bullylover

I own one Bultaco 125 mm front brake backing plate that the brake cam hole was crooked in the backing plate. I did have the hole machined square and a sleeve inserted by a qualified person but it never worked properly. It was always spongy and wore the shoes on an angle. Just check that before you go too far. It must have been either a Monday morning or a late Friday afternoon one. That`s the only explanation I can think of as to why it is crooked. Graham.

Another thing to remember is anything you are unsure of just put a post up on here asking how or why and it will usually get answered very quickly. There is also a lot of information available online these days too which helps a lot. Well done of getting two real trials bikes! Good on you. Graham.

As long as the kickstart returns on its own that is right. It helps if it returns promptly and not slowly. That is the only real thing to watch for. They are an easy engine to work on once you work them out. Graham.

I have found the easiest way is to hook the spring up then put at least a half turn of the kickstart shaft to pretension the whole thing. Then you have to put the first rachet gear on after the little spring on the shaft from the inside. Then you have to get the gear on the shaft. Make sure you remember that this gear has to hit against the metal bolton plate inside the gearbox. This is the kickstart stop. You might have to do that a couple of times until you get the spring tension correct. If you have a manual just read it and look at the photos. Graham.

The best way to check for wear in the bigend is to just grab it and see if there is any movement up and down in the bigend bearing. They all move side to side a bit. Yours sounds as if it is fine. If in doubt replace it but it sounds okay. Graham

You can also just glue and zip tie a piece of the correct size rubber on the top of the swingarm and on the bottom frame tube where the bashplate is welded. I have this on my M159. Graham.

markg, I have three Sherpas, a M159, M199 and my M199B with a M151 engine in it. I have 28mm OKOs on all of them and they all work great. I had to richen a couple up on the needle and lean the other one off one notch on the needle. You also need a new carb to barrel rubber. The In Motion ones for a Mikuni work very well and are the correct size. Graham.

No. That means that the points gap should be 0.4mm and the points should start to open at 2.7mm BTDC. I always use a multimeter on OHMs to check when they start to open. Just use the wire from the points up to the coil and put on end of the multimeter on that and the other end in a bolt hole on the engine or anywhere you can find that is a good earth and that will tell you exactly when the points are starting to open.

Hi Model80. Normal bearings are fine for all the gearbox and in the clutch but use C3 bearings for the main bearings. There are needle bearings inside the countershaft but that is all that will fit there anyway. I think you can get needle bearings for the main bearings as some of the Pursangs had them but only on the ignition side I think. Graham.

Nor in Australia. Upside down here.

That is very sad news. I exchanged many emails with Larry and he was always glad to hear about other Bultacos from Australia. Very sad news. Graham.

My M199B frame number is 19914773-B. This used to be the only one here in Australia for years.

If you want double lipped fork seals that fit a 35mm Betor fork then a 2002 to 2009 KTM SX 65 Ariete fork seals are great. I have them in my three Sherpas with no problems and one set is about 5 years old now and still fine. Graham.

I use the standard Bultaco Sherpa T hubs with a cast iron liner installed in the hubs. I have three Sherpas with this and EBC brake shoes and I find all of them brilliant in the wet or dry. Graham.

I`m not sure if any other bikes have the same forks but you can get your tubes rechromed. There are places that do hard chroming which is what you need. Have a look online or in a few local bike mags and see what you can find. Most places that do that will do mail order. You might have to go to the US, I`m not sure. Graham.

I think any 250 Sherpa flywheel will fit. They all have the same crankshaft taper on them. Graham.

Italjet do still have a website which has their bike history on it. It might have the numbers made on that. I don`t think I can put the web address up but a hint is italet.com .

Hi Netley. I find the easiest way is to cut 5mm of the bit of the new kickstart spring which goes through the kickstart shaft and then use a pair of long nose Vice Grips or Mole Grips to put the long part of the new spring into the hole in the kickstart shaft. It is very awkward as you have to get a half turn of preload or a bit more on the spring. Once you have done it once it is a lot easier after that. I can do it at a trial now in about five minutes. Taking the Countershaft sprocket off does give you a bit more room to move. Be careful if you unscrew the solid nut holding the Kickstart internals off as that can move in a fair bit and if it does then you will have to take it all apart. Just have a go. Graham.

Deek, the M190 is actually a late 1977, early 1978 model even though it looks the same as the previous 2 models. The gearbox holds 600 ml of 90 weight gear oil or if you are only emptying it and refilling then 550 ml. The primary case holds 300 ml of 30 weight according to the book but I use 10/30 gear oil in all mine. Once again if you are only emptying it and refilling use 250 ml. Graham.

Just try it and see how it is for you. I have three Sherpa`s and I run 11/42 on all of them but I do ride on the clutch so I just find the higher gearing makes first a lot more usable but you do have to use the clutch in the tight stuff. You chain will wear out faster with a ten tooth front though. Graham.

I`d just go with what you have there. I have Oko`s on all of mine and I use those filters as well and the Oko carb has the inlet on the other side of the carby so my hose has many bends in it. Those filters will bend with no problems. That should be fine as long as the hose isn`t kinked. Graham.

How is the wiring from the ignition to the coil. That could be the problem if it is old and hard. Worth a try anyway. Or how old is the plug cap? Graham.

One thing I noticed is your plug gap is too wide. A Sherpa likes a plug gap the same as the points. .40mm. Unless it has a CDI installed then go with whatever the ignition maker recommends. I once had to run a lawnmower engined minibike on diesel and it ran and got me home but it was not happy about it all. Graham.

Did you retime the engine when you put it all back together. If not then you will have to time it anyway. Especially if it is still on points. If so they like to be timed often. Graham.

The front ones are always not in the middle of the forks. If you are really concerned just use a long length of string and wrap it around both sides of the rear tyre up on a stand and see how it lines up with the front wheel. I have just respoked a M199 rear wheel and the spokes these days are not long enough on the long side to get the rim far enough over to the brake side. They are all just holding on by a few turns of the nipples. Mine is doing the same as yours now so I have to sort that out. Graham.