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/126332
Black e ~gine paint looks nice. New swingarm protector, Impreuioa: Bultaco 2SOCC Mark 0 Parsaag A good-handling purebred plenty of . o n.i e s p ' By Peter Magoon Time was , not very long ago , when Bultacos were something of an anachronism. They cost twice as much as comparable Japanese bikes , required six times as much maintenance , and tried your patience with design feat ures tha t looked like they ca me out of Freshma n . , Engmeenng 10 1. Yet. ~yed . 24 , In the wool Bult~~o freaks willingly su~fered the derisive comments of then frien~. a l--:ays insisti~g that there was that mta:agt: Bu.1 quality that was wor th the pnce m time and dollars. If you showed up at your local track tomorrow with ~ new Mar~ II , about t.he only . thl:ag your. friends wo.uld ,hkel y n<;lt1ce IS th~ trick blue pamt J~b . It Just doesn t look that much different .from the. rest of the crop of go: fast bikes. :"nd If they. aske.d you what It cost , they d be surprised to find that thanks to t~e m o~e~ world of ~,:,rrell.cy fluctuations: It IS corn petltlve WIth theJap machines . If you 're the type who just has to ride what the la test mo te -sta rs are flogging. and you're not a Harry Everts fan . then you m igh t as well go on to the next article . O therwise, stick around for a rational discussion of what a Bult aco has to offer. We should probably first mention the mos t obvious symbol of Bu ltaco's entrance in to t he modern era. !he up ' pipe. Never mind that it sticks out too far and burns your leg in turns. or that the lo ng . unsupported stinger is likely to vibrate off in a week ; no longer do yo u lose two inches of ground clearan ce to a dent catcher. If there has been an adverse. effect on power or frame design . we fai l to notice it. Another symbol of modernity is the new 12 petal reed valve . This has effecrively given the Pursang the grunt of a Frontera wit~ou.t t~e additional flywheel. An evenmg s ride on a track six inches deep in mud convinced us of that. The powerband is very wide as a result. Some who rode it felt it was th e widest of any 250 they had ridden . Though we didn't hold any drag races, the top end seems to be competitive with other current 250 's. Another good sign is the attention to detail. You no longer get the im pression that Bultaco is subcontracting components to a thriving Spanish cot tage industry. There is real paint on the frame. The fenders are real unbreakable plastic. The spokes are stainless steel and the shifter is a rugged steel unit that won't bend like the old aluminum ones. There are now rim locks as well as screws on the wheels. . . . There are ot~er ref~esh mg Signs ?f change. T~e airbox IS now a solid molded Unit that breathes f~o:n up u:de~ th~ seat and allows servlcmg of ~ e; te~ in sh?rt order. The rear ra .e IS activated by :neans of a flexible cabl~ that works like ~ rod and shou ld be Just about servi ce free . B ~lta co has adde~ a . new rubber swu~garm protector'~ lde for the cham and another guide by the counrershaft sprocket. Bu lt aco has retained th eir old cha in tensioner and guide setup. whi ch works as well as any . We wish they had gone with more durable rub blocks. though . W e suggest you fabricate your own out of street hockey pucks after the stock units go south . Another feature that we wished had been changed are the carbide-silica brake liners. These have a reputation for fading in the wet . but we got the drums full of nice slimy Georgia red muck (w hich is a handy grease substitute) and they sti ll worked pretty good . T he rear would lock up on pavement at full steam , if you insisted. and the front would still turn , but had ,sto p ping power left. when you grabbed a handful. The carburetor is still a square Amal, though it is now 38mm big. It should give you no trouble if you keep its little screws and bolts tight so that everything stays where God intended. We were disappointed to see that the gas tank and side panels are still fiberglass. They should be okay if you don't drop the thing off the trailer. The tank holds nearly two and a half gallons . wh ich is nice. Those 0 f you who've been around since the old days will be happy to know that on the Bu l you can still swap your shifter and your brakes. This is made even easier this year, since the left side brake pivot post is provided now . Pirelli tires still come stock. which will disappoint Carlsbad riders but please New' England m udm en . Varying the pressure will do m o re for the tire situation than most people would allow . Try 'ern, you might like 'em . Bulraco's removab le sidestand works very well , as long' as you don't leave it on your bumper whe n you d rive off. If you do . the underside of the frame is very flat and sits well on a milk crate. Keep a can of heat -resistant black engme paint handy. because the stuff that they put on the fork legs. the cases and the pipe goes away after the - ... .. ..... .• . - ~ith o • L first gravel track or su per· spray car wash, whichever comes first. • Bu lt aco claims that they redesigned I the vents on the cases. Whet her this eliminates the need for fre q uent oil ' ch anges or additions to both sides remains to be seen. tq Rid ing impressio ns of the ~ ~ e varied somewhat among testers. Most agreed that it was very ta ll, and for that reason m ostly. was somew h'at ha rd to start. A nyo ne u nder six feet ta ll m ight want to jump off his bumper. With the choke on . you give it no throttle at all. Wit h a warm engine. you need at least o ne- quarter throttle and a good jump off t hat bu m per . If you can get enough weight behind it . it will start first or second kick. T hat reminds us. The new Motoplat CO l ignitions will please those who have gone through the chore of setting . the poin ts gap on their old Buls. 01 Once o ut on the track. you a re ithpressed with the light feel of the bike. (Bultaco claims a dry weight of 219 po unds.) It h and les very well in tig ht comers and changes d irect io ns with ease. O wners of Japanese bikes who rode it felt the Bultaco had an edge over modem Japanese machinery o n smooth. tight tracks, but that it might be outclassed in power and suspension . on more open courses. T he principle problem with the suspension is that any bike wit hout m u ch more than 10 inches at either end is just not the state of the art in a time when 12 inches is becomin g m ore and m ore common. T he Bet o r forks wor k well in terms of d amping and spring ra tes but will not eat u p' the big whoops like some of the new Oriental products. The S&W freon gas units on~the rear felt a bit harsh to all but the most aggressive of our riders. That was probably our fault. since we kept ... - -- .... . . . . . . . . .. . . •. . . . . . . . . . .. . ...