60mm stroke, with the displacement difference being accounted for in the bore, 60.9 mm versus 72.5 mm. A detailed inspection plus a bit of research showed the Impala to be a complete 175, and almost as new. Cosmetically, the rear fender had been bob’ed just south of the taillight and there was a finger-nail sized paint chip on the lower right-hand edge of the fuel tank. And then there was the matter of the unusual seat. Or should I say the not-unusual seat?

 

Ask any motorcycle aficionado to conjure in their mind a motorcycle saddle, you will universally get the same description, longer than it is wide, flat’ish top with straight sides and curved shoulders between. First time you see a Montesa Impala, you realize right away that is not what you are going to be sitting on. Instead, imagine something akin to the offspring of a fat man’s bicycle seat mated with a passenger’s elevated pillion perch, all-in-one. If you didn’t know any better, you would swear it was French… And then you sit on it and are astounded by how planted on the motorcycle you feel. And the comfort of the thing - it’s a revelatory experience! One instantly understands the true essence of “machismo” in 1960’s Spain. The seat on 3M4783 has a more convention bump-stop saddle. Conventional but still a bit weird. And rare. I’ve talked to other Spanish motorcycle aficionado’s who seem to know what I am describing but I have yet to find even a picture of one in the literature or on the internet, let alone another in the flesh.

 

Resuscitation of 3M4783 is on my “time to be well spent list”. It has not been run in the time I have known about it, even though the engine has been rebuilt. But running or not, the sleek and sporting appearance the Montesa Impala Sports, this one in particular, is a joy to regard.

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See the Cycleworld road test on the Montesa Impala Sports at https://magazine.cycleworld.com/article/1965/4/1montesa-impala-sports. ​​​​