twinnshock

Paddy, I have been up the shed and dug out the forks. They are not perfect but would repair a lot easier than the ones on your bike. I aquired these as a job lot of parts when I rebuilding my M215 Frontera. I have tried to show the rust but the flash is making them look slightly better than actualy are and it is currently chuking down with rain outside so this is the best available photo's at the moment. I have no use of them so yours for postage and package costs. Let me know if you require them. Complete forks or just the stanchions, let me know what you require. PM me your address and I will sort out a cost. Stuart

I think I have some in my shed. Probabably not perfect but better than what you have got. I will dig them out over the week end and send you a photograph showing condition. Stuart

Another suggestion might be worth a try. https://www.pjme.co.uk/ Stuart

The inmotion 520 Regina Gold is fine. It is a Trials bike not a fire breathing crosser. Chain wear is more about the riding conditions in mud, sand water etc. The expensive chains chains wear out just as quick. I do not spend more than I need to and replace as required. Not sure how many links you require. Last time I counted the links on a Bultaco chain was years ago. I just buy the chain from Inmotion which is supplied slightly longer than required. Assembly over sprockets and remove links as required until it fits. Stuart

When fitting these please be aware that the end that goes over the brake plate is in affect loose. I have seen these in affect hooked round the the axle bolt and then clamped up tight. This is wrong and will damage the brake plate. I always unclip the arm end when fitting the wheels. Clamp up the axle bolt. then re-clip the arm end. The other end then rotates against the brake plate but this is not clamped in any way. Stuart

My advice. Do not try and take short cuts you will regret it. Split the engine and do it properly. Stuart

When I did my first Bultaco engine rebuild in approximately 1977 we did not have the special tool. My Dad compressed the clutch spring and cup with two screw drivers and I removed/inserted the pins with long nose pliers. It was many years before I got round to buying the tool. If I remember right this method involved a lot of swearing. Stuart

A blocked pilot jet can cause the engine to over run when closing the throttle. Does not seem logical but it can. Worth checking. Stuart

How dare you come on this site and suggest you are prepared to sell your Bultaco. I suggest you go and stand in a dark corner and think further about you actions Stuart

Please do not do it. You would spoil an excellent bike. I know sombody who tried to do this a few years ago. He ended up spending quite a bit of money and ended up very disapointed. It just would not pull at low rev's like that matching Sherpa. I am not sure about the 250 but I can confirm that the 350 Alpina engine has different compression ratio, different porting, different bore and stroke and different gear ratio's. The easiest way to modify the engine for Trials use is chuck away the original Alpina engine and fit a sherpa version. I might be a bit biased as here in the UK Sherpa's are quite common and later model Alpina's still quite rare. So easy of me to state that if you want a Trials bike simply sell the Alpina and buy a Sherpa. Stuart

This one had me confused as the title says Sherpa and TY250 leading me to first get confused as to if looking for a wheel for a Bultaco Sherpa or a Yamaha TY. but it apperas that what is required is a rear wheel for a Scorpa SY250. Sorry unable to help. Should we ask a moderator/admin to move this from the Bultaco section to the Scorpa section? Stuart

Defiantly cheating. If a rider spots a section that will get worse/harder as the trial progresses and quickly rides it 3 times they have gained an advantage. A bottomless muddy ditch could be an example of this. My club is a bit flexible on this depending on the situation. If a championship event it is normally stated in the briefing at the start that all sections are to ridden in order and where each class must start. If a rider deviates from this explicit instruction we would exclude them from the results. We also will exclude riders from the results if they a rude to an observer but this is a different subject. With beginners and electric we tend to turn a blind eye to the practice. We want these riders to enjoy themselves and learn and more importantly come back another day. These riders are not going to affect the results hence the blind eye to this. Stuart

Bultaco were well aware off this market and Introduced the Tiron in 71 and the Chispa in 74.

My Alpina Model 188 was originaly fitted with a battery. I do not have a wiring diagram but I assume that it will need to have a rectifier fitted. This was missing when I bought the bike. Rather than trying to track down an original rectifier that will probabaly be old stock, expensive and not work anyway I was planning of fitting a simple bridge rectifier from RS or other supplier of choice. Has anybody had an experiance of a similar mod and can give advice? I think most owners will not have expriance of Bultaco's with batteries so am not expecting a reply but thought I would ask anyway. To be honest the bike will very rarely used in the dark so if the charging system does not work I will not be to worried as the battery will last a long time powering just the brake light. I have a Frontera that has the resistor/brake light set up with no battery and this bike goes through rear light bulbs at an alarming rate so with this experiance I would not consider ditching the battery and going this alternative route. In fact I am planning to fit a small battery to the Frontera. Stuart

I have recieved my new Alpina tank from the supplier in India despite being listed as Sherpa. Postage time was within the quoted period and I was lucky as I did not get charged any additional import tax so what I paid on ebay was the final cost. (Result!) I have not leak tested yet but visual inspection looks good. Good fit. Overall the tank is an excellent replacment for the fiberglass original and an exact copy and I am very pleased. Only minor issues is that the area around the front bolt does not have the local round flat where the rubber washer fits but I can either correct this or make a slightly fatter rubber washer that fits the surface. Also the fuel tap thread is smaller than original so I will be making a new part to fit. I have a lathe so no issue but for many this would be an issue. It came with an aluminium turned filler cap but I will be using the original plastic cap that fits perfect. This aluminium one will be modified to have an air valve for the pressure/leak test so will be of use. The attached photographs do not do the tank justice as the electric light is reflecting off the aluminium and it looks dented, this is not the case. It is good enough to leave polished but I intend to paint as original. Other Alpina owners might be interested to note the Mudguards fitted are original and are stainless steel not Aluminium. I understand these are quite rare. Stuart

Feet up fun, Not quite sure the clamps in your top picture are quite right. I have had a rummage in my shed and dug out this model 10 top yoke with the clamps and u bolts. Picture attached. I have also attached a picture of the top yoke fitted to my first M10 that has since been sold to Spain. This is an after market part but was a period upgrade. Stuart

The fiirst M10 that I owned was fitted with a rather sturdy top yoke with clamps similar to the later type. The stalks supporting the handlebars were best described as flared into the top of the yoke part. After a bit of research I found that this part was an after market replacment made by Sandiford in the UK. I believe others also made replacements. These were made and sold due to the original parts being a bit fragile and prone to breaking. Given a choice I would prefer one of these after market parts as they were stronger and also still a period part/mod. In my many years of Bultaco ownership I have broken a top yoke only once and this was a model 80 later clamp type. Came to a rather abrupt stop at the bottom of a ditch and the yoke snapped with my full weight hitting the handlebars. Stuart

No the U bolt was phased out during the rather long production of the M49. But as a model 10 owner and ex early model 49 owner can confirm the clamp part is common and these come up on ebay from time to time manly in the states. I once bought a bag of 10 that I kept one pair that I wanted and sold the rest. Stuart

I have just bitten the bullet so to speak and ordered an aluminium tank from India via ebay. Mine is to fit a model 188 Alpina. The tank is listed as a Sherpa tank on ebay but the picture quite clearly shows with the cut out as per the Alpina seat so fingers crossed that I get what I require! They accepted my ebay offer so fingers crossed it gets through customs without any issues or further cost. My son is currently in France as part of the Army support team at the ISDE. I had a phone call from him last night. He has been told that baring earthquake or North Korean missile strike he has a 95% confirmed ride as part of the Army team (RLC) for the 2018 SSDT. The Army have allocated places so he will skip the ballot. I will need some transport as part of his support team and the Alpina seems a good option. The original tank is fibreglass and leaking hence the purchase. The joint between inner and outer shells has split at rear. Was planning to repair but I need to get the bike on road as soon as possible. Details will be posted when tank arrives. Stuart

I know nothing about Matador's so obviously well qualified to answer this question. Are we sure that a 1969 bike would have the plastic/perspex badges? My 1971 Sherpa has the sticker thin transfer type badges and I would have thought that an earlier production bike/model would use this type of badge. My model 10 (1965) has thin metal badges just to confuse the issue even further. Stuart

During my 40 years of continuous ownership of various Bultaco bikes, the only ignition issues I have ever had is either plug or condensor. I have a vintage car and after also after suffering condensor issues have now fitted a modern easycap condensor from Bright spark magnetos. No issues since fitting and it does seem to have improve starting. For information my car (BSA SCOUT) is coil ignition not magneto. http://www.brightsparkmagnetos.com/easycap/index.htm Not yet tried one on a Bultaco but if I get any issues in the future I plan to give one of these a try. Any body else come across these? I have no conection with this company. Stuart

Have you tried looking where you last had it? I'll get my coat............................... Stuart

I have a model 166 and can confirm that the frame is basicly the same as the same year Sherpa but has differences to lugs for the different airbox and also the brake light switch. However other than that that bike is quite different. It has some components from the Frontera/Pursang ie fork yokes (tripple tree if reading this other side of pond) that change the fork trail so it has a different wheel base. The engine looks the same but internally is also quite different to the same year Sherpa having different bore and stroke, (bigger capacity) compression ratio, porting and gear ratio's and I think crankshaft balance weight but not sure on the last one. My bike is an early example M166 and it still has in perfect condition the original stainless steel front and rear mudguards. I think these were only fitted to a limited number of bikes as they were quite expensive to produce. Most had the Sherpa aluminium guards fitted. The problem with trying to answer the original posters question is that spec could change mid production depending on what parts were in stock and at this distance of time impossible to answer many of the small insignificant changes that took place. Sales brochures can be misleading as oftain published quite some time before a model was actually produced. Stuart

I have posted in the stolen bikes section so please forgive me for posting again here. It's with great sadness that our next junior academy trial on the 22nd July (and all future events for that matter) has been cancelled after the clubs OSET BIKES WERE STOLEN from one of our committee's houses in Halsted overnight. The bikes stolen were a 16 racing and a 20 racing model. Can we please share this posting far and wide and keep eyes and ears peeled for any information that may lead to the recovery of these bikes. As you know these bikes were for the youngsters of our community to use and ride for just £10 a go and these thieves have robbed not only the club but all of the children in our community who could come and ride them. We are dumbfounded by these thieves selfishness. Please contact anyone at the club if you see or hear anything suspicious. Thank you. Stuart

The Braintree and District MCC purchased 3 OSET bikes at the end of last year. These bikes have been used to promote Trials and we have been running events once or twice a month getting youngsters to try out Trials. This has been our attempt to promote Trials and get youngsters to take up the sport and the results so far have been encouraging. Last night two of the bikes were stolen from my garage in Halstead, Essex. I suspect that who ever stole these bikes knew what they were targetting as they broke in stole the two OSETs, the spare batteries and chargers and nothing else has been touched. Essex police have been informed and as I write this I am waiting in for them to visit. Only 2 bikes were stolen as the other was currently being stored in another location. The two bikes stolen were both 2016 model year details as follows. 16.0 Racing 2016. Frame number – OSET16R5H402 20.0 Racing 2016. Frame number – OSET20R5H574 Please if any body is offered one of these bikes or has any information please let me or Essex police know. I can be contacted on 07530 470440 Stuart Penfold