The first motorcycle that Bultaco produced was the Tralla, from which the models that appeared in the following years were developed. Its brilliant 125 cc engine and its excellent cycle part immediately acquired great prestige, corroborated from the very first moment of its release by countless sport achievements.
The Metralla Mk2 was Bultaco’s road motorcycle masterpiece. Thanks to its powerful engine it reached more than 160 kph, which made it the fastest two stroke production motorcycle in the world. It was an elegant sports machine of impeccable performance which gained an enormous international prestige for the brand.
This model was developed from the motorcycle which won The International 24 H of Montjuïc in the years 1969 and 1972. It is a beautiful and powerful machine which, despite its undeniable appeal, did not make it past the prototype phase and was never to be commercialised.
The Streaker was the last great work that Bultaco produced commercially. Its innovative multi-tubular frame, way ahead of its time, provided it with exceptional performance qualities. This first version incorporated the black and golden riveted decoration similar to the style of the F1 Lotus cars of the John Player Special Team.
From the beginning the Tralla 101 achieved great sport successes, both its production model as well as its competition model, which was the Tralla Sport. It was the first motorcycle of the Escudería 2T (Two Stroke Team), the factory’s official team, and the one from which the Tralla Super Sport -the legendary TSS- would be developed.
Paco Bultó developed the TSS from the Tralla 101, and it was a competition motorcycle which despite its modest outline was able to fight for victory defying the official prototypes of its competitors. This is the 1965 model, already featuring a water cooling system and a 6-speed gearbox.
The last versions of the TSS were highly efficient motorcycles which dominated the national championships in many countries. They were no longer developments from the commercial models but real competition motorcycles featuring water cooling engines and showing exceptional stability and performance.
Only four units of this special prototype for endurance races were made, and in different events of The International 24H of Montjuïc performed heroically versus motorcycles which had much more cubic capacity. With this motorcycle Bultaco won absolute victories in 1969 and 1972.
Bultaco reached an agreement with the Rickman brothers, two Englishmen who specialised in motocross, by which they would set up their engines in the Metisse they produced in England. Although the agreement did not last, this was the first Bultaco which was 100% motocross styled.
The Mk2 was the first motocross model entirely conceived by Bultaco. In regard to the Metisse, the Pursang was a completely new motorcycle which featured a 5-speed gearbox, a very much improved cycle part and was aesthetically very innovative.
In 1973 Jim Pomeroy, a previously unheard of American racing driver, achieved great success by winning the Spanish Grand Prix, the first event in the Motocross World Championship. The following year Bultaco incorporated the colours in Pomeroy’s helmet -blue with white stripes- in the seventh development of the Pursang.
The MK11, both in the 250 cc model as well as in the 370 cc one, meant an important step forward in the Pursang saga. It was a true replica of the official motorcycles, it featured -for the first time- a “scarf” styled exhaust pipe and incorporated long-travel suspensions with independent gas bottles.
The Sherpa T was the most famous trial motorcycle in history. This is the first model, which was developed following the indications of the master, Sammy Miller. The same year of its release it became the first not English motorcycle to ever win the prestigious event of the Scottish Six Days Trial.
The third version of the Sherpa T meant an important step forward in the development of the saga, improving in all aspects. With this model, aesthetically more developed than the previous ones, Sammy Miller won the first edition of the European Trial Championship.
In 1977 the Sherpa T undertook a massive remodelling, both technical and aesthetical (it was the last red coloured one) featuring unbreakable plastic in the tank and the mudguards. That year the Finnish driver Yrjo Vesterinen won the third of the five Trial World Championships that Bultaco was going to win.
The last version of the Sherpa T would see the light in 1981, when the factory was already deeply involved in the crisis which would mean the closure of the factory. This model meant the final step in the development of the most celebrated Trial motorcycle of all times, which absolutely dominated the category for more than fifteen years.
After winning some gold medals in The Six International Days of Enduro in 1962 Bultaco developed the Matador. It was an elegant cross-country motorcycle to be used sportingly in the country. This first model was almost entirely destined to the important American market.
Thanks to its 250 cc engine and 5 Speed Gearbox, the third development of the Matador already presents exceptional features. Its line is more refined than the one in the two previous models and it includes interesting technical solutions, as for example the integral protective chain cover which would become a distinctive treat of the Matador motorcycles from then on.
Bultaco frequently commercialised improvement kits for its production models. It was the case of the Six Days Kit, relating to the successes achieved in the International Six Days. The SD version of the Matador MK4 was a true competition motorcycle which incorporated all the necessary accessories for the tough enduro events.
The Gold Medal was in fact a motocross motorcycle modified for enduro. It was part of an exceeding lot of Pursang Mk10 which had not been sold in The United States and which was then modified to make them sellable elsewhere. The specialised magazines criticised it for its wild character, and this provoked a surprisingly huge demand of “the motorcycle that could only be ridden by experts”.
On October 2nd, 1960 Bultaco beat five long distance road racing records in the circuit of Montlhery (France) with this spectacular prototype. It has to be pointed out that two of them were corresponding to its cubic capacity, but the most amazing thing is that two more records were beaten, one in 250 cc and yet another one in 350 cc!
Paco Bultó commissioned the technical department in the factory to build a motorcycle so that his daughter Inés could ride it to work even in the cold and rainy winter days. This unique model, known as “Gaviota” (Seagull), can be regarded as the ancestor of the current concept of large wheel Maxi Scooter.
In November of 1973 the participants in the Motorcycle Himalaya expedition drove along the highest mountain range in the world with their modified Sherpa T motorcycles. They achieved a record on reaching an altitude of 5.156 metres. Soon afterwards the government of Nepal prohibited the access of motor vehicles to the area, so that record remained in history for generations to come.
This was F.X. Bultó’s personal motorcycle. With it he rode the paths near his country house, the “San Antonio masía”, along with his family and usually with some of his younger children or grandchildren seated on the fuel tank. Only the special rear shock absorbers differ from the production models.
The American rider Jim Pomeroy took part in the 1976 World Championship with this prototype, achieving two victories and the fourth global position. It featured two carburettors, a double ignition system and a tank made of aluminium instead of fibreglass so that it could endure the scratches of the metallic knee pad that the rider had to use due to a previous injury.
The Astro was a motorcycle exclusively thought of for the spectacular American dirt-track races. Its excellent performance qualities and its powerful engine derived from the Pursang made it the dominator in the characteristic dirt-track ovals in its category, achieving great successes versus its rivals.