Their argument was that the great Italian and English motorcycle companies were also abandoning the sporting events and moreover that same year the spanish government was implementing The National Stabilization Plan (El Plan de Estabilización Nacional), which was very restrictive.īultó immediately recognised all this for what it really was: the decision of abandoning the competition, which taking into account the good economic situation of the company did not imply an excessive expense, was really an attack towards him, a way to annul the leadership that he undoubtedly had within the company. In that meeting, Permanyer and José Luis Milá announced to Bultó that they had decided to stop all sporting activities and focus on improving the commercial models. Nevertheless, in April of that year, an apparently common meeting of the members of the Board of Directors was going to change the history of motorcycling forever. All of the factory’s production was sold in advance and its competition team won every race they participated in. Bultó and Pedro Permanyer, the company was going through very good times, in terms of industry and sporting achievements. In total, about 330,000 Bultacos were built in Barcelona.By the beginning of 1958 Montesa was leading the Spanish motorcycle market. It reopened in 1980 with government help, but production slowed to a trickle, with only 249 bikes produced in 1984. It was the start of a chain of successes that would lead to 15 years of domination of the sport, with Bultaco winning the European Trials Championship (later World Championship) nine times between 19.Įven so, the factory was forced to shut down in 1979. He liked what he saw, and when Ariel announced it was pulling out of competition at the end of 1964, Miller went to Spain and spent 12 hectic days building the first Sherpa T, and eventually signed on with Bultaco. Oriol’s bike broke down with an electrical fault, but that gave him the chance to watch maestro Sammy Miller in action on his Ariel “GOV 132.” Miller won the event, but was shrewd enough to try a Bultaco. They came home with two gold medals, and the following year Bultaco entered the prestigious Scottish Six Days Trial. A team was entered in the 1962 ISDT led by Paco’s nephew Oriol Puig Bulto. had shown don Paco there was huge potential for offroad bikes, so for 1960 Bultaco produced the dual-purpose Sherpa N. Sheene’s first race was on a Bultaco in 1968, when he was 18.Ī visit to the U.S.
The resulting Tralla Super Sport in 125 and 250cc versions gave a generation of privateers including Barry Sheene a taste for the Spanish fliers.
The Tralla - Spanish for whiplash - was not only a good roadster but also the basis for an effective racer, so it wasn’t long before a road race version based on the factory bikes joined the line-up. The first Bultaco, the Tralla 101, was revealed to the press March 24, 1959. The “Thumbs Up” gas tank emblem was designed by Paco after he noticed British riders give the signal to show all was well as they flashed past the pits. The new company’s name was Bultaco - Francisco’s telegram signature when he was on business trips for Montesa and a contraction of Bulto and Paco, Francisco’s nickname. Four months later the prototype was ready for testing, and by February 1959 they were ready to go into production. That was May 17, 1958, and within days work started on a new 125cc single-cylinder 2-stroke motorcycle. “I’m going to suggest that he starts his own motorcycle business,” said Chalamanch. When word spread that don Francisco was leaving Montesa, his racing team went to production manager Joan Chalamanch’s office and asked what he was going to do.
He had started the company with Pedro Permanyer in 1944, but when Permanyer and the other directors decided to pull out of racing Bulto felt he had no other option. Fifty years ago, don Francisco Xavier Bulto resigned as technical director of Montesa.
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