Collecting Bultacos: A Few Lesser-Known Models

The unusual ones: Bultaco El Tigre and Metisse

Many otherwise well-informed enthusiasts will be surprised to know that, in its 25 years, Bultaco built more than 200 models and variants. A few of the more unusual models have found their way to my garage.

Let’s first start with my Model 23T. Yes, there are a few situations where Bultaco added a suffix to define a sub-model. In this case, it designates the El Tigre as a version of the M23 Metralla Mk2. There are two versions of the story behind this model; I tend to believe this one. The Japanese were building street scramblers that were selling like hotcakes. Bultaco made pure street models and dirt bikes, and they needed a competitor for this market. The El Tigre was a bit of a parts bin special. Though basically a Metralla, the tank was from an earlier Matador, the frame was modified, alloy Sherpa fenders were added, and a new exhaust designed. Presto! Instant scrambler. In truth it, like Honda’s CL250/305, was really a gussied up street bike, albeit a stylish one.

This one came to me fully restored from my friend Bill Hawes. I caught Bill in a moment of weakness and he has lamented it ever since. Bill did a great job on this bike and it received a Senior First award from the AMCA, scoring more than 99 points. These El Tigres are exceedingly rare and becoming quite valuable.

Next, we move on to the Pursang. Actually, two of them, the first and one of the last. The first, initially released in 1964, is generally referred to, somewhat controversially, as the Bultaco Metisse. In fact it originated from a failed partnership with the Rickman Brothers, which may or may not have involved litigation, depending on who is telling the tale. In any event, the frame is a copy of the Rickman but in plain steel rather than chromoly. Bultaco never called it a Pursang, though the factory parts manual refers to it as such, and its replacement was called a Pursang Mk2. In any event, the Model 11 (every Bultaco has a model number that corresponds to its design number and is the first two or three digits of the VIN) was Bultaco’s first true motocross model. Sort of. There were actually two versions, as the TT used a 19-inch front wheel and had a couple of ponies more than the 21-inch shod motocrosser. The Metisse/Pursang was unique among Bultaco motocrossers in having a double downtube frame and center exhaust port.

My TT example arrived pretty nicely restored, with a fresh Lynn Mobley engine, but wearing an incorrect and damaged green paint job, along with some fender issues and needing a lot of detail finishing. The correct color turned out to be Ford Springtime Yellow, a far more mellow color than used by later models. It really is a classic looking motorcycle.

One of the last: Bultaco Pursang M170

Another Pursang is the M170, a Mk9, one of the later long-travel models of the late 1970s. While 250cc Mk9s were quite popular in period, there were far fewer M170 versions. These were 200cc bikes built for a short-lived U.S.-only class mainly popular in the East. What adds to their appeal is the very attractive graphics unique to this model.

Mine came by way of a trade with a friend who wanted my 360 Frontera, a bike I was frankly too wimpy to fire up. I figured a 200 would be far easier to kick! The Mk9 was a one-owner, heavily weathered but complete example that required a full restoration. As with most of my projects, it took about a year to complete. There can’t be too many of these around anymore.

The Metralla 62

Another rare model is my M08, a first series Metralla also known as Metralla 62, named for the year of its introduction. In truth, a lot of these were built and they were very popular in Europe, the sport bikes of the era. A 200cc motorcycle capable of over 90mph was pretty heady stuff in the early 1960s. The Metralla reportedly had the legs over the contemporary 200cc Italian products and won many races. But in the U.S. at the time, there were few dealers, and most were competition oriented. Plus, this was not a beginner’s bike and the price point of the Metralla was significantly above that of its mass produced competitors.

I recall a Peter Egan column years ago wherein he asked a well-known collector which of his many bikes was his favorite to ride. He pointed to a well-used little bike in the corner, a Metralla 62. He opined that Bultaco’s later, faster Mk2 had somehow lost the essence of a light, tossable corner carver and no other bike came close.

This one came from Seville by way of California. Purchased by a U.S. airman, it remained in his ownership until he passed. His widow entrusted it to a neighbor from whom I purchased the sad rusty relic after nearly fifty years of disuse. It received a VERY comprehensive restoration in which I managed to keep most all of the original parts, down to the fasteners. There are small but significant differences between domestic and U.S. export versions that needed to be kept as delivered. To honor that provenance, I retained the initial Spanish registration. I’m quite proud of how this long, difficult restoration came out, especially as an amateur working in a home garage.

The Matador Mk9

The final example for this exercise is the Matador Mk9. In the mid-1970s, Bultaco recognized their enduro line was at a crossroads. What should be the follow on to the seminal Matador SD? At the time the SD (M107) was the pinnacle of the enduro line. But it was not street legal. The Japanese had divided their lines between streetable dirt bikes and serious competition models; i.e., Yamaha DT vs. YZ, Honda XL vs. MT, etc. The Spanish answer for serious enduro work would be the Frontera, available as a 250 and a 360. Meanwhile, the Matador would be the street bike. The M140 Mk9 was developed from the ground up for the task. It featured a 350cc engine, steel fuel tank, full road equipment, battery operated lights, a large comfy seat for two, a carrier rack and more. Unfortunately, the Mk9 and its near-identical successor met with limited sales success in the U.S., largely due to the ubiquity of large Japanese brand dealers as compared to the generally small, enthusiast-run Bultaco shops. The final straw was the EPA coming down hard on 2-strokes essentially ending the importation of Spanish street bikes.

I found this Mk9 in York, Pennsylvania, on Craigslist. Relatively lightly used, it was available at a bargain price due to an engine that would not fire. It was such a good deal I blasted up there from Florida on Easter Sunday to pick it up. On the way home I dropped it off with a friend who had a vintage motorcycle hobby business and asked him to take a look at it. Thirty minutes later at home he sent me a video of it running sweetly. The ignition side of the engine had been filled with hard packed sand, once removed it fired right up. Too nice to restore, it was dismantled, detailed and reassembled with new replacements for the usual wear components. I left it stock, with the exception of replacing the clunky DOT-style controls with earlier Bultaco units.

So there you have it, a few of the lesser known Bultaco models. One thing that keeps me interested in the brand is that as a small company from an agricultural country, Bultaco fought well above its weight class, building so many varied and interesting models. Frequently, research yields tales that go well beyond the bike itself, to the heart of the brand, the sport and the industry. MC

Alan Singer is an octogenarian old fart who continues to play with Bultacos in his home-based MotoEuro Garage in Jacksonville, Florida. Some of his builds have won awards and been seen in magazines. His pals remain unimpressed (still).

Originally published as “Collecting Bultacos” in the May/June 2023 issue of Motorcycle Classics magazine.