Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125806
M ;:; o ~ w Z W .J U >U The funny' thing right of the speedo is a magnifying lens for a watch. A good running, first kick, low spark plug consumption engine, with stock anti-brush wires and a protective skid plateful of holes. / are well though tout and save you some money. The rubber-mounted speedo is nice, as is the kill switch incorporated into the "magic box" on the left handlebar. The bike comes with wires to keep brush from between the shift and brake levers and side cases. Unfortumately, on our bike, the wire was a little short, and, as it was one piece (from lever to lever), caused some frightening problems when downshifting and braking at the same time. Easy enough to fix. The chain, as usual, is completely enclosed and more or less fiddle-free. What adjustments are .necessary can easily be accomplished with the neat snail-cam adjusters. T-he fenders are alloy and provide good protection from the elements but we still think plastic would be more practical, and flexible too. The·rims are Akronts, no compromise, and the tires are Spanish-license Pirellis which work very well. As you throw a leg over the Bul you'll find that it's pretty tall with a seat height of about 32 inches. The bars were close to the righ t place and are almost infinitely adjustable. The con troIs are good, somewhat Magura-like. Reach down with your right foot (Yes, your right, hail President Franco), and flip up the kickstand. On the way back to the peg ~Iip it into first, same side, same President. As you pull away you'll notice that the Matador isn't light. Lt's not obtrusively heavy, but you don't throw it around. The transmission, new for 1973, works great. The gears are well spaced, just right for the broad powerband of the engine. There's a lot of low end grunt. Shifts can come at convenient points rather than when the engine reaches 7,345 RPM (give or take 5 RPM). The torque ClIrve is very flat. It. doesn't seem to have a power peak, but it starts to trail off at higher RPMs. You're standing up right' 'Why not:' I t looks neat and is Just as comfortable as sitting. The tank and the very quiet pipe fit pretty well between your legs and the bike tracks incredibly true over terrain irregularities. The first tum in the fire'road and you never expect the bike to tum. But it does. Use a little body English, and just lean. It turns. Crank on some power in the loose djrt and you can square the comer off very nicely. On downhills, the brakes prove themselves to be better than on former Matadors too. Both brakes have very nice feel, the rear wheel migh t hop a littJe over rough stuff, but you can still tell just what's happening through your foot. Unfortunately we couldn't find any water so they didn't get the ultimate test. The front forks 9n the Bul were filled with some kind of fluid which vaguely duplicated the viscosity characteristics of oil. In short, they :-vere soft; bottoming and topping on irregulari ties which shouldn't have brought much rise. Heavier fork oil would probably fix them righ t up. . The rear shocks were also too soft. The spring~ were definitely too weak and the dampening was also on the short side, but not to the extent of the springs. Smaller orifices and stronger springs, or new shocks. As you can probably tell, we though t a lot of the Bultaco Matador. I t's a really different bike lhan the J 972. Not that the '72 was a bad bike but '73 is one giant step belter. It really is a "Six Days Replica" and it will enduro better than 49 out of 50 enduro riders will enduro. It will cost you about 900 dollars, and that's pretty reasonable for a real "Six Days Replica." $100,000.00 CLEARANCE SALE ON DUNLOP • TIRES SHOP SOON TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT SPORTS KNOBBY UNIVERSAL 350x18 400x18 400x18 3S0x18 K70 UNIVERSAL TRIALS UNIVERSAL 300x18 325x18 '350x18 400x18 275x18 300x18 350x18 400x18 K87 re 22.47 $12.27 13.32 17.68 21.12 ALL ABOVE PRICES INCLUDE FED EXCISE TAX CYCLE PARTS 6 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU 10 - 9 PM Mon., Wed., Thurs., Fri. 1G"": 7 PM Tues" 9 - 6 PM Sat. Open Sunday 10 - 4 PM • *SAN BERNARDINO 473 W. Baseline (714) 888-2505 • • *LONG BEACH 5869 Atlantic Ave. (213) 423·9236 *WESTMINSTER 13682 Beach Blvd. (714) 893-4450 *H.Jl-WTHORI\IE 12942 Hawt,horne Blvd. (213) 676·82Q2 *EAST LA. 400 S. Atlantic (213) 264-4"107 *PASADENA 1890 E. Colorado Blvd. (213) 793·4226