Showing posts with label Bultaco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bultaco. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

1978 Bultaco Frontera 370

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“Ignacio Chivite has a dream. He wants to become the first Spaniard to complete The Dakar rally on a two-stroke Spanish bike and he’s not going to let the lack of eligible contemporary Spanish production motorcycles stop him. Instead, he’s going to ride a 1978 Bultaco Frontera 370 in the 14-stage, 3,100-mile race through the deserts of Argentina and Chile.”

You can follow Ignacio’s adventure Here

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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

1968 Bultaco 360 El Bandido

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By Tom White via : www.motocrossactionmag.com

action pictures via : http://brmcrae.geo.net.au

By the late 1960’s, many of the European motocross manufacturers had started building larger-bore two-stroke machines to compete in the premier 500cc class. The British four-stroke machines were no longer omnipotent in motocross, and the Czechoslovakian CZ brand had been first to capitalize on the booming two-stroke market with the twin-port CZ360. Factory CZ rider Paul Friedrichs rewarded them with 500cc World Motocross Cham­pionships in 1966, ’67 and ’68.


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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Dale "Lynn" James vintage motorcycle photos

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All pictures via the fabulous website : www.americanbantam.com
Dale pictures copyright : John Ramos

Back in the OLD days Dale used to race motorcycles. He raced from 1970 -71 very competitively and a few years after just for fun until the mid 70's. Most of the races after 1972 were marathons and enduros with his dad (who was quite fast by the way :-) He raced a 250cc Bultaco most of the time. It was a very fast and reliable bike for it's time. Here are some pictures taken by a professional photographer (John Ramos) who went from race to race taking pictures of everyone.


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Thursday, June 16, 2011

Bultaco Pursang

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"There are two types of race freaks - Bultaco freaks and non Bultaco freaks. If you want to win in motocross, get a Bultaco, hold it wide open and hang on!"
Motocross Action- June 1975
See also : www.bultacopursang.com

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Monday, April 11, 2011

Vintage MX: 1974 Bultaco Pursang

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Jeff Buchanan via : www.ultimatemotorcycling.com
Pictures via : www.theowencollection.com

In 1973 Bultaco rider Jim Pomeroy shocked the racing world when he became the first American to win a Motocross Grand Prix. It was the Spanish GP, and to cap off the moto win, Pomeroy famously wheelied across the finish line and flashed the peace sign.

The crowd went nuts. Bultaco rewarded Pomeroy's continued loyalty to the Spanish brand (despite a flood of offers from other manufacturers) by naming their 1974 Pursang after him.

Bultacos had a beauty all their own. They had shapely, extremely thin fiberglass gas tanks-so thin that the head fins stuck out on either side.

Bultacos (or "Buls" as they were affectionately known) had superb handling. In corners, their ability to either pivot in soft or hard soil, or to rail berms with equal aplomb, made them extremely accommodating for a range of riding styles. Despite the limitations of suspension travel they managed to be relatively stable (for the period)... Read more

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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Bultaco Sherpa T

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Perhaps the most famous Bultaco model is the Sherpa T, a trials bike, which revolutionised the sport in the 1960s. At that time trials was almost exclusively a British sport using big heavy four-stroke machines. Irish trials ace Sammy Miller worked with señor Bultó to produce a lightweight two-stroke machine which, overnight, rendered the heavy four-strokes obsolete. This coincided with and, perhaps, stimulated the growth in the popularity of trials in Europe and later the USA, which provided a lucrative market for Bultaco in the years to come.



Bultaco's premier model in the USA, the Pursang, was an excellent handling and powerful 250 cc competition model that could readily compete in virtually any type of speed-based off-road competition. In later models this was expanded to 125cc, 360cc and 370cc Other models, such as the Sherpa T (trials), the Astro (flat tracker) and the Matador (trail bike), provided more targeted approaches to specific types of races.



Bultaco motorcycles were mainly powered by single-cylinder, air cooled, two stroke engines, but they also made water cooled versions. The rider was required to mix the oil and gasoline manually. Built in Barcelona, Spain, Bultaco motorcycles were exported throughout the world, but their largest market ultimately became the USA, allowing aspiring racers to purchase legitimately competitive motorcycles right out of the box.



Due to industrial unrest and market pressures, Bultaco production closed in 1979. The factory reopened in 1980, but closed again in 1983.



MotoGP star, Sete Gibernau is the grandson of the founder of Bultaco, Paco Bultó. Legend has it that Mr. Bultó asked to be buried "with his Bultaco t-shirt and his moustache properly waxed".

Monday, May 11, 2009

Bultaco Motorcycles

Thanks to Laurent for his amazing pictures

Bultaco were a Spanish manufacturer of two-stroke motorcycles from 1958 to 1983.
The origin of the Bultaco motorcycle company dates back to May 1958. Francisco "Paco" Bultó was a director of the Montesa motorcycle company founded in 1944.After several years of steady growth and road racing success, in 1957 Montesa moved to larger facilities. The move was protracted, disrupting production and was followed by a downturn in the Spanish economy.This slump bought to a head disagreements between Bultó and the other senior director Pere Permanyer. As an economy measure, Permanyer felt that the company should withdraw from racing. Bultó, the driving force behind the racing program and responsible for much of the companies technical expertise was violently opposed. Failing to reach a compromise, Bultó decided to leave Montesa to concentrate on his other business interests. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of Montesa's racing department left shortly afterwards as well.



Bultaco is formed
The suggestion to form a new company is said to have come a few days later when Sr. Bultó was invited to a meeting by several of the former staff of Montesa's racing department. Keen to return to racing, they persuaded him that their greatest hope lay in forming a new company. Setting up shop in very primitive conditions at an old farm owned by Bultó, things developed quickly and in February 1959 Bultaco held a press day, launching their first bike, the road-going 125cc Bultaco Trala 101. Just two months later Bultaco entered its first Spanish Grand Prix taking seven of the first ten places.



The company name and logo
BULTACO comes from combining the first four letters of Sr. Bultó's surname with the last three of "Paco", his nickname (BULT)+(ACO). CEMOTO is an acronym for "Compañía Española de Motores". The other part of company logo, the "Thumbs up" symbol, came after Sr. Bultó witnessed British motorcycle racer David Whitworth giving the signal to his pit crew to signify that all was well.

Notable products
Although they made road and road racing motorcycles, the company's area of dominance was off-road, in motocross, enduros, and observed trials competition.



Perhaps the most famous Bultaco model is the Sherpa T, a trials bike, which revolutionised the sport in the 1960s. At that time trials was almost exclusively a British sport using big heavy four-stroke machines. Irish trials ace Sammy Miller worked with señor Bultó to produce a lightweight two-stroke machine which, overnight, rendered the heavy four-strokes obsolete. This coincided with and, perhaps, stimulated the growth in the popularity of trials in Europe and later the USA, which provided a lucrative market for Bultaco in the years to come.



Bultaco's premier model in the USA, the Pursang, was an excellent handling and powerful 250 cc competition model that could readily compete in virtually any type of speed-based off-road competition. In later models this was expanded to 125cc, 360cc and 370cc Other models, such as the Sherpa T (trials), the Astro (flat tracker) and the Matador (trail bike), provided more targeted approaches to specific types of races.



Bultaco motorcycles were mainly powered by single-cylinder, air cooled, two stroke engines, but they also made water cooled versions. The rider was required to mix the oil and gasoline manually. Built in Barcelona, Spain, Bultaco motorcycles were exported throughout the world, but their largest market ultimately became the USA, allowing aspiring racers to purchase legitimately competitive motorcycles right out of the box.



Due to industrial unrest and market pressures, Bultaco production closed in 1979. The factory reopened in 1980, but closed again in 1983.
MotoGP star, Sete Gibernau is the grandson of the founder of Bultaco, Paco Bultó. Legend has it that Mr. Bultó asked to be buried "with his Bultaco t-shirt and his moustache properly waxed".



In 1998, rights to the Bultaco name were purchased by Marc Tessier who used it to help launch a range of purpose-built trials motorcycles from his company Sherco Moto S.A.R.L. The bikes were initially named Bultaco Sherco's, then in 2000 the bikes became 'Sherco by Bultaco' and in 2001 the Bultaco name was dropped altogether.