Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

rid ing th er e h e wi ll n ever know if it is capable of getting him out of im possible situations. Th e entrance to o ne steeply walled wash is a twisty, boulder strewn sand flat wh ich required lots o f low speed maneuverability and plenty of sm ooth power to keep the re ar wheel from di gging in. We go t throug h with ab so lu t el y no problems. T he II inc bes of gro und clearance an d t he narrow side case co n figu ra tion slip ped th rough the tigb test p laces. T he low' gear torque would lif t th e fr on t wheel at will to ge t ov e r s tep s , s t u m p s and o the r o bstruc tio ns. Cli m b in g o u t of the wash and up the near vertical walls called fo r a max imum of rid e r ab ili ty with t otal depend ence o n machin e p erf orm ance. Th ere are se veral mach ine s wh ich we wo uld not eve n co ns id e r ca p ab le of ge tt ing o u I o f th is sit uat io n . A pipey bike wo uld nev e r make i t. The cli m b st arte d with a ha rd le ft tu rn , u p ove r a step an d th en up an erode d wall. N o tim e t o d evel op an y R's and no distan ce to gain speed . Pu re torq ue was n eed ed to ge t us o u t of th is one . T he 4 0 0 X 18 k nobb y rear wheel gra b be d all it c o uld and we we re on o u r way o u t. A f ter th e nea r 'vertical wall , we st ill h a d a Slee p slope covere d wi th vege tatio n a nd lo ose so il to go . T he nat ure o f the slope cause d us to m ak e several u ph ill , o ff-camb er turns wh ile st ill in fir st gea r. At last we re ac he d a m o re ge n t le slo pe a nd shif ted into second. A ft e r that i t was no thi ng to cli m b t he rest o f the way to th e top . and then cross cou n trv to a trail. T he cro ss co u ntry" rid e, with spe eds at about 4 0 MPH , was more exci ting th an c halle ngi n g. Wi th a me re sh if t o f body weigh t , p ucke r bushes an d o th er o bstacle s we re eas ily avo ide d . T he handling was a dream, even wh en we we re riding through loose r so ils. The p o we r in fif th gear at speed w as ade q ua te to lift th e fr ont wh eel wh en necessary . Th e rear suspension wa s per fect fo r a rider weight o f 18 5 p ounds and kept the rear wheel on the grou nd . Hot o r co ld , th e Femsa electronic ign ition co up led with the tried and true Amal carburetor gave us easy, if not first kick, s tarts eve ry time. With so many people riding the overall test, it . Was impossible to get any gas mileage figures. But what do gas m ileage figures mean when o ne p erson will ride all d ay in sec.o nd gear and another in four th . We do know that afte r fo ur ho u rs of co ntin uo us ri d in g th ere wa s st ill gas in th e tank. T he A lpina is equipped with a hi gh m o u n t e d speedo meter (E u ropean version s and trials machi nes are mounted at the engine case) which is reset tab le a nd reads in tenths. Unfortunately for serious enduro 'rid ers, it is still driven b y the re ar wh eel. M ... , The Sherpa· T's M' " .: . -, ~ w ~ong-Legged Z W ..J U ~ Cousin U It w ill mak e an ex cellent cow trailer or end uro machine. Maybe th e Spaniards feel th at Ameri can riders d o n othing but wh eeli e about th e co un trysid e. This year, Bultaco h as provided rece ssed sw ingarm nuts to elimina te skin ned ankle bones. The tried and true m e tal gas petco cks replace th e plastic versions. The fork sto ps have nyl on cove rs to eliminate d am age at con t act p oints. The nylon will las t longer than rubber. A Utrailing" chain tensioner has been included to eli minate th e constant need fo r c hain adjust men t. It wo rks. -T he mufllerjspark arresto r assem b ly consists o f two separate units att ached to the exhaust pipe by m e an s of a rubber tube and h o se clamps. A t first sigh t, it appeared that the rubber cou ld never take the he at. During o u r rides, we cons t an tly checked it, and outside o f some sligh t sm okin g during th e first h ou r (wh ich la ter qu it) it ap peared to fu nc tio n per fectly. N othing leaked, and th e engi ne sh ifted properly every time. Deep water crossings had no effect o n perform ance. We liked it. H owever, several th in gs sh ook loose . Possibly, it it had been o ur own bike, we would hav e gone over every n u t and bolt before and after the first ride, b ut we didn 't. As a re sult, high speed riding on the In ternational MX co urse at Indi an Dunes managed to sh ake loose the rear tail light asse mbl y and 't he spark a rr estor. Th e exh aust pipe head n u t cam e lo o se twic e. (We d id not have the proper sp an ne r wrench to properl y ti ght en it .) N o o the r difficuJ ties were en countered. Things that we personally did not ap p reciat e ab out th e m achine we re min or and p ers onal in natu re. Included are the k ick stand m ounted on the right hand side (eve ry b o dy m ounts and d ismounts fro m th e left). T he gas tank fill er cap is o f the th read ed ty pe (q uic k release ma y no t be as posit ive , but is mu ch more c onven ien t), and you still must remove the se a t to get at the air cleaner , With no m odifications , the 250 Bultaco Alpina is dependable , with all the good p oints of th e Sherpa T trials ma chine. I ts weigh t is under 225 poun ds (we t) and a well spaced fiv e speed transm issi on makes it an easy as well as a fun b ike to ride. It is we ll at h om e ev erywh er e ex cept in h igh speed co mpetition wh ere high RPM a re required . Maxim um RPM for th e Alpina is at about 6,000. For th e se riou s trail rider, th e casual trials rider, o r th e end u ro rider who an t i c i pa tes som e very demanding te rrain , th er e is Th e Bultac o Alpina, . j~l? ~' , 1.;' 4 " ; -; fI.'t,: , .., ~, I ilJ 1 V' J~:g : . J.. !. ,~~ !, CARACTERISTICAS MOTOR : Engine ty pe Single cylinder air cool ed two stroke Bore x stroke 72 mm x 60mm Displacement " . . . . .. ... .... • . . . . . .. . . .. 244.29cc approx. Compressio n ratio ~ 9 :1 Claimed BHP 19.8 at 5500 RPM Carb urador 2 7mm Amat Ignition . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . • . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. .. . . . . .. .FEMSA flywheel magneto Shift pattern Left foot , down for down. 1-N-2-34·S CARACTERISTICAS GENERALES: :~~e~~~~ :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.~~~3~~: Length Width Seat height Fuel capacit y . : of its J'eky ll.Hyde personality will allow you to be a show-off . ~ '" Ill/. ~, ',,;; ! Th e trials side " .'" Q. ' ~ , .( I ,- Cuanto vale , 79.3 in. 35 in. (handlebar) 34.5 in. (unloaded) " .. . . . . . . ... . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . • . ... . .. . . . . . 2.6 Gal. ~ $9 9 7 suggested

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