Bultaco Sherpa 198A.....girling Rear Shocks.

[chappo]

Hi guys,

Bought a Bultaco 198a in a box a while ago and I'm I the process of rebuilding her.

I found that the rear shocks were a pair of Girlings, in Bultaco blue.

I've had them resprayed when everything else was being done.

The question is, were these original shocks to Bultaco sherpas around the late 70's early 80's.

From memory I seem to recall these shocks due to the distinctive alloy spacer / adjuster rings but cannot be sure.

I've checked a lot of old images from Bultaco but don't seem to be able to find any images of a Sherpa with these fitted ..........anybody recall them????

[b40rt]

Betor from memory.

Edited December 17, 2016 by b40rt

[pschrauber]

Mmmh ... looks to me like Girling's with the additional spring missing instead more spacers mounted.

The Girlings I personal think of that where mounted with double spring and less spacers to yellow SWM's in the beginning eighties.

[norsal]

Definitely Betor, but Girlings were not as liable to bend and were often fitted.

Last 340 I owned had Rock Shocks.

 

[cleanorbust]

Gas Girlings were the hot tip around the late 70s, they were never fitted as standard on Bultos, or any bike from memory with possible exception of some Beamish Suzukis?

[b40rt]

Gas Girlings were the hot tip around the late 70s, they were never fitted as standard on Bultos, or any bike from memory with possible exception of some Beamish Suzukis?

Think they were original fitment to swm's in early 80's.

[bikestat]

betors were fitted as standard but many people swapped to girling gas with twin springs the shorter spring was wound from a square section wire and painted red and the long spring wound from a round section wire and painted black used them on my 198 and 199 great improvement over the betors

[2stroke4stroke]

Look like Gas Girlings to me. If the damper rods bend for no apparent reason, ie without being subject to a blow, then they are definitely Girlings.

Don't think Betor did gas units then but if you put them with the damper rod uppermost then they will not damp if they are Girlings which were designed to be used with the body uppermost.

Edited December 17, 2016 by 2stroke4stroke

[feetupfun]

Here is what trials gas girlings from that era look like with the long spring removed

Yours look like someone has fitted spacers to limit the shaft travel

Edited December 18, 2016 by feetupfun

[greychapel]

got a set of these girling gas shocks on my whitehawk, still working fine, they are just like the photo, the spacers can be added or removed to adjust the preload, we had 2 girling factories in our area, hence EVERYONE had these on their bikes! (for the price of a pint and a packet of fags)

 

[chappo]

Thank you everyone who replied, great information as usual.

[metisse]

Speaking to Norman Blakemore at this years Telford show some months ago I explained whilst I would have liked  some Girlings on my newly restored Swm, to make it a little more original, I had bought some other shocks.. He told me with notice he could doctor shocks from his  NJB range to look like girlings if people so wished. Some months later I don t know if this is still the case , but may be worth a call to see if that is the look you are looking for.

Hope that helps