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/126043
A sweeping look at the three Spanish marques which have shared a hammerlock on the FIM trials championship since 1967. , SULTACO Trying all the Sherpa T'5 By Charles Morey Bultaco trial bikes have established the repu tation of being among th e fmest machines o f-their type in th e world, a fact th at is no doubt the result of the Bulto famil y's personal interest in the sport of ob served trials. . " Trials is Bulto's passion," the 24 fol ks at the Virginia Beach based Bultaco International, Ltd. office explained , and then they went on , list in g th e marque's accomplishments in o rga nized competition. It was an impressive list . It was with the .firm's im pre ssive record in mind that we accepted Bultaco's in vitation t o test th e three latest model Sherpa T trials m ach ines. The i dea of an a ve rag e woo d s r id e r / w rit e r/ p h ot o g r a p h e r " t esting" replicas of the b ike s that had been ridden to top placings in t op notch competition seemed a lit tl e absurd, but we figured the least we could do was look at the new b ikes and see what had been done in the way of improvements. Besides, it was an excuse to go dirt riding on a work day. At a glance the motorcycles appear identi cal , then the subtle smallness of the 125cc model becomes obvious. Everything has been just slightly minia turized, The he avy-duty triple clamps on the 250cc and 350cc models are replaced by smaller lighter units on the 125 . Ins te ad of the standard 2.75 x 21 and 4 .00 x 18 tires as are found on the larger bikes , the 125 sp orts a 2.50 x 20 up fron t with 2.75 x 17 at the rear to bring it into the small rider ca tegory : man, woman or ch ild . Nothing, happily, has been sacrificed in the way of quality o r utili ty when th e size w as reduced. It's still a p urebred Sh erpa T , j ust a little smaller. All three frames are b asi cal ly the same; wh at th e Bul taco people referred to as the Pursang-sty le, The swi ngarm h a s b ee n le n gth ene d , the vertical "bac kbo ne " und er .th e sea t has been repl a c ed b y t wo smaller ones to acco m moda te the ne w airb ox, and the swingarm pivot position has been moved up to th e rear mo tor mount. The 125 cc bike has two down tubes, while th e others have one. Th e new a irbox s y stem i s a tremendous im provem en t over the older one. The filter element is accessible through an easy-to-get-at side cover. On the older models with t he one piece gas tank and seat fibergl ass , it was necessary to remove the whole unit to gain access t o th e fil ter. Whe els , aside from th e difference in size , are identi cal on all three bikes. The hubs ar e made of Dural aluminum and, ins t ead of pressed-in steel brake drums, the interi or of the tough aluminum h u b is electrolitically plated with chrome to act as the drum. Not exactly road racing quality brakes, but lightweight and sufficient fo r observed trials use . The "pregnant boomerang" mufflers are super quiet and are approved spark arrestors. The suspension , front and rear, is mad e by Betor to Bultaco 's sp ecifications. The shocks are exactl y the same on all three, but the 125cc m odel has smaller fork tu bes. The model numbers all lie sligh tl y ' regarding their ac tual motor size . The 125 is act ual ly a 119cc unit, overbored 100cc motor and ligh tweight as can be. The 250 is really a 238 , and the 350 is a 326. We took turns riding all three, and each of the riders presen t (there were fo ur ) agreed that none of the bikes in any wa y restricted the rider's ability to negotiate a section. The 125cc. mount needed to be ridden in first gear through sections that the 250 and 350cc bikes could clean in second. The 350 had a noticeably st ro nger flywheel effect th at carried the machine on through a section, or over a log, after the throttle had been shut off. The 250 approached. Spec ificat ions Bore & stroke Displacement Compress ion Carburetor Ignition Front fork travel Rear shock travel Tires Front Rear Wheel base Seat height Handlebar height /width Ground clearance Footpeg height Dry weight ' Gas tank capacity List price 3 50 83.2 x 60mm 326.2cc 9:1 8ing 28mm Femsa 6'1.." 4" 275x21 400x18 51.7" 32 .5" 43"/33" 12.2 " 15" 1951bs. 1.7 gal. $1498 2 50 1 25 71 x 60mm 54 .2x51.5 237 .55cc 118.8cc 9:1 12:1 Amal 27mm Amal 25mm VAR 41 -52 Flywheel magneto 6'1.." 6'1.." 4" 4" Pirelli 2 ply t ires 275x21 250x20 400x18 275x17 50.7" 50 .5" 32" 30.3" 40 .8"/31.5" 42 .8"/33" 13.3" 10.2" 16.3" 13.8" 1951bs. 1801bs. 1.7 gal. 1.45 gal. $1298 $975