34 replies to this topic

[Cvans]

At first glance I thought it was an old 350 Bultaco. 

I had a Yamaha 250 trial. It's amazing how much low end torque they can get out of a two stroke. At least yours had a nice seat on it.

[toomanytoys84]

That's a sweet ride.

I never owned a street bike. I've had a few dirt bikes over the years. Mainly motocross style and one street and trail bike (still have)

I've always wanted a street bike but never did it. If I haven't by now I probably never will.

Edited by toomanytoys84, December 17, 2013 - 01:53 PM.

[JD DANNELS]

At first glance I thought it was an old 350 Bultaco. 

I had a Yamaha 250 trial. It's amazing how much low end torque they can get out of a two stroke. At least yours had a nice seat on it.

iN THE 70'S OSSA, BULTACO AND MONTESSA pretty well dominated observed trials. In the 80's Honda. Yamaha and Suzuki entered the game and made some pretty good and competetive machines. Since in trial your on the pegs most of the time the seat was only used waiting for your turn in the traps.so was minumal.

I had both the small tank and seat and the Explorer kit(larger seat and 2.5 gal tank) for my Ossa and since it was street legal and I rode it on the street it was normally in Explorer trim.  I had the 250 MAR, My friend Tim, rode a 350 MAR and Don rode a 250 Yamaha. Thre were quite a few Bultaco's around and a friend Denny had a Montessa 125. Denny only weighed about 130 and was a real threat on the little bike. .

 

The Bultaco was a great bike, but it had one quirk that kind of scared me. At very low rpm it could hicup and run backwards. I once saw a guy climbing a particularly steep rocky hill, it backfired and he came down the hill faster backwards  than he went up.

Edited by JD DANNELS, December 17, 2013 - 02:36 PM.

[Chopperhed]

The Bultaco was a great bike, but it had one quirk that kind of scared me. At very low rpm it could hicup and run backwards. I once saw a guy climbing a particularly steep rocky hill, it backfired and he came down the hill faster backwards  than he went up.

 

My other ride is an 81 Yamaha IT175, it has the running backwards thing going too. I've seen videos of guys starting them backwards and trying to ride around the yard. At least it has suspension. I remember the Bultaco s from my childhood and always wanting one.

Did have an old Suzuki TS400 in high school, it was a scary fast motor in a scary dangerous chassis.

[jd.rasentrac]

hübsches Moped - as we say here

[olcowhand]

At first glance I thought it was an old 350 Bultaco. 

I had a Yamaha 250 trial. It's amazing how much low end torque they can get out of a two stroke. At least yours had a nice seat on it.

 

I used to have a 350 Bultaco Pursang.  MAN was that thing a wild ride!  50+mph across the field, open the throttle & ride a wheelie as far as you dared.  And talk about an abrupt powerband!  But the left brake, right shift was terrible to get used to, so I put jackshafts under the frame & got them on the correct sides!  Had to use an extra centering spring on the shift cross shaft because of the added drag, but it worked like a dream. 

  My brother bought an old Honda 750 hard tail basket case & finally got it going several years ago, when he was about my age at 55.  He was all geared up to ride it.  I warned him he couldn't take it at his age, but he insisted he could. He rode it ONE round around the block, then put it up for sale!   I warned him! 

[HDWildBill]

When I lived in Spain I had a Montessa first but soon moved over to Bultaco.  We could own one foreign vehicle (which was usually the family car) and if you wanted a second it had to be Spanish made.  I had a 250 Matador and most everyone else rode the Pursang except my buddy Dizzy.  He had the Bultaco trials bike (can't remember its name).  At one point there were about 20 of us who would go riding just about every Saturday.  We would take off about 7:30 - 8 and wouldn't come back until around 5ish.  In Spain you can ride all day in the dirt and just cross over the black top's.  We would have a blast,  the Spanish rode mostly 50 to 75 cc bikes and would set up a motocross track.  We would ride up and watch them for a bit and they would invite us to join them.  Needless to say the 250 & 350's would tear up the track.

 

We also had a track on base and the Bultaco racing team would come down and race the guys on base.  We had some good riders and they gave the Bultaco team a run for their money.   I sure wish I still had that bike.  I was really sad when the company collapsed.

[Cvans]

 

 

it backfired and he came down the hill faster backwards  than he went up.

The pictures that went through my head when I read that really had me laughing.

 

   The first bike I bought in Japan was a Yamaha DT-1 250. I was working for a civilian motorcycle shop after hours so we put a Yamaha racing kit in it. By today's standards it wasn't anything really great but for it's day it was almost scary. I was like a kid in a candy store over there. 3 new motorcycles in a year and half and being able to ride all different kinds of bikes. 

   At that time Honda was racing a 250cc, 6 cylinder motorcycle. I still have a factory recording around here somewhere of that bike running trial laps. Thing sounds like a falling bomb when it comes down the straight away. Just screaming. Each cylinder was something like 41.5 CC's and it must have been turning over 15,000 rpm. 

[JDBrian]

When I lived in Spain I had a Montessa first but soon moved over to Bultaco.  We could own one foreign vehicle (which was usually the family car) and if you wanted a second it had to be Spanish made.  I had a 250 Matador and most everyone else rode the Pursang except my buddy Dizzy.  He had the Bultaco trials bike (can't remember its name).  At one point there were about 20 of us who would go riding just about every Saturday.  We would take off about 7:30 - 8 and wouldn't come back until around 5ish.  In Spain you can ride all day in the dirt and just cross over the black top's.  We would have a blast,  the Spanish rode mostly 50 to 75 cc bikes and would set up a motocross track.  We would ride up and watch them for a bit and they would invite us to join them.  Needless to say the 250 & 350's would tear up the track.

 

We also had a track on base and the Bultaco racing team would come down and race the guys on base.  We had some good riders and they gave the Bultaco team a run for their money.   I sure wish I still had that bike.  I was really sad when the company collapsed.

Wasn't the Bultaco Trials bike called an Alpina Pursang. It's been like 35 years so my memory is a bit foggy. I seem to remember wanting one but they were never sold in my area. We had the 4 jap. brands and Can Am and that was it. Those Can Am dirt bikes in the mid 70's were fast. A reed valve Rotax 2 stroke. The chassis was a bit of a disaster and the brakes were down right dangerous. Too bad there's not much dirt bike activity here these days. I still get the urge to have one every spring.

[HDWildBill]

You right the Trials bike was the Alpina.  Thanks. The Pursang was the Motocross model.

[JDBrian]

Man, it's funny the things you can remember from when you were young and had passion for something. I was into bikes heavy until I needed a car to get to work in the winter. Bye, bye motorcycle. Hello car down payment! 

[HDWildBill]

That is so true Brian. I had a period in my life where I couldn't afford a bike and it about killed me.  I would imagine your riding season is fairly short up there? 

[Michiganmobileman]

Nice looking ride, to bad you can't use it. My first was a 1972 Yamaha DT250 at 14 years old. Was my transportation to and from my job on a farm, spring, summer, winter and fall, 3.5 miles each way. Plus a blast on the weekends riding with a buddy that had the same bike.
Also had a Honda 350 dirt/trail bike during college. Flipped off the front of this and fractured a vertebrae, end of my motorcycle days.

[olcowhand]

 
Also had a Honda 350 dirt/trail bike during college.  

 

Was that an SL350?  Always wanted one.  My only ever brand new bike was an SL125 when I was 15 years old.

[Cvans]

The darned 350SL's seat pan would break in the center. Couldn't figure out why I kept have that sinking feeling until I lifted the seat and saw it was cracked all the way across. Nice all around enduro bike though.