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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126339
IX) l-o o Z #mprell8fo..: Bultaco~8 125cc Streaker Last' hurrah for the ringding street .single By John Waaser When I purchased my present street bike, op.e of the considerations was that it was the last bike I fel t I would be able to buy which was "illegal." That is, it did not meet stiffer DOT 50 requirements for importation into this country. No longer would we be able to purchase t h ~ rc:a II y fime . motorcycI es whic~ shifted on the n~ht, or ~ade lots : ~f noise , or were afll~cted .wlth small lights, or lacked battene;;_BIg Brother, "!'e were told, was watchmg out for ~>ur Interests. I, for one, was not 1m· , pressed. . . Therefore, 1 was very Impressed mdeed to n~t~ that .th~ small firm. of Bultaco, citing a limited production run. a.nd ?~her factors as reason for their inability to meet the fe~eral demands, has no"!' been able to im port a motorcycle which does .not m~t pOT specs. The . Streak~r IS :' miniscule street machine available m 74cc and l25cc configurations , with no battery, tiny lig~ts , no emission control, and a heart bigger than the who~e federal bureaucracy. Some concessions were made , however , as th is machine is aff1i~ted .with a stifling mu~f1er which qUlet~ It. down to con ventional levels but kllls.lts pet!0:mance. . A stnctly limited run of ~pproxlmatel)' 350 of the l25cc machines h.as. b~n imported on a pre-ordered b:'5lS. This means that they are essentially unavailable unless you find a dealer wi~ling to ~ell you his. When we rode this machine, there were about a dozen left which had not been claimed by the dealers who ordered them, and might be available. If you think Bultaco is strictly a dirt bike company, you're qu ite wrong. Bultaco has not imported any street bikes since the present distributorship evolved in the . mid sixties . But th is writer has owned two 200cc Metrallas, which were imported in the early sixties, and will attest that they are as qu.ick as 'the YDS2 "yamaha 250cc t~m of the same period, and more nimble. They were not .as stab~e, though, nor would they cruise as easily at high speeds. More recently, Bult~co proposed to impon their 360cc Montjuich . a box . stock Production class winner if there ever was one. But problems in get ting around the fedregs prevented them from doing so at that time. The Streaker is as obviously different from other motorcycles, yea veri ly from other Bultacos, as a Ha rley Low Rider is from an English bicycle . The gold frame with black bodywork, especially when viewed ' under the oblique lighting of a full setting sun , makes the machine an eye-catcher. You notice immediately that the lines of the frame are somewhat unconventional, though they 've been seen before. The lines are copied from Bultaco's 50cc and 125cc factory road racers. The wheels, brakes, and tires con. tinue the factory racer impression. Gold painted ,cast alloy wheels, with tiny disc brakes front and rear and the skinniest of tires , are rare on tod ay's crop of pedestrian 125's. Shift and brake levers are well tucked in , and the shifter cont rols a conventionally operated six-speed transmission. Rear inverted shocks are gas Betors , while the front forks are conventional with 4.7 inches of travel - of which two to three inches are used in normal ac tivity. That's plenty for a road bike'. The two-level seat is surprisingly soft. One of the most comfortable, in fact , that we've seen. Fenders are metal , while the tank and side covers are fiberglass. The plastic gas cap screws on , while the side covers are very easily removable just pullout at the back, and slide forward . The seat hinges at the back to reveal-the toolkit. A small enduro-type headlight is rubber mounted between the fork legs. Typical of magneto systems, it dims when the revs drop. The hom is louder than you'd expect, however, due to a small, dry, rechargeable battery. We found a stretch of interstate highway which was finished, or almost so, but not yet 'opened to traffic, and tried 'er out. Then we found a swervey country road and scared ourselves . It 's neat. The 25mm Spanish Bing carb is nothing for a 54.2 x 51.5 mm cylinder these days, so starting shouldn't be too ' difficult. The drill is both taps on, choke it and kick . There's no ignition switch. It is a bit cold-blooded, so warm it up a bit with the choke on , then go easy for the first mile or two. The clutch is light, and feels right. You do need a few revs to get underway, and it comes on with a burst as the rpm's soar. Damn. a machine with this image and this heritage needs a tachometer-scrap the speedo if necessary. but give us a tach. The bike is extremely narrow. though the seating position felt really right for this writer's short stature. It feels much lighter than iu advertiJed dry weight of 187.4 lbs. It roues along anywhere you'd care to go, and we found it stable at moderate speed on din. It is the considered opinion of this _ tester that it would be flat impouible to scrape anything on this machine in street cornering. The bike had lou of pep. but quickly reached a plateau in each gear. At that point. power fell off abruptly, though there was lou of throttle left. This machine had never . been jetted or timed. so that may be a pan of the problem, but one can 't ignore the obviously federallyapproved pipe as a partial cause. We checked this machine out at the Massey Brother's Bul-Pen where Tom Massey keeps thinking it wants a U5cc Pursang pipe. At any rate. top speed, again with lou of throttle left . was in the neighborhood of 75mph indicated. though Tom said it was supposed to ~ over a buck. Perhaps the point which mOlt consistentlyamazed, waa the eaae with which this diminutive machine cruiIed down the road at 65mph. You wouldn't want to do it hour after hour on the-interstate, but over back roads where speeds must vary a bit from time to time, the bike seemed very happy at that speed. We finally located a stretch of road where we thought we might be able to scrape something. As we bent into the first tum, we discovered a thick patch of sand directly in our line. Luckily there waa no traffic coming. We got , out of it okay and proceeded at a somewhat slower pace. much 1esII in· terested in trying to scrape anything. We fmally found a clean curve which we went through several times, and scraped our boot sole by hanging it out several inches. It still seems imprudent to even try to scrape the pegs on the street. The speeds ' involved would be bizarre. to say the least, and the slightest change in road texture could buy you the farm. - complete with manure. Acceleration is brislt for a one-twofive, in spite of the obvious need for 'a tuneup at the high end. Performance when tuned should be a trip. Clutch and shift action were faultless. The Veglia speedometer with trip meter could be straight off an enduro machine. The wheels and tires . or the whole bike for that matter. could hang on my walt The lines are exquisite. but the finish ranges from good to miserable. Oh well. if you get hungry yon could always peel the orange peel ftom the tank and eat it . In sum, the bike is an extravagance, and so typically Spanish. • - SPECIFICATIONS: Bore . •....... .. . . ....................•..........-:- •. 54.2mm Stroke ....... .... . . ...... ...........•.............. 51.&rnm Displacement ' 118.82cc Compression ratio .. ...............••.....•..•••.....•'.. 12:1 BHP @ rpm . ..................•. •.....•...••.... 13.3 @ 9000 Carburetor '.' Bing (Spanlsh)28mm ;.r Clutch. . . . • . . . . . . . ... ... ......•........... •. . wet multi-plate Drive chain ................................... .......•• 1428 .. TIres: front 2.50 x 18 Michelin • rear ...... . .. .• .. ..•...... •. •...•.•.. 2.75 x 18 Michelin Brakes (front and rear) hydraulic disc, 220mm In dlamet~ ~: Wheelbase 50.78 • Bar height , • . . . ; . ....•............. •.............. 3&.43" Handlebar width 21.4&':-; Seat heig ht ....... ........ .•.... ....•.... •. • . •. •..... 29.92"....... Footrest height •...... ......... ......•................ 10.83" ,. Fuel C8~City •••••••• • ' .' • •••••••• ••••••• ; • ••• 2.3 Imperial gal•.Dry weight '.. 187.4Ibs. Fork travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . .•...•. •. •....•.••..•.•.•. ••• 4.T' Suggested list price • . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . ." .• ••..•. • ••.•.•..•1,399