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/125993
.. ", ' -. . Bultaco's3 By Charles Morey o ,.-; Bultaco has always produced racing machines that are strictly n o n onsense performers; and somehow, they've also managed to make the b usinesslike-as-a-bayonet bikes attractive as well. The 1975 360cc Frontera is no exception. As you've no doubt already noticed, that red and yellow job on this week's cover is a real eye grabber. Not only that, but let ':IS tell you about how it boogies through the wood s, Fast. ..that's how. OK , so n ow you m ight suspect that you' re read ing the d rop p ings of a confirmed Bul freak. That's not exactly true, b ut it's a lot closer to the truth than it was bef ore we got the opportunity to play with the new Frontera. The test, as you'll see, wasn't all sunshine and flowers, but the mach ine's positive characteristics, by far, o utweighed the no t-so-good stuff. Be fo re embark ing on thi s tour of the big Bul's features, a word of thanks is d ue . Not o ne, but two local dealers helped in this test. Honda of Marietta, although not originally scheduled to participate, gave us a bike early so that we'd have ti me to d o the color photos and get all th e boring tech nic al printing details do ne in time to show the b ike on t he co ver . Cy de Special t y , lnc., furnished another scooter; th e one that got flogged . Many thanks to both, Phil Rogers at H of M an d Bo Bobbit at CS, Inc. So me of the machine's features are obvious from just looking at it . The bike has a pair of small hubs, strong-looking spokes an d Ak ront sho ulder less alloy rims with sheet metal screw secured toothy Pirelli knobb ies (Yea!). It also has a giant, obtrusive, low-mounted silencer (Boo!) , that 's really quiet (Y e a! ) . There's a small functional, rubber mounted taillight [Yea l] , that 's fastened to either the end of a long breakable fiberglass fender (Boo!) or a not so long stainless steel fender (Boo , again!) Tw o t hings b ear explanation at this point. 8 Nu mber one is the reason for two types of fender. Originally the fenders were fibe rglass, like the ones p ictured on the cover. Now, the newer units i BuJtaco's ware house have stainless stee fen de rs like the ones you see here Neither is really the hot set up. The th ird alternative, and explanatio number two in this series, is plasti fenders. Miura Products has th em an they are offere d as an extra cost option They should be standard equipment, w feel, b ut since the p lastic items originat in the USA, they don't come on th bike. What it amounts to, is that th Barcelona boys don't quite have thei act together and the American B people are trying to co mpensate for i They also offer a replacement plasti b ash pl at e. The original fiberglass on causes no pro blems as far as we can see the plastic o ne just weigh s less . Aside fro m the fenders , there we two other differences between our tw test bikes. On the newer (met fendered) unit, the grab handles on th rear frame loop have been removed. No an improvement in our opinion, sine the hand les make any b ike easier to pul out of those nasty mudholes tha frequent eastern end uros. The othe change, a good one, is the improve dust covers on the fork sliders. The n ones fit extra tightly on the fork leg' almost like a third seal, and protect th seals better than the old ones. Lesse that's a y ea for Miura products, a bo for the grab handle removal, and a ye for the dust covers. The y eas still hav it. The one outstanding feature th immediately catches the eye is th Frontera's long travel suspension. Whe set up properly the units carry bike an rider over so me truly rid iculous surfac irregularities. Washouts , the kind tha would bottom standard suspensions an leave the rider in a world of troubl