BULTACO
Bultaco
Barca born & bred, Bultaco was born out of a disagreement between the two directors of the Montesa motorcycle company: Francesc ‘Paco’ Bulto and Pere Permanyer. Bulto wanted to propel Montesa into the higher echelons of the racing circuit. Permanyer vehemently disagreed … and so Bultaco (a combination of Bulto’s surname & nickname) was conceived.
Formed in late 1958, within months Bultaco had launched its first road-going bike – the 125cc Tralla 101 (Tralla being the Spanish word for whip). Just a couple of months later Bultaco entered its first Spanish Grand Prix … scooping seven of the first ten places.
Successive 0ff-road competition fame followed: the Pursang for motocross (a big hit in the States), the Matador for enduros, the Sherpa T for observed trials (which dominated the European & World Trials Championships in the late 60s & 70s, along with consecutive wins in the Scottish Six Days Trial) and the Astro for short flat-track (favoured by the USAs AMA Grand National Number 1 holders such as Gene Romero & Jay Springsteen).
Industrial unrest in Spain the late 70s led Bultaco to close its doors and in 1998, Paco Bulto passed away. Legend has it he requested to be buried ‘with his Bultaco t-shirt & his moustache properly waxed’
