Cooper 250 Enduro
COOPER 250 ENDURO
PREVIEW
Mexico Bids Farewell To The “Burro”
Ivan J. Wagar
THE VERY MENTION of Mexico triggers thoughts of people in serapes, wearing sombreros and sandals, and sleeping in the shade of an over-laden burro. Few, especially motorcyclists, would ever think of Mexico as being very industrialized, and if they do, it's usually in a very substandard way. Mexican chrome, for instance, comes in an aerosol spray can; and just about anything that is on its very last legs, is referred to as being "Mexican."
Thoughts such as these are due to disappear over the next few years, particularly those related to Mexico’s ability to produce motorized transport. The burro is being replaced by two wheelers and, as the national economy continues to improve, autos are replacing motorcycles. Sound familiar? It is, in fact, the sort of thing that happened in our own country when we had as many as 30 motorcycle manufacturers, and Henry came along with the Model T. Japan, climbing out of the wreckage of World War II, was faced with the problem of getting people on motorized vehicles, and the giant motorcycle industry of the orient was created out of necessity.
Mexico’s progress will be a little slower than that of the Orient, Italy or England, because the country is very large. There are massive non-populated areas in Mexico and good main roads, sea ports and railways. The lifelines of industry are growing, but not as quickly as in a small, compact country.
One of the fastest growing companies in Mexico is Moto Islo, a division of a 17-company conglomerate giant, owned by the Lopez family. Islo is the first two letters from the first and second name of Isador Lopez, who had the foresight 17 years ago to realize Mexico’s future need for motorcycles. Patent rights on an European two-stroke were purchased and Islo created a very heavy, very over-engineered, under-stressed basic transportation motorcycle which has fondly become known as the “burro” among the natives; they just don’t break on the rough, frequently unpaved country roads. The success of the rugged utility machine has permitted Islo to grow into (sorry H-D) America’s largest producer of motorcycles.
Mexico’s growing economy encouraged Islo to look for something a little more sophisticated than the old “burro” and an agreement was reached with Honda to produce motorcycles under license. They duplicated Honda’s quality control lab and machine tools as well.
The engine plant is the most modern motorcycle production facility outside of Japan. Castings from Islo’s own foundry, where engine castings for Dodge cars also are manufactured, arrive at the brand-new, 60,000-sq. ft. engine plant for machining and final assembly.
But this is not just a story of another foreign motorcycle plant. It is, rather, a look at a new motorcycle that will soon appear on the American market: the Cooper. Frank Cooper has imported several brands of motorcycles to this country over the years, usually dirt bike oriented. It was Cooper, in 1946, that entered the first English bike, a Matchless, to win the famous Big Bear run. Cooper also was deeply involved in organizing and supporting the now defunct Catalina Island races, the biggest event in the 1950s.
Looking for a new Enduro-type machine to fill his line, Cooper wanted to find a producer closer than Japan or Europe, and Mexico seemed appealing. Transport is simple. There are no worries about dock strikes. Should a problem arise it is only a couple of hours away by airplane, and he can fly back with corrected parts. Islo was particularly appealing because of the company-owned foundry, forge mill, steel stamping mill and other related production facilities.
Cooper is optimistic. “These people are fantastic—I ask for a change and two days later they’ve done it. I’ve been around the motorcycle business for a lot of years, and have never seen such eager, hard working people,” was the way Cooper summed up the program.
Look for a CYCLE WORLD test of the Cooper 250 Enduro very soon.
