Written by Andrew Jones
Richard Branson once said, “I have enjoyed life a lot more by saying ?yes? than by saying ?no?.? It is a pretty simplistic approach to surviving this mortal coil, but it sure is an interesting way of looking at things. Sadly, ?no? was exactly what Heiwa’s Kengo Kimura said when a customer first suggested a scrambler build based on a brand new Honda-Powered Montesa 4RIDE. Like us, Kengo saw it as a rather esoteric bike that he liked, but one he’d never really considered as a custom base. Luckily, after repeated requests from the customer, Kengo finally came around and said ?yes?. And boy, are we glad he did.

?We have customized old motorcycles for a very long time,? begins Kimura-san. ?But recently, more and more people want to ride new bikes that have been customised to look like a classic.? Of course, rewind 20 years and Japanese shops were doing the exact same thing with SR Yamahas. Circle of life, and all that… ?So we began making such a bike. I guess owners are looking for engines that are no trouble and bikes that are more comfortable rides.?
The new 2017 Montesa 4Ride was purchased by Kengo at his local Hiroshima dealership. Clearly it’s not a bike that’s breaking global sales records, so an introduction may be in order. After the dirt boom of the 60s and 70s, the trials and offroad-focused Montesa from Spain fell into the doldrums sometime in the early 80s. Enter Honda, who ended up buying the company ...